Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
Learning not to be an island…A call to community, a call to prayer
I struggle with asking for help; It makes me uncomfortable. I’ve previously confessed to a capacity conundrum…
…I'm neither stubborn nor masochistic… It's just that I've got little engine that could-itis …I think I can. I push when I should rest. I move when I should be still. I offer because I can. I have a capacity conundrum.
I am very good at helping, offering, covering, being the friend I’d want to have. I just don’t have any idea how to receive what I’d expect anyone else to…It wasn’t until I realized that my selfishness, my inclination to be an island, is a sin. We are taught in Galatians that it is the law of Christ that we bear one another’s burdens.
By insisting upon not asking for help, I sin.
As usual, Matthew Henry’s Commentary of Galatians 6 makes it plain.
It becomes us to bear one another's burdens, as fellow-travelers. It is very common for a man to look upon himself as wiser and better than other men, and as fit to dictate to them. Such a one deceives himself; by pretending to what he has not, he puts a cheat upon himself, and sooner or later will find the sad effects. This will never gain esteem, either with God or men.
I’ve often put that cheat upon myself. I meant no offense, but knowing better means you do better. I declare here and now, I know better.
I’ve also recently learned that we should not undertake anything important (it’s all important) without prayer.
Pastor Mike Robinson from the BarnabasNetwork.com explains what it means to undertake the building of a ministry of prayer…
When we take seriously the call of Scripture to "pray for one another" and we do just that, then we are ministering in prayer for the benefit and well-being of another … There is wonderful spiritual power released when two or more people agree in prayer. " Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:19,20)
Having confessed my own challenges, I am now issuing a call to action.
By joining the Circle of Faith, I dived heart-first into community. If you haven’t already, I am inviting you along. Join us, not only in the Circle, but by sharing your stories of prayer, and undertaking an earnest pledge to lift up concerns as a member of our CoF Prayer Team.
Starting today we will be hosting a Facebook Prayer community; a place where we can join together to share our prayer needs and our testimonies of God’s provision. It is a forum for us to share what we are believing God for, so that we can knit our faith together.
Prayerfully, thoughtfully, with hearts broken open, we seek those who would not only help us build our community but pray that it would be hidden, that it would rest and be nurtured, and that it would grow, that it might be enlarged, if that is God’s Will.
Below you’ll find our Contributors posts about prayer. Please check these posts out then share your thoughts about prayer in the Comments. As a group, we have committed to doing no thing without prayerful consideration. We are choosing to be deliberate; committing our writing to prayer.
We are choosing to be deliberate; committing our writing to prayer.
Remember the Prayer of Jabez? For years I avoided it, mostly because I consider myself “too cool” to do what everyone else does...I probably miss a lot that way, but late to the party is better than never showing up…so it’s time to be done with all that. I have named my fear and now God is challenging me to get over it. He is calling upon me to enlarge my territory, and I have to leave my comfort zone to do it. One more thing…we cannot do it alone.
Now I think I just might (along with the members of my praying community) be ready to receive what Jabez saw and what I must pursue, and not ALONE. In community.
Going bigger for God…
So, in a whisper I am praying, “…Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm...”
May God, in His Infinite Wisdom, grant this request.
Prayerfully, thoughtfully, with hearts broken open, we seek those who would not only help us build our community but pray that it would be hidden, that it would rest and be nurtured, and that it would grow, that it might be enlarged, if that is God’s Will.
If you are interested, click here to visit our Facebook group page. Then click on Join Group on the top right of the screen. Any further questions, please contact us. We look forward to praying with you!
Posts from our Contributors on Prayer:
Pray for His Presence by Susan Panzica
Sword Wielding Cheerleaders and My Thoughts on Prayer by Kimberly Amici
Prayers I Don't Want to Pray by Noelle Rhodes
The Legacy of Prayer by Elise Daly Parker
An Answered Prayer by Micalagh Beckwith Moritz
Rochelle Wilson blogs at Treat Me to a Feast about her life lived forward, reviewed backward, through the lens of faith. She’s a PK (Pastor’s Kid), who’s been a Baptist church musician since she was five. Always a dancer and athlete, as an adult she turned to liturgical dance to deepen her personal worship. It worked. Rochelle laughs a lot, is married to her first love and prom date nearly 20 years ago. Together God gave them two children and a boxer who is the other love of her life, confidante, therapist, and physical trainer.