Birds and Prayer
Jackie Rettberg
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18)
This is a wonderful verse for anyone who thinks there is only one way to pray!
The Lord is a creator of variety! For example, just think about the beautiful family of birds. There are birds so exotic, feathers a mixture of the most beautiful colors you can imagine that seem painted by a master artist. At the same time there are birds that are absolutely non-distinctive in color. There are hummingbirds, small and intense, larks that sing, eagles that are majestic, hawks that look for food, wood-peckers that drill and drill, parakeets that talk and thousands more!
So why wouldn’t the Lord offer us a variety of ways to communicate with Him?
First he says “pray in the Spirit.” That is simply prayer with its origin in the prompting of the Holy Spirit and often in concert with the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit!
Then go for it with all kinds of prayer:
On all occasions, in good times and in bad, prayers that petition, prayers that listen, prayers that meditate on His Word, intercessory prayers, prayers of supplication, prayers that worship, prayers that journal, prayers of praise, short prayers, long prayers, simple prayers, complicated prayers! The door is wide open!