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December 2003 Table of Contents
From the Editor
Choose Prayer
By Gary Morris
 It all started with an e-mail from Geron Davis: "Gary, do you have any space at all for a small article from me about the new recording?"
I have to be honest here and tell you what my first thought was. "A small article?" The last time Geron said this to me, we did a telephone interview which, after first edit, was over 4,300 words. Final edit managed to get it down to a little over 2,000.
Editing pieces like that is tough becuase it's ALL good! My least favorite thing is to have to chop editorial. (Well, maybe second least, only behind missing a deadline!) And the interview article was all good. So now, I'm thinking in my mind while reading this email, "Well, maybe we can make it into a series..."
AH! Then I saw the rest of the e-mail. I started reading things like, 'Jeff Brockelman,' 'grace,' 'testimony,' and 'new song.' My curiosity was only matched by my zeal, and the editor from the other side of the rationale tracks took over.
Even with the full knowledge that my reply would instantly qualify for another 1,200 words at least, I didn't hesitate. "Geron, as far as I'm concerned it's an answer to prayer! (More details forthcoming) PLEASE write the story, including everything you said (in the e-mail message) and whatever else the Holy Spirit says. I will consider it a blessing! Oh I need it right away! (like tomorrow!)"
Never tell an artist you need it tomorrow. Tomorrow is like the next available down time they have between singing, recording, writing, living, eating, flying, and doing it all over again the next day.
But somewhere between the Cumberland River and the Pacific Ocean, brother Geron did just that-he not only found the time to write but managed to get it to me in twice the speed of light (or maybe broadband) and now we are pleased to bring it to you as our Cover Story for the December/January/February issue.
Now for the rest of the story. You see, I have a highly refined, time-tested and proven method for soliciting articles-especially cover stories. I pray and ask God for them, issue by issue. And this time, we were already past deadline! When I got Geron's email, I knew immediately that it was an answer to my prayer. I had prayed, "Lord, you know where we are with this issue. I praise you for it, and will not worry about about the Cover Story, but trust you to provide, and ask you to do so."
This reminds me of two other things, similarly related. People ask, "How do you know when God speaks?" or "How do you hear from God?" One way I know for sure is through answered prayers, especially when the answer is "yes" or "no." "Wait" is a little harder to hear and qualify as hearing from the Lord, for most of us.
I am thinking now of the passge in Acts chapter 4, where Peter and John are released from custody with a threat-laden command not to preach the Gospel, and together with their Christian companions began to have a prayer meeting. What did they pray for? Boldness for the very thing they were warned not to do-preach the Gospel! And did God answer? Does a cat have a climbing gear?! ANYTIME God sends you an earthquake immediately after you prayed you know He has heard and answered your prayers! Not only that, but they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4: 18-31) Hmmm, exactly what they asked for.
Some people balk at the idea of not planning a magazine out one or two years in advance. They say, "Why put yourself under so much stress? You could have a lot more time to design and solicit merchants for ad space if you'd only plan it out." To them I say, stress is always present in life. If you mean pressure, well, I don't see it that way. My greatest pressure comes when I fail to get on my knees on a regular, consistent basis.
Now I didn't set out to write an article on prayer, like you would need one anyway. But obviously our praying is very important to Jesus. He even told his disciples so in Luke 18: 1, "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart." Pray or lose heart. Choose prayer!
Actually every issue of The Communicator contains many answered prayers, from articles to advertisements, designs to deadlines, photos to final proofs, this issue being no exception.
Sometimes, prayer answers show up in a shout with great fanfare, but most of the time, they are in unassuming ways, like blessings that you'd really never expect to look the way they do, but then they end up just blowing you away. You know what's the truth? MOST of the time, my own personal blessings come wrapped in a plain brown wrapper that doesn't look valuable, and they certainly doesn't resemble the glittery, shiny, metallic, gold-spangled packages I expect them to be.
But I can always count on the people who write for us-from the editorial staff to the minister of music to the choir or ensemble member or pianist-to write prayerfully from the heart and follow the Holy Spirit's lead. Did I mention that this is our primary guideline when submitting articles for consideration? Boy, that would cause a lot of editors a lot of pressure, but not here. I figure if you've prayed about it and I've prayed about it, God will do the rest and the best. Actually, He will do the most. Come to think of it, He does it all, and like the first line reads on day one in the book The Purpose Driven Life, "it's not about you" (or me), it's all about God. And as Jerry Evans would say, it "always has, and always will" be about Him.
And then I get those emails from writers who say they've hit a block, can't meet deadline, or some other type of major or minor catastrophe comes up, like they've got a giant article and just can't cut it down any. These too usually end up being blessings!
By the way, did I tell you that Geron's article is the Cover Story? Oh yeah, it's a Spirit-filled, prayed-over-and-about 1000 words or so.
Happy reading and receiving!
Under (prayerful) construction,
Gary
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