Sacramental Living

We have many candles all around the room, incense in different forms, floor lamps, etc. Only a few candles are lit at the beginning and people are encouraged to make the room their own while praying: light candles, light incense, flip on a light, turn everything off and sit in the dark.

It’s interesting to see what each person chooses to do. Some leave things as they were when they entered. Some totally transform the room. There is a metaphor of Christ’s kingdom somewhere in there.

Hours 4 & 5 … an interesting study. One lady comes with her eldest daughter — a second-grader. She enters and they both pray. They exit quietly, the mother in tears. Outside the prayer room she meets the husband of the lady who has just entered for hour of prayer. They are even now getting to know each other better … Sundays aren’t a good time for learning more about each other. It’s fun to hear the conversations of people in different stages of life. One an empty-nester, the other with elementary and adolescent parenting years ahead. One a northerner, the other a girl of the south.

There is beautiful diversity within unity in the church. If we would encourage that, what might Christ do in and through and around us?

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
Is there someone in your faith community whose story you don’t know?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

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Tags: praying, diversity within unity, story

Here’s a question that some who did not commit to an hour of prayer have asked (and one I’m continuing to ask myself during this time): Why would we pray for 24 hours straight?

Think about it. Is anyone “watching?” We are essentially cooping ourselves up in the church building and focusing on God aren’t we?

Maybe it’s just a matter of a group of people joining in a concerted effort to put our lives at the feet of Jesus and see where this unique God will lead us.

Maybe our entire understanding of life in Christ will change. Maybe we will finally see this community, our families, our neighbors, our enemies, and strangers as Jesus sees them. Maybe we will step out of this time of praying into lives of prayer that are partnering with God in mission.

Hour 2 … a scattered and overworked lady comes in a bit late after getting off work much later than anticipated. She braves the thunderous downpour. Her husband (my smiling friend who lost part of his leg last year and is confined to a wheelchair) realizes it’s not the best decision for her to help him into the vehicle in the thunderstorm. He stays home and commits to pray during this time. She stays past the one-hour commitment, letting her will be swept into God’s will.

Hour 3 … a wonderful couple who are grandparents with custody of two young grandchildren leave the two little girls with someone and join together in an hour of prayer. Their lives are hard. They spend their lives for the sake of others. They are now open to Christ’s possibilities.

What will come of these personal stories? What is the purpose of sacrificing time, resource, even sanity in order to pray for an hour? Again, why are we doing this?

So that God might have his way with us. So that we might be changed into “little Christs” in our world. So that we won’t miss what God is doing and how we can be a part of it.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
Why do you pray?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

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Tags: prayer, church, Jesus, sacrificing

So the faith community I serve is engaging in a 24-hour prayer vigil which began about 24 minutes ago (6pm on Friday, August 31). My wife is praying for the first hour. I am on a 6-hour stretch of being the “prayer attendant” before spending my hour in prayer.

When I talked about this with our vision ministry team, there was excitement, surprise, wonder. But I could tell they were thinking exactly what I was thinking: “Can we get 24 people to sign up and commit to an hour … and then actually pray for an hour?”

(By the way: Heather has just reached the 30-minute mark so I think she’ll come through!)

I was delighted. The hours between midnight and 6am were the first to fill up. It’s daunting for many … what do we pray about for an hour?

We produced a guide with some suggestions on what and how to pray for an hour. Here’s a few of the items:

Prepare Yourself–
Begin with a period of silence, acknowledging the presence of the Holy Spirit. You may want to repeat phrases such as: “Lord, thank you for inviting me to be here. Help me to hear what you want me to know about You and what Your purposes are for me.� Calm your spirit and center on God’s love for all people. Still your soul by focusing on a point of reference (cross, candle).

Beginning Thoughts–
“O God, You have declared me perfect in Your eyes: You have always cared for me in my distress; I know You hear me as I call again. Have mercy on me. Hear my prayer.�

I’ll post some more of how it goes and suggestions for prayer (and my personal experience) as it unfolds. Right now, a coastal storm is blowing through. Wonder if that will deter anyone from making their hour of commitment? We have taken the understanding that all prayer is offering our entire selves to the will of God and letting ourselves be aligned with Christ. So, here’s to offering up!

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
Have you ever prayed for an hour straight? What was it like for you?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Tags: prayer vigil, pray