Hi! This is delton and we are kicking off the last week of Why Pray? The relationship between prayer and hope central to today’s meditation was both encouraging and challenging. A consistent fervent everyday prayer life for us and our families is essential for a life of HOPE. I love the call and promise to HOPE found in Isaiah 40. It resonates deep within me. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
HOPE’s source is God himself and all those who hope in Him have life. Prayer is vital to that HOPE filled relationship. Prayer is life line for the relationship of HOPE which God has made possible for us in Jesus.
Today my wife and I went to a wedding celebration in my extended family. The two young people are devout, active Christ followers. They have HOPE – they have Jesus – they have HOPE! Without Jesus they only have limited hope – hope in themselves – hope in their personal best efforts to make a marriage work. These kids had a HOPE that was so much bigger than that.
As I was engaged with this Jesus-centered ceremony my mind clicked over for a second to a movie I watched recently, “The Descendents” with George Clooney. It is a raw and unsanitized look at a family walking through some monumentally difficult life situations (coma, death, betrayal, affair, broken relationships)! For me, it was an portrayal of real life without Jesus – and it was hopeless – even the somewhat positive ending that was supposed to make you feel like everything is going to be ok left me feeling so empty ! The story had so much less hope in it than what Jesus could have brought!
The dramatic contrast of these two experiences is the framework from which I read today’s meditation. So, Yes - I do believe there is a vital connection between prayer and HOPE! And Yes – I believe every Christ follower must take the vision of having a Home Of Prayer Everyday (or a version of it) very, very seriously. I believe as a father and husband, I have an opportunity to redouble my efforts to have our home be a Home Of Prayer Everyday! HOPE, HOPE, HOPE is what I need, my wife needs, my children need, my neighbors need , the whole world needs and we know the source. That is really good and really compelling news!
I look forward to reading your thoughts!
Please continue posting “Why Pray?” stories on this blog or send them to www.whypraystories@pointofgracechurch.org! Please consider also sharing anything under the topic “What I have learned from this journey and want to live out…!” I would love to hear how God is changing our lives.