Prayer, a time to trust God
On Sundays mornings, we as a church, set aside a significant part of our time together to praise God and to pray for others. It’s when we let each other in on where and how we see God making Himself real to us. Some simply praise Him for any one of His attributes or His character.Some recognize His bigness and creativity in our natural surroundings. Some confess a settling or compromising of His best for us. It’s a very encouraging time for all.
It’s also a place to go to God on behalf of others. So, folks will ask for prayer for a wide variety of concerns. Someone may be facing cancer or one of many injuries or ailments or know someone who is. There’s the concern some have for those on the other side of the world who face persecution for their faith. We pray for our local and global leaders to make smart decisions. We pray for those greiving a loss. We pray for folks like first responders who see and deal with events most of don’t have to. We ask God to resolve the injustices in the world. We pray for wisdom for each other in the decisions we make.
We gather to praise God and pray. Then we wait. Then we trust. No doubt we struggle with the wait. Certainly I do. How long God, how long! Will you, can you? Or as my ship is sinking, let’s make a deal, God. If we’re honest with ourselves this could be the conflict we live with. Do I trust God with this that is of the utmost importance or do I put my faith in others or myself? Am I saying one thing and doing another? What it’s like as we wait? Sometimes it’s only weeks when we see the results of our petetioning. Sometimes it may be years. Sometimes we might never see the results.
In our culture these days to wait, to trust are not very popular ways of thinking. Yet, I’m convinced prayer is one more place, one more venue, in which we are to trust God with all our heart leaning not on the way we see things, but in all we do acknowledge Him and He will keep us on track. From beginning to end and all that is in between this truly is a life of faith so, take a deep sigh of relief, drop the shoulders and trust God.
Bruce Macek is pastor at Newman Community Bible Church, 9230 Sagle Road, Sagle.