Wind Power – Look, See, Pray

Yesterday’s storm blew over during the night. Calmer air greeted the small group of watchers and walkers wandering the sands in the cool morning. Looking out to sea, the wind turbines were rotating briskly as squalls processed along the horizon. Power being harnessed from the wind.

Clever engineers constructed the turbines, and linked them to shore-based power grids. But the wind itself is beyond their mastery.

John 3:8 – The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

Jesus used this mysterious wind power to illustrate the sovereign work of God. Even with our modern satellites and weather computers, we cannot forecast with any accuracy more than a few days ahead.

The Spirit (or “Breath”) of God is completely beyond our control. The Lord works when and where He Wills: and with whom He chooses.

Standing and watching the power of the wind was quite humbling. The high tides and strong winds had smashed the waves into and over the sea defences. Stones, weed, and seashells left a trail of its passing. Out there in the Channel megawatts of power were still being generated to light homes, heat houses, even run my computer as I write.

When Jesus described the “Wind of God” as a life-breath, a bringer of new birth and new beginnings, he both highlighted our limitations and proclaimed our potential. The power of the wind is immense. Just imagine… Almighty God “breathing” life across the sea and land, touching lives unexpectedly, and generating fresh hope and purpose.

God specialises in wind power. May that Breath of Life generate living grace in you today.

Walk the Margins – Look, See, Pray

Mysterious and always changing. The light, the tide, the time, the temperature: all impose their weight on the margin of land and sea. Shorelines are places of constant movement and change, yet remain substantially the same for many years.

To walk here is to enter a theatre where the scenery changes yet the script is written without words. Except, perhaps, for the words we bring with us: the thoughts and cares, the questions and the yearning for that which is truly Other. This is a panorama of meditation, a palace of prayer, a cauldron of wonder.

Where is God? He is here. The question is really “How do I become aware of Him?”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

Lord God, source of all Holiness and Purity, make my heart clean. As I confess my need of a Saviour, I acknowledge that I need to honour a Lord. You alone are worthy of such devotion, You alone are Good and full of loving-kindness.

Meet me in the private place of inner truth, walk with me along the margins of this world and the heavenly realms. Open my eyes that I may see; open my heart that I may believe and trust; and open my mind to be renewed through Your Holy Spirit. Then, O Lord Jesus Christ, I will be aware of You and worship You in spirit and in truth. Amen.

Lost the Plot? Look, See, Pray

Politics and faith are not strangers. Human structures are fallible, yet necessary for society to function. In the current volatility of Parliament here in the UK, and the echoes round the globe, the people of faith are called to pray for God’s Will to be done, “here on Earth as it is in heaven.”

Here is my attempt at a prayer for the moment and the most vulnerable people.