Other people in the circle began praying aloud, and their words finished where mine trailed off. It was like an orchestra, where the violin has the pick up notes and the entire orchestra joins in the next measure, escalating, crescendoing into an overlap of melodies that fit together to make heart-melting music. It was marvelous. And I wanted to hold that moment forever.
That moment where I felt so incompetent, but God answered. He surrounded me with His people to whom He had given the words and, hearing their petitions for this woman, I eventually paused my own prayer and just listened, echoing their words in my heart and saying "Si, Senor. Gracias Dios." (Yes Lord, Thank you God.) We held hands, uniting in our petition, and I listened as the prayers ebbed and flowed, and, after awhile, slowly waned until people were repeating one after the other, "en el nombre de Cristo" (in the name of Jesus). Not missing a beat, nor waiting for an awkward silence, another launched into his prayer, playing the next pick up notes, and the resounding chorus began again.
It reminded me of this passage:
Romans 8:26-27
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
My whole life I've wrestled with prayer. How to pray? What words to say? I know God cares more about your heart than the words you say, and that prayer is simply talking with God. But to know that God loves us so much even to give us Christ as our intercessor, standing at the right hand of God pleading for us. Which in itself is powerful. Then, He's also given us the Holy Spirit to express praises and petitions we don't have the words for or sometimes don't even realize are on our prayer list until God prods that part of our soul. So what is stopping us from praying?
In my phonics class, we start every session with prayer. With us, gringos praying, that is. Our first prayers went something like this: "Gracias Dios por ese dia. Gracias por esa clase. Ayudanos para aprender mas espanol. Amen." It was difficult, because I felt I couldn't express the real desires and gratitude on my heart. I knew God understood; He knows our thoughts and requests even before we open our mouths. (which is very reassuring and somewhat alarming sometimes).
Even so, I found myself being even more careful in prayer, selective of what words I used and hoping they made sense.
Then, I led a study on prayer for the women's bible study at school, and through it, realized prayer is more about enjoying that fellowship with God and listening to Him. And intercession is a tremendous gift. Intercession is uniting with others in acknowledging we can enter into God's presence only through the blood of Jesus Christ, and God uses this time to conform our desires to His, to teach us oneness through pleading on behalf of the other.
Here are two long quotes that I love. May you be inspired as you pray:
"Why does God need our prayers? If He knows what is best for someone, why doesn't He just do it without involving us? That's the other dimension of the oneness Jesus prayed for. He came not only to make us one with God, but to call us into oneness with each other. The reconciliation He died and rose to provide, and returned to impart, is both vertical and horizontal; it is with God and between us and others. That's why intercessory prayer is so crucial. The Lord wants us to be to one another what He has been to us in love, forgiveness, and unlimited concern. The mystery of it all is that often He will not bless another until we pray. When we do pray, His love flows through us to the other person." --Lloyd John Ogilvie (pastor/author)
Prayer is the soul's sincere desire
Unuttered or expressed
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast
Prayer is the burden of a sigh
The falling of a tear
The upward gleaming of an eye
When none but God is near.
Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high:
Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,
The Christian's native air,
His watch-word at the gates of death,
He enters heaven by prayer.
Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice,
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And say, Behold he prays!
The saints in prayer appear as one,
In word, in deed, in mind,
When with the Father and the Son
Their fellowship they find.
Nor prayer is made on earth alone:
The Holy Spirit pleads;
And Jesus, on th' eternal throne,
For sinners intercedes.
'O Thou, by whom we come to God!
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer thyself hast trod,
Lord, teach us how to pray!'"
Unuttered or expressed
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast
Prayer is the burden of a sigh
The falling of a tear
The upward gleaming of an eye
When none but God is near.
Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high:
Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,
The Christian's native air,
His watch-word at the gates of death,
He enters heaven by prayer.
Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice,
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And say, Behold he prays!
The saints in prayer appear as one,
In word, in deed, in mind,
When with the Father and the Son
Their fellowship they find.
Nor prayer is made on earth alone:
The Holy Spirit pleads;
And Jesus, on th' eternal throne,
For sinners intercedes.
'O Thou, by whom we come to God!
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer thyself hast trod,
Lord, teach us how to pray!'"
(James Montgomery, 1818, poet/hymn writer)
No comments:
Post a Comment