In my 73 years I’ve attended a lot of communion services. I’ve had communion in many different settings, in churches, homes, retreats, conferences. I have never, however, experienced a communion service as I did at the Prayer Summit last Tuesday night.
At the Summit, we prayed the Scriptures. We prayed out of Psalms and through Luke 15 and through passages about the glory and worthiness of God and the expectation that “comes in the morning.”
Tuesday night just before communion we prayed Matthew 26:1 through Matthew 27:60, 135 verses. We read them, taking turns, and then expressed in prayer what that Scripture brought to our hearts. When we finished, we shared communion.
I must admit I wept through most of Matthew 26 and 27 and as I heard the prayers of others. There were times when the descriptions of what Jesus endured for us took my breath away. I wanted to run and hide in a corner and just weep and weep.
When it came time to share the elements of bread and fruit of the vine, I found a new depth of meaning in the sacrament. It’s something I still can’t put into words, and I’m not going to try to do so. I’d just ruin it. Instead I am going to be like Mary and ponder this in my heart.
“The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
[1 Cor 11:23-26 NKJV]
