“In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. Psalm 18:6 (NIV)
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A small, quiet beach in North Carolina has been my family’s summer vacation spot for many years. It’s one of my very favorite places to be! There used to be one bridge that joined the island to the mainland and what a welcomed sight it was each time we’d visit! Somehow stress just seemed to disappear as we crossed over the Inter-Coastal Waterway leaving the bridge and the mainland behind. There was one problem though….
While driving across the bridge to get onto the island was relaxing, trying to get back to the mainland a week later along with all the other departing vacationers was anything but!** The few miles from our beach house to the edge of the island were slow at best BUT once we reached the bridge it was bumper to bumper traffic that resulted in a complete stand still. We knew what we wanted and where we needed to go but it felt like we’d never see the other side. Now, just picture that scenario with a hurricane evacuation added into the mix! Talk about a traffic jam! With the threat of a storm and the path that joins where you are to where you want to be blocked, anxiety levels rise!
Sometimes our prayer lives can feel the same way. Prayer is what joins us “vacationers” on earth to God in our Heavenly Home. When the sun is shining and the road is smooth, it seems our prayers are moving right along and we’re getting closer to where we want to be. But when the thunder and lightning of an unexpected storm crash our calm, we often find ourselves coming to a sudden stop! We try to maneuver this way and that, steering our prayers in the direction we want to go, but find ourselves feeling blocked, unable to move, and that’s when worry and anxiety take the wheel.
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 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. 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. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:25-28 (NIV)
No one wants to have to evacuate and cut short their vacation and worse yet, in life, we don’t want to have to pack up our plans and leave them behind. Both happen though. We hope the storm veers off shore while we anxiously wait. We “honk our horns” because we don’t know what to do next to get things moving again and then we wait some more. Thankfully, we’re not waiting alone. The Spirit himself takes our noise joins it with his own and delivers it directly to God’s ears. We can loosen our grip! Stop clenching our jaw! Leave our worries in the rearview mirror. God’s in the driver’s seat and we can trust that He’ll get us exactly where we’re supposed to go! (Which will be our favorite place for sure!)
Yes, prayer offers us a bridge to God. Through the Holy Spirit, prayer joins our wants with God’s plans. Let’s cross over, leaving our stress behind, and pray the prayer that keeps us moving in the right direction:
“Thy will be done.”
This post is written as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free Writes Challenge. You can read posts from other writers on the same topics over at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com I hope you know that I so appreciate you “joining” me here! God bless, Cindy