First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone…
During a recent visit with Grandma, she shared a story about riding the merry-go-round as a child. “My father put me on the horse, told me to hold on real tight, and I’d be alright,” she laughed while telling the details of how she held on so tight she’d leave the imprints of her fingers on the reins! I asked if she was scared, and she said, “No, but my mother would always be telling my father, ‘Chester, you need to be careful that she does not fall off,’ and he would say, ‘She’ll be ok as long as she holds on.’” Grandma was the youngest child and only daughter, with five big brothers, and she wondered if her father was teaching her to ‘hold on’ when it came to living life with those five older brothers!
I imagine many folks are holding on right now in our own communities, in our families, in our workplaces, and in our churches for various reasons. Each week, I am blessed to journey to various local churches in the Gateway District, where I embrace the rhythms of worship and hear the pastor share a prayer for the joys and concerns of the community. Some refer to the printed bulletin where a prayer list of names is shared. Some invite the congregation to call out names of those needing prayer. Some share silent space for the unspoken prayers to be shared among the faithful. We pray for others as they hold on.
John Wesley offers this commentary on the selected text above, which comes from the Epistle lesson for Thanksgiving Day: “Supplication is here the imploring help in time of need: prayer is any kind of offering up our desires to God. But true prayer is the vehemency of holy zeal, the ardor of divine love, arising from a calm, undisturbed soul, moved upon by the Spirit of God. Intercession is prayer for others”.
Imploring help. Offering up. Holy zeal. Undisturbed soul. May we all hold on to the vital practice of prayer, as we lift our thanks for God’s abundant grace and mercy.
Blessings,
David
photo credit: https://en.photo-ac.com/photo/24707850