IT NEVER FAILS. There I am driving the 50 MPH speed limit on Highway 17, cresting the summit and I spy Mr. CHP sitting along the side of the road. Immediately I lightly depress my brakes, check the speedometer, and breath a sigh of relief…yes I am still doing the speed limit. Why is that whenever I see one of California’s finest, I immediately feel guilty? It must be something to do with my driving past.
I am sure that I am not the only driver on our roads that has this reaction. And truthfully, it does have some positive outcomes. First, it causes me to check my speed and slow down if necessary, and second, it leads me to prayer, “Dear God, please don’t let me get a ticket!” Or as a friend of my once prayed (while a passenger in my car), “Lord, You made blind eyes to see, how about this time making seeing eyes blind.” Actually, that prayer worked…at least that time! Anyway…
All this talk about driving and praying makes me think that since we are so good at driving and talking, and since we’re not supposed to talk on our cell phones while driving (praise the Lord for that law!), maybe we could pray for those men and women in tan rather than praying about them. We could start a new regimen. We could pray the C. H. P. prayer: Christ Help Please! Whenever we see an officer we could pray that the Lord would keep them safe, that He would help them do their job, and maybe (especially if we’re doing the speed limit) we could lift a prayer of thanks for those who seek to “keep the peace” in our world. Both far and wide.
So, let’s not only slow down, let’s pray up!