“…The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” – James 5:16
I recently had the privilege of being a part of our St. Luke’s mission team that went to Houston, TX to help with recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey. The scale of the devastation is massive. It’s heart breaking when you get to know a home owner who has lost so much.
The St. Luke’s Team worked hard to clean out flooded homes and prepare them to be rebuilt. While we were in Houston, the St. Luke’s Team had the opportunity to work with volunteers from several other denominations. On our second day, we worked with United Methodists, Southern Baptists and people from the Assembly of God. Although we came from different denominational backgrounds it was easy to see we had all come to offer the love of God through our service.
As we completed the work on the homes, we took a moment to invite the homeowners to join us in the driveway. We spent a few moments offering a word of prayer for the homeowner before moving on to the next home. We were tired and dirty from the work we were doing, and there was much more work to be done, but it was important to stop for prayer.
When we take time to stop and pray we are reminded that God is present. From the moment arrived in Houston till the time we stopped to pray in that driveway, we were busy. The team worked hard to complete each task that was in front of us. When we paused to pray, I experienced a peace that I had not felt amid the hurricane devastation. Prayer affords us a moment of peace, a reminder of God’s presence and a chance to focus on the powerful grace of God at work in our lives.
Take time to pray. Each of our lives are filled with moments when we are tired, and overwhelmed with the business of our daily tasks. When we pray, we connect the powerful grace of God. Our hearts and our eyes are opened to see God in our midst and we find strength and peace to continue the work that God has placed before us.
Rev. Keith King, Online Campus Pastor
