I wonder how you have been using your time during lockdown. I've been giving it a lot of thought lately.i.e.what have I done? Well, it really made me think.I suppose I am a thinker but, I am a 'doer'. So, I have been doing, cleaning out cupboards, drawers, wardrobes, going through paper work etc, being surprised at what I find throwing things away or giving them away. Clearing things out, almost like getting ready for something! It felt good, it feels good when we are 'doing', it makes us feel useful, like we are achieving something, so it lifts us up. So I could say I am pleased by all this and all my gardening. All the clearing of rubbish!
But, what I realise is I have also been led to do is a clearing out of my mind, so to speak. The need to sit and allow myself to listen and to take in, to give the Lord a 'slot'in my busy schedule. But, it had to be more than that. The Lord wanted my time! I have been awakened in the night with things I needed to think about and write down. Prayers that flowed on the pages of my prayer book. My life not just about me and what was happening that day. The Lord required my attention, like He requires yours!
It made me think how much time I actually 'owe Him', to just sit and listen, read and discover who He really is, and what His plans are for my future and your future. He can't tell us if we don't 'tune in'. I continued to reflect that prayer is a big part of this, recognising that prayer is a two way conversation of speaking and listening. In my reflecting I have been reminded of all that Jesus has done for me, and questioned what I have done for Him. In times like these it surely makes us question what life is really about. A friend of mine who is living with terminal cancer, spends her days Prayer walking, meeting people,and seeing answers to prayers. She is in conversation with her Lord and with other people she meets on the road and He is honouring this. So let us pray.
Lord, we thank you that you give us authority to pray in your name. Jesus, we thank you that you understand pain and grief, you have been there, you have experienced it. We pray our world will be filled with God's righteousness and justice. Help us to hold out to others the hope for the future, the hope that is in you Lord. Give us the strength to stand and be counted when the people we meet, need hope in a practical sense. Give us real compassion when we see despair instead of hope, in anothers eyes. Show us how to be Jesus in this troubled world. Give us the courage, the strength and conviction to speak out in your name. Thank you Lord that you watch over us, and that you walk with us, because you love and care for us. Amen.