A hijacking occurred in the South recently. In a little country town at the Methodist Church.

“Hijacking 101” isn’t taught in seminary — a pastor is never going to be prepared. But this minister rose to the occasion. He stepped toward the outlaw and invited the boy to pray.

I couldn’t see as well as others at the scene, but I suspect everyone in that congregation wondered what would happen next. 

The desperado clearly had been raised in a Christian home. Immediately, he bowed his head — all of his three-year-old self. 

To be clear, the tow-haired tyke had hijacked the children’s sermon, effervescing with one comment after another, the pastor unable to get a word in edgewise. But the little guy surrendered when asked to pray.

“Thank you,” the boy began, “for food … and … the church … and … my toys … and . . ” It went on and on. 

He was a thankful child. 

The little guy finished and abruptly turned. He was also not a novice—prayer meant children’s time was over. He raced down the aisle to his proud parents, and the whole church grinned.

Laughter erupted again when the pastor began the sermon. In addition to tiny-tyke hijackings, the minister said seminary hadn’t prepared him for hospital visitations. 

“Patients tend to undress!” he said. “It’s important I see their scars.” He segued into a different kind of scar — emotional ones. Our failures.

I leaned forward. Who can’t relate to this? 

As he preached, famous failures came to mind. Dick Cheney flunked out of Yale — twice. Jerry Seinfeld was jeered off stage at his first comedy club.

Remember the evaluation of Fred Astaire after an audition? “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.”

Harrison Ford was told he couldn’t make it, and Marilyn Monroe was advised by modeling agents to become a secretary.

Steven Spielberg failed to get into film school at USC three times. In fact, he never got in.

Stephen King’s “Carrie” was rejected thirty times, and Monet was mocked for impressionism. Just amazing!

Elvis was fired from the Grand Ole Opry and told, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son.” What if he had stopped singing?

Harry Truman’s business went bankrupt. Henry Ford failed five times until he finally succeeded with his Ford Motor Company.

Think Macy’s department store, think seven unsuccessful businesses beforehand.

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and his first company, Traf-O-Data, failed. Obviously he didn’t quit.

Colonel Sander’s famous chicken recipe was rejected over a thousand times before succeeding.

Walt Disney was told he “lacked imagination.” He also didn’t let bankruptcy after bankruptcy stop him.

Einstein was deemed mentally handicapped.

The Wright brothers failed repeatedly with their flying machines. Nobel-prize winning Churchill flunked out of school in the sixth grade and was defeated at every try for public office before he was elected Prime Minister. And perhaps the most famous failure was Thomas Edison who made one thousand tries at the light bulb. What if he’d quit at the six hundredth failure? Could anyone have blamed him?

Michael Jordan missed more than nine thousand baskets—twenty-six of those would have been game-winning shots. He said, “I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

The Methodist minister aborted the hijacking of his service that day by asking the child to pray. Prayer is also the answer to failure.

There’s one particular area of my life where I’m a complete failure. I try, I fail. I try again. I fail again. And I try yet again. 

You reach a point where you think it’s hopeless.

After church, I talked the matter over with God and I’m starting anew. Yes, prayer will change a heart.

The prophet Jeremiah had been thrilled when part of the Law was found in the temple—the main section of Deuteronomy. He thought it would change people’s lives. 

Subsequently, Jeremiah realized people don’t change their ways until they have a change of heart. And he knew for a heart to change you need God.

There’s comfort and hope in the words God gave Jeremiah. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jer. 29:11 NIV).

The pastor concluded his sermon that Sunday morning by assuring his congregation that God says, “Do it again! Do it again! Do it again!”

Remember, you never fail until you give up.

The Rev. Mathews (BA, MDiv, JD) is a faith columnist and the author of Reaching to God and Emerald Coast: The Vendetta. Contact her at Hello@RAMathews.com. 

Reprinted from Reaching to God with permission. Copyright © 2017, 2024 R.A. Mathews. All rights reserved.