Prayer Without Words
Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul.
It is daily admission of one's weakness.
It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
Mahatma Gandhi
Today we held our first Zoom online and dial-in worship and fellowship gathering. It seems so strange that our times of feeling most connected to each other is not in physical reality--it's in "virtual reality." A teleconference or conference call is virtually like meeting in person, as in not quite real or tangible. But it was still wonderful to see your faces and hear your voices. At any given moment, there were 25-30 of us--all listening, some being able to interact with me and each other.
We all agreed that we feel helpless in the midst of all that is happening around us. We pray with great fervor--yet it still feels like we should be able to do MORE to help others. We can send money to the church and to charities helping the people who are hungry and out of work and frightened. We can send emails and texts and have conversations with folks who are just as sick of staying home as we are. But at the foundation of everything we can or cannot do to make a terrible situation better...there is prayer.
A friend and I agreed recently that this COVID-19 situation has driven us deeper into our faith and deeper into prayer. We can't just mosey on as usual in our daily lives OR in our spiritual lives. Painful times call for deeper prayer--perhaps so deep that all we can do is feel. Words simply cannot express the depths of our souls.
I believe God hears those kinds of prayers--maybe more intensely than our usual rote surface-level prayers. When we allow our souls to simply feel and yearn for the Divine--that is when we are the most connected to God. We become part of the flow of the Spirit, and by entering that flow, we are able to simply BE with our God. No words required. Every emotion encouraged. Tears of fear or despair or deep, deep longing welcomed.
There is a lot more required of us for our spiritual well-being during this time of disruption and disease. Every day, we need to seek out our time of silence. Turn off the TV or radio or talking book. Sit outdoors or where you can at least see the outdoors--open a window to hear the springtime birds simply going about their springtime business. And allow yourself to FEEL whatever it is that you need to feel--then offer those emotions up to God. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Prayer Requests (from this morning's gathering): Stuart & Sharon Porter--Stu is seriously ill at home; Kirk Stauffer & family as they mourn Cheryl's death and Kirk is still ill at home; Loretta Booth, ill at home; Jan Gardner's sister Francy who is seriously ill; Zach, Stacey & Rosalie Morris.
For protection for all our first responders, nurses, doctors, aides, law enforcement personnel--everyone who is fighting on our behalf against this coronavirus.
These are names of people specifically lifted up: Jennifer Gaddis, Tye Sprague, Jan Gardner, Chris Ludington, Jordan Haley, Chelsea Nofsinger, Kaitlyn Whited, Julie Thomas, Kami Hoffheins, Bryce Durbin.
Please continue to send names to Pastor Jean for our prayers...
Prayer is the longing of our soul. It will be enough.
Peace and all good,
Pastor Jean
It is daily admission of one's weakness.
It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
Mahatma Gandhi
Today we held our first Zoom online and dial-in worship and fellowship gathering. It seems so strange that our times of feeling most connected to each other is not in physical reality--it's in "virtual reality." A teleconference or conference call is virtually like meeting in person, as in not quite real or tangible. But it was still wonderful to see your faces and hear your voices. At any given moment, there were 25-30 of us--all listening, some being able to interact with me and each other.
We all agreed that we feel helpless in the midst of all that is happening around us. We pray with great fervor--yet it still feels like we should be able to do MORE to help others. We can send money to the church and to charities helping the people who are hungry and out of work and frightened. We can send emails and texts and have conversations with folks who are just as sick of staying home as we are. But at the foundation of everything we can or cannot do to make a terrible situation better...there is prayer.
A friend and I agreed recently that this COVID-19 situation has driven us deeper into our faith and deeper into prayer. We can't just mosey on as usual in our daily lives OR in our spiritual lives. Painful times call for deeper prayer--perhaps so deep that all we can do is feel. Words simply cannot express the depths of our souls.
I believe God hears those kinds of prayers--maybe more intensely than our usual rote surface-level prayers. When we allow our souls to simply feel and yearn for the Divine--that is when we are the most connected to God. We become part of the flow of the Spirit, and by entering that flow, we are able to simply BE with our God. No words required. Every emotion encouraged. Tears of fear or despair or deep, deep longing welcomed.
There is a lot more required of us for our spiritual well-being during this time of disruption and disease. Every day, we need to seek out our time of silence. Turn off the TV or radio or talking book. Sit outdoors or where you can at least see the outdoors--open a window to hear the springtime birds simply going about their springtime business. And allow yourself to FEEL whatever it is that you need to feel--then offer those emotions up to God. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Prayer Requests (from this morning's gathering): Stuart & Sharon Porter--Stu is seriously ill at home; Kirk Stauffer & family as they mourn Cheryl's death and Kirk is still ill at home; Loretta Booth, ill at home; Jan Gardner's sister Francy who is seriously ill; Zach, Stacey & Rosalie Morris.
For protection for all our first responders, nurses, doctors, aides, law enforcement personnel--everyone who is fighting on our behalf against this coronavirus.
These are names of people specifically lifted up: Jennifer Gaddis, Tye Sprague, Jan Gardner, Chris Ludington, Jordan Haley, Chelsea Nofsinger, Kaitlyn Whited, Julie Thomas, Kami Hoffheins, Bryce Durbin.
Please continue to send names to Pastor Jean for our prayers...
Prayer is the longing of our soul. It will be enough.
Peace and all good,
Pastor Jean
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