Midweek Moment

Prayer. I love prayer. The feeling I get when I am engaged in this practice. The closeness I feel to God, to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit when I am lost in it. The bond that is developed between me and our Triune God because I do it. Prayer. We all do it. At some point or another, I would say that every human that has ever lived, has prayed for something or to someone, at least once in their lives.

There is just something about prayer that draws us in, that creates in us a desire to participate in this practice. And this tendency is not specific to our era either. If you go to the New Revised Standard translation of the Bible, the word pray, in some form, is used 474 times. These manuscripts written centuries ago, show humanity's desire to engage in prayer.

Prayer is that bond by which we commune with God. It is the vessel we use to speak with God, cry with God, shout at God. It is the the way we allow God to become an intimate part of our lives. John Wesley, our denominational founder, woke very morning, went into his reading closet, and prayed for an hour. Every day he did this. There is so much power and strength to be had from the practice of prayer.

But the best part is, there is no singular way it must be done. Prayers can long or short. Prayer can be done kneeling to standing. We can bow our head or look up towards the heavens. We can pray with our eyes closed or open. In fact, one of the most powerful times of prayer I have ever been involved with, was looking into the eyes of a dying man and praying for him. Prayer is so dynamic that it can use all of our senses and infiltrate all aspects of our lives.

Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17), take all things to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6), whatever we ask for in prayer, with faith, we will receive (Matthew 21:22), that we are to rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, and persevere in prayer (Romans 12:12), and the list could go on and on. I have books on my shelf about prayer; Too Busy Not to Pray and Paths to Prayer. There have been books written about prayers found in Scripture that have created national phenomenons like the Prayer of Jabez. It is everywhere...as it should be.

So you might be asking yourself why I found it necessary to share all that with you this week in this Midweek Moment. It is because tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer. Starting back in 1952, when President Harry S. Truman declared a National Day of prayer, this day has been set aside to pray for guidance and our national leadership. Therefore, I encourage you to find a way to mark this day with intentional prayer for our leaders and for each other. And to help you mark this day, we will open the Sanctuary from 10 A.M. till 1 P.M. tomorrow, May 3rd, for you to come and pray. I invite you to come and spend some quiet, dedicated time with God. You can sit in the pews, kneel at the rail, or stand in the isle. Pour out your concerns, celebrate your joys, talk about your fears. Just come and spend personal time with God.

If you cannot make it here tomorrow, again, I encourage you to find some way to mark this day. When we as believers band together in prayer and call on the name of God, we are teaching a new generation the importance of prayer, and making room in our lives for God to do what only God can.

Have a GREAT week and I will see you Sunday!