Lay Leader Reflections

The Work and Ministry of Prayer

I am grateful that our call as United Methodists in Florida invites us to take the faith we confess into our world. We are not just “Sunday people”; we are also people who embody the grace of Jesus in tangible ways Monday through Saturday. Therefore, we are constantly paying attention to what is happening in our communities, offering ministries of mercy and justice in Jesus’ name and always looking for ways to transform the world from neighborhoods to nations. Like I said, I am grateful for this witness. 

But y’all - the news cycle is A LOT. Can I get an AMEN?

I have done my best to follow the breaking news and continued coverage of all that is happening over the last few weeks (I mean years). There is no shortage of stories that break out hearts, causes that need our voice, leaders who need our accountability, and most importantly, survivors and the most vulnerable who need our support. If I am honest, there are days that I just want to shut off the news, and for my mental health sometimes I do. But again, while seeking healthy ways to stay engaged, we cannot shut ourselves off from the world. Isolation is not the way of Jesus and it is not a part of our Wesleyan heritage. So what do we do with all of our built up angst, particularly in moments where the pain of this world seems so much bigger than our abilities to bring hope?

As I was processing some grief from this week’s news cycle, I found myself in this Sunday’s lectionary Psalm and I was struck by it’s call and admonition. Here are the first two verses from Psalm 77:

I cry out loud to God—
    out loud to God so that he can hear me!
During the day when I’m in trouble I look for my Lord.
    At night my hands are still outstretched and don’t grow numb;
my whole being refuses to be comforted.

These two verses took me back to my home church (it wasn’t UMC but that’s alright) where we would have weekly prayer meeting. Every Wednesday evening at 7pm, we would gather and place a one person altar in the front of room. We’d sing a song until someone felt the call to pray. They’d get up from their seat and walk to the altar. We’d all follow them, shake their hands and go back to our seats as the person knelt at the altar. We did this several times over the course of an hour. Some prayers were short and given in a normal tone. But most of the prayers were loud - loud of enough so, as the Psalmist says, “God can hear them” and long enough so that every need and concern was articulated. Wednesday night prayer meetings were a powerful and necessary part of our ministry. It was how we stayed sane in a troubling world, and empowered to fulfill our mission as followers of Jesus Christ.

I share all of this to remind you - the laity of the United Methodist Church in Florida  - that as we are called to stay engaged in our world, we must do that from a place of prayer. Prayer is not simply a ritual of tradition, it is an opportunity to speak to the Author of all mercy and justice, to seek the ways Jesus is already at work, and to be empowered by the Spirit to join in the mission of transforming the world. Prayer is the mechanism by which we can be aware of what is happening in the world, but not crushed by it. The place of prayer is where we are invited to lift our soft and loud voices, to render our short and long pleas, and to offer our hands, feet and more to the God who loves all. May we be the people of mercy and justice, from Sunday to Sunday, who find ourselves praying the loud and long prayers for the sake of the world. Prayer is our work. Prayer is our ministry.

Derrick Scott III
Co-Lay Leader, Florida Conference

Return to the Update for June 25