Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world…All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. (Revelation 1: 4-6 NLT)
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. (Mark 4:39 NLT)
The Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to come to you in a dense cloud…” (Exodus 19:9 NIV)
Something spiritually beautiful—if a bit weird and uncomfortable—happened to me on Sunday.
I was playing for church as usual, and we had a guest pastor visiting. Toward the end of the service, our pastor invited him to come up and pray over certain people. This isn’t unusual for our congregation. Typically, during these times, I’ll return to the keyboard to play background/spiritual atmosphere music while people are being prayed for. That’s what I started to do—until I noticed the worship leader heading toward the keyboard.
Our pastor wanted me to be one of the people prayed over.
Uh… what?
I went forward, unsure of what to expect and honestly not all that comfortable. It made me realize how easy it is for us, as Christians, to get used to our “safe” places—like hiding behind an instrument—and risk missing the moments where God wants to speak to us directly. I’m so thankful I didn’t resist. I stood there, still not sure what was happening or why I had been called up. I understood the needs of some of the others—people dealing with housing struggles, new believers, or health challenges. The guest pastor prayed over each of them.
Then he got to me—and prayed something completely unexpected.
One of the strengths of being a thoughtful, intelligent, well-educated person is that I function really well “in my head.” But that’s also one of my biggest vulnerabilities. The enemy knows that’s where he can get to me. And the truth is, I didn’t even realize how much I’d been struggling mentally until that prayer. In the moment, I didn’t feel a shift. I just felt uncomfortable. His words felt strangely personal—maybe even a little embarrassing—because, let’s be honest, no one likes to admit when they’re struggling.
Later, I went back and watched the video. I transcribed his prayer, and I was stunned. In just a few words, God had shown me deep mercy and reached right into the heart of my inner battle.
“I speak peace to the storms of your mind. It’s going to settle down, and the cloud of God will set upon you instead of this dark cloud that comes upon you to try to ruin your life, changing your personality. And the Lord says NO. End of that. We’re done with that now.”
The more I’ve read and reflected on that prayer, the more overwhelmed I am by the mercy of God. Out of his deep love, he met me exactly where I was and spoke peace to a part of me I hadn’t even fully acknowledged.
These last few days have felt different—lighter—and I’m so grateful.
So today, I pray that wherever you are, whatever storm you’re facing, God’s mercy and grace will meet you too—and speak peace into your heart. Because he loves you.
Amen.