Good morning!
This Sunday we begin
a three week series on prayer.
When we think of
prayer we might think of prayer in a traditional sense, hands folded and
heads bowed for a few quiet moments. Or maybe we think of pastor-lead
prayers during worship. The best-known
prayer in the Christian tradition is the Lord’s Prayer and honestly, I
believe that in every moment of every day, someone somewhere on the planet is
praying the Lord ’s Prayer. Korean Christians use a form of prayer
called Tongsung Kido, which means “cry out together loudly” and in this sort
of prayer everyone gathered prays their own prayer out loud together and it
sounds like a roaring wind. Buddhists hang festoons of prayer flags.
I like the idea of sending up a flag as a means of prayer. Sort
of like saying “Help God! I am over here and I am ready to
surrender!” (If you sent up a flag today, what would it say?)
Buddhists also use prayer wheels that they spin as a means of prayer. Here at
WDMUMC, we have a labyrinth where
people can walk and pray. A week ago our prayer team hosted a Taize
service, a time of prayer and song and silence. Prayer shawls, prayer
cards, prayer beads.
I am not well
disciplined when it comes to prayer. Most of my prayers are done on the
fly. When I am in coffee shops and restaurants, I pray for everyone in
the room. I pray before worship and again before I preach. I
think singing and writing are forms of prayer. And lately, in the early morning, I linger in bed for a while and I have discovered that I
am praying without even realizing it. Often a message seems to be
waiting for me, as though God has been waiting all night for me to wake up
and listen. Maybe that is the best time to catch me before the very
human rush of the day disconnects me from any sense of the divine.
I suspect there are
as many ways to pray as there are people on the planet.
There is no perfect posture or perfect words. I don’t think
the way we pray is as important as our need to pray. All of us reaching out
to God. And the even more amazing thing: God listens and
responds.
What about
you? What’s your prayer practice? One ambitious church made a
list of 100 ways to pray. Do you have some suggestions?
Every blessing to
you today. Stay warm.
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines
United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue West Des Moines, Iowa 50265 515-279-0826
Like us on Facebook
or visit us at wdmumc.org
We worship at 8:30
(traditional) and 11 (casual) on Sunday mornings and we would love to worship
with you.
This week at WDMUMC:
MidWeek Refuel
Tonight! Suppers ready
tonight at 5:30! There’s no charge--just a free will offering, with the
proceeds going to feed hungry families and children in our
neighborhood.
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