Providence Presbyterian Church - Powdersville SC

Lord of my greatest fear: Let in your peace. Lord of my darkest shame: Let in your grace.

Lord of my oldest grudge: Let in your forgiveness. Lord of my deepest anger: Let in your love.

Lord of my loneliest moment: Let in your presence. Lord of my truest self – my all: Let in your fullness.”

When life throws “stuff” into our paths, we begin to think about prayer…regardless of how serious the “stuff” is. When I was a teenager, my girlfriends and I were often trying different styles, different boyfriends and always trying to diet to achieve that’ perfect’ look. We came up with clever mottos to go with whatever phase we were in. What this meant was we would remember the act that took just an instant but could remain with us forever. I like to apply this phrase to the process of prayer. A prayer takes just a matter of seconds to utter, but its influence on our lives, on our behavior, on our hearts and on our perceptions, can be permanent. A moment on our lips is a lifetime on our souls. A simple prayer can change us; can lead us on the path to healing ourselves and our world. Prayer is not a passive activity. Prayer alters us. It awakens us. Our eyes begin to notice beauty where we never noticed it before. Our hearts begin to feel compassion we never knew we had. Our priorities shift. As we talk to God, we receive the encouragement to live up to the potential inside us. Soon we start to see beyond ourselves into the world that is waiting for our help.

I believe God listens to us, even when we don’t feel it. And I believe God answers us, even when it isn’t what we want. God’s reply might come as the strength to continue on; it may come as the courage to face what we have been fearing; God’s answer may be the ability to accept what we have been denying; or it may appear as hope in the face of despair. God is neither distant nor deaf. We are not alone. God is present in our lives. When we stop bargaining with God and start opening up our souls to God, our prayers suddenly start working. We can pray for strength and receive strength. Prayer is ultimately an experience, not a request. It is a sense of being connected, of being part of something larger than ourselves. It is an attempt to be in the presence of God.

Praying with a community alters us. Often when life hurts we pray by ourselves and assume that we are alone in our pain. When we enter a community such as we are blessed to have, our eyes open up. We see that we are not alone in our pain – there are others who suffer too. And we also realize that we are not alone in the world, there are dozens of people praying for us, extending their arms to help. Suddenly the nature of our prayers begin to change. We stop praying for ourselves alone. Before long we being adding others to our prayers. We begin praying for our world. We begin to see our own troubles in a new light. Perhaps things aren’t as bad as they seemed after all.
Keep prayer as a daily ritual – even if it is while you are in your car, sitting for an appointment, e-mail or talking. Prayer is our guide when we are lost and helps be the balm for many wounded souls…and keep forwarding our many requests for prayers for our people…they are being head and God is working in and among the people of Providence.
Grace and peace, Becky