Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. ”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, February 22, 2021
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Jesus encourages us to pray in this way. First, acknowledge the God who created us, in whose kingdom we live. Then, pray boldly for the things we need - food and shelter. They pray boldly for others - for our relationships to be mended and for us to behave in a manner fitting of citizens of God's kingdom.
I have been watching The Exorcist on TV. One of the things I find fascinating is how long it takes to exorcise a demon. In some fantasy realms, an exorcism takes just one fancy Latin phrase, and the demon is toast. (Supernatural, for example.) But in this one, it takes days and weeks of continual prayer, and the prayer takes a lot out of the one praying. To me, it's a visual representation of the relentless, persistent prayer I think Jesus is talking about here.
Once, someone close to me received a scary medical diagnosis. Our first course of action was to take it to a beloved prayer circle we know. This is not your typical gossip-chain prayer circle. These are hard-core, power pray-ers. These women have a connection to God I can only envy. They pray for hours on end, and if you want a prayer done right, you take it to them. I don't know if they pray like that because they have the gift of intercessory prayer, or if their gift for intercessory prayer is strengthened because they pray like that.
Maybe both. Either way, they pray boldly, and that scary diagnosis had better get out of the way or watch out!
