Tuesday, 30 October 2007

Funny how it all works out.

I felt like maybe like I was a bit irresponsible. I finally ran out of time and decided I just couldn't plan a full lesson for the Bible Studs. The clock had defeated me. Yet something in me just refused to throw in the towel and call the night. No, I simply couldn't do that.

Well, then. What to do?

I thought of that e-mail exchange. The call for prayer, the answer, and the affirmation that my own were making a difference. And I remembered I wasn't alone. Surely I wasn't the only one among the Bible Studs that needed prayer.

So Monday was a precursor to the end of the semester. And an appropriate one, according to Zach. It was needed by everyone. I had challenged everyone to pray for someone RIGHT THEN if they so asked for prayer. And we put that into a sort of practice, an application within the "Bible study" arena. A night of prayer for one another. A night of ministry by lifting our friends' needs together, one by one, to our Father in Heaven and asking the Holy Spirit for comfort and refreshment.

Yeah, maybe it wasn't a Bible study. But I don't think that's what we needed tonight. We needed a night to just fellowship, grow closer, be a little bit vulnerable with our needs, and then pray for one another. And it was good. The needs don't go away as a result. But they're a little easier to bear when they've been acknowledged. They're a little easier to bear when others have heard, understand, and lift them up for you as well. And they're easier to bear when you can be encouraged.

Funny how my running out of time to prep a lesson worked out. Dare I say, Divine?

Random thought: I'm still bouncing a bit from The Gathering. Trygve's getting the mood set well to point towards Advent with John the Baptist: "Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight a highway for our God." John the Baptist talked of a coming Kingdom and I think we should be thinking of that even now, especially if the retailers are assaulting us now with Christmas stuff. And Josh put together a sweet set of music... among others, "Better Is One Day," "Come Thou Fount," a new take on "Amazing Grace," "Did You Hear the Mountains Tremble?" and one that hasn't appeared at The Gathering in a while, but one of the best: "Beautiful One." Yes, the meaning truly is in what the words say, but sometimes I believe the music can help take us away into another dimension and I think that sort of happened on Sunday. Yes, they are only songs, but they are acts of worship and the power and gift of music can turn our minds towards higher things, towards Him.