People of the Promise

the power of praying women vs patriarchy

This morning following the sermon, I noticed something about the altar call that made me grin from ear to ear. The altar was filled with women, praying. only women. lots of them. Praying together, praying for their loved ones, and goodness, it was so encouraging. No doubt there was great pain- but because of their willingness to kneel before the throne, the power of the Spirit was on display in such a poignant way.

And I think it’s important to remember that the prayers of women are no small thing. They are not the only thing, but they are most certainly the starting point of something really special.

As summer comes to a close, I’ve been knee deep in this monster sized Galatians paper for school, reading it over and over from start to finish. And Galatians is a really interesting book in that depending on who you ask, the book can be interpreted a ton of different ways. It’s a little scary actually. To some, Galatians is the “magna carta of Christian liberty.” To others, it’s the ultimate proclamation of “by grace, through faith in Christ.” But what did Paul really mean? That’s the million-dollar question.

Regardless of where one lands, I love Galatians because of the way that Paul emphasizes what it means to be “in Christ,” live as new creations indwelled by the Spirit, and belong fully to the family of God as people of the Promise- no exceptions.

And when I think about the power of praying women, I think about Paul in Galatians proclaiming that because we are people of the promise, we are now neither jew nor Greek, men nor women, slave nor free- we are no longer living in a way where full belonging is contingent or exclusive in any way. We are no longer living under the power of the hierarchies that violated shalom and ruled over our adamic nature. why? Because praying women are people of the promise. And to be people of the promise means that we are priestly heirs, daughters of the king, and sisters to our brothers in the family of God.

344x in the New Testament the word for sibling used to emphasize our belonging in this family because of the indwelling of the Spirit of God. And indeed, Paul in Colossians declares that this “mystery of Christ at work through his Spirit in and among us” has been the point of the promise all along. Just like our brothers in the faith, we women were baptized by the same Spirit, crucified with Christ, and raised into newness of life as rebirthed creations indwelled by the Spirit of God, together. Eph 2 tells us that the Spirit doesn’t indwell us individually, but ecclesially. Because of the Spirit we are inseparably interconnected, and we belong to one another. Because of our baptism, because of rebirth- because of the God who labored and re-birthed us, and not anything we could have done on our own, we belong fully to this family.

Truthfully, the prayers of women aren’t pointless- they’re prophetic. they’re powerful.

The prayers of women testify to the Spirit that we surrender to, and they anoint us as people of the promise.

To pray as women—for our churches, for our pastors, for our brothers, for our denominations— is no small thing. but it is also not the only thing. It’s just the beginning, and the Spirit of God who welcomed us into full belonging is inviting us to participate in cultivating shalom, wholeness, and flourishing amongst the family of God. Our prayers are sparks that light up the darkness. And where patriarchy has tried to tame the petitions of the king’s daughters, the Spirit that indwells us has set us on fire, lighting a match to all the idols in the way, that suggest we need to ask the permission of our brothers to prophesy.

But sisters, when our king calls us, that’s the voice we listen to.

and for the women who have felt small for too long, who have questioned which seat at the table is theirs- who have been told no by their brothers, when the Spirit was actually saying yes…

God’s Spirit at work in and through us, affirming our inherent dignity, our full belonging, and our full commissioning to participate in the work of God on this side of eternity.

There are no longer any stipulations for who eats what, who sits where, who’s an insider and whose an outsider, who gets a mic and who doesn’t- because those of us who shepherd are stewards, and we are all still sheep of our shared Good shepherd.

The reckless love of the father isn’t concerned about tripping us up technicalities but inviting more into the mission of God. That’s the priority. The prodigal father is lavish with his welcoming love, regardless of what the big brother has to say about it.

To the women like me who are currently in between a rock and a hard place, in denominations that don’t like what God has to say about our gifting, the altar is open. Women are welcome to commune directly with the Spirit. We are people of the promise, who are empowered to proclaim the great love of our risen king.

Keep praying because it matters. Keep prophesying. Keep proclaiming the resurrection over and over.

The Spirit is at work in the women of God, and gosh am I excited about it.

As always, thanks for being here and supporting my work. I hope this week you are encouraged towards courage. You matter so much.

Liz