POWER OF PRAYER
I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:16-19
“Can we make sure we pray for them?” “I just feel like we need to be united in prayer on this.” “Please include it in your prayers this week.” “Will we be praying about it today?”
Prayer has always been an important part of my faith life. I’ve been blessed by the guidance and support of fierce praying women – and in my case, they have all been women – who have not only surrounded me with prayer but taught me about prayer’s power. I constantly connect back to prayer in my personal devotion, leadership, care, and outreach.
This week, maybe more than ever, the power of prayer has been all the more apparent to me. The other pastors and I have all fielded many requests for prayer and demands (appropriately made!) for prayer regarding the safety, peace, and shared life of our country. In some cases, the requests have been almost apologetic, like they wish we could do more than just pray.
Please hear me say, now and always: there is no just when it comes to prayer.
People of God, the invitation and instruction to pray holds a holy and solemn power. Our prayers convey our hopes and needs to our God who loves us. Our prayers connect us to God’s own will for the world and our lives. Our prayers unite us with the whole people of God around the world. I still don’t always fully understand what it is to pray but I will always be in awe of the ways it works that I could never anticipate or imagine.
I invite you to consider that drive you may have felt over these past days and weeks to pray, not only on your own, but with others. Where might the Spirit be leading you in that feeling? How can it connect you with other faithful believers? How can a need based on a current crisis call you into a life-long posture of prayer for the needs of the world and the work of God among us?
Let us pray:
Open our hearts to your word, God. Invite us into a quietness of mind where we might hear you speaking. Unite us to your holy will for the good of the world you so love. Call us back to you, again and again, in Jesus’ name. Amen.