Help me, please.

It’s been another rough week in a long series of rough weeks. And in the midst of this rough week for me, two things happened. I cried out to God with just kind of an achy groan and an almost inaudible “Help me, please. I don’t know how.” And almost immediately three friends reached out to me seemingly at random to check in. I know God heard my prayer. I know God answered yes. I know the Holy Spirit nudged those people to check in on me - one of whom for the first time in months.

Karl Barth said, “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world,” and for me this week prayer brought hope and order in the midst of darkness.

Anne Lamott discusses prayer in her book Help, Thanks, Wow:

“So prayer is our sometimes real selves trying to communicate with the Real, with Truth, with the Light. It is us reaching out to be heard, hoping to be found by a light and warmth in the world, instead of darkness and cold. Light reveals us to ourselves, which is not always so great if you find yourself in a big disgusting mess, possibly of your own creation. But, like sunflowers, we turn toward light.”

The cold, the darkness, the injustice, the disorder of the world is real. Our prayers are reaching out to find love and light. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5).

I have two invitations for you the rest of this Holy Week. First, if you feel a nudge to pray for someone, actually do it right then. Right now. And second, check up on them. Because the Spirit likely told you to pray for them for a reason, and you might be invited to help open a door of hope for them. God invites us into his plan to see His light and work for His good. He hears you and he loves you. And, friends, I’m praying for you.