For example, I’ve been praying for a little boy who has terminal brain cancer. His four year old life will be ending soon. I pray for his pain to be over and for grace to embrace him, his parents, family and friends. Again, it’s that simple prayer for the peace of God that passes all understanding.
Sometimes I have piles of chatter going on in my head about prayer, but today my mind is pretty still about it. It’s not that prayer isn’t there, but that it’s pretty simple. Behind all my conversation with God is that deep, steady place where I just pray that God will bring peace and grace to the people I’m praying for.
For example, I’ve been praying for a little boy who has terminal brain cancer. His four year old life will be ending soon. I pray for his pain to be over and for grace to embrace him, his parents, family and friends. Again, it’s that simple prayer for the peace of God that passes all understanding.
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Early morning walk. Well, somewhat early. I set out at 7:30, passing a few walkers and one jogger along the way. There is something about the morning that encouraged me to walk a longer route-- I could have kept going all over town. No guilt about starting the day doing ‘nothing’. Yes, I was exercising, but mainly I was talking and listening to God. My talk went something like this, “Well, God, what do you want me to do? You know that I don’t want to do a lot, that I want to sit in the silence with you, that I want to lead a simple life, that I want to pray for people, and that I need solitude for that.” “That’s what I want you to do. Does that answer your question?” “Yes. Help me surrender. I feel so many obstacles.” That was all I could hear but it is enough to ponder. I have some thought that I need to live from my heart more than from my head, that I have to keep looking through a God lens. From the deck this afternoon. What a day! I wrote about it on my acottagebythesea.net blog. In summary, it’s about how going to yoga class disrupted the silence, solitude and simplicity of my time at the cottage. Big learning lesson. Afterwards, as I sat on the deck eating my lunch and reflecting on the experience, it became clear that God was ‘telling’ me to stop being so busy, so active all the time. Yes, exercise is important for my health, and particularly to strengthen my bones, but that I don’t need to overdo my planning and activity. With that, I felt incredible freedom, which is still there. And yes, as the expression goes, “God is still speaking,” this time in my afternoon reading. From Isaiah 58:11 I read: The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a a spring of water, whose waters never fail.” Othona Community "In the power of the Spirit we make ourselves available” (Norman Motley). Maybe that’s the ultimate prayer, just making ourselves available to God, which reminds me of Isaiah, “Here I am Lord, send me” (6.8). A sense of letting go, a confidence in whatever happens. I know that’s the way to pray, but I also know that it is the kind of abandonment that doesn’t happen without all sorts of on-going human discussion and bargaining with God. For example, recently in the news I read about a big prayer meeting called to pray for the “right” weather. As you know from my previous blogs, I don’t believe in that kind of prayer, but I grapple with the idea. And, am I the only one who dares confess to finding myself praying for a parking space? At the moment. I am praying for a miracle, a cancer cure for a friend, and I feel just fine about that. Getting involved in God’s business is a very human affair, which I’m thinking has got to be a necessary part of the prayer process. if I want to arrive at that place of surrender, of open, exposed availability, I have to do my human part. I find that after I pray for my particulars, I am more apt to end by saying, “ Well, there it is God. I’m available for whatever the power of the Spirit offers.” In my interest to learn about Norman Motely, I came the the Othona Community. From it’s website: http://www.othona.org/ “The Othona Community had its origin in the work of Norman Motley as an RAF chaplain in the Second World War. He started what became known as the 'Nails Movement', which offered people a chance to debate issues arising from their wartime experience.” Tree planted in celebration of Mom's 100 birthday. My visit to my mom yesterday was more than I could have asked or imagined. A truly prayerful time. I woke up after a good night’s sleep to a beautiful morning and nothing on my calendar. A half hour later I was on the road. The trip takes a little over two and a half hours, but I could drive the route in my sleep, and I have book on tape and my blue tooth. I’m set. Mom’s world is very small these days, but she is still knows who I am and thanks me several times for coming. She can’t hear unless I shout right in her ear and her 101 year old brain doesn’t make many connections or remember much from the past, so very few words pass between us. But she smiles, says thank you and holds my hand. I am not advocating that people live as long as my mom, at least not as a goal. But, for those living into those later years, when they can’t make many decisions or take care of all their personal needs, my mom offers a breathtaking example of how to sit in the peace. More than that, she provides all of us with a simple way to be with these very old people. As I was leaving, just when I thought I had Mom all figured out, she asked, “Do you have your keys?” A truly prayerful comment. Clearly I make the visit for her and for me. Giving and receiving doesn’t get any better than this. |
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