Good morning…
In the midst of his suffering on the cross, Jesus dropped his words into the pool of prayer. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last, (Luke 23:46, NIV). In other translations, Jesus’ words read, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands” (NLT), “Father, I put myself in your hands!” (CEV), and “Father, I place my life in your hands!” (MSG). I love Jesus’ simple model of prayer, shared in the midst of excruciating pain.
As people dearly loved by God, we all sit together around the very same pool. For those waiting bedside with a recovering loved one, I drop my prayer into the pool, “Father into Your hands I commit these loving caregivers.” For those peacefully protesting for the rights of all human beings, I drop my prayer into the pool, “Father, I entrust the healing of humanity into Your hands.” For those suffering from disease or divorce, addiction or mental illness, isolating loneliness of debilitating fear, I drop my prayer into the pool, “Father, I release those in deep pain into your hands.” For all those grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide or overdose, to accident or Alzheimer’s, I drop my prayer into the pool, “Father, I place the life of those grieving into Your hands.” Every drop of tear-drenched prayer plops into the pool of God’s endless love, while life-giving ripples expand from each word.
Just like Jesus, we exhale our request and inhale our next breath, humbly trusting, “God knows what God is doing, we do not.”
…Sue…
