All-Sufficient Source
I opened my eyes during the prayer, which I grew up thinking you weren't technically supposed to do, but I'm so glad I did.
Juliette was beside me, on her knees on the floor with her forehead pressed into the carpet. Rebeca was in front on me, kneeling with her hands spread towards heaven. Charlotte sat on the couch, leaning forward with urgency as she, too, lifted her hands and her voice to heaven. Right outside the door, charlotte's mother-in-law (we affectionately call her "Mami") sat as close to the door as she could without actually coming in. She wanted to participate, but she didn't want to interrupt. I heard her praying, too, in Dagara like Rebeca and Juliette. I prayed in French for a while with Charlotte until the prayers grew so sincere that I reverted to my heart language and prayed in English.
I closed my eyes again and remembered a prayer I had prayed - that God would turn my house into a house of prayer, worship, and the touch of the Holy Spirit. On this day, I saw him do it. I had dedicated the couch that Charlotte was sitting on, the stool that Rebeca was leaning on, the carpet that Juliette was laying on, and the porch that Mami was waiting on.
We dedicated this day to praying and fasting together for the ministry we do here in Burkina. We had come together at noon to share a spiritual meal instead of a physical one.
We read the Old Testament story of Solomon when the Lord appeared to him and allowed him to ask for whatever he wished. He said (and I'm paraphrasing), "I'm just a young man with very little experience. This people that you have called me to lead are very numerous, and the task ahead of me is great. Give me, therefore, wisdom to do what you've called me to do."
Gathered together this day, we found ourselves in a very similar situation. We are just women, and we don't have a lot of experience when it comes to church and ministry matters. We live among a people that we believe God has chosen, the dagara, but when we think about the number of churches and the number of children and the amount of work to be done, we consider it "too numerous to count." And so we adopted Solomon's prayer as our own. O Lord, give us wisdom to lead these people.
And you know what God for Solomon from there. He made history as the wisest man to ever live, and God gave him abundance that he didn't even ask for.
We arose from the floor and the carpet, filled and well-fed with the awareness of God's presence and the satisfaction of the promises in his Word. The same God that gave wisdom to Solomon is the same one who gives us wisdom today to do what he is calling us to do. That simple promise is enough to fill our hearts with strength just as food fills our stomachs.
Join us in this prayer. Pray that God would give all of our team the wisdom and grace he gave Solomon. And may God also give you his wisdom in the situations that you are facing, whether it be a lack of experience, a task too great ahead, a fear to overcome, a conflict to resolve, or a problem to navigate. If I learned one thing from our prayer and fast, it is this that I share with you: our own strength, wisdom, and competence is never enough; but God is all-sufficient.
Juliette was beside me, on her knees on the floor with her forehead pressed into the carpet. Rebeca was in front on me, kneeling with her hands spread towards heaven. Charlotte sat on the couch, leaning forward with urgency as she, too, lifted her hands and her voice to heaven. Right outside the door, charlotte's mother-in-law (we affectionately call her "Mami") sat as close to the door as she could without actually coming in. She wanted to participate, but she didn't want to interrupt. I heard her praying, too, in Dagara like Rebeca and Juliette. I prayed in French for a while with Charlotte until the prayers grew so sincere that I reverted to my heart language and prayed in English.
I closed my eyes again and remembered a prayer I had prayed - that God would turn my house into a house of prayer, worship, and the touch of the Holy Spirit. On this day, I saw him do it. I had dedicated the couch that Charlotte was sitting on, the stool that Rebeca was leaning on, the carpet that Juliette was laying on, and the porch that Mami was waiting on.
We dedicated this day to praying and fasting together for the ministry we do here in Burkina. We had come together at noon to share a spiritual meal instead of a physical one.
We read the Old Testament story of Solomon when the Lord appeared to him and allowed him to ask for whatever he wished. He said (and I'm paraphrasing), "I'm just a young man with very little experience. This people that you have called me to lead are very numerous, and the task ahead of me is great. Give me, therefore, wisdom to do what you've called me to do."
Gathered together this day, we found ourselves in a very similar situation. We are just women, and we don't have a lot of experience when it comes to church and ministry matters. We live among a people that we believe God has chosen, the dagara, but when we think about the number of churches and the number of children and the amount of work to be done, we consider it "too numerous to count." And so we adopted Solomon's prayer as our own. O Lord, give us wisdom to lead these people.
And you know what God for Solomon from there. He made history as the wisest man to ever live, and God gave him abundance that he didn't even ask for.
We arose from the floor and the carpet, filled and well-fed with the awareness of God's presence and the satisfaction of the promises in his Word. The same God that gave wisdom to Solomon is the same one who gives us wisdom today to do what he is calling us to do. That simple promise is enough to fill our hearts with strength just as food fills our stomachs.
Join us in this prayer. Pray that God would give all of our team the wisdom and grace he gave Solomon. And may God also give you his wisdom in the situations that you are facing, whether it be a lack of experience, a task too great ahead, a fear to overcome, a conflict to resolve, or a problem to navigate. If I learned one thing from our prayer and fast, it is this that I share with you: our own strength, wisdom, and competence is never enough; but God is all-sufficient.
AMEN!
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