Of Walkie-Talkies and Crazy Prayers, Part 2

“I’m almost there!” I insisted breathlessly into my walkie-talkie.

“Copy that, Coco. Be careful!” squawked back the line producer of the film production we were working on.

Off in the distance, the tall, muscular man and the short, equally-muscular man were leaning in, and I was getting close enough to hear their yelling.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Ephesians 6:18a (NIV)

“Please, God, get me there before the first punch is thrown.” This was my crazy prayer that I offered up as 1st Assistant Director – and as a non-believer – while running at top speed behind the ruins of the old State Penitentiary outside of Santa Fe, NM.

Then I actually offered up a 2nd crazy prayer.

But if you need to catch yourself up first with the 1st half of this story, please read my previous article here, “Can You Walkie-Talkie with God?”

OK, ready?

Did God hear my 1st crazy prayer? What about the 2nd one?

God must have heard my 1st prayer. He granted me, a non-track star, fast and sure feet on the rugged ground.

God even granted me a bonus. You see, I had no idea what I would actually do when I arrived on the unfolding scene. In the midst of my lack of ideas, he suddenly gave me a brilliant idea to use when I would, within the next few seconds, arrive to confront the bull and the bulldog. It was an idea I never would have thought of on my own. It was nuts. Crazy.

God reminded me that Joe – the tall “bull” of a man – had worked with my husband, Yanni, in the past. From there, He reminded me that Yanni had told me about his friendly working relationship with Joe. And then, God reminded me that Joe didn’t know that I was Yanni’s wife.

Yet.

Could I arrive in time to leverage my position as charming-wife-of-friendly-colleague? But I’d have to put myself in danger to use the leverage?

I was now close enough to see arm muscles tensing. Fists clenched on both sides. And I was now fully aware that what I was about to do might land me in the hospital instead of either of these 2 guys.

“Please, God, don’t let one of their fists hit me.”

With that 2nd crazy prayer, I put God’s crazy idea into action: I leaped – and I wedged myself in between the bull and the bulldog, in between the 2 pairs of fists. I turned slightly away from Robert, and extended my hand to Joe, saying to him with a breathless and brilliant smile, “I’m Coco, and I’m Yanni’s wife.”

And through some miracle, my world did NOT fade to black.

How is prayer like using walkie-talkies?

I can confidently say now, as a believer looking back on a non-believing plea to God in a desperate moment, that God’s hand alone held those fists back. Just. Long. Enough.

Joe’s blazing eyes focused on me, and I watched them soften as my words registered in his brain. His fists unclenched.

“Oh, pardon me, little lady, I didn’t know,” Joe replied, every inch the perfect gentleman.

I glanced over my shoulder at Robert, and it was like watching a hot air balloon deflate. I reassured him I’d be right back. Then, gently touching Joe’s elbow, I suggested he and I go for a stroll to talk about good ol’ Yanni. And I easily steered him far away from Robert.

An interesting feature on our walkie-talkies was the “silent answer” option. You could press a button an agreed-upon number of times to let the other person know “all is well” without talking out loud. This is how I let my line producer know the 3 of us were still standing.

And she was able to “Copy that” silently as well.

Without our walkie-talkies, my line producer would not have been able to instantly tell me where I was needed and how quickly I needed to get there. I would not have been able to instantly let her know I was running – and then that the emergency had been diffused.

Prayer is just like that.

Prayer is direct communication between you and God, God and you. Like using walkie-talkies, prayer allows you to instantly ask God a question, or make a request, and it allows him to answer – perhaps with an idea of what to say or do. Perhaps with invisible wings on your feet. Perhaps by holding back the attacks of others.

And then you can even update him. Especially after He saves you from a broken nose or worse.

And why is prayer – among all the “fancier” pieces – the final piece of God’s full armor?

The thing about walkie-talkies is, they may have fancy features, but they’re generally not fancy in-and-of themselves. They’re not artistically crafted like a sword or breastplate, not expertly tailored like a belt, nor perfectly fitted like a helmet. They’re not… sexy.

Quite frankly, they’re utilitarian. Practical. Simplistic.

And they’re these things on purpose.

To make them easy to use. 

If you’ve read through all of the articles in this series on God’s full armor, you know I’m a lover of all things sparkly. Grown-up walkie-talkies are not sparkly. My crazy prayers on that day on that film set did not sparkle; they had zero fancy words.

But I would not trade my practical walkie-talkies nor my simplistic prayers for the sparkliest, fanciest, sexiest weapons on this earth.

Because without prayer…

I would have had no one to ask for help. I might have had clumsy feet, and nothing to shield me or my head from fists.

Without prayer, I would have heard nothing back from God. I may not have received the uniquely genius idea that I wielded like a sword – an introduction that I never would have come up with on my own in those precious seconds.

And there’s a good chance I might have a very differently shaped nose right now.

You see, without this utilitarian, practical, and simplistic communication with God, none of the other pieces of armor are maximally useful.

Reflective Response: How to get maximum usefulness from your crazy prayers

To be able to use each of the other pieces of God’s full armor “to the max,” here are 3 ideas for approaching your prayers  – even your craziest ones:

1. Ask for usefulness:
   • Even if you don’t know exactly what would be the most useful in your situation, you probably know some aspect of the result that would help you out.
     • For example, I asked to arrive on the scene before the first punch would be thrown. I didn’t yet know what I’d do next, but I at least knew that a lack of punches thrown would make me more effective.
2. Ask for do-able-ness:
   • Again, even if you don’t know exactly what you should do, you probably have a sense of what you’re realistically capable of; that’s a good place to start.
     • For example, I knew I wasn’t a track star, but I knew I was in decent enough shape to ask for foot speed.
3. Ask for the simplest idea, and ask in the simplest way:
   • Keep your ask basic. Simple. Simplistic.
     • All I asked for, seriously, was to not get punched. In my mind, that’s pretty basic.
     • It worked.

So, for your next prayer, give these ideas a go. And then, as they say in cool film lingo, “Action!”

To review my series about the full armor of God, here are links to all the previous articles. Please come back for the next and final article that ties it all together and wishes everyone well as they move on to their next projects – the “wrap party,” as they say in cool film lingo!

“Wearing God’s Full Armor – How Can You Get Strong Enough?”

“Belt of Truth: Why We Buckle It First”

“Life’s a Rollercoaster: Get Your Breastplate of Righteousness in Place”

“How Can Feet Fitted with Peace Help Me At All?”

“When a Friend Told Me to F*ck Off, the Shield of Faith Was All I Had”

“Can the Helmet of Salvation Save a Brain of Insecurity?”

“Reckless Tongue? How to Wise Up”

“The Sword of the Spirit is The Word of God… How?”

“Can You Walkie-Talkie with God?”