Last night I attended my first worship, prayer and ministry night in my church. To be honest I wasn’t going to go due to the children feeling under the weather and struggling to get to sleep – but my lovely husband told me to go and have my time with God. What can I say it was such an eye opening experience!
Now truthfully I’d go to anything – party, night out, opening of an envelope you name it; I’ll try to be there. I enjoy social events, but something inside me was saying don’t go, stay home, you don’t need to attend this night. It was that bad I was thinking about this worship night lying in bed and waking up in the middle of the night with anxiety around it! But I’m so glad I went and had that experience with God and seeing the Holy Spirit working through those around me also. Everything from the worship songs to the passages read out where so relevant to that time and space in our church.
God wants us to seek out and plant ourselves in our community and help others receive His word. We have so much work as his earthly servants to reach out to others, to help those lost find Jesus, spread His word far and wide, show how Jesus died for us and how we can live within His word and repent our sins. There was a beautiful moment when we all started to pray singularly; placing our own praises and concerns with God. Gradually others started to pray for those around them and the noise grew louder and louder with multiple prayers being placed for those around us, it started like a whisper and rose to a roar! I could feel the Holy Spirit at that moment moving through the room and the pastor felt it was transcribing to us all as BOLDNESS. Everyone of us need to take that leap and reach out to others and spread the Good Word as far as we can and continue to serve those around us.
Personally I find it hard to prayer for others verbally, I can pray inwardly no problem and do regularly throughout the day, however the thought of praying over someone fills me with so much fear and anxiety. I pray to God regularly about this and I know He is showing me through others that there is no right or wrong way. I hope I do start to brave that soon and start to pray for others openly and unapologetically.
The passage that stood out to me the most last night – “After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?‘” (1 Kings: 11-13 NIV).
God is always standing by the cave calling you out, it’s whether we choose to listen to that whisper. Praying to God for answers and not feeling like your receiving anything – it could be a whisper your not stopping to listen out for! God is always on your side and directing your path as He has a plan for us all using our skills and talents. Maybe its time to reach out to others who are not believers, talking to your children about the christian faith, encouraging others to pray for guidance and answers, raising praises to God through prayer and worship, working on your own relationship with God or helping serve in your church or community.
God bless you, Zoe x.
Motherhood, Blessings and Faith 