Praying for Rain - May 17, 2023

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:97-120; Baruch 3:24-37; James 5:13-18; Luke 12:22-31

Wow, did someone pray for rain this week? On the way to another end of school awards ceremony on Monday evening, there was terrible flooding on I-65. Tuesday morning, the freshly cleaned windows at the ground level - that had been dusty and dirty from construction in the renovation of the memorial garden – were again speckled with dirt, for Monday’s rain was coming down that hard! The storms even washed away most of the shaving cream, cheese puffs, and glitter left over in the back parking lot following the year-end EYC messy Olympics. Becky and John joked yesterday that Taylor McLemore – Minister for Youth at Saint Stephen’s – must have really prayed for rain to clean up the detritus left behind from the teenagers’ fun.

Prayer is subtle yet powerful. It can move and change us – as a group and as individuals. We read about the power of prayer in the Epistle reading appointed for today. The Letter of James is a primer on Christian living, with teachings imparted that are grounded in God’s law and the stories of the Israelite people. In today’s reading that comes at the end of this brief five-chapter book of the New Testament, James encourages his readers to pray without ceasing – whether they are suffering, happy, or ill. Pray at all times, he says, as a community of faith. Healing, hope, and reconciliation can come when we pray together for one another. This is one of the reasons Saint Stephen’s (and many other churches) publish the names of those on the prayer list. It is not necessarily for people to inquire curiously, ‘What’s wrong with David?’; rather, we get to hold one another in prayer by name – in thanksgiving, in God’s care, in the compassion of Jesus. We read that “the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up.” (v. 15a)

Prayer brings us salvation and rest in a different way, too. The second half of verse 15 says that “anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.” As we open ourselves to prayer, sometimes our minds slip into what we regret and what pains us. When we lift those discomforts and spaces of dis-ease to God, we are reconciled to our Lord. Then, we are more apt to be reconciled with those who have hurt us…and it is this reason that James suggests, “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” (v. 16) The contrite person confesses to the one they have hurt, and each gets to pray for the other, so that healing grows within each one. When set in the framework of faithful living in God’s love, this model is both revolutionary and elementary. Prayer can move mountains and melt the stones of resentment that are piled in our hearts. It is not easy, and it can be done with God’s help.

Whether your prayers bring great drought or rain, like Elijah’s did in 1 Kings, or Taylor McLemore prays for the deluges to clean up the back parking lot after a rollicking time with the youth group, I pray that we remember that prayer as a community brings us strength and healing and joy. I have seen this happen among us in my years at Saint Stephen’s, and I look forward to hearing your stories of prayer bringing you closer to God and one another.

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection:

How does prayer factor into your rhythms of processing hurt or disappointment? Do you ask others to pray for you in these situations?

Daily Challenge:

Prayer is a discipline, and the results are sometimes a mixed bag. Sit with this prayer from St. Francis de Sales today.