Friday, August 1, 2008

Prayer Really Does Change Things

I work waiting tables at a Pizza Hut, and for the last couple of months I was really butting heads with one of the managers. For whatever reason she was always giving me the most distasteful jobs, busing my tables for me and claiming that gave her the right to keep the tip, and making me stay at least an hour late every single night. I responded by being a little butthead, and doing everything I could to make her job harder.

One night, after listening to me rant about it for the thirtieth or fortieth time, my mother had the audacity to suggest I pray for this manager, who I'll refer to as PHM (Pizza Hut Manager) from now on. She said also to pray that I would be nicer to PHM, because the Bible says
"But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so you will heap burning coals upon his head." Romans 12:20 NASB
After much deliberation I decided this wasn't such bad advice, so I asked God to literally heap burning coals upon PHM's head. He told me that probably wasn't going to happen, so I did what I knew I was supposed to and actually prayed for her, asking God to change my attitude, and to help PHM in every way he could, which I was hoping would be a promotion to a bigger Pizza Hut far away from where I worked.

After a few days of praying for PHM whenever I remembered to, things started to get better at work. I was being nicer to her, and in return she was being nicer to me. And I just found out today that the big boss of this Pizza Hut gave PHM a talkin' to about some of the things she did that grieved me so sorely. Burning coals? Not quite but I'll take it. Today she actually did some of my work for me and sent me home a little bit early. Yay prayer!