When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2:1-4

Dear God, I never thought about this before, but apparently you don’t need much of an invitation to show up in a big way. This group of people loved you. They prayed for you. They were probably praying for direction. But they never imagined what you could do or how you would show up.

That’s the thing I guess. We never really know what we are praying for. We think we know what we want or need, but we really don’t. I’ve prayed for jobs that didn’t work out, circumstances for my children that went a different way, and provision for friends and relatives that seem to have gone unheard. But you are there. Sometimes you have something even better waiting for me. Sometimes you just know it’s better if I don’t get what I want. Sometimes my getting a “no” will mean someone else getting a “yes.”

Father, make me patient with your will. As the father of two grown children, I am now in the biggest game of “trust” with you in which I’ve ever been. I am trusting that you will answer our prayers for our children and who they are in you, but I also know that it might take decades to see it come to pass. I might not see it on this side of death. The same goes for other family members, friends, and family about whom I am concerned. It also goes for my community, my state, my country, and my world. So today I will do what I can best discern I am supposed to do, wait on the Holy Spirit to move, and worship you (not necessarily in that order).

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen