Dear Jesus,
We come to you today as sheep — not very wise, not very powerful, without much influence in the world, but creatures that you love. You call each of us by name, you bring us out to be near you, and you yourself lead us through this world as our shepherd.
So, Lord, today we will sit here before you on our day of rest, and be content to be sheeplike. We will put aside our busyness, ambition and worries, we will stop our planning and brooding and wishing, we will let go of all the concerns for self that masquerade as our humanity and we will instead just stop and hear you call our names.
Quieten our hearts, Jesus, still our souls, and let us rest in your presence like the little flock we are.
Lord, this year we have been praying for revival, and in only a week K Central begins, and there is so much good, necessary work that could weigh us down — jobs to do, problems to solve, loose ends to tie — and yet we just sit. We enter your rest — empty our hands, stop our talking, and let ourselves listen to you calling us near again.
We want so much for the world to know you, for our church to be bursting with members, and all Sydney to see you at work — and yet today we remember that amongst all the noise and clamour of the world, you mark us out by commanding us to rest. Not to do nothing, not to be limp or passive or disengaged, but to trust you fully so that we can step back from our fussiness and pride and know that you alone are God.
You not only created the world without our help, you also came to redeem it without our approval or permission, and you are building your kingdom right now, day by day, according to your own pattern, without our advice.
And so today we rest in you, knowing that you are strong to save, and that by sitting still and quiet now you are readying us all the more to bring you praise and honour and glory, and when we do that, our church will indeed arise, forever in your name,
Amen.
— prayed at Abbotsford Presbyterian Church on Sunday 29 June 2014. K Central is APC’s annual week-long primary school vacation care program, run entirely by church volunteers.
Rowan McAuley 