Many, many years ago when I was a young man my father in law said he and my mother in law prayed that their new farm would be protected from thieves. I’ve always remembered this conversation because at that time they lived on a county road that ran straight into downtown Cushing, Oklahoma. There was a decent amount of traffic that went by their place on a daily basis.
He had a huge red barn by the house and it didn’t have an east wall. He also had several thousand dollars worth of tools and equipment inside and outside his barn. I was kind of pointing out how easy it would be for someone to steal all of his stuff while they were at church. That’s when he said they prayed all of their stuff wouldn’t get stolen. I remember at the time, thinking thats kind of weird.
Over the years my wife and I have bought and sold several “places.” We started out buying five to ten acres, building a horse barn, garage and fencing it. We’d live there awhile and then sell it, usually making good money on each place we flipped. As we made money we bought bigger and bigger places.
One place we bought had a dead end driveway, however there was a gas well behind our house and we couldn’t put up a gate. The guy that checks wells had to have access to the well.
I had all of my tools in a small building behind the house. This building was right on the road that went to the gas well. Sure enough, all of my dewalt tools came up missing. It was then I remembered my father in law’s prayer. I didn’t tell anyone, not even my wife. I just silently said that prayer one day.
I’ve researched the Bible and found several scriptures that kind of go along with my father in law’s teaching.
Isaiah 32:18 states, “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” Nehemiah 4: Illustrates that while God is our ultimate protector, people often combine faith with practical, wise stewardship (like locking doors or securing possessions).
Anyway you slice it, I this is a good prayer to pray, and I’ve not had anything stolen since either.
James Lockhart lives near the Kiamichi mountains in southeast Oklahoma. He writes cowboy stories and fools with cows and horses.
