This Sunday is a very specific answer to a very specific prayer. Here’s what I’ve been praying for months:
“Lord, please allow me to use my voice – speaking and singing – for your glory.”
Here’s the answer:
I’m leading praise and worship for three services at my church this Sunday. AND I’m delivering the message for four services. It’s our annual “Women’s Sunday.”
I’ve led music and spoken at meetings and retreats before. It’s hard work, don’t get me wrong, but it’s very comfortable for me. I’ve been a teacher and trainer for over a decade. I can talk in front of people without freaking out. And I’m an extemporaneous speaker. I don’t’ use a script, I use an memorized outline. I know what I’m going to talk about and in what order, but I don’t always know exactly what words I’m going to say.
But right now I know this: I need to stay out of the way and let God work.
I’ve had a very fragmented few weeks. PinkGirl was home sick Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I had client training (online from home). I finally put my website up, spurred by impending compensated work and client inquiry. Last week was full of mini-van transfers and FirstHusband travel, and I was sick and wiped out for days. And then there was the skunk. As of yesterday, I had disjointed fragments of a message floating around in my head and no plan. No outline.
Today, I carved out three hours. The first two hours were spent reading my Bible, writing in my prayer journal and reading a few devotionals. Some might say I wasted my time. I don’t think so. The last hour was all God – filling my head with his message, flowing through my fingertips onto the keyboard. I wrote to sort it out. It’s not a script. I’ve set aside three hours again tomorrow and I’ll follow the same agenda. After it’s all written, I’ll extract an outline and memorize it.
Now, my prayer is still the same: that God will use my voice – singing and speaking – for his glory. I believe in the power of prayer.
Please pray with me?