Thursday 3 May 2007

In the eighteenth chapter of Luke, there is a parable of a widow and and judge.

Then Jesus told them a parable about the need to pray always and not to lose heart. (Luke18:1)

I know the parable hasn't even started yet and here I go. Well, it seems to me that we are all in this boat. Prayer is a way of life within God's Reign - a way to be focused - a way to settled - a way to move through time - a way to breath. We are already characters within God's Promise for life....but now, we need to be present within that life. Prayer is how that happens. Prayer is as simple as a reminder of who you are in God's sight. That isn't a long prayer. It is as short as a breath taken between this moment and that moment. Remember that it is often between this moment and that moment that we all seem to forget whose we are. In that short of a time, it is easy to lose heart. I know I do! What we can expect within the moments of our lives is life that is transforming. Therefore it is all the more important to keep in mind and put into life the simple discipline of prayer. There is no need to see prayer as a chore. It is a breath - taken quickly or else nurtured for as long of a time as is needed. Losing heart can be devastating and it can be an experience that jumps on us. We all have to breathe. In that way, you could say that we all have time to have that vision of God's Reign and God's promise touch us on the head and hand us a new way to remain grounded in the middle of everything that tries to befuddle us.

Connection: Breathe. Prayer can be both the inhaling or the exhaling...or both. It can be the difference between a creative moment in time and one that is destructive. Breathe.

Lord of New Life, by your Spirit you coax us and bid us to stand within your Reign. When you touch our hearts and minds with the promise of your Reign, we begin to breathe by your Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. Come and revive us again. Amen.