In church this past Sunday, one of our members asked for prayers; first for our church family, and then for the broader island community. The secret about our sleepy little island has gotten out, and people are visiting here in droves. Homes that had been on the market for years have been snatched up. Vacant wooded lots have been cleared and marked out for construction. Our housing supply for long-term renters or employees is non-existent. The island is in a time of transition, with lots of new faces who are unfamiliar with the history of how we got to where we are. As issues common to community development and growth arise, we need to be able to have conversations in a respectful manner, so the request for prayers for our community was particularly timely and poignant.
While there are many benefits to prayer, when it comes to helping our community deal with these types of issues, I believe that there are two particular benefits that we need to realize. First, by its very nature, when we pray, we are acknowledging that we, of our own abilities, aren’t capable of coming up with the proper answer. Prayer is a direct appeal to God, whether it be for his guidance or intervention. More simply put, when we pray, we are broadening the conversation to get additional feedback or information.
The second reason for encouraging prayer in the midst of these conversations is because prayer represents a break from talking to each other. Too often we feel a need to respond immediately, pushing back with the first thoughts that come into our minds. When we decide to introduce prayer to the process, we automatically create moments where we pause the dialogue with each other so that we can seek God’s wisdom. In that moment of pause, tempers can cool down, perspective can be gained, or wisdom can appear – all because we thought to pray before opening our mouth.
The ongoing development of our island will continue, and there will continue to be issues that pop up associated with development that impact all of us who live here. By being people of prayer, we give ourselves an opportunity to respectfully listen to as many stakeholders as possible. By being a people of prayer, we give ourselves the best opportunity to keep the special nature of our community intact. Therefore, as we face these issues together, please remember to stay in prayer for each other and for our island community.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron