PRAYER

I'm going to be gone from home for 11 days. Four of those days will be spent working with kids at the conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand. But people have been praying on my behalf about this trip for months. Lots of others have been praying for others, too. The number of people praying must be exponential compared to those of us going from our church.... from other churches and home school groups.... from those who will be attending the conference.... and those staffing the main conference. All of us have a team of people behind us of individuals who are praying. And we're all praying, too.

The interface of all these prayers must be a huge matrix. Like a subterranean extra-low-frequency antenna communicating with submarines in the depths. So much undetectable activity and energy! I don't understand prayer. I don't get why God asks us to pray. He doesn't need our input since He knows everything. The only power that is at work is His through His Holy Spirit. But He asks us to pray, and He gives us promises that will come to be if we pray. So we pray, and He fulfills His promises.

I think the best part of it all is the communication. I get to share my heart with the God of the universe. I get to have Him all to myself-- like I'm the only one on His mind. That really blows my mind, to use an old metaphor.

On Sunday our church family prayed for us during our morning worship service. So did the children in the KidZone. During both times people laid hands on us. People who have been, and will continue to pray while we are gone. People who I have prayed for. Kids who I have lead in worship and taught on Wednesday nights. That's another great thing about prayer-- building community together.



We also had a community prayer time at Keynote today. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or sacriligious, but I wasn't really deep into prayer this morning. I've been praying about this trip for so long, I think I'd become just a little perfunctory (if that's the right use of the word). But I did pray. And then I heard it-- the still, small Voice. "I want to do something FORYOU on this trip." "Really, God? I've been so busy getting ready and thinking about serving You, I hadn't thought about asking for anything." The room didn't move; there wasn't any writing in the sky or on the wall, but I felt the answer, something like a deliberate nod, deep in my heart.

When I related this exchange to a friend after we were done praying, he commented without hesitation, "Well, you are the apple of His eye."

Oh yeah! I'd almost forgotten!