PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO WILL COME by Robert Soto

April 3, 2010

PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO WILL COME by Robert Soto

John 17:20-21 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. "

It always feels good to sit and relax after a good day of hard work. The buffalo project I have been working on for about nine months is almost complete. Today I dug a trench for the rail of this heavy iron fence that will eventually be the entrance to the corral. The trench was sixteen inches by twelve inches by twenty- eight feet long. It was a lot of work and at the end I stopped and stared at a job well done. Well, as well done as a trench could be. I was tired and I was sweaty and some of my muscles and joints even hurt a little. Then I started walking around the small piece of land that I am leasing and imagined where the garden that will grow some natural vegetation will go. I imagined where the picnic table with a barbeque pit will be. I imagined where the shed to store the hay will be. I closed my eyes and saw two or three tepees in the small camping area. The more I imagined the more my heart became satisfied with a job well done, so I felt.

But as I imagined what this will look like when it is complete, I sensed a little voice telling me, "Go around the corral and pray for each post and speak as I direct your tongue to speak." So I walked around and touched each post and prayed as God the Creator directed me. I prayed for the future of our people. I prayed for our chairman and our council. I prayed for the tribal membership and for all those who are struggling with what to do with their newfound culture. I prayed for our enemies and those who had harmed us. I prayed for the children - the future of our tribe. I prayed for land that we could call our home. I prayed for the buffalo, that this would be a humble beginning to a dream that will help our people. I prayed for God's provision and direction. I prayed for myself, for strength, health and wisdom as I continue to seek him each day of my life. So as I prayed, I remembered another prayer. It was a prayer by Jesus - not for those who were following Him then, but for the future generations that were yet to come. Jesus said, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message..."

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church