It's like being in a Rock n Roll band

I'm often asked, how i know God is speaking to me about something. When i pray for people, guidance or for a problem, before i speak i need to know it's God and not just my own opinion jumping forward. In the past i have tried to answer this question and probably not very well in all honesty, so today i'm going to try and answer it again after a revelation on Sunday afternoon, while chatting to my son.

The band that i sing for had our very first gig to a live audience, this is a bit of a joke because 3 of us have played together before but we have a new drummer (who is a good tub thumper) as with all bands we rehearse like mad and try to get things right, sometimes songs work other times they just don't come together in any meaningful way so we drop them from the set list and drop something else into it, this week was no exception. At rehearsal we practised an AC/DC song called Highway to Hell, it's one of my favourite songs of all time and over the 30 years i have been in and out of bands we have all tried to play it. Now at rehearsal it was ok, not brilliant but ok, we knew we could do it and decided it was staying in the set.

Gig comes and we get to do the song, i was nervous because it requires a vocal range that i struggle with, and my good friend Mark Gilborson thinks we should turn the volume down so i dont have to scream at the top of my lungs, but we are a rock band and we play loud music. Anyway we started the song with that lovely riff and the people in the bar, started to take notice, some boogied, others started to nod their heads and sing along with us. We probably played it better than we ever have before, we in the parlance of our genre, we nailed it, it was as close to perfection as we were going to get it.

And this is when it dawned on me, when praying there are times i'm doing it and i know it's good, i know it's right and i know God is listening, it's a get by and hope routine. Then there are those times when i pray, when i know God is not only listening but is actually saying something through those prayers, either to me or to help the situation out. It's just something you know, it all falls into place, the words speak to the situation, the words help someone out, God gets involved in a very real way. We knew when the last chord hit the sound barrier we had nailed that song, we looked at each other with massive Chesire Cat grins on our faces, just knowing that we had done a great job.

And it's like that with prayer sometimes, we don't get answers right away so we keep on praying (rehearsing) we keep mindful of the situation and the situation or person we are praying for at the forefront of our mind. Then at some point the light bulb goes on and you know God is speaking (nailing that song). Answers do not always come easy, we need at times to keep on at God about the things we are praying for, after all if it's that important to us or those we are praying for we need to keep going until it's right. We are leading up to good Friday, and during this time Jesus goes into the garden at Gethsemene to pray, we know from bit's in the Gospel that he was in anguish, that he wanted to have the suffering taken away from him, but he prays something of utmost importance, which should set the bench mark for how we pray " if this cup of suffering can be taken away do so, BUT NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS BE DONE" This is the crux of the matter when praying, seeking the will of God, if it was good enough for Jesus it's good enough for us. We pray and sometimes don't get answers because we are praying for selfish aims and ends, for things that we want. God is not a cosmic Santa Claus, he is a loving father who wants whats best for us all the time. We can fight it, argue with him, but his way is the right way, his way is his will. As we come up to Good Friday and then on Sunday that glorious day of Resurrection, we can give thanks for all the things we don't have and all the things we do have. Sometimes you just know it's right, you just know it's God. We knew we nailed the song, it took some work but it was right and we all knew it. Finally could i ask you who read this to pray for Jacob my son, he is off to Romania again on his 2nd mission trip in 18 months, he turned 17 at Christmas, and despite his age and all those things you get with a 17 year old i worry about these things, i know he is doing Gods will for his life, because he has nailed the song he is singing.

God bless ya'all have a brilliant and awesome Easter, some of you i will see on the road if the wether is good enough for you dry weather bikers to get out and about lol.

Andy