Oh Lord, I Pray!

Growing up, I never understood why my grand-aunt (who lived with us) would wake up at 5 a.m. every morning to pray (aloud), and read scriptures. I never understood why my parents would wake us up at 6 a.m. every Sunday to have family devotion, when at 9:30 a.m. we would be heading off for Sunday school, followed by an all-day church service, and night service at 7 p.m. They did a whole lot of praying, — so much so that I wondered if they would run out of words to pray. 

Time has revealed my parent’s and grand-aunt’s wisdom. 

I grew to understand that all this time, they were talking to God because they took the words of Psalm 116 to heart. “I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my supplications… he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” Like the Psalmist, they too had their share of joys and sorrows. Snares of death also encompassed them, and darkness of life often laid a stronghold on them. But time and time again they proved God’s faithfulness.

We can all relate.

When I was a chaplain at Northside Hospital, my supervisor introduced me to the Feelings Wheel. It is color-coded with all the emotions you can imagine yet, sometimes I find it difficult to name what I am experiencing. This is a time of great, big, and deep feelings. We are all feeling added stress and experiencing a sense of disarray this season. We have loved ones who are sick, in pain, or battling life-threatening illnesses.  

If there was ever a time to cry out to God, this is it friends. Keep crying out to the Lord, because he is hearing your voice and your supplications. He has inclined his ear unto you. 

God is with you whether you decide to wake up early and pray. God is with you in the light and the dark. 

Cry out to him because he wants to hear from you. 

Let us pray:

Responsive God, with joy and celebration we give thanks for the way you hear and answer our prayers and your involvement in our daily lives. How privileged we are! As we try to see and understand what the future holds for each of us, help us to recognize that whatever happens to us in life or death, you are right there on the journey with us, to bless, guide and help us as we struggle with the implications of our humanity. 

Blessed Love,

Ontonio