While You Were Sleeping

In the 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping, outward circumstances radically change the lives of a single woman and a multi-generational family in about a week’s time.  As the result of an accident, one of the main characters spends most of the movie in a hospital bed unaware of the life-changing shifts in his life and those around him, while he lies in a coma.

And while we are sleeping, we too are mostly unaware of the dramatic inward changes taking place in us.  We are not just prone and inactive.  During the night shift, our bodies go into hyper-drive, restoring brain function, reorganizing nerve cells, removing toxic waste, repairing cells, restoring energy, and releasing hormones and proteins.  We awake in the morning a little different than when we went to sleep, even though we may not be aware of most of the changes.  We need sleep to survive, for our well-being, and to function at our best.  Something very significant is going on in our bodies and our brains, far beyond feeling rested or not, and not as obvious as bags under our eyes.

And what about the underlying profound changes that take place while we are praying? 

To say that praying does not have a direct impact in us discredits what it is all about.  It is not just about taking turns speaking and listening to God, but about His forming and transforming, dealing with the higher order of things, healing of the soul, sharpening of our vision, recognizing our disordered loves, and realizing of who God is. 

While we are praying, something very significant is going on in our hearts and souls.

Because we pray, we think about things from a new perspective, see deeply, respond with a newly implanted hearts, approach the hard stuff and even the favorable in unexpected ways, and navigate old paths with fresh eyes, because we have come before the Almighty.  We do not just behave differently, but our hearts and minds are altered in the process, because we pray.

We open our eyes and move into our day, our difficulties all around us, our circumstances looming before us, and we realize, It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Galatians 2. 20

In her book Amazing Love,  Corrie ten Boom points out, Where there is such prevailing prayer something is bound to happen.

It is not just about what we are praying but while we are praying:

God rearranges every cell in our body,

Restores our energy,

Works His goodness into the fabric of our days,

Changes our wardrobes,

Takes out the trash,

Opens the curtains and unlocks the doors,

Seeps His Spirit into the cracks,

Gives us hope for now and next,

Asserts His authority over our fears – both real and imagined,

Breaks up the hard ground, sows His Word, nurtures the fruit,

Writes His name over us in indelible ink –we are His,

Forgives our rebellions and softens our hearts of stone,

Sings victory songs over us,

Heals our wounds,

Appoints and anoints our steps,

And makes all things new.

We emerge a little bit different than before we prayed.  Stuff comes to the surface that draws us into intimacy with Him.  God reveals Himself in unexpected ways.

From the first Dear Lord to the final Amen, we are being changed while we pray, even though we may not be aware of the radical alterations.  We bring our cares and concerns and praises to God in prayer.   We offer them up and leave them at His feet.  We can’t help but be changed by coming before Him.   

 

He leads me besides the still waters.

He restores my soul.

                    Psalm 23. 2-3