C-19 Reflection #8: Working with What We’ve Got - A Daily Prayer for Times of Emergency

C19 Reflections #8

Theme: Working with What We’ve Got

Topic: “The Creation Needs Help, We Need Help”

Scripture: Romans 8:18-28 

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose.

Reflection:

We are hearing the phrase “we are all in this together” quite a bit these days and it sure seems like that’s true. Most days it seems that we simply fail to recognize how deeply woven together things are until they fall apart. These worldwide interconnections, at every conceivable level of life, are mind blowing and terrifying all at once, and we need help from beyond ourselves and we need help to get beyond ourselves.

 We need help to know to think about what’s going on, how to respond, how to communicate, how to lead, how to deploy resources, how to relate socially, how to care for each other, how to get groceries, how to test properly, how to manage our economy, how to do health care, how to find a cure, how to play our own everyday parts. It seems that we need help with absolutely everything. We even need help with prayer.

What Paul does in Romans 8 is make connections at a grand level. He understands what we often fail to grasp, that we are in trouble along with all of creation. Usually we aren’t expected or encouraged to think about our relationship with God on this scale. Most days we are just making our way along the journey, kind of minding our own spiritual business. But for certain times, and this feels like one of them, we have no choice but to view things from the widest angle possible. This isn’t always easy to do because we seem so well trained in the narrow focus.

During times like this, it feels like we are being called out of our comfortable, personal cocoons in order to move beyond our cell phone screens, our news updates and our comfortable devotional insights in order to behold the pain of the world and the purposes of God being played out on the grandest stage of all. While we would prefer to dabble in these things most days, these days we are being invited to paint and pray on a much larger canvas. Certainly this is a good thing for the care of the world and for the expanding and maturing of our faith in God. 

The key messaging in all of this according to Paul is that help is on the way. Decay and frustration are not creation’s final reality (vv.19-21) As for us, we are all in this together with creation, as we groan deeply and patiently hope for a better day. We don’t even have to depend on ourselves to pray about all these challenging things that we find ourselves dealing with because God the Holy Spirit is in this together with us.

So today, I want to encourage you that your most sincere longings and desires for the healing of the world will be expressed for you as you pray, even when you can’t seem to find the right words. 

A Daily Prayer for Times of Emergency

Oh God our Rock,

hold us in this chaos.

Oh Christ our King,

calm us in this storm.

O Holy Spirit,

Intercede for us.

Be merciful,

Most merciful God!

O God our Rock,

hold us in the chaos of this hard hour.

O Christ our King,

calm us in the storm of our distress.

O Holy Spirit,

Intervene and intercede.

We need you now, most merciful God!

Amen.