Bold Prayer
Hey Fourth Family.
If you’re like me, it is taking some time to adjust to this new normal of social distancing. Because my kids are home long term, it sort of feels like summer vacation, except that there is almost no where to go, and not much to do right now. It is only their fourth day home from school, but I’ve been impressed by my kids. They have a game of monopoly running, they’re doing crafts, getting outside, and even built an epic blanket fort. This picture doesn’t do it justice, but it literally fills up the entire den at the parsonage.
The image of that fort resonates with a Psalm that God has continuously placed on my mind and heart the last two weeks. Psalm 91 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.””
God is our Refuge and our Fortress and we are invited to dwell with him in the shelter he provides. Thinking about this idea of dwelling in the refuge of God, I’ve been struck by words from Kristi, and my sister-in-law Amy, which point to dwelling with God right now in prayer. Through email and Facebook, both of them are encouraging the church to pray boldly for God to move in the midst of all this uncertainty, and I believe we are wise to join them in praying boldly today.
- Pray for safety and health for the people around you.
- Pray for people working in healthcare, and their families.
- Pray for those who are loosing their jobs, and struggling to make ends meet.
- Pray for those in leadership who need to make hard decisions.
- Most of all, pray for God’s glory to be revealed in everything.
The last prayer request is vitally important right now. God can work through any situation to make his glory known, so pray that he would right now.
We all pray for the pandemic to end swiftly because we want our lives to return to normal, and we want the economy to not bottom out. We pray it will end swiftly so we don’t get sick. And all of that makes sense. But what if we prayed that it would end swiftly for God’s glory?
Imagine if God moved in such a way that people from every corner of the world could only react by acknowledging that God had moved. It might sound wild, but pray that God will provide an incredible turn in the situation so that people will be drawn to Jesus. If God’s allows this pandemic to last for a while, pray that he will still use it to show his glory to all people, so that folks living in the darkness can see the light of Jesus.
Pray, and keep on praying. Prayer keeps us rooted in the reality that God is ultimately in control, and can do incredible things in the midst of our hardship. Stop what you’re doing and enter the refuge of God right now with some bold praying.
Eric