James Cameron Bailey

You may have seen this story before but it’s one that always makes me smile. 

I am unsure of its origin, as it has been reused and reworded numerous times with no credit to be found. Let’s simply enjoy this story together and soak in the goodness found and give God the glory together, alright? 

A new preacher asked an old farmer to pray at the end of the church service one Sunday morning. The old farmer stood up wearing his worn out bib overalls and said the following prayer: 

“Lord, I hate buttermilk”, the farmer began. The young preacher popped an eye open to glance at this old farmer and wonder where he was going with that type of opening to a prayer. 

The farmer loudly continued with, “Lord, I hate lard.” Now the young preacher was starting to get concerned and even wondered if he had made a mistake asking this old country farmer to say a prayer in public. 

Without missing a beat, the farmer kept on praying, “And Lord, you know I don’t care for raw flour either.” The preacher now had both eyes open but squinting in confusion staring at the old farmer with wonder. The preacher also noticed that he was the only one with their eyes open so maybe this is the typical prayer from this man. He still felt uncomfortable but closed his eyes and hoped for the best. 

The farmer then breathed deeply in prayer saying, “But Lord, when you mix those three things together and bake them…I sure do love me a fresh warm biscuit. So Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we don’t understand what you’re sayin to us, help us to relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will always be even better than fresh warm biscuits. In the name of Jesus we thank You, amen.” 

I adore this prayer. I can’t stand buttermilk (I make my own buttermilk with 1 cup milk and 1 Tbs of white vinegar incase you don’t feel like buying buttermilk because it’s gross). I am not a fan of lard…I love me some butter. 

And have you ever tried flour by itself? If so..why in the world would you do that? Yuck. But you know what? I know for fact that I am not the only person who loves a fresh warm homemade biscuit. With just butter or good jelly? 

Come on! Woo! You see… sometimes we need to patiently wait for God to finish the recipe. We may not enjoy the moments that aren’t so good, but He’s got something better on the way! James 5:7-11. 

Rev. J. Cameron Bailey is pastor of Kenbridge Christian Church. He can be reached at jamescameronbailey@gmail.com.