I have a music box which sits on my dresser in my bedroom. It was given by a child at some time in years past for some sort of special occasion. After raising six children, it is sometimes hard to remember which child gave which gift and for what occasion. The most important thing for a mother to remember is to keep each gift on display for all eternity. Then if a child should ask, "What happened to the gift I gave you for Ground Hog Day back in 1986?" a mother can say, "It's right there on the shelf, the one covered in twenty-one years worth of dust."
Last night no child came to ask where the music box was, but the music box made its presence known a little after midnight. For some reason, the wind-up box decided to play its song for me at 12:41. I was awakened to these words, "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you."
I didn't analyze the situation a whole lot last night. I simply thought it was kind of neat and perhaps God was speaking to me in some way letting me know dreams can come true no matter who I am. I thought of prayers I had been praying before I fell asleep and thought, "It is done."
This morning when I woke about four, I remembered the music box incident. At first, I thought it might have been just a dream, but I saw it sitting right beside my bed. I had held the music box until the song finished playing and then put it on the floor and fell back to sleep.
This morning I have researched the song a little. The song was introduced by Walt Disney in 1940 in the movie Pinocchio. The song won the Academy Award for the best original song that year. The American Film Institute ranked it seventh in their 1oo Greatest Songs of Film History, the highest-ranked Disney song.
In Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, the song has become a Christmas song, often referring to the Star of Bethlehem. I read the lyrics and knew they weren't really Christian lyrics, even though the words do speak to your heart and encourage you to believe. But believe in what I asked myself, fate? I suppose they make you believe in yourself. I thought of the verse I can do all things, but I knew it is only through Christ I can do all things. I am nothing without Him. He gives us the desires of our hearts if we trust in Him and allow Him to direct our steps each day. When we desire something, when we dream big dreams, Christians pray to God. I guess the difference in the world and Christians is the way we chase our dreams. Christians pray. The world wishes.
Wish
1. A desire, longing, or strong inclination for a specific thing.
2. An expression of a desire, longing, or strong inclination; a petition.
3. Something desired or longed for.
Prayer
1. A specially worded form used to address God, a god, or another object of worship.
a. A fervent request:
b. The thing requested:
2. The slightest chance or hope:
The difference between the two, wishes and prayers, is pretty obvious. Wish is an expression of a desire. But to whom is the desire expressed? Prayers are fervent requests addressed to our great God. Prayers are our hope when there is nothing. Prayers are sent to a specific being, our Creator, who is all-knowing. Wishes just kind of float around in space, perhaps bouncing around among the stars God created.
I still don't know how a music box, that had been untouched by anyone in years, began to play last night at 12:41, but I do know God spoke to me through the incident. Even if it was just a mechanical malfunction of some kind, such as the poor little box being weighed down with so much dust that it triggered some sort of mechanism that made it play, I still see God in it.
I believe He hears our prayers. I believe He is interested in our dreams and desires. I believe the fervent effectual prayers of righteous men avail much. In other words, if our heart is in it, no request is too extreme. God can handle it. He is as close as a forgotten gift sitting on your shelf. God loves us so much that He even has His own special little ways of letting us know He is listening to our heart's desires.