We lit the candle of Hope yesterday in church.

We looked at the story of Daniel and the Lion’s den
But didn’t talk so much about the lions
It was Daniels defiant act of prayer that held our attention
Prayer that was illegal
Done right in an open window where everyone could see
A subversive act of resistance that testified to all
That his God was greater than the king.
That his God was more powerful than any empire.
A God worth risking the lions for.
And it is in this same God that our hope lies.

Hope for better days
Hope for better ways
Hope for healing
Hope for reconciliation
Hope for freedom from fear

May our prayers be subversive acts of resistance against the forces that tell us that

We are powerless to change things
We aren’t worthy
We cannot overcome despair
and
We live in an empire that is more powerful than our God.

Our hope is in the Almighty God
and the power of Jesus Christ, who was and is and is to come
It is a hope worth braving the lions to defend.