Sermon – Comm-Unity On the Hill Congregation, Washington, D.C.*
Rev. Robbins S. Hopkins, Ed.D.
Thank you for asking me to speak. It is delightful to be here this morning. The question I am exploring today is, “What is authentic prayer”? Just plain and simple, authentic prayer is prayer that works. It is prayer that brings results. It is prayer that produces energy shifts. Authentic Prayer is powerful business. Well then, how do we accomplish this?
The Bible has a few things to say to us about prayer.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds ….” (Philippians 4:6-7).
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:18).
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26).
- Atlantic Beach HDR Sunset – Explored by L1mey
The week before Hurricane Irene, exactly 7 days before it hit this area, we decided last minute to book a house in North Carolina for the week for my husband and myself. We have been going to the beach in August for 41 years and we realized we were not going to go because none of our family were free to join us. We discussed this at length and decided to make a reservation and take a weeks’ vacation just for us. That felt very wonderful, celebratory in fact! One day later, we realized that there was a Tropical Storm in the Atlantic. We thought, we had better arrange for trip insurance in case something more serious became of this storm. We called for the insurance and were told that we could not get insurance now because there was a named storm in the Atlantic, specifically now called IRENE. So, my energy was very focused on this storm not only because of this reservation but also because I had been going to the North and South Carolina coasts literally all my life except for 4 years when were lived overseas.
So the prayers began in earnest. Every time I went into prayer, I got the feeling I was simply nipping at the heels of Hurricane IRENE. I did all the things I usually do in working at the global level but I could not feel any shifts in energy which is how I know the prayers have been effective. One day about the 4thday into the prayer effort, I finally asked in sacred space, “How do we do this?” I was feeling overwhelmed and completely under effective. Someone had shared with me that the Hurricane itself covered an area as large as Arizona. This left me totally amazed. I could feel the power and strength of Irene when in prayer and something I called powerful fury but I did not know how to address it in prayer.
To continue reading this sermon, follow this link to the full text. http://robbinshopkins.com/sermons/authentic-prayer-and-global-healing/
*Comm-Unity on the Hill, meets at 10 Street and G Street, N.W. in jointly shared space with First Congregational Church of Washington D.C.. Services begin at 1 PM on Sundays. Comm-Unity can be reached at cothdc@verizon.net or 703-379-4450 . All are welcome.
** This sermon was preceded by a guided meditation for the congregation. This was offered October 2011