Hello everyone!
If you haven’t met me already, I am Priscilla, the intern
here at WDM UMC this summer! Pastor Cindy is still in Cuba, so this week’s
devotion will be from me!
Aside from this internship, I am also taking an engineering
class online, which required me to take a midterm exam just this past Monday. I
am required to take this exam through a proctor who submits my exam online.
Shortly after, I receive an email confirming that the exam has been received by
the department. I waited anxiously to receive my confirmation email; I needed
to know that everything had gone through! But as I sat there, impatiently
anticipating the response, oddly enough, it reminded me of prayer.
I thought about how when we pray, we submit our thoughts and
petitions. But how do we know if they are heard? To be honest with you, I have
been struggling with this question for a while now. How do you know what to say
to an all-knowing God? If God knows our every thought even before we do, what
then is the purpose of prayer?
This also makes me think about the phrase: “thoughts and
prayers,” that is used too often today. The phrase is said so often, and by
so many people, that it has seemingly lost its significance. When tragedies
happen, we are quick to pray. It is pretty easy to mutter a quick prayer and
move on to the next thing on the to-do list. Praying is certainly not an
inappropriate response to circumstances that arise, but I believe that it is
only the first step.
I see prayer as a part of a mechanism. It is like a compass
that guides you in the right direction. Prayer is not just a substitute for
action, but rather an active conversation with the Holy Spirit. And a
conversation means that traffic goes both ways. It means that while we lift our
thanks and requests up to God, we also assume a posture of listening.
When reflecting on my own spiritual life, I think about how
I can sometimes get into the habit of physically praying, but not spiritually.
I can close my eyes and say all the right words, just to realize that when
I say “Amen,” I have no idea the significance of the words I just uttered. And
it is difficult to focus, when you have been saying the Lord’s Prayer or
singing the same hymn for several years, to pay close attention to exactly what
it is you are reciting.
But I find that when I stop and really think about
the words that are forming my prayers, things can look quite a bit different. I
think that prayer is like a zipper that opens up new possibilities and new
opportunities. When we allow ourselves to become completely vulnerable, and
speak those things that are deep within us, that is when the Holy Spirit can
start to work with us.
So, you have said your prayer. What is God telling you to do
next?
Blessings,
Priscilla
Priscilla Joel
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