Come Holy Spirit!
On a beautiful spring day, with blue skies, sunshine and no breezes, our little group of ladies had gathered to pray and plan for an up-coming retreat at our parish. We were meeting outside on a patio at one of the ladies’ houses, and enjoying the beauty and peace of the natural surroundings.
Our planning included concerns about the resistance our church leadership had with our retreat, and we were seeking a good way to cooperate with authority, and have the retreat take place. We did our planning, and were wrapping it up with prayer, praying especially for the pastor, that he might be blessed and find peace in his heart as he led our parish.
Gratefully, our prayers weren’t to “change him,” or to pray that he would do what we wanted him to do – they were prayers being prayed in one accord for his well being and to receive God’s blessings. The unity we felt was tangible, as we prayed spontaneously for the retreat, and for our pastor.
What I will never forget is what happened as we were closing our prayers! Although the air had been very still, suddenly the sheets on the clothesline began to flap loudly, and a strong wind came up and swirled the leaves that were scattered around the patio. It was really loud, and seemed to come out of nowhere! This lasted for several minutes, and then all was again peaceful and calm, with not a cloud to be seen in the sky.
The husband of the house where we were had been working a little distance away in the family garden; he stopped working and came up to us, asking in surprise, “what was That?!” We were all asking the same question 🙂
What came to us was a sense of God’s pleasure in our Unity of heart and in our sincere prayers for our pastor. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers (and sisters) live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured n the head, running down the beard, running down Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes.” (Ps 133:1) The Lord takes delight in HIs children when they come together in Unity, with the intentions of their hearts in line with the desires of God’s own heart – to extend blessings and peace, even to those with whom we have differences.
We all were blessed to feel that Wind, and to recognize in it God’s Holy Spirit, affirming our prayer with a loud exclamation point! Come Holy Spirit of Unity, bind our hearts together and renew the face of the earth! How we need You, especially in our culture today with increasing divisions. Come Holy Spirit, Come!
Spiritual Sun Pennies 