Over the past
couple of weeks, and for a couple of weeks more, our high school students have
been thinking about “hope” in their Wednesday night D-Teams. We have discussed finding hope in the face of
great tragedy as well as in the face of our own personal tragedies. In the next couple of weeks we will talk
about seeking God’s will when we face difficult times, and we will rejoice
together over testimonies of hope from the lives of our students. As I have prepared for these lessons, I have
thought a lot about the role of prayer in our overall outlook. I believe that prayer plays a huge part in
whether our outlook turns towards hope or despair. More than anything, I believe that prayer
offers us the avenue through which God’s Spirit tends our hearts. When we open up to God in prayer, we allow
God to work in us, to offer us peace, and to slowly nurture our hearts towards
his will like a master gardener training a vine to a trellis.
In John 15,
Jesus’ grand “I am” statement is this: “I am the true vine, and my Father is
the gardener… you are the branches. If a
man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can
do nothing… If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it will be given you.”
God is the gardener.
Jesus is the true vine. And we are,
through prayer, worship, discipleship, service, and fellowship, being trained
to him. Our will, by God’s tending, is
slowly turned towards Christlikeness.
And, as we begin to see the world, our lives, and our future through
God’s eyes, we find the ultimate source of hope.
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