Vows: Prayers & Presence

James 5: 7-20, Luke 4: 14-30

Former executive with the Commission of United Methodist Men, Gilbert Hanke, learned the importance of prayer from his grandmother. He tells the story of how, after her death, his parents were cleaning out her home and found thousands of index cards. On those cards were prayer concerns. They found these cards scattered in drawers, tucked in her Bible and other books, folded in her purse, and stashed in the cushions of her favorite chair. Her prayer requests were for everyone, planted as seeds waiting for a bloom. This is how Hanke’s grandmother fulfilled her promise to support the church with her prayers.

In my experience, many people struggle with prayer. It’s not that they don’t believe in its power or doubt that it works. They struggle with how to pray. I’ve led studies on various ways to pray, some very conventional (reciting the Lord’s Prayer) and others less so (praying with beads). What I have found is that certain forms of prayer come more naturally to each of us. Some of us need the structured action of writing prayers on a notecard. We provide the prayer insert in the bulletin each week for those who need a concrete focus for prayer. But what does it mean to support the church through your prayers?

When we make the promise to support the church through prayer, it simply means that we promise to strengthen and uphold our relationship with God through active communication. It means that we both speak and listen. It means that we pray for the needs of the community as a whole, for individual members, and for the leadership. It means that we seek guidance and wisdom on the ways in which God is leading the church. It means we seek the power of God to forgive, live in unity, and build strong relationships. It means we surrender to God’s will for the purpose of advancing the Gospel.

In those studies on prayer, I have heard many people talk about praying with their actions. In other words, what they do is a form of prayer. If prayer is all about communicating and tending to our relationship with God, perhaps our actions can be a form of prayer. However, this focus on relationships reminds me of our second membership vow: presence. While prayer builds our relationship with God and helps us love God more, presence can help build our relationships with others and help us love them more.

The old adage states that absence makes the heart grow fonder. For me personally, that’s just not true. The adage “out of sight, out of mind” is more true to my experience. Building a relationship is difficult when you are simply not present for each other. If prayer strengthens our relationship with God, presence strengthens our relationships with others, both in the church and outside the church. There is something powerful in just showing up for others.

It’s not just about attending worship (although that is incredibly important). Supporting the church—and by extension its mission—through presence means showing up in the places that need to feel the presence of a loving God. Showing up means that you value the person (or community) and that they are seen. When we show up to read at Blackwell Elementary for Read Across America, we are saying to the students and staff, “We see you, and we are here for you.” When we show up at recitals and graduations for our children and youth, we are saying, “We see you, and you are important to us.” When we show up for worship, we are saying to our fellow congregants, “I want to be here and grow closer to you and to God.”

So how are you doing with your prayers? How about your presence? This week, I invite you to pray for St. Andrew UMC and the church universal at least once. It can be as simple as saying, “Lord, bless the work of this church and make it more faithful.” I also encourage you to show up for someone. Volunteer for a ministry you’ve been contemplating getting involved in. Make an effort to let someone know they matter. And if you haven’t physically shown up in church for a while, this is the perfect opportunity. This is how we support the church and its mission with our prayers and presence.

Prayer
Steadfast God, make our prayers powerful and true. Embolden our presence with others so that we embody your love. Strengthen your church to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously. In Christ’s holy name. Amen.

Rev. Dana Ezell