Pastor's Note

Hey Church Family!

 

Pastor Erika here! I am so excited and looking forward to worship this weekend! I mean, I look forward to every worship service every weekend, but this weekend I am excited about our topic! We are continuing our series on the “foundations” of our faith and looking at things that we do or talk about at church all the time, but we never really take the time to question why or how we do them. This week we will be looking at prayer!

 

Let me explain why I’m so excited! As a younger person, I remember thinking that praying was a waste of time and not an appropriate answer to most people’s problems. Yeah, your Associate Pastor just said that! Today, I can’t think of a problem or moment that prayer is not the first and best answer for. This change in my attitude did not come about quickly or painlessly. I had to really question what prayer was and why I was supposed to do it. I can’t wait to tackle these questions with you!

 

My hopes are that we can all take something away from this topic that will impact our individual prayer lives, answer some questions we have been unsure of asking, and help us get just a little closer to our beloved Lord.

I want to share with you what I have been chewing on now for months and let it affect you before we meet for worship! My mentor and I have been working through some spiritual reflections found in Soul Feast by Marjorie J. Thompson. The author writes that prayer is not initiated by us, but that God initiates every act of prayer. Whenever and however we pray, it is a response to the Spirit of God calling us into prayer. Whether that is a silent prayer filled with tears, a joyous prayer surrounded by laughter, an insistent prayer for a loved one going through a procedure, or an angry outburst of emotions that we spew towards God. All prayer is our response to God calling us into a communion, a conversation.

 

So, Lord, we respond. Thank You for calling us into this time of leaning closer to You. Prepare our hearts for worship this week and let us feel You calling us into moments of prayer throughout the days. Your ears are open to us and Your heart longs for us to draw nearer. Thank You for loving us this much! In Your holy name, Amen.

 

May peace surround your week!

-Pastor Erika