I asked my 8 year old grandson if there was anything worrying him at the moment so I could pray. “Only one thing, Granny” he replied “Global Warming”.
Pete Greig in his book “How to Pray” includes this quote:
“To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world”.
Karl Barth
My one and only visit to Covent Garden was to see the opera Madame Butterfly. I’m no expert on opera but could appreciate wonderful music, costumes and even the building itself. It was amazing.
The set was a vast empty stage – yet with great artistry and minimal design they transformed the space. More familiar to me though are amateur, local productions where sets have an air of paint still drying and clunky mechanisms shifting everything into place.
That said, they still transport audiences with colour and visual effects even though they are illusionary and not permanent.
Prophetic Focus
I had a picture of a stage at a theatre where the scenery was being shifted constantly. God was saying to me that I was being influenced too much by the changing, flimsy backdrop of my circumstances and it was sometimes altering how I was responding to Him – centre stage.
Pray
Let’s reflect on this prophetic image in two ways:
Firstly, by asking Holy Spirit to describe the scenery on “our stage” currently. What’s going on? Is it diverting our focus from God in any way?
Some of the scenery around me was a weariness that can tag onto illness. It was subtly eroding my enjoyment of some of the things I do and also chipping away at disrupting routines. Another was comparison. When did that faded old cracked-painted backdrop unfurl and settle back onto my stage? I thought that had been packed away years ago! Apparently not.
Take time to pray through anything God is revealing and speaking to you about.
Ron MacLean recently preached about God’s willingness to help us, to reach out to us. He emphasised that “God is Willing…”
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”
Psalm 145:18-19 “The Lord is near to all who call on Him , to all who call on Him in truth..”
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you”
Pray
Secondly, ask Holy Spirit if He wants to make some new “scene changes” into your life?
When I did this I felt a strong call to contend for the next generation. I don’t fully know what that means yet for me but I think it will involve prayer and intentionally seeking to understand the times and present culture. Helping in any way an “oldie” can!
Written large, graffiti-like on my “life backdrop” appeared the words:
LEGACY
HERITAGE
CULTURE CHANGE
What is Holy Spirit saying to you?
16 Nov 2021
