This month's reflection is more of a request really

On several occasions I would hear John Wimber say that his favourite and most used prayer was simply this, "O God. O God. O God. Help!" Many times he would add the caveat that this was his most sincere and gut-honest prayer.

I am finding the simplicity and authenticity of this prayer pretty comforting right now. There's no "five alarm fire" - feeling pretty stable actually - yet the culmination and accumulation of "stuff" that has the potential to overwhelm seems to be lurking just around the corner. I don't think I'm alone in this.
It reminds me of a request that Paul put out to his friends and colleagues in Romans 15:30-32. He fired off this plea when he was in a pretty stressful and disorienting time. He, interestingly enough, is being tussled around in the midst of some pretty significant polarization between some of the Jewish and Gentile believers, let alone facing a surge of persecution from the society at large, and is trying to get to Rome but is experiencing all kinds of delay. Paul does not go into specific details about what is happening here, but it is a swirl for sure.
"I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me."
"This is not a request to be merely 'remembered' in prayer. The word Paul uses (synagōnisasthai) (15:30) comes from military and athletic settings. He is asking them to struggle (agōn) with (syn) him through their prayers." (Lancaster, S. H. (2015). Romans (A. P. Pauw & W. C. Placher, Eds.; First edition, p. 258). Westminster John Knox Press.)
Prayer matters. Prayer makes a difference. Prayer is one of the ways, in fact as Paul says in other contexts, it may very well be one of the most important ways, in how we join together. Carry together. Journey together. And, as Paul says, it is by the "love of the Spirit." Many commentators and scholars seem to hardly reference this in reflecting on this text, but it seems to pop off the page to me. In leaning into this type of prayer for each other, love is a central  emphasis. The insistence here is not on the power of the Spirit. Nor the presence of the Spirit. It's not so much about revelation and some impressive jiu jitsu declaration, but about love. The love of the Spirit.
Simple really. I find myself crying out "help" a bit more these days. And, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, pray with me. Pray for me. Pray for our national team. Pray for each other.
Step by step.

David Ruis