Musings from Church

Good conversation with Jay and Shawn has put me in a philosophical mood. I am fighting a sinus infection so this may not be the most coherent.

Today our pastor was again speaking about prayer. This week he focused on how we pray and on The Lord's Prayer. I have to say I was less than enthusiastic about going to church because I feel so nauseous, achy and the like. But Shawn was in town and I didn't want to be a party pooper and stay home. So I went to church and am very happy I did, too.
Have you ever really not felt like going to church but went anyway and felt that maybe, just maybe, it was spiritual warfare keeping you from going because you really needed to hear the message? I usually don't think all spooky like that but I tell you.. today was eerie. I sat down in church and immediately got nauseous. It was so bad, I thought I might have to leave.
Well, the sermon touched me more than many others in the past months. It was all about praying for what we need right now and not hoarding our things. We are to rely on God for our every need like the Israelites did in the desert with manna. If they gathered more than a day's worth, they found it spoiled in the morning. This taught them to rely on God for their every need. He said that many times those who have a lot are the most uneasy thinking they'll lose it.
He talked about how some prayer warriors in Uganda started praying for a very lost nation and it began to turn around drastically. Before, Uganda led the world in AIDS-related deaths, and that has plummeted due to prayer.
Then the pastor talked about going to Vegas for a convention and by accident finding himself in the presence of a taping of the TV show Criss Angel Mindfreak. The host said he wanted to perform a seance. Well, our pastor and his fellow pastor friends began to pray that angels would surround this man and not allow him to talk to the dead. And because of prayer, the show didn't go well. One for the good.
Then in the service a guy came out and sang The Our Father prayer with a beautiful voice. It was low and trained. Shawn said he looked and sounded a little like Tom H. I want to pray more. I'm still sick but glad I went to church.
Let's hope I can sleep tonight with this confounded cold...