Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
—James 5.13-16
Prayer is powerful, but not like the supposed power of Uri Geller who claimed to bend spoons by pure mental influence. The power of prayer is not in us, or in our prayer. It is in God. So we don’t “pray hard.” We pray soft. We pray not as a tool, but a gift, not a demand, but an awareness. Prayer is not a crowbar for our will, even if our hopes are righteous and worthy, but immersion in God’s grace. We open ourselves to God, the loving indwelling Presence, who prays in us. We give our desires to the Creator, whose infinite power creates the world anew, including us and those for whom we pray. God’s loving, healing presence takes over us, and our lives become more fully and wholly for God’ sake alone. There is power in that which may or may not have the outcome I want, but it makes this world heaven.
Loving One,
I give you my heart
and all its longings:
heal my sister…
bring peace on earth…
protect the children…
give me wisdom….
I rest in you,
who create in me.
Your hope breathes in me;
your love becomes mine;
your desire possesses me—
for my sister’s life…
for the world’s healing…
for the eyes of my heart….
I give myself and all my energies
to your delight.
I give my mind to you…
I give my sister to you..
I give all peoples to you.
Creator of the universe, create in me.
Lover of all beings, fill me with your love,
and trust in your mercy and grace.
Great One, whose Oneness heals all things,
may I be a power for your delight,
for the healing of the world.
Beloved, be my love,
my hope,
my life.
Amen.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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