“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NKJ
“Without Me”… “Without Me”… God has given me several different assignments ranging from praying specifically for a total stranger, praying specifically for married couples, to writing 30 poems in 30 days, then several months later to write 30 devotions in 30 days…but none I could do without Him.
One day I called this woman (I will call her Gretchen which is not her name) to arrange to have her speak at a non-Christian event I was working on. When Gretchen answered she sounded very upset.
I asked her if she was okay, and she said no. I have this horrible habit of asking probing questions of people and on this occasion, I did not fail to do so. Turns out Gretchen’s son-in-law had just committed suicide the day before.
I immediately (without consulting the Lord) asked her if I could pray with her. Gretchen blew up at me. She yelled something about us Christians always trying to proselytize and a few other things. I felt horrible… not about the offer to pray but about butting into something I had no business to do so without consulting with the Lord.
I’m not saying I was wrong to probe (though since I did not know her very well, it was probably not a good idea) or to offer to pray, but it was wrong that I did it without my Lord.
As soon as I heard her voice, I should have been in prayer asking the Lord to guide me. But no… my pride (because if you boil it down…it was pride) thought I could handle the situation on my own. I went into compassionate Phyllis mode which has no value without God. It is not unlike a clanging gong.
Maybe that is how Lucifer fell…his pride that he could do everything on his own and probably the thought he did not need God led him to be kicked out of heaven… I certainly don’t want to be barred from heaven due to my pride.
Upon hanging up I turned to the Lord who gave me wisdom how to email an apology to Gretchen which she accepted. Next time we saw each other she profusely apologized to me as I did to her. We hugged it out. All is good.
But that all would not have happened had I not turned to God for wisdom in emailing the apology. And I venture to say that none of it would have happened if I had invited God into the original conversation.
Because without God I can do nothing!
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NKJ