I HATE crying in Bible study.
Admittedly, it was that time of the month when the tears came easily. That same day, I bawled the whole way through the previews for Biggest Loser's makeover week. That's right - the previews.
But I also cried because I was brave.
Several years ago Clint and I had dinner with a couple 20 years or so ahead of us in life, and they were talking about this amazing Sunday School class they had been a part of, and all of the things God had done through it. We asked what they thought had made it such a meaningful group, and I've never forgotten their answer.
They made rules about prayer requests.
You were only allowed to share prayer requests about yourself. No sharing about your neighbor's cousin's daughter who was being bullied, or about the family on the news whose house burned down, or the civil war in Sudan. Yourself, your life, your struggles.
The implication is not that those other things are bad things to pray about. Intercession is a wonderful, biblical thing, and we are all called to it.
But too often we use those things as a cover for not sharing what's really going on with us. It's easier to ask people to pray for your aunt's friend who is struggling with breast cancer than to ask your community to pray that you would not be fearful, or to confess that you have an anger problem, or to open up about your loneliness.
But when we DO share, when we DO open up and confess and be honest, we open up the door for the church to actually be the church, and we start to strip past the pretenses that we have it all together.
So a few weeks ago, when it came time to share prayer requests, my thought process went something like this: We really don't have that much going on. I'll say I don't have anything. Actually, I do have this friend I've been thinking about a lot lately who's going through something really difficult. I'll ask them to pray for her. Which actually reminds me of That Thing I've stayed up worrying about the past few nights. Oh gosh if I say that out loud they'll pity me and pat me on the leg and give me advice.
Which is the worst. (But that's another blog).
But I thought about our friends, and their Sunday school class, and I did it. Although I would have MUCH rather asked for prayers for my friend, I shared about That Thing.
Although it wasn't a big deal in the larger scheme of things, it was a brave step for me.
But when we DO share, when we DO open up and confess and be honest, we open up the door for the church to actually be the church, and we start to strip past the pretenses that we have it all together.
So a few weeks ago, when it came time to share prayer requests, my thought process went something like this: We really don't have that much going on. I'll say I don't have anything. Actually, I do have this friend I've been thinking about a lot lately who's going through something really difficult. I'll ask them to pray for her. Which actually reminds me of That Thing I've stayed up worrying about the past few nights. Oh gosh if I say that out loud they'll pity me and pat me on the leg and give me advice.
Which is the worst. (But that's another blog).
But I thought about our friends, and their Sunday school class, and I did it. Although I would have MUCH rather asked for prayers for my friend, I shared about That Thing.
Although it wasn't a big deal in the larger scheme of things, it was a brave step for me.
My brave friend. I have never done that before but can almost hear my heart screaming "the things" out when the group asks for prayer requests. Why is it so hard?
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