Last Sunday during worship, Elder Mary came over to me and started praying a very simple one-word prayer over me while gently touching my back. It wasn’t elaborate – just “Peace, Peace, Peace”. And she gently stroked my back with light-as-a-feather touches as she spoke. After a bit, she placed her other hand on my chest as she continued to pray her simple one-word prayer of peace. Suddenly a dam broke and I just began to pour out all the stuff that had been building up inside me. I cried, I poured out, I balled like a baby. I didn’t know what that stuff was or where it was coming from, but thank God it was coming out. Then I realized it was all the stress and struggles of everyday life. All the decisions I was struggling to make; the pressures of work and finances; the disappointments, the let-downs, the failures; the questions that needed answers; the thoughts, the feelings, the loneliness. It was all bottled up in there, and the Lord was releasing it. And along with all the stuff that was gushing out, worship was also pouring out. And it poured, and it poured, and it poured.
 

Afterward, I felt empty, washed clean, light, and energized, and I realized that the pain I had been ignoring in my back was totally gone – as if it had never been there at all. Now I was ready to minister to the needs of others at the altar. 

I wonder how many of us go about our daily lives, bearing in our bodies and minds, the weights of decisions, stress, unhappiness, needs, and pressures of everyday life and whatever else can attach itself to us. And although we love Jesus, we sometimes forget that he is there to help us bear our burdens. We struggle on as if we have no God. As if all there is to life is what we can see with our eyes, touch with our hands, and accomplish with our own strength. All the while, Jesus is there, walking right beside us, waiting for us to notice him, waiting to touch us, waiting to relieve our burdens, waiting to guide us, and waiting to give us rest. Psalm 23 says”He leads me besides the still waters, He restores my soul”.  And he does it all with a touch, a breath, a word gently whispered. We just have to allow Him to lead us.
 

Another important factor is that we must be present. In this electronic, computer-driven age, it’s so easy to stay home and allow the television to minister to us, or get what we think we need from Facebook or the daily devotional downloaded onto our mobile phones. But it is important to the nurturing of our spiritual lives, that we have a church family to which we belong. It is important to have spiritual leadership. It is important to have someone to whom we are accountable. It is important to have someone to watch over our souls, someone to be our guide, and spiritual council. We aren’t always aware of the enemy’s attacks against us. Sometimes we need spiritual eyes that can see the weights and attacks before we can. Sometimes we need the intercession of others. Sometimes we just need love and friendship. For the believer, or would-be believer, this can only be fulfilled with the fellowship of other believers. There is strength in gathering together, offering corporate worship and adoration to our Lord. 
 

Just imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t gone to church last Sunday. Still stressed; still burdened; still gunked down with the junk of life; still in pain; still trying to worship on top of the stuff. Still untouched.