Prayer Tip--Made for More: When the Spirit Disrupts
Daily Scripture
Mark 5: 24-34 (NRSV)
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Immediately, her flow of blood stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my cloak?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
There is one kind of prayer that often seems harder than the others. It is relatively easy to give thanks for all the wonderful things God has done for us. Most of us also don’t have much trouble with asking God for help. That’s good – God loves hearing our joys and concerns. But sometimes we know we need a different sort of conversation.
Admitting before God that we’ve messed up and asking for both forgiveness and guidance is harder. It’s never easy to look at our failings, our flaws, and our struggles and name them. It can be even harder to lay them out before God and ask for both forgiveness and healing, but those times can be the times we feel closest to God.
Are we carrying the burden of hate, or failure? How about envy that is poisoning our relationships? Does anger keep us from feeling close to God and the people we love? Have we hurt someone? Have we hurt ourselves?
The Psalmist nailed it in Psalm 51.
“Because I know my wrongdoings, my sin is always fright in front of me.” (Psalm 51:3)
Bringing the truth of our failures, our struggles, anger, envy or anything that makes us hide from God, is the first step toward peace and joy. This is the most deeply personal kind of prayer. It can also be the prayer that brings us the closest to God, who loves us and is waiting to create that clean heart and new, healed Spirit in us.
Is it time for some inner inventory and very private time with God? Find a place where you aren’t likely to be interrupted. Don’t rush it. Ask God to meet you in this space. When you feel ready, know that the Spirit is there and ready to hear you. Say what you need to say. Share your confusion, frustration, sorrow, and truth. Relax and listen as God does healing work. Be ready to move forward in a new way. Confess if you are struggling with the next steps. When you feel ready, God may point you toward making amends with those you’ve hurt, and show you how to do the most important work of all – forgiving yourself and welcoming the clean heart and faithful spirit that is yours.
Prayer
God who loves us and heals us, help me open my eyes and heart to see the things I might rather keep hidden. Show me how to accept your forgiveness and see the path you have for me to follow. Help me ask others for forgiveness where needed, and renew my spirit and connection with You, so that I can move ahead with a clean heart that looks to you first and always. AMEN
GPS Insights
Debbie Dellinger
Each Sunday, we come to worship God. We also come to worship carrying the joys, hopes, questions, and needs of our lives. And when we gather as disciples and turn our hearts toward God, we trust that the Holy Spirit is already present and that grace will meet us.
In John 3:1–8, Nicodemus comes to Jesus with questions and a desire to understand. Jesus meets him in his searching and speaks of being “born from above,” a phrase that can also mean “born anew.” Their conversation reminds us that new life with God begins in grace, already at work before Nicodemus fully understands. Like the wind, the Holy Spirit moves freely, and we recognize its presence through what it awakens and transforms within us.
Acts 2:42–47 shows what this Spirit-shaped life looks like in the church. Following Pentecost, the believers devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer. They praise God, share what they have, and care for one another. God’s grace gathers them into a shared life centered on worship and expressed through fellowship, generosity, and love. This worship is a loving and thankful response to God’s presence known through the Holy Spirit.
Coming to church for worship is a spiritual practice. We gather first and foremost to worship God. John Wesley described public worship, prayer, Scripture, Communion, and Christian fellowship as means of grace: ordinary practices through which God meets us and the Holy Spirit works within us. As we praise God and open our hearts, grace awakens us, assures us of God’s mercy, and continues shaping us in the love of Christ.
Grace also comes to us through the gathered community. We may experience the Holy Spirit in a welcome at the door, the voices singing beside us, a prayer shared with a friend, or a caring conversation after worship. John 3 describes the Spirit’s work within us; Acts 2 reveals the Spirit’s work among us. As a church, we become a community in which God’s grace is received, embodied, and shared.
A Spiritual Practice of Worshipping God
Come to worship with intention and with an openness to grace. As you enter, take a slow breath and pray, “Holy Spirit, open my heart to worship God.” Offer yourself fully through the music, prayers, Scripture, Communion, and message. Notice where God’s grace draws your attention, offers assurance, or invites growth. After the service, remain present for fellowship. Welcome someone, listen with care, and notice how the Holy Spirit may be sharing grace through another person.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, prepare my heart to worship God. Awaken me to your presence in prayer, Scripture, music, Communion, and the fellowship of the church. Help me receive the grace you freely give; and let me offer love and grace to others. Shape us, your people, into a community of generosity and love. Guide us as we carry the life and light of Christ into the world. Amen.
