Finding Fried Chicken through Prayer

---

In Christ, you are connected to God. If you are connected to God, you are connected to everything and can drill down into anything.

Have you ever been hungry for a specific food? You think about it. You begin to salivate. You can taste it. You want THAT, and nothing else will satisfy the hunger inside.

I love fried chicken. I grew up in the South, where church potlucks had heaps of delicious fried chicken.

And wings. Those are my favorite. Crispy fried chicken wings.

I begin to drool just thinking about crispy fried chicken wings.

One evening, I decided I wanted chicken wings, so I hopped in the car and headed to Church's Fried Chicken, my go-to place for the crispiest fried chicken wings. The closer I got to the restaurant, the greater my desire. I could taste the wings, feel the crunch, and knew that nothing else would satisfy the craving.

Then I pulled up to the drive-through window, and the attendant told me their fryer was down.

BUMMER!

The fryer wouldn't be back up for another FORTY MINUTES, and THEN it would have to get hot, and THEN I'd have to wait for the chicken to cook.

I was looking at a minimum of an hour before I could satisfy my desire for crispy-fried chicken wings!

I was sooooo disappointed.

I didn't want to wait that long, but I didn't want anything BUT fried chicken wings.

Pulling into a parking space, I sat for a few moments, wondering what to do.

Then I said, "Holy Spirit, I don't know of another Church's Fried Chicken in this city, but YOU do. Please lead me to it."

With the ASK in place, I pulled out of the parking lot, praying in the Spirit.

I was on a divided street—two lanes going east and two lanes going west. After a while, a TUG on the inside urged me into the left lane.

Do you know what I mean by the TUG?

You might call it a "gut feeling" or an "urge." It's in the center of your being. It's on the inside, where the Spirit of God lives.

At the next intersection, the same TUG urged me to turn left.

Still praying, I obeyed, then asked, "Which lane do I get into now?"

No response.

The road soon narrowed into two lanes, so my question didn't matter.

I kept going.

In a few more miles, I came to an area of shops and restaurants. I couldn't remember ever being in this part of town, but it made sense that a Church's could be there.

Suddenly, I saw a Popeye's Fried Chicken. Thrilled with my discovery, I pulled into the lot and said, "Close enough!"

I'd found my crispy fried chicken.

I was delighted.

Until the next day.

For some reason, I was in the same area of town and passed Popeye's. A quarter of a mile later, I saw a Church's Fried Chicken.

I had overridden the Spirit's leading because of what I SAW.

I could have had what I asked for. But I settled for second best.

In Christ, you are connected to God. If you are connected to God, you are connected to everything and can drill down into anything.

The Holy Spirit will lead by THE TUG.

That's not the ONLY way he'll lead. It's ONE of the methods. But if you learn to be aware of AND pay attention to THE TUG, you'll have a spiritual tool that will never lead you astray.

Learning about THE TUG is crucial when you're learning how to be led by the Spirit because the Holy Spirit will ALWAYS lead you into the RIGHT path. He'll lead you into safety and away from danger if you let him.

The TUG is an inward pull—a drawing toward something. It may be toward another person, a particular topic of study and research, a specific task, a book, a movie, a podcast, a house, an investment, or a different route home.

And the Holy Spirit will lead you toward your purpose - your reason for being.

This is not an emotional tug. Nor does it have anything to do with what you can perceive through your five physical senses. In fact, the TUG will often contradict your physical senses.

But the more you develop your sensitivity toward spiritual things, the more aware you'll be of what's happening at the CORE.

---