On February 27, the Sunday designated as a “Day of Prayer and
Preparation” for the upcoming World Conference and the discernment process for
who the new president will be, I was privileged to be ministering in the
Sedalia, Missouri, congregation. They took the request for prayer and
preparation from the First Presidency very seriously by planning a Prayer Vigil.
For twelve hours that day, individuals were scheduled to pray for a half hour,
with the whole group meeting at 6:30 that evening for a special prayer service.
The pastor’s study was transformed into a place of prayer with candles, fresh
flowers, and a list of World Church leaders.
Mary Jo Sartin, a co-pastor of the congregation, shared, “The
prayer vigil went very well. It ended with a special service that included some
historic hymns and revelation about seeking the Lord’s direction and the
prophetic nature of the church, as well as related recent scripture. There were
some specific prayers and then an open time of prayer. Several people commented
on the strong spirit they felt throughout the day. One woman even went so far as
to say that the congregation should have prayer vigils more often….”
It strikes me that this congregation applied a rich spiritual
discipline to this special day of prayer. I am confident that strength and
blessings were the result of this effort for church leaders involved in the
discernment process, as well as the people in the congregation. As so often is
true, they were “blessed to be a blessing.”
As high priests, we can be in the forefront—assisting
congregations with the spiritual practice of discerning God’s will with patience
and perseverance. There are individual and corporate dimensions to this
experience. Individual prayer, fasting, scripture study, and meditation are some
of the tools of discernment. However, it is not wise to attempt spiritual
discernment by yourself, without input and feedback from other committed
disciples. We are enriched by the variety of opinions and perspectives resident
within the body of Christ. In a manner of speaking, “the church was created to
discern and to implement God’s will” (Morris, D. E. & C. M. Olsen. Discerning
God’s Will Together: A Spiritual Practice for the Church. Nashville: Upper
Room Books in association with The Alban Institute, 1997).
Acts 2:46–47 is an interesting model:
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke
bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God
and having the goodwill of all the people.
Discernment takes place in the temple, in the homes, and in
the hearts. It may begin in secret (as referenced in Matthew 6:6). Jesus took
time for solitude, away from the crowds. But he didn’t stop there. There were
times of intimate community-like gathering with the twelve, or visits to
disciples’ and seekers’ homes. Then, in addition to the large crowds that
followed Jesus throughout his ministry, he spent time preaching and teaching in
the synagogues and in the temple—places where relationships grew and mystery was
acknowledged. All three settings for discernment are interdependent, and
movement through the discernment process goes back and forth among them.
At the core of spiritual discernment is the willingness to
listen, to be open to change, by “honoring the past and visioning the future.”
It is especially important to note that in times when we are able to sense God’s
will, that this gift of grace-filled sensitivity is bestowed with an implied
willingness on our part to act on the information. Sometimes this action
is difficult because it may require us to have a change of heart.
