Our inspiration for this week’s WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER comes from the key Scripture verse for our Summer Sermon Series that began last Sunday. “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) I have been thinking more about this truth and how it touches our approach to prayer. It seems that these days there is constant reference to “this time we are in.” We have ongoing reminders of the reality of the current pandemic and all the challenges it has initiated. When we bring our concerns to God in prayer, we are remembering that time and all that happens in any time is in God’s hands. We are wondering about and praying about what will happen from here. Even as we feel encouraged that there are more things reopening and there is evidence of some return to “normal”, we know that it is very precarious. We could well face a second wave as has been predicted. We cannot pretend that everything is fine because risks remain. In our choice to commit time and its many aspects and outcomes to God, we can be attentive to what God is doing in this time. We can pray and determine to be available every moment of the time we are in to utilize the opportunities God provides and for this season to bring about what God is arranging.
A short time ago, I had plugged my laptop in for the battery to recharge overnight. In the morning, I was puzzled why the battery was almost completely run down. Closer examination revealed that although the chord was plugged into the computer, the other end of the chord had not been plugged in to a power source. When I did plug into the electrical outlet, it wasn’t long until my device was fully charged. This experience got me reflecting that in a similar way, prayer is for us a time of recharging. We can get run down and our energy depleted with all that we are facing and trying to navigate through. It is essential to be recharged by plugging in to a reliable power source which is found in our God alone. Please plan to join us for PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow, Wednesday, July 15th at 1 pm. Our prayer time will see us committing to God for His time for everything and to welcome God’s season for every activity under the heavens.
Praying that God will actively reveal to us His time for everything, Pastor Lola
Our Awesome God as we come together again for prayer, we thank You that You hold the delicate balance of our Universe in Your hands. You have designed for there to be a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens. You continue to provide time and a pattern of Your grace for each new day. Thank You today for others who share our commitment to You in prayer. We think of those who are praying now at the same time as we pray. This time to pray is part of preparing us for whatever You have ahead for us. Our freedom to set aside a time to pray has been sustaining us in our faith and we want to keep on making time to pray. In our prayers, we recall what You have been showing us in our prayer times. Thank you for a bigger picture of who You are. Thank You for using this time to expand our desire to grow in our faith and to surrender even more to You in prayer. Thank You that we have come to recognize You as the power source in our times of prayer. Sometimes we find there are more and more circumstances and people that we need to bring to You in prayer. We aren’t sure how much more we can face. Thank You for this time of reassurance that we do not face any time or season in our lives alone. Please make this a time of refreshment and restoration for our souls. If we could not turn to you, what would we do? You are a loving Guide who checks the time and lets us know what is next. When we try to plan for the future, the complications of time ahead sometimes captures our attention and pulls us away from You. We are praying for a time of renewed energy and devotion to You LORD. When we have conversations with people with whom we do not agree about some things, we pray that You will use this time for us to clearly view You and the truth You invite us to explore. Please develop in us an everyday openness to You. Where we are unwilling to enter into something new and to move into a new time and season as individuals and as Your church, please forgive us and motivate us. When we have been dwelling in a time of disappointment, please move us into a time of blessing and anticipation of Your good timing. Sometimes we become very anxious about decisions that others are making and what that may bring about. We pray for a time of understanding and careful listening. We pray for a time for generosity, not a time of greed. We pray for a time of love, not a time of hate. LORD how strongly we sense that a time of love is so necessary. Please hear our prayers for our own families and friends. We give every aspect of the time we have to You and pray that we and our world will be shaped by You and Your time for everything. Please assist us in being who You want us to be as Your church in this time. We renew our commitment to Your will and your way. With quiet trust, we ask for Your time and not ours. We look to be recharged through our connection with you in prayer. Please work things together for good as only You can, in Your wise time for everything. In Jesus’ Name, we pray and anticipate that You will reveal what we need to receive Your gift of a time for everything. AMEN.