Term has come to an end now, and one of the things I will miss most is saying morning prayer together. Not because I enjoy early mornings (I definitely do not!) but because there’s something about being held, and holding others, in prayer.
Most of us will have times in our lives when faith feels fragile. When coming to pray is an act of will rather than something that flows naturally. When the words don’t quite match what’s going on inside. That’s part of the beauty of morning prayer.
The words we use are being said by Christians all over the country. We’re stepping into something bigger than ourselves. And when we sit in our own small gathering, saying those same words, we’re not doing it alone.
Sometimes, saying the words is all we can manage. And that’s OK. Because in those moments, we are being carried by the prayers of others. It’s a bit like borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbour. You’ve run out. You don’t have what you need. But someone else does. And they’re willing to share.
Faith can be like that. There have been times in my life where I’ve “borrowed faith” more than I’ve generated it. Times when I couldn’t make sense of what God was doing, or why something had happened. Part of me wanted to believe… but my emotions made it hard to hold onto that belief.
And in those moments, the faith of others carried me.
If you’ve seen The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, you might remember the scene near the end. Frodo and Sam are on Mount Doom, so close to the finish. But Frodo can’t go on. He’s exhausted, spent, completely emptied.
Sam looks at him and says, “I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you.” And he lifts him up.
Ok, maybe it’s not quite that dramatic in our own lives. But the truth behind it still holds. I am so grateful for the “Sams” in my life. You know, the people who carry us when we can’t keep going on our own. People who hold faith for us when ours feels thin and fragile.
And perhaps, at other times, we get to be that for someone else. To hold them in prayer. To speak hope when they can’t find the words. To quietly, faithfully, carry them for a while.
Because faith was never meant to be a solo journey. It’s something we share. Something we lend and borrow. Something that, at its best, holds us together when we might otherwise fall apart. And maybe that, too, is part of God’s plan.
That when our faith runs low… we are not left to manage on our own.
The Reason for my Hope Blog 