A Prayer of Adoration

Before I realized it, my face felt the soft mist carried by the rain. As the thunder continued to clap and the lightning flashed across the dark sky I had imagined being on a movie set – the thunder only a sound technician, the rain from a fire hose out of sight, the lightening some canned lights at the top of a sound stage. Now, the water on my face brought me back to the realness of this experience - the rain pouring down upon the aging leaves in our yard, the darkness magnifying the sounds of the storm.

I sat on my front porch listening to this early autumn thunderstorm carry the hope of the cool days, beautiful trees and the end of temperatures in the 90’s. I stopped swinging and simply listened to the sounds, feeling the power of the storm lightly misting on my cheek. I had come outside for a moment at the end of long day with supper complete, the kitchen cleaned, and the girls upstairs finishing school work and preparing for bed. I walked outside hoping a moment of privacy would clear my head before the final tasks of the day. Instead, I found God.

As I experienced the storm on my front porch, I imagined Jesus in the front of the boat sleeping while the disciples bailed and panicked during the storm on the Sea of Galilee. I could see the water coming in over the sides, the disciples drenched and shouting over the wind, their faces clouded by doubts and fears of death. Then I saw Jesus standing up to the storm and shouting – or was it simply a whisper – to “Be still.” I could hear the silence then in such strong comparison to the sounds of the storm.

Before I was aware of it, I found the prayer of adoration flowing out of every particle of my being, “Oh Lord, Oh Lord, how majestic is Your name!” I found myself singing to God in the wind, “Who am I that you are mindful of me?” The power of the night flowed out of me: “When I gaze into the night sky and see the works of your fingers.” Richard Fosters says, the prayer of adoration is “our human response to the perpetual outpouring of the Love of God in our lives” (Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home). On this night – into this storm – all I could do was pour out my life in response to the power of God in thanksgiving and praise.

As God develops a life of prayer in our lives, our hearts are softened to experience God in moments like these. Because I have been praying and listening to Psalm 8 this week during our 40 Days of Prayer these words simply erupted out of my soul as the storm surged around my safe cover of a porch. God prepared my heart for that moment. As I hear other's stories during these 40 Days, I realize God is preparing all of our hearts for the moments ahead through the closeness of our prayer triads, the power of our prayer experiences, and the wonder of our worship services. As many of you have already stated, prayer is not a 40 day experience; it is a 365 day experience. These 40 Days are only preparing our hearts for the journey of the next 325 days.

As we continue our 40 Days, let us keep extending ourselves in prayer. I hope you will take time over the coming weeks to practice prayer on the prayer hike or walk the labyrinth in the gym or participate in the day of service. These opportunities will expand what we are experiencing in worship, Bible study and small groups. I’ll see you Sunday.