Let's Pray
My entire life, God has seen fit to place me squarely in the path of someone who is a prayer warrior.
We know, as Christ-followers, we are all called to live a life of prayer, but I think we would also admit there are those among us who just seem to have that direct line to God a little clearer than the rest of us. These are the people to whom you find yourself telling all of your worries. These are the people whose very presence has an instant calming effect. These are the people who, no matter what the circumstance, environment, or physical location they find themselves in, keep these two words always on their lips: “Let’s pray.”
I’ll admit until recently, I’ve always taken these people for granted. As I said, for most of my life, God just seemed to plant me in their paths. Which is why I was a little startled toward the end of last year when I realized life had slowly done that thing it does and moved forward in such a way that when I looked up, I realized these people hadn’t been able to stick as close to me as they had done in years past. In fact, it was kind of like that moment when a young child has been scooting a little farther away from their mother at the park and suddenly looks up to realize they can’t see her at all.
It was around this same time, when I was wondering where all the prayer people in my life had gone, that Summit handed out a small card to each person entering the Sanctuary one Sunday. This card listed a bevy of ways one could serve at Summit, and as I glanced down the list telling myself I was excused from one role or another due to one reason or another, my eyes stopped at the last box—prayer team.
Here I was wondering where all the pray-ers had gone and it would appear God had just placed a “Help Wanted” sign in the church window. So I checked the box, scribbled my name and email address, and a few weeks later I had joined the prayer team at the Herndon Campus, feeling 100 percent unfit for the job.
I have many gifts. (I have spent quite a few hours in therapy to be able to write that statement.) And it’s true, but until this year I wouldn’t have told you prayer was in my top three spiritual giftings, probably not even in my top five. Having grown up in the church, I can string together some pretty words, but I worried my heart wouldn't catch fire the way I saw the hearts of those who had gone before me do when they spoke with their Savior. I worried my words would be empty and hollow or too much or too little. I worried my obsession with fixing problems would get in the way of someone who just needed me to pray and not offer a big, shining solution. I worried my words wouldn’t be good enough.
Everyone on the prayer team knows it’s a vulnerable moment when someone steps up to a stranger and asks for prayer. Our culture isn’t one that advertises weakness, and sometimes we can see asking for help as a weakness—even asking for prayer.
But can I tell you a secret? It’s a vulnerable moment for me, too, standing to the side of that room, waiting to meet whoever may approach with a need. That moment when someone I’ve never seen before walks up and trusts ME to seek God with them and on their behalf—it makes my heart pound every time.
Until I breathe in. Then the mystical occurs. In that moment of drawing breath for words, I find myself not only drawing in air but Spirit as well. Two vulnerable souls seeking their Creator, their Healer, their Savior together. It’s a powerful moment of communion and fellowship. It’s a moment where I find words don’t actually matter that much.
We are in a season right now when even the faithless are offering up words of worry to the ceiling, wondering if anyone is there listening. Let me assure you, someone is. And when you offer up even the briefest of prayers, when all your soul can muster in the darkness of the night is “Jesus,” it’s enough.
Although we aren’t meeting together right now as a church and you won’t find the prayer team waiting expectantly for your arrival at the end of a service, the team is more dedicated than ever to praying for you. Every request that is submitted to the church online or via social media is funneled to the prayer team and now, more than ever, our commitment to stand with you in prayer is unwavering.
Let me encourage you, from my living room to yours, to draw a deep breath in with us and let’s pray.
Reagan Perkins and her family have been attending Summit for the past six years. She is one of the volunteer writers for Summit Magazine and leads the prayer team at the Herndon Campus. She likes to write, cook, and try not to kill things in the garden. You can (and should) read her personal blog right here.