Our church picnic was held at Belleplain Park recently. With the meat provided by the church the remainder of dishes and desserts were a potluck – bring your best recipe. My husband Neil loves potlucks, as opposed to me, who looks doubtfully at each dish wondering what is in it and who made it.
Why am I like that, you might ask? I could just taste the food and discretely toss it later if I didn’t like it. Ah, but I consider that the dish may have been created by the person seated across from me, and I would not want to hurt feelings by not finishing my portion, so instead I avoid potlucks – although to be honest, I went to the picnic.
It is the same with other things with me. If I am in an area that is overly crowded I feel I must flee immediately. It might be that I’m a bit claustrophobic or just plain phobic, but I’m not bothering to find out. Over the years I have gotten used to some situations or avoided others, but that means that Neil too must get used to or avoid them because, of course, he must flee if I do, although certainly he can attend potlucks without me.
So, I tell you these strange things about myself to let you know that every one of us has something that is peculiar to us – a habit good or bad, or possibly a phobia – that most people around us don’t see. A good friend might realize I am absent from every potluck, but hardly anyone else would. We don’t usually share our foibles with one another because we want people to observe us at our best. There is nothing wrong with putting our best foot forward, but I have been feeling lately that we, in the church, might not be sharing enough of our personal cares and problems with one another.
Our church distributes a prayer list posting names and individual needs to be lifted up to God for healings, etc. Often, though, while speaking to someone in the church, they will tell me personally of some serious concerns that are not on the list but really would best be prayed for by all of the church, not just me. Why won’t we ask for churchwide prayer? The need doesn’t even have to be specific; we could just list a name to be lifted up. I’m beginning to think that we are embarrassed by our particular needs or we don’t want everyone to know, so we select a few people to pray for us.
I get it. Sometimes the prayer list might appear to be repetitive, even tedious, or worse beget gossip rather than true prayer. Still, I have heard recently of urgent and deep needs that surely would best be addressed by many of us to our Father seeking His will and direction for the individuals or family. Is it pride, or belief that God will do what He will do even if we don’t pray? We all know better than that. God asks us to lift up our brothers and sisters in prayer.
Jesus taught us how to pray, saying, “for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’”
God already knows what we need before we ask, but Jesus said to ask Him anyway. God desires us to come to our knees before His throne and seek His good will for ourselves and others. God is always available. He is ready to hear us, and we should not hesitate to go before Him with our requests.
The acronym P.R.A.Y. may help us to remember a way to open our hearts when coming before God Almighty. Praise: Begin praying by praising God. Repent: Acknowledge and repent of all sin. Ask: Present requests and needs to God. Yield: Submit to God’s will and listen for His guidance.
Prayer is not only beneficial for the person we are asking God to care for, but it is just as beneficial to us. When we come to God praising His great name, repeating our thanks for His creation, healings, and care and then confessing our sins and seeking His forgiveness, we are humbling ourselves. We can then seek God’s good will and know His response is the perfect answer. We should freely ask our brothers and sisters for prayer – like a prayer potluck for our needs.
Editor’s note: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
