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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