Persistence

Three Ladies persistent in prayer

Shannon Penny Nipper, Joyce Williams Mitchell, Lavater Hall-Bass

What does it mean to be persistent? In the book of Luke, chapter 18, Jesus tells a parable of a woman who sought justice before a judge who “did not fear God”. The judge did not want to waste time with her. She kept coming back.

Over and over and over she brought her case before him. Finally,the judge came to the realization that he would spend less time dealing with her if he just heard her case and gave her justice.

The purpose of the parable was to encourage His followers to pray and not lose heart. In other words, persist in prayer.

Last January, I attended a prayer service at the Cordele Community Center. The letter that I received called for the community to come together.

I did not know what to expect as I went. I wrote about the positive and powerful time together. The event organizers said that they wanted to do it again.

Last Saturday morning at 10:00 am, a small group gathered again at the Cordele Community Club House. Under cloudy skies with impending rain, the group shared Scripture, words of encouragement, and they prayed.

As it was last January, the prayers were not focused on a race of people or a part of town. The prayers were for the community. The prayers were for the schools, teachers, law enforcement officers, social workers, pastors, Sunday school teachers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and children.

Some came who no longer live in Cordele but made it clear that Cordele was home. Joyce Mitchell recalled how in her younger days if she walked down the street and there was someone sitting out on the porch as she passed, she had better greet that person. If not, when she got home, her mother would have already received a call. It was a matter of common courtesy and respect to greet each other.

The group that gathered that day was a little smaller than the first gathering six months earlier. Perhaps it was the impending rain. Perhaps it was the beginning of summer.

What struck me was that there was no grumbling, fault-finding, or finger-pointing. There was just a time of positive, uplifting, prayer for the community.

Persistence -Woman performing interpretive dance to praise music

Alisha Appling

One participant, Alisha Appling, performed a praise dance to a song asking God to fill this place. Praise dance is not part of a normal worship service for me.

As I watched her, it was evident by the smile on her face as she looked to the heavens that she was pouring out her creativity before God. I thought of King David writing in Psalm 103:1, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”

Joyce Mitchell, Lavater Hall-Bass, and Shannon Penny Nipper organized and promoted the event. They did not let anything stop them. They will be doing it again. They are not weary in well-doing. They are persisting and it will pay off.

When you hear about the next one, come and join. You will be glad that you invested the time and our community will be better off because you joined others who are persisting in prayer.

Read my editorial about the first gathering. 

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A Community in Prayer

I recently received a letter inviting me to attend a community prayer vigil in my community of Cordele, Georgia.Community praying in Cordele, GA I was familiar with the name of one of the three organizers but not the other two.

It was scheduled for 3:00 pm on Sunday, January 14, 2018 at the Cordele community club house. The letter said that it was a prayer for the community and, in particular, the problem of crime in the city.

I will be transparent.  I did not know what to expect and a few unfounded thoughts ran through my mind. Was this going to be another one of those “unity” gatherings with prayer tacked on to be sure that something religious was included?

I did not want to promote something just because it was framed as a time for prayer.  I decided to go and see for myself. At the very least, I could bow my head and pray silently.

The unfounded thoughts that ran through my mind proved to be just that – unfounded. Not just unfounded, totally false.

The crowd was not very large but it looked to be a fairly good turnout to me. There were maybe three dozen people gathered. There were men and women, boys and girls, black and white.  The racial makeup of the crowd was probably 80% black and 20% white.

The prayers were about the community of Cordele, Georgia.  There was no focus on the West side or East side of town.

The prayers were that crime would be stopped; that families would be strengthened; that there would be jobs for the unemployed; that children would learn and be safe in schools; and that public servants would have wisdom and strength to serve.

What was not talked and prayed about was as significant as what was mentioned. There was no mention of political parties. There was barely a reference to race and that was only in the context of praying for everyone in the community no matter what race. There was no distinction of economic class.

In short, the prayers were about the people of our community. They were prayers that one would hear in churches anywhere in our region. They were heartfelt and humble.

When it was over and I was getting in my car, it dawned on me that something else was never mentioned in that gathering. There would have been nothing wrong had it been mentioned.

On the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, his name was never mentioned.  It was because the focus was not on Dr. King, but on The King of Kings. For one hour on a chilly afternoon in the small Southwest Georgia town of Cordele, three dozen citizens of the community humbly gathered and bowed to pray.

Thank you, Joyce Williams Mitchell, Shannon Penny Nipper, Lavater Hall Bass, and the others who responded to a leading. We need to do this again, soon.

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