Prayer - Pastor's Pen for 25th October 2026
It's peaceful just to look up at a healthy Kauri tree and just enjoy being present with it. We all know by now not to stand on their root systems, particularly in the era of Kauri dieback disease. They have a particular smell about them and a majestic presence in the forest. I just like to stand and behold them. I don't feel the need to analyse them beyond that, as I'm no scientist.
I was going to call this post Behold, but I remembered I had already used that title this year. Strahan Coleman writes about a simpler kind of prayer in his book Beholding:
"It's about how we hold God before us and how we live from the place of being held by Him. It's the practice of looking to God with an open soul , admiring Him, allowing Him to be, and watching Him move in and around our lives. It's a much wider definition than speaking to God to get things done, offering words of praise, or interceding on behalf of others. It's about how we exist."
The longer I am a person of faith, the less I feel the need to bring God a list of things; my sin, your sin, my needs, your needs. I still often do just that, but it seems to have less priority than it once did. Some quiet mornings I'm just happy to behold God, just as I enjoy pausing by the Kauri in the bush. Not many words need to be said, but the presence is real. Shalom
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