Pass Interference

This morning I am thinking about defensive pass interference.  I can’t recall an NFL game I’ve watched in which there wasn’t at least one call for this.  A quarterback throws the ball…straight, intentional, perfect.  But, then, a player on the defense pulls, blocks, hooks, or shoves an offensive player in order to keep him from receiving the intended pass.  There may be disappointment or outrage from players, coaches, and fans alike.  However, there is some consolation in knowing that the penalty for a pass interference call is an automatic first down from the spot of the foul.  In other words, there is a full, fresh new opportunity to try again.  In thinking about this, I was reminded of some scriptures I had not read in a while.  I flipped open my Bible to Daniel 10:1.  There I reread the account of Daniel’s prayer, to which the answer was immediately sent.  However, there was interference that impeded the answer from getting through.  In verses 2 and 3 I saw Daniel going deep, positioning himself to receive.  In verse 12 I saw where the “ball,” (that is, the answer to Daniel’s prayer) had been thrown to him.  In verse 13 I saw the pass interference.  And in verse 14, I saw a fresh set of downs being given.  How it blesses and encourages me to know that, like Daniel, God hears the sincere prayers of my heart!  He sees when I am positioning myself to receive.  And He answers, though sometimes it seems as though He has not heard.  When He sends the answer, there is no opponent—including my own pride, ignorance, and other imperfections—that can legitimately hinder me from receiving.  Sometimes I am disappointed, frustrated or discouraged when I discern that an answer to prayer has been thwarted by spiritual pass interference.  Yet, I have this consolation.  At the very spot where I may have dropped the ball, the grace of God gives me a new start…a chance to try again.  I thank God today for my fresh set of downs.