The first Thursday in May has been set aside as the National Day of Prayer here in America. Usually gatherings take place in churches, parks, and courthouse lawns throughout the nation. Today's events will look somewhat different, as people will gather over Zoom, Facebook live, and Youtube. Even in places where people will actually meet together face to face, the differences will stand out even to the casual viewer, as people will stand 6 feet apart, not holding hands.

But different doesn't mean futile or fruitless. It just means different, opposite of the same. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, different means "1. partly or totally unlike in nature, form, or quality, 2. not the same, 3. unusual, special." Although some might not agree, I think this describes Jesus perfectly. Yes, I know that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8, but hear me out here.

Jesus is the same, as in his character and his teachings are the same. But the way he does things isn't always the same. Just this morning I was reading about Jesus healing the blind man on the Sabbath. He made mud, put it on the man's eyes, and told him to go and wash it off. Then the blind man was healed. Does this mean that if you are blind, put some mud on your eyes, wash it off and Jesus will heal you? Definitely not! In fact, I don't recall Jesus ever restoring sight to a blind man that same way again. He did it differently. Why? Why doesn't he just do it the same way all the time? 

Trust. That blind man had to trust Jesus. He had to trust that when Jesus put that mud on his face, Jesus knew what he was doing. The blind man hadn't "seen" it done this way before, but he still trusted God enough to go and wash, which led to his healing.

God wants us to trust him today too. Just because National Day of Prayer might look different than usual, doesn't mean that God isn't moving. I like the third definition of "different" best - "unusual, special." That's what we can look forward to today...God doing something unusual and special.

However you celebrate the National Day of Prayer, whether with a group face to face or online, make sure to spend time today praying for our nation and our leaders.

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