Words of Hope During COVID-19
Karla Kincannon, author of Creativity and Divine Surprise, describes how she is experiencing the presence of God through creativity during this time of solitude. Our God is a God of creativity, and when we create, we always connect with God.
Today’s Reflection
The Spirit is praying, inside of me, inside of you. The Spirit of God takes the intercession of Jesus before the Father in heaven and all the time prays it within our hearts. There is a prayer meeting constantly going on in our lives. We are never prayerless. The Spirit intercedes deep within us, praying the prayer of Jesus, that we may be one and that this world will be mended.
—Trevor Hudson and Stephen D. Bryant, Companions in Christ: The Way of Transforming Discipleship (Upper Room Books, 2006)
Today’s Question
How does it feel to know that the Spirit intercedes when you aren’t sure how to pray? Join the conversation.
Today’s Scripture
In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans.
—Romans 8:26 (CEB)
Prayer for the Week
Lord, meet me where I am.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.
Something More
How do we stay centered in the midst of fears, grief, and stress? Here are some resources to help you keep—or create—spiritual wellness and wholeness in these anxious times.
Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.
4 Comments
True to His name, The Comforter intercedes, quiets our restless hearts, makes sense of our wordless yearnings. And, if we are able to discern – we can learn from the rhythm of peace, be welcomed again to our Father’s lap and be enveloped in His tent. I say that, because in Psalm 27, verse 5 – the psalmist references a few things…”For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble, He will conceal me under the cover of His tent, He will set me high on a rock.” He will do these things for me, it is not up to me to do these things, to achieve this status. I must remain humble, moldable, clay-like.
I am currently working on memorizing this Psalm – and find it very comforting.
Ally – keep the good news coming regarding David, his recovery and progress and rehab. We may be living a bit vicariously through your good news. It is good to rejoice with you.
I placed an order on-line at a local grocery store, things for myself and dad, and will go today and have the store load the groceries in my car. I thought the fee would be a lot more than what it was – so will proceed with this in the future, as opposed to having others do my shopping.
Last evening, our pastors hosted a 8X8 (similar to zoom) “coffee with pastors” virtual visit. There were 23 households represented and it was good to put names with faces, learn of families and catch up with people whom I know and miss. Technology is a gift, I must learn to embrace it more.
I am feel humbled, heard, loved and gratefull. I am humbled that an aspect of the Lord is within me constantly discerning my fears, needs, suffering and loneliness. Grateful that the Spirit then conveys these to the Lord who hears and loves me none the less. I am ever thankfull and praise His providential care.
Prayers for Jill and Larry for their health and safety and for their continued use of technology to stay in touch with one another and other loved ones and friends. I also thank the Lord that Jill found a solution to her shopping dilemma.
Prayers for Robert and his and his friends and family, may they all stay safe and healthy and may we hear more from Robert once he has a working keyboard.
Prayers for Ally and David and praise God that a miracle is unfolding before our eyes! I agree with Jill, it is good to hear such wonderful news and also from someone I have grown fond of in so short a time. I have learned so much regarding faith and love from you and thank the Lord for you commenting here.
Prayers for Gail. I send prayers of thanks to the Lord that He chose my home to be in Pennsylvania and that He chose Governor Wolf to be our political leader at this time.
Prayers for Andrea, April, BJ, Lou and Rick. May they and their families be safe and healthy.
Prayers and thank you and safety and health dear UR
It is such a comfort to me to that the Holy Spirit intercedes for me when I can’t find the words. I ask the Spirit to stand in the gap, to intercede, and that I will be in agreement. I feel the Holy Spirit is also interceding when I use the words of others. I find the prayers in the Book of Common Prayer to be a great comfort and help. And like Karla in the video, I find creating to be a spiritual practice in order to connect with God. As a music therapist, I have found working with clients that music is as therapeutic for me as it has been for the people I have served. I sing, play guitar and piano, and listen to music on youtube and Pandora. Singing the hymns I grew up with have been a real comfort. I also have a prayer and coloring journal that I get into a couple of times a week. I am not a great artist, but find drawing and coloring to be a therapeutic medium. During the weeks I was quarantined, these practices were a lifesaver for my mental health.
I would like to thank y’all for your kind words to me yesterday. The things you said made my day!
Hopefully, today is the day David will go to rehab. I will be taking him some clothes and personal items tomorrow. He is excited and ready to start rehab. Of course, we are disappointed that we won’t get to spend time together, as we have not seen each other in over 3 weeks. But the therapy staff will allow us to FaceTime,, and that is a blessing! We are so thankful for your prayers and to be at this point. Years ago, I attended a gospel music performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Country and bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs was one of the performers. I will always remember this statement he made: Our God can’t be anything but faithful. How true that is. Know that I pray for y’all the needs and concerns you mention each day. Thank you for welcoming me to this forum and being with me through this journey. I look forward to us learning more about God together. Have a blessed day, all.
The message of today, that the Spirit is working within me all the time and interceding when I don’t know how to pray is so true. Recently I needed a new pair of glasses, the progressive kind. They were great when I was in the office, but after coming home and wearing them fulltime, I would get dizzy and was so tired at the end of the day. I prayed for relief and an answer to my problem. The Spirit told me to notice small things about my vision as I looked through each lens on the glasses so I could cooperate with the corrective lenses. Sure enough, there was a slight difference in the brightness of words from each of the angles I looked through until I found the correct lens. I am practicing this everyday and it is becoming much easier to now lock-in the correct lens without becoming dizzy so that I can stay up late at night and read!! I thank the Spirit for instructing me and God for this miracle!!
Another confirmation that God is in control. This week on our walks, we continued to watch a Canadian goose sit on her eggs in a nest that was on a very small grassy spot in the river (it looked like only a 6 inch perimeter of ground around her nest). The flow of water had been increased and we witnessed her pecking as far as her neck would let her to gather more grass and twigs to lift her nest up from the water. I prayed that the eggs would hatch before the river overtook her. Two days ago we decided to take a morning walk instead of an afternoon walk as it was scheduled to rain. Sure enough, from at distance, we could see her sitting. As we walked closer, we noticed that there were little fuzzy heads popping up beside her. Then she stood up and the babies did too. Then she walked into the water and so did they. As they were immediately swept down the river, their daddy was there to guide them to the bank of the river about 6 feet away. Mommy goose came behind and walked up on the land. The four babies followed and began to eat. Daddy guarded them from other walkers. Yesterday when we walked, the nest was empty and we know that God is continuing to take care of this goose family wherever they are.
I see the hand of God in the posts and thank Him for being so near to each of us. I am blessed beyond measure to have God as my Father, Jesus as my Savior, the Spirit within me, and each of you in my UR Family so that I may name you as I pray for you. Stay safe.
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