A Vibrant Prayer

2 Samuel 7:28-29

28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

Luke 10:27

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

East Harlem…. Talking to older community members, they often reflect about what this neighborhood was like when they grew up. They share fond memories of the way people dressed, kids playing and the smells from the windows of delicious food. It is captivating to listen to. Growing up in East Harlem myself, I too have such memories and new memories happen every day. As I walk through East Harlem, I am filled with joy as I reminisce about my own childhood here, while taking in the present. There is growth, but there is tradition, and the community is alive.

THE COMMUNITY IS THE CHURCH

WE ARE THE CHURCH

This is the answer to my prayer. Let us all pray for the entire community: The regulars that sit on the stoop and that are the eyes and the ears of the community, the shop owners that provide the goods and the services that we all need, the first responders and the medical workers that support our health and safety, the food workers, the laborers that repair and create our infrastructure, the very young that give us joy and the elderly that share their wisdom; our parents, teachers and mentors that ensure we have the tools and life skills to survive. Our community has the heart of Jesus, having many lovely quaint churches, places to worship and lots of community support programs.

We have all been sad to see a neighborhood landmark like The Boys and Girls Club close, yet we witness the blessing of new places and opportunities for the neighborhood that arise out of nowhere.

One such outstanding find is the El Barrio Art Space, a fantastic space that is dedicated to enhancing and providing for this neighborhood and beyond. We see God at work, when we see new centers for children to learn, create and to worship, providing us the necessities for our community to thrive.

Let us pray that our community and all communities continue to excel and thrive. What people say that they love about our community is, that it is more like a little village than it is like living in the big city.

It is a place where streets are often blocked off for children to play. It is full of diversity and a place where divisiveness that plagues many other American neighborhoods is minute. It is our prayer that it will continue to be a nourishing community for you and that our fellowship be of service to you. I pray that you support your neighbors, that they support you and that you grab every chance to fellowship or show kindness to one another that you can. A simple bit of kindness can change one person’s day.

These are some of the acts of kindness that I witnessed in just one morning near our church. First, I witness a man who had dropped his cane as he entered a business and I saw someone hurry over to hold the door for him and retrieve his cane for him. The man was thankful. I then, witnessed a man that was on crutches having a hard time making it down the street when a couple stopped and noticed that his shoes were untied. They quickly bent down and tied his shoes. Again, that man was thankful too. I saw an ambulance rushing to hospital trapped in traffic and a civilian man walked in the intersection stopping and directed the traffic to assist the ambulance through the traffic. They were certainly thankful. I also saw that a neighbor put out a free box of clothing on her stoop and within ten minutes all the clothes had new homes. It is the simple niceties that are ways in which we can show our love for The Father by loving his children and ministering to them. They are all our blessing. Moreover, when you see that someone is struggling with a life crisis, try supporting them. Encourage them to have faith and seek God in prayer. East Presbyterian Church continues to fellowship and to minister to all. As the pastor of East Presbyterian Church, I am praying that all communities have the blessings and protection of God. Whenever you can and where appropriate, remember to extend some positivity to your fellow man. These random acts of kindness however small remind me of the acts of kindness or miracles performed by Christ leading up to his death. As Christ made his way through the masses that followed him through the biblical towns he fed the masses, he healed the sick and he taught what is now our doctrine in the scriptures of the Holy Bible. His words are one of his greatest gifts. Here is some of his teachings about giving and community in the following stricture:

Luke 10:27

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

• Matthew 23:11 NLT The greatest among you must be a servant.

• Philippians 2:3 ESV Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

• Hebrews 13:16 NLT And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

• Matthew 23:11 NLT The greatest among you must be a servant.

• Mark 9:35 NIV Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

• Mark 10:44-45 ESV and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Let us Pray:

Lord of light, I pray that unity may prevail in my community. Help me to be an instrument of Your peace. Help us in the city to come together to resolve the issues that affect us all. Help us cooperate well in overcoming health issues and prejudice. May we each bring our experiences and our expertise to the table and work out solutions together.

Lord, bring revival to our city. I pray for spiritual revival, bringing repentance, restoration, and renewed focus on You. May that revival begin in my own heart and spirit right now. I also pray for economic revival – that You would raise up innovative businesses that are hiring local people and contributing to our economy. May You raise up an excellent work ethic among our population, so our city prospers. May this be a city of light.

Lord, please empower us with the perseverance we need to continue working to improve our city. Sometimes it seems we are taking one step forward and two steps back. Strengthen our fortitude to keep pressing on, no matter what the obstacles and challenges. May we be steadfast and unwavering in our prayers for this city, and in our practical actions to turn things around. Encourage us, we pray, by showing us ways our work is bearing fruit.

Lord, defend us from anything that would crush hope in our community and city. May confident expectation that good things are on the horizon rise up in our hearts. May we, individually and collectively, look to You as our ultimate hope. All these this i pray in Your Sons precious name.

Amen.