A time to pray!

This morning despite going to bed late and being a little under the weather, I was determined to be at church at 5 the next morning. 4:15 alarm went off and I was motivated to get through a shower and dressed so I could be at church when they open. We are praying and fasting for God to give us guidance for the church between 5 am and 5 pm, 12 solid hours of prayer and fasting. The following are two different reflections I take away from this.

At 4:59 I walked into the church and there were three women already there praying. I did not bring my bible so I went to where they store them and set out several bibles for those who might follow me and want to contemplate His word during this quiet time and prayer. As I found a seat by myself and prayed quietly with hands resting on the bible my mind did not wander but stayed focused on seeking God’s truth. I flipped it open past the part of half way so I would be in the New Testament and this is the first words I read. “Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” Acts 4:11-12. My jaw dropped open and my mind began try to make sense of what God was trying to reveal to me. Was it that we were not making Jesus the cornerstone of the church? Was it I who was not putting Jesus as the cornerstone of my life? Then I turned to the very next page and the next sentence I read was, “Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than human beings!”Acts 5:29 How true those two statements were. We need to obey God and put Jesus at the corner of our church and lives. This was a God thing and he touched my soul this morning.

As I prayed, meditated, took notes, read the bible and sought wisdom from God, I watched a middle aged woman come in with a bag quietly and find a seat. She sat her cup next to her filled with warm tea (I could tell by the tea string hanging from the screw on lid) and I watched her as she opened her bag pull out a blanket which she placed gently on her lap. Then out of the bag came a bible which she placed on her lap atop the blanket. She reached in and retrieved her ipod and set it reverently next to the bible and put the ear buds into her ears. She smiled as the quiet music filled her soul and she read her bible quietly and all I could think was that this was perfect. She found her place in the presence of God with her music, tea and His word. I was wishing she had told me or sent out a memo on another way to pray and I would have done the same thing. There is a lot of music that will bring you to the place that is closer to God, and I know some would probably have trouble with her drinking her tea during a time of fasting, to which I saw out of fasting and praying, praying is the more important element. She was closer to God than I was and she was not grumbling but happy in the presence of God. That made me smile and because of watching her….. I was closer to God. 

Thank you God