I had chosen a passage and a presentation for last Friday’s Come Away retreat at the Center for Spiritual Development in Orange, CA and was ready to go. That morning, as I sat praying and gathering materials for the day, I had an impression that God was inviting me to switch passages from the gospel text I had planned to use to Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21. I had spent time in it with Chuck Miller and a leader visiting southern California from Berlin, Germany. The passage’s influence had lingered in my heart and mind.
On retreat Friday, that passage became not only the focus of our scripture reflection, but also of my comments in preparation for solitude, silence and prayer. It wasn’t a prepared talk as much as a guided conversation. At the end of the day when we debriefed together, at least four participants shared that the passage felt like a bulls-eye for them in their life and ministry situation. I was amazed and grateful.
A year ago, I wrote up a post here having reflected on this same passage. It was a personal journal I wrote during another retreat day I was leading. I tried to imagine what a Christian community would look like if this prayer was deeply answered in it. It was good to go back and read it again. I hope you enjoy it:
Click for “What Do We Expect From Prayer?”
