Summer in Thailand: Prayer

This morning we had a wonderful staff worship time. Richard--one of the leaders of the Well--gave a mini-sermon on the question in the Bible that David asks often "How long O Lord?" I have definitely asked this question this year. In asking "How long", I have not actually brought these requests in prayer to Lord but just complained and worried how I was going to fix the problem myself. To ask the Lord "How long?" as David did, one needs to groan with all that is within them...to groan so much as to say "Lord, I cannot hold this any longer. I need you to take this from me." This is not demanding an answer but asking for peace. The peace usually comes when God in return asks the questions of us "How long, Summer? How long will you continue not to trust me? Then, we shall find peace because we are not waiting for God to fix something but He is waiting for us to praise him and work diligently at handing over our burdens in prayer. As Richard said, David was not polite when he asked these things. He accused God of leaving him and cried out with his whole body over and over. He did not stop until God responded. He was a conversation. The Psalms are a conversation and we can see that by the change in David's mood almost every chapter!

Before staff worship today, our house has morning prayer at 5:30. I was basically dreading this time up until last night when I heard the Holy Spirit tell me I should get up for it and he would give me the strength to make it through the day--which he has. So, at 5:20 this morning I found myself awake--my whole room was awake actually--and I wandered downstairs for prayer. OH WHAT A SWEET TIME IT WAS! I was alive and awake with passion. We did Korean-style prayer where everyone prays at one time out loud. At the beginning, we made a list of people we wanted to prayer for and come up with around 20 bullet points of groups, couples, and individuals. One of these people is one of Cori and Jup's friends in one of the bar districts. She has found herself out of the bars and then back in again due to the need of money and a place to stay, I gather. I was thinking of how reliable the bars are for people, specifically the women. They are open everyday with customers from all over the world. They know they can receive a job, a place to stay, a mother of sorts--the mama-san--who is a step under the bar manager, more of an overseer of the girls. When their friend got in a tight spot or any of the women at the Well get in a tight spot, they always have a reliable industry that will welcome them with open arms. It reminded me of John 4--with the story of the woman at the Well--and how the woman could always rely on the well in Sychar to provide her with sustenance. She most likely never doubted that her routine would be changed during the day because of the well. She always went and visited and gathered her water for the day. However, when Jesus came, he gave her a new routine--one that involved running to her village and telling her people of this new kind of sustenance--eternal sustenance. She most likely visited the well still but she had a different meaning attached to the water now. She understood temporary a little bit better. Likewise, in Bangkok, the women are given a gift of eternal sustenance and a new routine, and a new understanding of work. While the women always have the option of returning to the bar industry that provides a temporary "drink" the Well has the opportunity to provide another type of reliability. I was challenged to share this with the staff during worship and share time but I never got the chance because of the eagerness of people to share and contribute to the service. All in all, I learned the importance of the Well offering a reliable source of eternal sustenance by constantly waiting on the Lord and putting our burdens before him.

This is to say, I gained a love for prayer and the Word today. It was beautiful and will continue to be beautiful.

Some other beautiful things: