I was walking in the rain the other day and came upon this scene. This picture represents one cropped tree that was part of a long row of similarly stripped-down trees.
I shared about the "Winter" of it on my "Where HOPEISM Blooms blog, that story can be found by clicking here.
But this image, in that row of images, made me stop, stare at this particular tree, and think of prayer.
Stripped down, bare, raw, real, transparent, transforming - prayer.
And how I want to be like that tree.
That image of prayer.
Stripped down of any and all pride.
Bare to the bones in humility.
Raw feelings.
Real emotion.
Transparent authenticity.
Transforming truthfulness.
I want no leaves that I hold -- my wants, desires, wishes, needs, hurts, requests. I feel prayer gets lost when we begin with all those leaves covering the branches of our prayer.
I want just the stripped down bare branches so that in my prayer, God puts the leaves on.
It's not so much what I can expect from God in prayer with my abundant leaves; but what can I bring to God in prayer in the barrenness of my branches?
I think as in that picture, Prayer - Communion with God - the Brokenness of our Unspoken-Broken that God already knows --- prayer is that trunk. Upon which all other aspects of our faith grows. Our prayers the barren branches that God covers in leaves in due time. His time. His season.
And as I walk the trail mesmerized by that tree, that line of trees, I simply seek what He would have me learn through the trials.
He could have prevented the things I'm asking him to fix.
So is my prayer merely asking Him to change His mind?
As I wait for those leaves - my prayer becomes the communion, the conversation, the consecration of asking His help in getting through what He allowed. The asking of what does He want me to learn from it. The asking of how I can turn this mess, mayhem, mistake, madness, into a Ministry in helping others. The seeking of more of Him through it.
I think the shared power of prayer comes in each of us joining in that conversation with God.
The silhouette of being stripped down bare in prayer ---
What a beautiful thing to behold.
And I wonder.....
What could that do in the life of a church?
What abundance could that bring from God?
