Anatomy of a Care Ministry: Bare Bones Prayer

I did not anticipate such a prayer soaked summer, but I did ask for it. Perhaps that rather contradictory statement needs an explanation. With several life changes on the horizon, I knew I needed to spend a season of time praying for discernment, praying God would show me his plan, and praying I would be in tune with him and follow his lead. Well, here I am, soaking in this season of prayer. But I don't particularly want to stay here. Well, I do and I don't. (More contradictions.) It truly is a blessing to take time to pray, but my doing nature prods me to move along. Get going! Make plans! Organize! But God continues to slow me down to pray.

Here are a list of reasons I have not escaped a "prayer drenching" thus far this summer:

1. I attended a prayer event called "The Infilling." This was not just a soft summer rain, but a downpour! We prayed for others with boldness and the authority of Christ. And others prayed for me with boldness and authority. For four days I participated and received an overflow of the Holy Spirit through worship and prayer.
2. I directed an event called the "Summer Intensive" at the Formational Prayer Seminar at Ashland Seminary. Intensive is the operative word here. While my role was primarily leadership and administrative, God kept positioning me to pray for people. He also woke me up several times in the middle of the night to pray.
3. God keeps stretching my children and growing them which always motivates Mom to pray, pray, pray.
4. My husband ended up in the emergency room with what could have been life debilitating symptoms. He was finally diagnosed with a viral infection after numerous tests.
5. In a year, I will have more free time and I don't know how God wants me to spend it.

So, you might wonder, what does all this have to do with my subject line, Anatomy of a Care Ministry: Bare Bones Prayer? Quite frankly, I am not sure exactly. But here is what I do know. We are commanded to pray. I want to be like Jesus and follow his examples of prayer that I read about in the Gospels. In between preaching and healing, Jesus went to the wilderness to pray as he continued to only do what he saw the Father doing. I want to live out the lessons we are learning through our church sermon series about  Nehemiah and pray before I do any building of my own at church. I want to follow Nehemiah's lead of returning to prayer as he walked out his holy calling as a spiritual leader.

In the meantime, prayer opportunities keep surfacing. I will help lead a group of intercessors to pray for the activities and speakers at the Brethren National Conference in July. I will join with other intercessors at Park Street Church next month to pray for direction of our care ministry. I will pray with my spiritual formation group this Thursday.

What is on the horizon for your ministry?

Are you making prayer the bare bones of your planning time?