"Week-in-Review"

You might be thinking this is going to be my week in review, and you are probably thinking, “Wait she already told us this?” but don’t worry, I am not going to torture you by going through my week again. Instead “week-in-review” is a saying and phrase we practice here at the church (FBC). It is pretty much what it sounds like. Someone facilitates asking the congregation what has happened this week- anything from the Kenyan Rugby team going to the semi-finals to the people still dying of starvation because of the maize scandals. The challenge is for us as a church to be aware and watching what is going on in our community, our city, and our country, noticing where God is at work. It is also a challenge for us to remember to be praying. As the man leading this week, named Steve, said, “how can we be praying for our country, if we don’t even know what’s going on?” Plus Steve pushes us farther in saying, it’s not just a matter of watching the news; maybe we are not seeing God working in a particular area because we are not praying for it. I thought this an extraordinary idea; how often do I watch the news or hear about something difficult or broken and my response is sorrow rather than prayer. My sorrow is genuine, but “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Prayer is what is really needed.

Speaking of prayer, on Wednesday nights, a few from the church gather for intercessory prayer. I have now gotten to go twice, and I love it!!! It follows along the same pattern of what you would imagine a prayer gathering to be. In terms of prayers and praises, we share concerns and the thanksgivings, normally divided into three areas, the church (as a whole), the country (and other nations), and individuals. Someone starts us singing a simple song, and we just kind of flow from there. We might sing a couple songs, or we might sing one. Then someone opens it up, and we all start praying aloud with no one really listening to what the other is saying. It sounds like what I would imagine Pentecost to have sounded like when the Holy Spirit came. Sometimes people are even singing all different kinds of songs as their prayers; none of them “go” together, but some how they fit. At the end, someone closes with a prayer, and we again sing, mostly a song of thanksgiving or God’s provision. I have experienced prayer like this in a couple other contexts, so I know it is no new concept or idea, but there is something genuine and desperate in this time. For them, prayer is the only means in which something is going to happen; it is the only hope they have for suffering to cease and peace to prevail. And when you come to the feet of Jesus in that posture, things are different.

This past week, we actually have started this thing called chain-clock prayer. There were eight of us in the room, and we were each assigned a day with a specific thing to pray for. Here is what we have:
Monday- Raila ((Peter)) and his wife Margaret; praying for families
Tuesday- Cynthia praying for FBC…vision, discernment, place of worship, and all else to do with the church
Wednesday- Tony; praying for the country: corruption in gov’t, new policies, tragedies, etc.
Thursday- Justus; praying for the street children: their position and their heart and will for hope and change
Friday- Me: praying for the youth and children in the church ((funny, I didn’t even ask for this one; they just gave it to me))
Saturday- Mary: praying for the worship and presence of God within our midst on Sunday mornings, and for Tony and Justus with finding jobs and being provided for
Sunday- Dennis “Pastor” praying for the sick and hospitalized

We were commissioned for these days for these specific things to stand in the gap. Please join us in these prayers.

This time on Wednesdays has quickly become one of the highlights of my week. Although, that is probably a void point because most everything is my favorite. There isn’t much I don’t love; actually I can’t think of anything. Some things are more difficult to do, or they may be hard to process and definitely a bit overwhelming but I still love it. And maybe that is a testament to real love anyways. Loving despite it being hard, difficult and challenging; loving even when things are not peachy or going well. God is good in all, through all, and amidst all, and He works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to his purpose. Where God is good, how can I not love it?!?!

Thank you all who have shared your insight and wisdom, please continue to do so. And continue to be in prayer. Praising him for being with my mom in surgery, for the work He has done in some of the guardians here, and for the noise he is raising in the government. And be petitioning for Kenya ((please stand in the gap for this country))- the distribution of maize for the hungry, the orphans left on the streets, and the significant impact even the smallest seed of hope can bring. I challenge you also to look at your “week-in-review” wherever you are, and instead of just thinking about the sorrow, the misfortune, and the suffering, let’s be in prayer about them. Praise God…Amen! Praise God again…AMEN!!!