Alan Smith wrote the following. It was published on his "Thought for the Day" E-mail.
The story is told of a preacher who took a vacation and decided to make it a golfing holiday. He went to a golfing resort, and on his first day out on the course he learned that Arnold Palmer played the course frequently.
The toughest hole was the 17th, and as the preacher approached the tee his caddie said, "When Arnold Palmer plays this hole he uses a 3 iron and says a little prayer."
"I'll give it a try," said the preacher. He prayed and swung, but the ball landed in a sand trap. "Ah, well," he said, "I gues the Lord didn't hear me."
"He probably heard you," said the caddie, "but when Mr. Palmer says his prayer, he ususally keeps his head down."
We would do well to remember that prayer doesn't relieve us of our responsibilities. We pray that God will provide us with "daily bread," but we don't stay home from work waiting for him to do it!
Prayer should not motivate us to do nothing. Rather it should motivate us to do even more as we turn our lives over to God to use. Take your requests to God in prayer today, but don't forget to keep your head down!
