23So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. 24And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen 25to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”26And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles – Acts 1 (NASB)
The disciples were down one (Judas had killed himself) and they were looking for a replacement. To make the decision, they drew lots (kind of like drawing straws). That doesn’t seem very spiritual. However, they prayed and asked God to reveal what he wanted. They trusted that he would do just that. It doesn’t say that they prayed about selecting the 2 men from among the crowd. Perhaps they were the only ones that met the criteria. Once they got to the 2, there was no discussion on pros and cons. No reference checks, background checks, or interviews. They just put their names in a hat and prayed.
That sounds crazy to me. How could they trust that they got the right person? They prayed. That’s it. They asked God to chose and they drew lots. It’s the most unspiritual spiritual thing I have ever heard of. They prayed and trusted God to make his plans known.
What if we did that with all of life? Pray and put our options in a hat. Whatever we pull out is what we do. It sounds crazy, but it begs this question: Do we really believe in prayer? Really? I mean REALLY? Then maybe it is time to pray and draw some things from a hat.
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