Monumental Service

Last Sunday, I invited our congregation to practice the spiritual discipline of daily prayer.  You can read a summary of my talk in the previous post (somehow the words on the computer screen don’t have quite the life that they did as I spoke on Sunday!).

Towards the end of the gathering, there were a couple of thoughts that were shared.  I hope my repeating them here does them justice.

Leslie H. came forward, having felt as she was getting ready to come to church, that the morning gathering could be a very significant one in the life of the church.  She then sensed that individuals were walking around fountains being refreshed and healed.

Alan C. then spoke about the sign pictured here, that he had seen in a local funeral parlour (do we still use that word?), which had amused him.  But he sensed that this Sunday could be a monumental service for us.  But monuments take a long time to build.  It is a long term thing, not something that happens overnight.

Reflecting on both these words, I sense they clarify something important.  I love the image of fountains.  I speaks to me of refreshment and stillness.  Space.  A chance to stop the fervent activity of most our lives.  This wasn’t some call to deep intercessory prayer, although prayer for others may well be part of what emerges.  This was an invitation to daily stop at the feet of Jesus, and listen.  Be still and know.

Secondly, it was not designed to suggest some instant transformation.  Not some quick fix.  Alan’s thoughts captured this nicely.  So often we give up on prayer because we do not get the results we want.  But prayer, that becomes a rhythm, a habit, and an integrated part of lives, will transform, as the persistent love of Jesus invades our lives.  If last Sunday (or this, or the one after that…) inspires someone to make daily prayer part of their life, then it truly will have been a monumental service.