All I can do is pray... - Pastor Welty

Have you ever heard yourself say the words, "All I can do is pray".  Maybe you're in a situation where you feel very limited even though you want to do something.   Probably most of us have said something like that, and then we hopefully felt convicted by the words that came from our mouths as if praying was a throw away activity.

Recently our church held a memorial service for a long time member and matriarch to many of us, Betty Shirk.  She and her husband Norm were a vital part of our church for years. One of the things many of us remember about Betty was her vibrant prayer life.  When you had the opportunity to pray with her, it was a distinct privilege.  Her strong faith in God and her compassion for people made her prayers covetable. 

As she got older and her life became more limited physically. She at times wondered why she was still here, after all her husband had gone to be with the Lord.  "Why am I still here?", she would ask.  Our answer would be,  "Because we need you to pray for us."  That was true, but who of us would want to be set aside like that just so we could pray.

This year the words "corona virus" and "Covid-19" forced their way into our vocabularies and into our world.  This virus is causing our world to slow down and in some cases shut down.  This will likely cause us to suspend gathering for Sunday worship for the time being.   Many of us love to gather to worship:  to sing our praises to God, to pray together, to study God's word and fellowship - or hang out with each other.  We may have to rely on technology to have a somewhat limited worship experience from our own homes.

Perhaps we should see this as a time to  be still, and know that He is God; to see Him exalted among the nations and in the earth.  (Psalm 46:10).  For us to pray in our homes to see God exalted in our world in the midst of these difficult circumstances.  We may not enjoy the necessary sequestration, but perhaps we can see it as an opportunity to spend time away from our usual frenetic lifestyles, so we can focus on God and family.  Maybe we can learn from our dear friend, Betty and not be dismissive of prayer as the only thing we can do, but may our perspective be changed as we realize that when we pray we are entering the presence of Almighty God.

Several years ago Stephen Curtis Chapman wrote a song entitled "Great Expectations" You can hear the song and read the lyrics at this link  Great Expectations

In the song he talks about the familiarity of prayer, and how we enter into prayer repeating the words and phrases somewhat by rote, but then something shifts as we think about where we are . Here are the words to the chorus that change our perspective on prayer.

But dare I go where I don't understand  
And do I dare remember where I am
I stand before the great eternal throne 
The one that God Himself is seated on and I,
I've been invited as a son Oh I,  
I've been invited to come and
Believe the unbelievable 
Receive the inconceivable
And see beyond my wildest imagination 
Lord, I come with great expectations

I invite you to see this time of being sequestered as an opportunity to seek God, to call out to God for our nation and our world, to come with Great Expectations.  Claim his promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 " ... if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."  Believe in Him to redeem this situation in an incredibly creative way for His glory. That sounds like something our Heavenly Father would love to do.