Houses of Prayer

If you’ve been keeping up with our Devotions, you might have noticed some themes beginning to emerge. (If you’re like a certain father-to-be, LifeGroup leader who hates reading, I’ll fill you in, don’t worry :P) 

The Pastoral Team, without even planning to, keep encouraging us to be praying more and to be seeking new perspectives on our current situations – to set our minds on things above. There seems to be a new sense of urgency rising for each of us to spend time in the presence of God. Whether through going for walks and enjoying nature or listening to music that will lead us into worship, all arrows seem to be pointing us towards deeper places of Divine Connection.

Now, although we are in another especially exhausting lockdown, and probably need connection with God more than ever, something even greater than our circumstances is fueling this invitation to encounter the Lord.

During our Sunday Celebration last week, as Gabe shared about us being sensitive to the Spirit of God and about our homes being houses of prayer, I sensed the Lord speaking to me about stamina.

We aren’t being called to pray more simply because we’re in the midst of a global pandemic. We aren’t being called to pray more just to bring some peace to the homes we’re in 24/7.

We aren’t even being called to pray more so that we can reach the end of Covid-19 sooner!

All of those reasons may be great reasons to pray, but God is doing something even deeper still.

Our homes have always been meant to be Houses of Prayer. We are not learning these new habits so we can get through another season of staying home – God is showing us a new way to live…

Whether we like it or not, we are getting LOTS of practice at creating places of presence in our homes. We have been reflecting on this for over a year now! And as we make every effort, as we grow and mature, without even realizing it we are being changed. Not just for a season, but for good.

When we’re around the same people, we often don’t realize changes to appearance as quickly as someone who hasn’t seen us in a while. Just today, I was spending some time on Zoom with Doreen and the Lee kids. Claire is already nearly nine months old and I felt like I was meeting her for the first time! A LOT has changed in her; the boys have grown and matured so much too… but my perspective on their growth will be very different than Joe and Doreen’s. They’re with the kids daily!

Even though it might not feel like it, the changes we’re making in our personal prayer lives and the ways we steward the presence of God in our homes aren’t just for now. As we become more and more faithful at listening for the voice of God and spending time with the Lord, we are being built up to be people of stamina. People who will be able to endure not only the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual challenges of pandemic life but people who will also be able to endure whatever might follow.