Sweet Hour Of Prayer

The hymn, Sweet Hour of Prayer, was stuck in my head and kept me up most of the night last night and got me thinking about Easter.  This Easter season doesn't necessarily have a different meaning to me, but it does have a more profound impact on me.  And I didn't think there could be a better time for me to share my thoughts on this than right in the middle of the season.

But first, back to the hymn.  This hymn became a little more special to me not too very long before I was pregnant with Colt.  Justin (my husband) and I, along with most of my Dad's family, attended my little home church.  My Papa was preaching that day.  One of my aunt's had heard through the vine that he would be preaching that day and we actually all surprised him - and we were are so very thankful at the end that we did.  He began his sermon by singing the beginning of Sweet Hour of Prayer, then stopped and began reciting a short daily prayer.  After this he would again sing another part of the hymn and stop, then go into another short prayer.  The entire duration of his sermon continued like this.  After the first few prayers, his message started to become very apparent, especially to his family.  He began stating the prayers he said to God when he was going through what I would dare to say were the darkest days of his life.  His youngest child of six children, his baby daughter, was diagnosed with leukemia in her very early twenties.  In his prayers, you could literally feel the anguish, despair, hurt, and longing for healing that he so deeply felt as a father who was helpless in the dire situation his daughter was facing.  But you were also overwhelmed by the complete faith, trust and hope he had in our gracious, loving God.  And the healing came.  And he finished his sermon with prayers overflowing with thankfulness and joy and finishing the hymn, "Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!."  Needless to say there was not a dry eye in the entire congregation that day. 

I may be partial - but my Papa's sermon is probably the best sermon I've ever listened to in my life, and I had no clue at the time.  Fast forward to Colt's unexpected arrival in December 2015.  I was put in a situation that I had absolutely no control over and one that impacted me more than anything ever had in my life.  When we learned Colt was coming early, I began praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) mostly because it was absolutely all I could do.  And was the absolute best thing I could do.  And the days that I couldn't get past the pain to pray verbally, God reassured me he knew the longings of my heart by Romans 8:26, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."  Very early on in our journey with Colt, God showed me that he was in complete control - and that I had to let him be.  As a mother, this is not easy.  At all.  But I had no other choice but to allow my faith and trust in our creator to grow bigger than it had ever been in my life.  At least hourly, I had to remind myself that God loved Colt more than I did.  And this was not easy to stomach.  Of course I had my fights with doubt, times I was mad at God, and days that my heart felt like it was going to stop beating - I am human.  But that is exactly why I thank God that Colt is in his hands.  The darkest days of our life didn't break us - they made us unbelievably stronger.  When you're going through it every minute feels like a lifetime because the unknown is so daunting.  But Joshua 1:9 tells us, "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened and do no be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Along with Isaiah 41:10 and Deuteronomy 31:6.   And the power of prayer is beyond anything imaginable.  We asked everyone we knew to pray for Colt and to pass it along to other brothers and sisters in Christ.  Matthew 18:19 states, "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven."  Colt was literally being prayed for across the United States.  And our faithful God answered and he continues to answer.  Colt is nothing short of an absolute miracle.  Papa's lesson he preached was learned by our family through the miracle we were given... Colt.  We should never ignore the Sweet Hour of Prayer.

So what does this have to do with Easter?  When I look at Colt and think back on the journey full of miracles, I think of God's indescribable love he has for us and how he saved us by sacrificing his one and only son.  I am a sinner saved by nothing else other than the grace of God and by the sacrifice of his precious son, Jesus.  And now he has saved my son by his grace and allowed my heart and life to be filled with even more joy.  The magnitude of the sacrifice that was made because of MY sins has always been huge - but now I feel even more indebted when I get to look into the precious face of my son.  This Easter my heart is full of gratitude, thanksgiving, repentance, and joy.  Happy Easter!