When insecurities and doubts and failure feelings press in, there is a prayer that bolsters and slowly-slowly-unfurls the swirling smoke and lets our eyes see more crystal like.
It is the right-then prayer. Right there, in that moment? We can mutter, whisper, cry-choke out our prayers to a good and working God. No more ignoring. No more minimizing. No under-rug-sweeping. Real change takes real honesty with our heart selves. And so we promise and we ask that when the robbers close in, we will turn our hearts and minds to our One Rescuer.
It looks like this: when our footing becomes shuffly because we feel not good enough or we worry if we will be liked or we wonder how someone so Good could allow something so rough or we feel the sharp pangs of why try, we stop. We confess that all these vision and belief and gumption stealing whispers are crouching.
We stop and then we ask. We ask for belief. Belief that we are loved beyond our understanding. Belief that grace is enough to cover even the most ravaging failures. Belief that good can be borne out in the painful. Belief that our worth is not really, not truly, measured in worldly do gooding.
And then we wait. We wait for Him. We wait for His truth to start the good change work. We wait for His miracle working to run quick and soft over our scars.
And when we have to ask again and another again and another again? We’ll do it. And we’ll ask for more belief than failure feeling.
It’s the right-then prayer. Helplessness and hopefulness hand in hand.
Oh, I love this. I’ve been trying to have constant dialogue, all day, every day. Just a 24/7 conversation as I’m going through my day. If it’s interrupted, I can just pick right back up. This has made it easier to just pray right when I say I’m going to pray for someone.
And I’ll just say this… people (non-Christians) are incredibly touched if you say you’ll pray for them and you do it right then, with them. It’s something we’ve challenged ourselves to do as a Sunday school class, and the response has been amazing.
erin! i so agree. i’ve been the giver and the recipient (much more often) of right-then prayers and they are a rich blessing.
Oh yes. I sometimes can’t find the right words to pray so I revert to those old hymns of my youth. I hum them, think them, cherish them. And slowly the words to pray come to me. Those right-then prayers are the hardest but knowing we serve a perfect Father is the best.
sweet truth. so encouraged to pray right now! xo
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Oh, this is so lovely and true and right. Thank you for sharing.
Hmm… this is beautiful. A reminder that I needed. Thank you.