National Day of something or other

Apr 30, 2008 at 6:54 AM
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A friend sent out a mass email this morning about tomorrow being the National Day of Prayer and how important it is to pray. And my initial reaction was strong and negative. It was “What good is prayer when hearts and minds of the people are already made up and God has been stuffed in a tiny little church shaped box, sealed with a kiss and put on the upper shelf in the closet?”

Uh…

yeah!

Surprised me too!

And this is exactly what pastor preached about Sunday. He talked about how we quit praying when we get disillusioned about how ineffective our prayers sometimes feel. And I watched a beautiful couple come forward and pray again for children. And since I’ve been there I about lost it. I was playing piano and could clearly see the pain in their prayer. It was horrible in a really risky vulnerable beautiful sort of way. Lots of tears and in that little clump of praying faithful ones.

So… I’m trying to wriggle my way out of my unbelief and fatalism and try on something a little more like hope and faith… Yeah, let’s pray for our nation tomorrow. Not because it’s the National Day of Prayer (which means little to me.) But because God is big enough to change hearts and minds, and prayer is still the avenue he chooses to use to bring about that change. We need Him. I need Him. I have friends who need Him. My children need Him. Yeah, but most of all I need Him.

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RachelElizabeth wrote:
Apr 30, 2008

[this is good]

Why thank you!
I enjoyed reading your post. I agree completely.

RachelElizabeth wrote:
Apr 30, 2008

[this is good]

That is from the movie Smoke Signals which I highly reccomend. It's a beautiful and funny movie. I love it. It really spoke to me as I had been dealing with forgiving my dad for abandoning my mother and I. I finally was able to accept him and his problems, and just love him as Jesus does. I can truly say that the love I have for him is not my own. :]

Judy wrote:
May 1, 2008

I enjoyed this post, Artzy. It well expresses the frustrations many have...and speaks truth.
I was a local coordinator for National Day of Prayer in 2001 and 2002.
You may find it refreshing to know that although there is a mainstream program/theme, creativity is allowed with NDP involvement. I encourage people to get involved. Usually when we see a gap, it's because the Lord sees a need and is asking it to be filled.

In 2001, it seemed the heart of the Lord for our part was to a focus on unity. The event brought some churches together; and out of that came a summer full of Christian activities in the town park, which culminated with an event titled "The Reenactments". These reenactments were the efforts of 3-4 churches that pulled together and put on drama productions of various biblical accounts (the raising of Lazarus, for example). In between productions, music was provided by various groups involved with an organization called Regional Christian Artists.
This effort also laid the groundwork by making a prophetic statement on unity, as it became a reality (at least for awhile) as a result of 911.
In 2002, unity was built upon by the participation of other churches preparing for NDP. The worship team was made up of people from various churches and the theme was for the Body to repent because the Lord is getting serious with us and that pastors needed to lead the way.

Blessings to you and I hope that this encourages someone to pick up the ball and run (to the Lord for direction!).

:o)