“Wall of Prayer”

February 19, 2008
Tuesday

Matthew 6:5-11

We visited the House of the Virgin Mary above on a mountain that overlooked the remains of Ephesus. It is purported to be the place where the beloved disciple John and Mary moved at a point after Jesus had been crucified. It is a place of pilgrimage for many of the Catholic faith. On this site is a wall of prayers. It’s a place where people write their prayers and then stick them to a covering over the face of the wall. A variety of sizes and types of paper are used, including an “Orbit Gum” box, to leave these petitions. They also are written in many different languages. Honoring the privacy of these written prayers, I did not look to see if they were to God, Jesus, or Mary. What amazed me though was the length and depth of this wall of prayer which had to measure 30 feet long and 5 feet high . When we share our joys and concerns in Sunday morning worship, we hear many voices lifting up names and events but there were thousands of prayers on this wall.
I recognize that prayer is a conversation with God but part of prayer is lifting up petitions to God—for others, for guidance, for strength, for hope, for healing, you know what I mean. As I looked at the wall I was reminded of how God hears each of our prayers and answers them as though we are the only ones who matter. It then got me to thinking of just how full or empty our individual prayer walls are. Do we only speak with the right words of whatever we can find? What do we place before God? Do we leave all of our requests there or just some? God wants to see them all!
Let us pray...