barney_fife

Barney Fife Believers, by Randall D. Kittle

As I was praying for a person a few years ago, something another believer who was agreeing with me in prayer said struck me as funny but also sad. What they prayed was actually a Bible verse. I wouldn’t normally think of a Bible verse as funny or sad, and the only reason it seemed such was that they had “helped” me pray for others before on a number of occasions. Though every situation was quite different, in each case the Bible verse they prayed was the same. For a couple of these circumstances it seemed quite appropriate, but for others it was totally out of line. As I walked away from the prayer time, I wondered to myself, “What was that all about?” Then, in a moment, it hit me: they were a Barney Fife believer!

Barney Fife (that’s Deputy Barney Fife if you don’t mind) was Sheriff Andy Taylor’s sidekick on the old Andy Griffith television show. This dynamic duo kept the city of Mayberry safe from any influx of criminal activity. Andy was both the brains and the brawn of the operation with Barney suppling the comic relief. One of the humorous things about Barney Fife was that he had a terrible habit of misfiring his pistol — once nearly shooting off his toes when it fired while still in his holster. In fact, this was so bad that the sheriff no longer allowed Barney to have his gun loaded. And just to keep things as safe as possible, Andy only gave him one bullet, which he kept in his left shirt pocket. Whenever there was a problem, the bungling deputy had to stop, draw his gun, and load his “pet bullet” before responding.

How much this reminds me of the believer who had prayed with me. No matter what trouble might arise, they loaded their “prayer gun” with their one “Scripture bullet” and let it fly! How sad that this believer had only entrusted themselves with one Scripture to confront the enemy. How much better it would have been if they had acquired many different verses and had a vast arsenal with which to confront the enemy.

Let us make certain that you and I do not settle for being Barney Fife believers. Let us fill are minds with Scripture that we would have many weapons with which the Holy Spirit could turn back the enemy.