Prayer

A big part of our spiritual life is centered on prayer. It is a vital way we link to God’s will and power for our life. Throughout the years how I pray and what I pray for have changed – matured, I hope.

As a child I remember praying:“Now I lay me down to sleep…” Later I began praying the Lord’s Prayer as a part of my devotional life. On occasion I’ve even written letters to God, prayers put down on paper to help me connect when my mind or spirit wandered. Of course, most of my prayers have been much more immediate and off the top of my head rather than simply a repetition of someone else’s good ideas.

As for the content, my prayers have ranged from foolishness to desperate pleas for deliverance and help. I once remember, after being awestruck by Christopher Reeve’s part in a 1980 movie, praying that God would let me fly like Superman. I also recall the fervent nature of pleading with God when Jennie’s parents and my father were diagnosed with cancer.

So what am I praying about these days? Among the frequent prayers for my family (yes, the pastor’s family needs prayer just like everyone else’s), and the frequent prayers for a variety of congregational needs (and yes, the pastor prays for you regularly), I’ve been praying that God will call Aldersgate to be the servant leaders necessary to accomplish God’s work in this place. I’m praying that the work we do here is real and vital ministry, not just busy work. That God will challenge our assumptions about many things, but especially about how we’ve determined what is crucial to the Gospel and what is just “wishing to fly like Superman.”

I’m praying that God gives us a boldness to take that risk. So often a congregation of our size and age (over 40 years in our current location) are held back by fear: fear of the unknown, fear of what might happen, fear that someone might get mad, fear someone might leave, fear that things could get worse, fear of what others might say, and fear we are trampling on the good work done in the past. I’m praying that God will comfort, confront, and challenge our fears. Aldersgate is a great church, and she has a great responsibility, but she cannot fulfill that responsibility unless God gives the strength and we answer the call. So, I’m praying that God put such a burden on our hearts for the world - the lost and the found - that we can’t do anything less than give God all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will be.

Rev. Tim