I’m grateful there are so many avenues to prayer. As a child, I learned about prayer through words–through the prayers I was taught, through the Scripture, and through the prayers I made up. But I’ve learned through my own despair that words can’t always break through the deadbolts on my heart and mind.
As God has given us many ways to learn, so I think we are given many ways to connect to God: reading, speaking, thinking, seeing, drawing, moving, walking, singing, writing, listening, sharing, praising, worshiping, studying, loving…. These are the ones I can think of right now. I bet there are an infinite number of ways, tailor-made for each of us. I can’t wait to see what avenue God leads me to next. Thanks be to God!
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers…. Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
This is a prayer for my friend Mary Ann. Mary Ann was just diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. If I let my mind take over I will worry about the symptoms, the diagnosis, the treatment, the prognosis, and all of the details of the illness. Instead, I will try to turn over Mary Ann and my worry to God. Everytime I look at the drawing, I will see her as God’s child in God’s hands. There’s no better place in heaven or on earth.
One morning when I went to the YMCA, I noticed the “Thought for the Day” basket which lives in the entry way was missing for the second day in a row. I count on those colorful little strips to jump start my spiritual brain and give me something to ponder for the day. I reported the missing basket to the front desk. By the time I had finished my stint on the basketball court and the elliptical machine, the basket was back in its usual spot full of tasty prayer morsels.
So here’s what my pink prayer said:
Dross is not a word we use much in daily conversation. I first read it in the Bible as a kid and sang about it in the hymn, How Firm A Foundation–”Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.” I always knew it was a negative word by context, but never bothered to look it up. According to Merriam-Webster on-line, the dross is “the scum that forms on the surface of molten metal.” It also refers to any impurities or waste material.
I really do want God to “cleanse me of all my dross” on a regular basis. When I allow sin to accumulate like scum in my spiritual arteries, it clogs my heartway to God, distorts my thoughts and prayers, and weighs me down with judgment and cynicism. “Fire” is one of the lovely paradoxes of the universe–both destructive and beneficial. The terrible devastation of a forest fire paves the way for new and different growth.
So after God “burns through me,” I hope I will not be just cleansed but re-ignited with a new flame and a fiery zeal for the Lord. I want to live into what John the Baptist says in Luke 3:16: “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (NIV)
Yesterday, as indicated in my blog post, I was in a bad place. But the bad place led me to some good things. Or maybe I should say Jesus led me to some good things.
The first thing I did was read Pastor Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional called the Secret to Managing Frustrations. It made me recognize I was in the midst of a major pity party. I’m not opposed to pity parties. They’re wake-ups calls. But when they last into the night and through the next day, they’re more like a drunken binge with its resultant hangover.
The second thing I did was drag myself out the door to a Zumba class. Exercising for me is not a luxury or a distraction (though it sometimes does that); it is a necessary part of my physical, spiritual, and mental health. It’s about taking care of the whole “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1Corinthians 6:19 NRSV).
The third thing I did was sit down and pray. I knew my words would get me in trouble so I pulled out my black roller ball pen and drew. I kept my focus on the name of Jesus as I made layers of circles around His name. The words from the Nicole C. Mullen song Call on Jesus came into my head: But when I call on Jesus
All things are possible
I can mount on wings like eagles and soar
When I call on Jesus
Mountains are gonna fall
‘Cause He’ll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call
The final gift of the morning was lunch with a Christian friend whom I had not talked to in a year. For an hour and a half she listened, really listened and made me feel loved. The timing of this meeting was no accident. I guess sometimes “Oh Jesus” is prayer enough.
Lyrics: Call on Jesus, Nicole C. Mullen, Talk About It (CD), Word, 2005
When I’m in despair, I can’t even find a verb for my prayers. Some days the only honest prayer that comes out of my mouth is, “Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus,….” Today is one of those days.
Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God combines memoir with theology. Step-by step instructions introduce the practice of praying in color as a way to do intercessory prayer. »ABOUT SYBIL MACBETH
