Thank You Very Sweet

On Saturday morning I went for a walk with my friend Erin from seminary and then later had coffee and a muffin with her and her husband, Evan – also a seminary friend.  Erin and I enjoy rich conversation over spiritual matters and this week she shared that she has been exploring what it means to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

My initial reaction was that unceasing prayer is faithless.  If you ask over and over for the same things, then it means that you don’t have faith that your prayers will be answered. But Evan chimed in with a different view, suggesting that the meaning of prayer is to draw you into solidarity with others.  We should pray unceasingly in order to remain connected. 

We agreed that we didn’t have the answers and moved on in our conversation.

However, In the time since Saturday (its Monday) I have been privy to three strikingly painful stories involving three different people that I really love.  In each situation I was faced with the reality that I don’t have the answers and that I cant fix things for my friends. 

So instead I prayed. 

I prayed for wisdom and strength as they shared. I prayed that GOD’s LOVE would flow through me as I listened and responded to their stories.  I prayed for words to say that are wise and true.

And now I am praying for these three and others.  I am praying that GRACE flows through them and aids them in their healing; gathering the broken and torn pieces and mending them back together.  I am praying for LOVE to permeate the systems in which they function, eradicating external factors that are intensifying their pain.

I am overflowing with empathy and compassion for my loved ones in this moment and I am with them as they explore life’s difficult questions. 

Why is life so hard?

I don’t know. But I am praying. Without ceasing.

They are truly amazing, those lessons that LIFE brings when we start paying attention.