I Have Enough, Lord

23Nov
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
-James 5:13-20


Prayer of thanksgiving, prayer of petition, prayers of lament and for deliverance, prayer of glorification toward God, prayer in corporate worship. As seekers of the divine, we call upon prayer to steer our choices and root our place with God. And each of us can recite life-changing moments when “answered” prayers changed our lives. That said, if we are not vigilant, “answered prayers” can become false tokens of the mindset that our relationship with God is transactional, that it can be scored. Prayers in; answers out. May it never be!


There is a prayer form that is not listed above; a prayer of receiving “what is”. I view it as the first spring of hope that will cut the river bed through which our lives in prayer flow. The words are simple. 


“ I have enough. Oh Lord, by your grace, I am sufficient. I have enough. Here am I…”


It is a prayer that is exhaled in a liberating breath of acceptance. It allows me place among the white robed figures of Revelation 7, kneeling before the throne of God.“These are they that have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” By your Grace, here I am.

If the next prayer after “I have enough is, “give us this day our daily bread,” I have enough, tells me there is abundance to share. Break open the loaf and feed.

If the next prayer is,“…Lead us not into temptation.”; I have enough, begs the question, “What then is winning? … More?” 


If the next prayer is “Deliver us from evil,” I have enough, tells me my sufficiency is brim-full; there is no room for fear. Love those who frighten us.

“ I have enough.”  It is a prayer I breathe upon as a mantra because I have a brain that tells me otherwise, countless time a day. And I know that listening to such is the nature of sin for me.


Musical Reflection - J.S.Bach - Ich habe genug - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson


I have enough. Oh lord, by your grace, I am sufficient. I have enough. Here am I. Amen.

AcceptancePrayerThankfulness

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