Prayer's Catch & Release

I had an interesting morning, yesterday. Driving along, allowing the Holy Spirit to work through me as I prayed over situations and family and friends.

Then, the prompting hit...prayer's catch. A college friend came to mind and the prayer began. And when I thought I was done praying... no, you're not done yet. Continued praying some more. Thought I was done, but no... no release.

Some 8-10 minutes later... I finally felt a release of the Spirit; to pray about other people, other matters. But not until there were tears on my face as I sat in traffic, waiting to proceed through a construction zone.

So often we pray and it's easy to move through situations and individuals and on to what or whoever may be next. I had opportunity late last night to find the friend online and encourage them, that they were doing good work, faithful to the plan and purpose God had for their life; that they should keep the faith and continue to fight the good fight. Nobody likes being passed over, nor readily dismissed. Neither should our prayers take on similar characteristics of our time and consideration.

Consider the massive amounts of people and circumstance that flood the church offices on any given day. In a place and time where it would be easy to offer a quick prayer, a short Scripture and a succinct piece of advice; care and compassion are paramount in expressing and revealing Christ to those in need. That takes time, even when the time is hard to find. It must be found. People's faith, how they handle their fears and how they face the facts of their reality hang in the balance.

On this #associatePastorTuesday, pray Pastors would be effective managers of time. May they have a keen awareness peoples needs and the time & investment needed, albeit, in light of other responsibilities. Pray a continued willingness for the Holy Spirit to lead and guide, even when it messes up schedules; to pray, guide and advise situations with compassion, knowing that people need to understand they are important in light of eternity and should not be easily dismissed.

We need a move of God in our lives, our nation and our world. May the effectual, fervent prayer of man avail much for the glory of God and the cause of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if it last 70 seconds over 70 days, or 70 minutes over 700 days, we may never quit believing God to perform the miraculous through the power and the gift of prayer; especially when we following the prompting and leading of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to make intercession for us, when we don't know how to pray.

-PNC

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