SUNDAY SERMON: Thoughts & Prayers
By Rev. Stephen Baldwin
NT: John 17.20-26 & Acts 16.16-34
Sometimes it’s hard to know the right thing to say. Ok, a lot of the time it’s hard to know the right thing to say. Whether a friend is going in for surgery or a neighbor is going through a rough patch, we struggle for the right words.
One of the more common things folks will say in those situations is, “My thoughts and prayers are with you.” If someone tells me that, I find it comforting. It signals that you’re thinking of me and available to be helpful and in my corner.
But others are put off by that saying, as they think it means you aren’t going to do anything…you’re just saying something in the moment. That does happen. It’s probably happened to you. Somebody says the right thing, but you don’t ever see action associated with it.
You appreciate the message, but you would really like them to do something about it.
I think Jesus would agree we need to do more than share our thoughts and prayers, and he would teach us that prayer isn’t just passive words we say. Prayer is about gathering your heart, your mind, and your body together so that you can take purposeful action.
John 17, which we read this morning, is Jesus’ prayer for his disciples. His deepest yearnings for those who have endured life alongside him, knowing his time with them is coming to a close.
To be perfectly honest, the prayer is hard to follow. It’s a bit of a word salad. But maybe that’s because the emotion that would have been involved. Like the father of the bride giving a speech at dinner, the words may not always be the most eloquent, but the tears and the laughter convey the power of the relationship which surpasses words.
What’s clear in Jesus’ thoughts and prayers is that he loves his disciples. He loves those who will come after them. And he wants God to keep them united in love.
It was the love, the emotion, and the power behind that prayer that led to Jesus’ most selfless actions. Walking to Jerusalem. Breaking the bread. Praying in the garden. Surrendering to the authorities. Dying on a cross. Rising from the grave. All these actions followed the downpayment made by his thoughts and prayers for those he loved.
Prayers aren’t just words. They are reflections of our hearts. When we hold someone close in our thoughts and prayers, it’s a serious responsibility to listen to them, see their needs, and find ways to help meet them. It’s a long-term process that requires us to act, sometimes quietly in the background and sometimes up close and personal.
A good example of that is our other scripture today from Acts. Paul and Silas are on their way to…pray. But along the way, they met a woman. She was not free, a slave to a spirit which controlled her mind and to owners who controlled her body. She told fortunes and made her owners a lot of money.
She started following Paul around, telling everyone who he was and why he was there. He cast the spirit out of her, thinking it would help her at the same time as it helped him. But without the spirit, she didn’t have a job. And without her job, the owners didn’t make any money. So they came after Paul and Silas, forcing the magistrates to arrest and imprison him.
Once they’re in prison, after they’d been shackled and beaten, they decided to…sing. As they sang, an earthquake struck the jail, opening all the cells. But neither Paul nor Silas nor any of the other prisoners left.
The jailer, thinking they’d all escaped on his watch, prepared to kill himself for his failure. But once he realized they were all still there, he realized he was beholden to a higher power than the government. He owed his life to God, so he took Paul and Silas to his own house where they baptized his entire family.
It’s an unbelievable story. Paul and Silas were just going to pray, and ended up freeing a woman, getting arrested, going to jail, being freed, not leaving, and going home with the jailer to baptize his family.
All this was possible because their thoughts and prayers were sincere and led to action. Remember that’s how the story began; they were going to a place of prayer.
People of faith must stay in a place of prayer. If our thoughts and prayers are going to positively impact God’s people, then we must be ready at a moment’s notice to act on them. Prayers are like seeds. Sometimes they take time to sprout and grow, but without the seed the fruit isn’t possible. It’s the same with prayers.
I’ve been fortunate enough to know a number of people over the years who practice what they preach with thoughts and prayers. Betty Ralston is one, Ron Miller is another. When they say that they are praying for you, you know it means they are making space in their life to do the thing you need at the time you need it. They are planting a seed. They are preparing to act. They are in your corner. Their words are a seed they plant in the world which grows over time and turns into beautiful actions.
Sometimes it’s hard to know the right thing to say. Just say what’s on your heart. Remember people in your thoughts and prayers, and God will show the way. Amen.
