Sometimes a word or a phrase really strikes you. Last week I was reminded of the phrase “A little goes a long way”. It lodged itself in my brain and I have been ruminating on it ever since, this understanding that a little goes a long way.
During lock-down, in theory, we have all had more time. More time to explore our hobbies, get DIY done, spend more time being creative, practice our faith in different ways and develop our relationship with God, or that spirit that we believe to be greater than us. But the reality is we are all overwhelmed, scared, exhausted. We are all just a bit knackered.
Grand gestures, big biblical reading plans, daily hour long devotions; they all seem too much. However, there will be something small we can do each day. Even setting one minute to be still and hear God can be a life changing practice.
So let us just take this moment to go to God in prayer.
Holy God, Almighty Creator, you know each of us gathering here today, your know our individual situations, our place in this confusing world. You understand how we are feeling and what we deal with each day. Be with us now and provide for us a moment of calm, a moment of peace, a moment of clarity.
God, we pray for your healing touch on our ourselves and on that brother or sister who is struggling because it all seems too much. We want to engage, we want to change, we want to be the difference; but we struggle to find the motivation, the energy, the time. The task seems too big.
God, remind us now that a little goes a long way and you only ask of us that which you know to be within our gift, even if we cannot see that yet. You don’t need us making huge changes, you just need each of us to commit to a small change, one small act that comes together and culminates in amazing change.
We pray now for those of your children who are unable to help themselves or feel unable to move their life in a different direction. We pray for those struggling with addictions, for those in abusive relationships, for those bound up by money worries, for those held down by anxiety and depression. We pray for those whose physical ailments restrict them, we pray for your children struggling to find a place they can call home.
We come together now to start with that which we can all do, simply to lift them up in prayer before you and ask for your healing touch to fall upon them.
Today, remind us Jesus, to set aside just one minute to say thank you and express and experience gratitude. Just one minute thanking you for all we have can reframe our hearts and minds. We thank you for your love, compassion and mercy.
A little goes a long way, be with us Holy Spirit and we journey through the year, show us what we can do each day to bring about your glory. A simple smile. A sincere thank you to those who serve us. An uplifting text to a friend in need. We each have a role to play in bringing about your kingdom and each tiny act can be an almighty game changer.
This moment of prayer may seem small, but we know in praying the wheels are already set in motion for all the wondrous adventures that will come our way!
Amen.
The Unexpected Prayer 