{"id":4182,"date":"2013-03-01T03:22:49","date_gmt":"2013-03-01T01:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.auderset.com\/\/?p=4182"},"modified":"2015-09-13T09:24:31","modified_gmt":"2015-09-13T07:24:31","slug":"pus-fort-que-la-priere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/pus-fort-que-la-priere\/","title":{"rendered":"Stronger than prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The wall of evil<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In my garden there\u2019s an old wall that\u2019s over 6 feet high, which is really, I mean really ugly!!!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

(because it gets between the little flowers and the sun!!!)<\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The sledgehammer of prayer<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

I decided to take it down with my own hands<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>(I am the defender of little flowers)<\/i><\/span>. With a fury that is unusual for me<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>(with a little help from a sledgehammer)<\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I struck a blow against this shadowy wall.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

At the same time, in my heart,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

I rained prayer upon prayer against the walls present in my own life, its injustices, recurrent struggles and other adversities.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

I refuse to just sit there and take it!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Half an hour later:<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

The wall:<\/i><\/b>\u00a0bearing <\/i>hardly a scratch\u2026<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Me:<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i>down and out!!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Are my prayers not working?!?<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit like some of my long-term prayer requests; I\u2019m still waiting for them to be granted\u2026<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

also:<\/i><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

In church, why is it always the same people who come forward to ask for healing (?!?) Is it because it hasn\u2019t actually worked for them before?<\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

My line of reasoning runs me up against a dead end\u2026<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Small, but powerful<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

My observations of the natural world have taught me one thing.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Something small,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Done faithfully, over and over again,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Becomes big.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Perseverance will enable us to break through.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

I apply this principle to my art,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

So why don\u2019t I apply it to a wall?<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n


\n<\/i><\/p>\n

The battle is won in the head<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

Driven above all by my motivation to break down the walls in my own life,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

I decided that I would spend<\/i>\u00a0one hour each day<\/b>\u00a0<\/i>hammering out a solution <\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Because to break down a wall in the outside world,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

You must<\/i>\u00a0first<\/b>\u00a0<\/i>break it down<\/i>\u00a0in your head<\/b><\/i>.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

More than mere muscles,<\/i>\u00a0you need to believe it\u2019s possible!!!<\/b><\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Your strength is found in <\/i>faith<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Even so, my efforts seemed pitiful \u2026.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

The coup de gr\u00e2ce<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

After a couple of days,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

I finally managed to put a hole through the wall!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

It was weird, just before that section of the wall gave way,<\/i><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

the sound of the sledgehammer impact against it changed\u2026<\/i><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

My question is:<\/i><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Does that mean that the hundreds of<\/i>\u00a0blows that rained down upon it before that point accomplished nothing at all<\/i><\/b>?<\/i><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Mmm\u2026<\/i><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

I think that<\/i>\u00a0they all counted for something<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

No prayer is ineffective\u2026<\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Plan B<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

I was really encouraged by this little hole\u2026!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

At the same time, I had to admit that there was still a long way to go:
\n<\/i>– \u2018Ahhh!! help me Lord!\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

A voice behind me says:
\n– \u2018that\u2019s not the way to do it, buddy!\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

I turned round, and to my great surprise, standing before me was Whoetallthegritz<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>(that\u2019s not his real name, by the way!)<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/i>a friend who hardly ever gets out of the house because he suffers from a bone condition \u2013 if he fell, he\u2019d break into little pieces<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>(certainly more easily than my wall would!!)<\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

– \u2018dig beneath it,\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

He said,
\n– \u2018it\u2019ll save you a lot of time!\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

Then he left.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Me:
\n<\/i>– \u2018<\/i>dig beneath it!<\/i><\/b>\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

Whaa\u00a0\u2026?! What sort of idea is that\u2026(?)<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t what I\u2019d been planning to do at all\u2026!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

I kept on hammering against the wall \u2026<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

But the noise couldn\u2019t drown out my thoughts:<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u2018What if God was talking to me through Whoetallthegritz?\u2019<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Something even stronger than prayer!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In the end, I started to dig beneath the wall,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

attached one end of a rope to the wall, the other to my car and stepped on the gas. The wall collapsed almost immediately!!!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

(I had to step on the gas, otherwise the wall would have fallen on the car!)<\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

BLAMM!!!<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

The wall came crashing down with such force that it startled my little family, who were sitting in the living room. Immediately,\u00a0like the most beautiful freeze-frame shot imaginable, they all ran into view, framed in the window<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Their ever-so slightly unconventional pop had finally come up with the goods!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

It was then that I understood something very important,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

There is something even<\/i>\u00a0stronger\u00a0<\/b><\/i>than prayer:<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Listening to God!<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Something stronger\u00a0<\/b><\/i>than perseverance:<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

grace.<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0Once the wall had fallen, it took me another couple of days of sweat <\/i>(and shovel-work)<\/i> to get rid of<\/i><\/p>\n

The old soil and replace it with good, new soil.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Once it was all finished, I looked at my handiwork,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Took a handful of identical sunflower seeds and planted them outside my studio. The flowers that sprung up where the wall had been were absolutely massive!!!<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>(<\/i>I\u2019ve never seen ones that big before!<\/i><\/b>)<\/i>\u00a0<\/i> It did me, and all the passers-by, good just to look at them\u2026<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

The blackberries growing on the same spot produce a bumper crop<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

To the delight of all those who came to dine with us!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

When confronted with positive challenges,<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

Stick at it, because what you will gain from it will be <\/i>much greater than the<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

Initial effort<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i>that it required of you.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

This wall has gone,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

But my invisible walls are still there\u2026<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

I continue to pray<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>(and listen\u2026)<\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And every day I get stronger.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Some walls start to crack, but others seem unshakeable\u2026<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

But I believe that my God is greater still,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

And even if it\u2019s hard, I keep going\u2026<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2018Those who sow with tears<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Will reap with songs of joy\u2019.<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>Psalm 126.v 5<\/i><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whatever wall you may have to break down,<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Stick at it,<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

And one day, it will fall!<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alain<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The wall of evil In my garden there\u2019s an old wall that\u2019s over 6 feet high, which is really, I mean really ugly!!! (because it gets between the little flowers and the sun!!!) The sledgehammer of prayer I decided to … More…<\/a> More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4182"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9839,"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4182\/revisions\/9839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.auderset.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}