Prayer

A normal Tuesday night would include me going to Pub Quiz with my friends and just hanging out.  I love Tuesdays... I always look forward to them.  But due to a number of circumstances, no one could go to quiz tonight.  I was a little bummed and thought in my head, "Well, I guess I will just stay in an read or watch a movie."

After tea (dinner) with my host family - [I normally have tea at the pub during quiz] - Yolande asked me if I was keen on going to pray with her and Tina, another woman from the church who I have gotten to know fairly well.  For the past few years, Tina and Yolande (and a few others depending on the time of the year) have been meeting up every Tuesday night to pray at the beach.  When I first arrived here a few months ago, I asked Yo what they prayed for.  Her response: everything. 

I had never gone with Tina and Yo before, mainly because I placed more importance (and desire) on hanging out with my friends.  I wanted to go to quiz and hang out and have a beer.  I wanted to sit with them and chat about life.  I like sharing life with other young singles who dig similar things that I do... and despise Kings of Leon.  Tuesday nights are really important to me, relationally and ministry wise.  However, since no one was going to quiz, I figured that I would go pray with the ladies.  It beat staying in and doing absolutely nothing.

Tina picked Yo and I up at home and we drove to the beach.  We parked and sat in the car for awhile just chatting.  An then Tina initiated the time and began praying.  For 45 minutes, we sat in the car and just prayed.  When Yo said they prayed for everything, they weren't kidding.  Tina, then me, then Yo.  Everything on our hearts, how we were feeling, for ReChurch and the staff, for our families, for each other (including Yo praying that I will soon meet and fall in love with a godly man and get married... hilarious), for the United States right now, for the people still suffering from the earthquake, for the Tsunami victims, for God to move drastically in our hearts, for ministry opportunities, giving him thanks and praise for His blessings, etc... literally everything that was weighing on our hearts, we offered up to the Lord at that beach.  By no means was I expecting a "lame" prayer time with these ladies, but I was so refreshed when we ended.  It was so nice to just gather and pray about... well... LIFE. 

It's a good reminder that nothing is too small or too big to offer up to the Lord.  I don't have to keep anything bound in my mind or heart, because God wants to hear our cares and concerns... and even when we don't tell him outwardly, he still hears us and knows our hearts... So I figure, why NOT tell him, right?  But seriously, it was just such a genuinely good time sitting in that car just praying with those women.  I pray on my own and I pray with the staff, but I haven't prayed in that kind of setting in a long time.  I haven't just emptied my heart of everything in a long time.  Sometimes I get self-conscious of my prayers (I know that's silly, but it's part of my dumb approval idol) and I feel like somethings I am concerned about in life or thankful for are just small and not that significant to bring up in outward prayer.  I'll record them in my pryaer journal and leave them at that sometimes.  But not tonight... everything big and small was let out and it reminded me of how God cares about everything we are feeling and experiencing and thinking.  He desires for us to share life with him just as we desire to share life with other people. 

As much as I love quiz with my friends, I am so thankful I went to the beach tonight.