Tuesday morning, I was strolling along Southbourne promenade before work. I passed several people of different ages and backgrounds and we didn’t pay much attention to each other; we didn’t know each other so we had no need to acknowledge each other.
Then I passed a lady and she said “Morning,” with a smile I might add. I smiled back and said “Good morning,” as cheerfully as I could muster at this chilly time of dawn.
Who was she? Well I don’t know. We didn’t know each other, but we both had dogs with us. Such is the life of a dog walker that it is very unusual to not greet one another. Since moving I have spent the past year saying morning to people, often the same person several times a week, I’m yet to find out their names. We are connected through being dog owners so we greet and acknowledge each other as worthy of a smile and a “Hello.” Joggers, paddle boarders, people who swim lengths at 7am each morning, owners of specialist cars, you will all know this to be true. You connect with another through these oddities and in doing so acknowledge each other’s value.
I am not just a dog owner; I am also a person of faith. But do I acknowledge other people of faith on my morning walk? No, because I don’t recognise them, they don’t recognise that as part of me. Tuesday morning, I asked myself, what would it be like to visibly be a person of faith such that other people of faith would greet me? As we begin to journey in to 2021 how can we be ‘seen’?
Let us go to God in prayer;
Holy God, we come before you now as people of faith. Some of us full of a joyous fire, some of us just a tiny fragment of a mustard seed. Remind us Holy God that even the tiniest seed of faith holds more power than we can ever know.
Holy God for that person who declares themselves an atheist, but find themselves here because of one percent of doubt, one slither of a thought that there might be more than disbelief, may that shaft of light go deep and grow within them, make their hearts open to the thoughts of faith.
We thank you Holy God for our faith and we ask now that as we move in to 2021 you multiply our faith over and over again. May every wondrous thing that comes our way remind us to give thanks to you and celebrate in our faith. May every challenge that comes our way be viewed as a faith work out, a process of faith strengthening. Through our faith, through You, we can do all things this year, all that we can imagine and more.
Jesus, show us what our faith can look like, help us to explore and inquire as to how we can better embody our faith. Filled with faith remind us, Jesus, to always be joyous. Even when we are not happy, we can smile because we have joy. Jesus, remind us to smile, even when know one is looking, but especially when others are.
Holy Spirit make us bold in our faith, give us the power to walk with confidence because you are upon us. May we walk tall and smile.
May our faith open our eyes to more than just the physical world around us, may we learn more this year about the spiritual world you guide us through, the wonder and awe it provides, may we have a twinkle in our eyes because we have learnt to see things differently.
We pray Lord, that we learn each day to walk a little taller, smile a little wider and never hide that twinkle of faith in our eyes. May we see and be seen.
We pray now for that person who walks alone, in desperate need of a hello, a good morning a ‘how are you today?’ We pray for that brother or sister in desperate want of a smile. Today, Heavenly Parent, we are ready! Take us down those lonely streets, we are ready to be seen as people of faith and ensure others feel seen too!
Amen
The Unexpected Prayer 