By Rev. Arionne Yvette Williams, Contributing Writer
I am most blessed to serve as a college chaplain. In that role, I get to share in the journeys of young people, who are some of our nation’s best and brightest, as they seek to find their purpose and path in life.
They arrive every late August, freshly graduated from high school, as anxious and terrified 18-year-olds, many of whom are away from home for the first time. They are now totally surrounded by hundreds of people that they don’t know. Their parents drop them off with the expectation that they will use this new space and the people in it to make something of themselves.
It’s a daunting task. Yet, somehow, four or five years later, many of them leave our campus more confident and clear, headed toward a career they chose, ready to take on the world.
It is amazing to me that we, who are called to serve as their teachers, advisors, and chaplain, have been there with them every day watching this growth happen. We witness their highs and lows. We watch them struggle, feel their pain, and see them fall. However, we also see them rise, climb, and fight back through all the crazy. They are intellectually, socially, and spiritually challenged. Some of them are resilient in the most tragic circumstances while trying to figure out who they are. It is no small feat that they successfully emerge. How did they make it?
It must have been something to witness the life of Jesus as Peter or John and see the various miracles performed first-hand. How did Jesus go from reading an excerpt from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue (see Luke 4) to leading a triumphant entry into Jerusalem some three years later, with the crucifixion and resurrection following just days after that?
In the course of those three years, Jesus had constant theological disagreements with the most respected people in the communities. Endless groups of people needed his help, some traveling for miles to reach him.
Every day, Jesus encountered death, demons, sickness, hunger, discord, and more; yet, he managed to stay focused. He kept moving on his path and was determined to do the Father’s will. Though divine, Jesus was also human and had human feelings, challenges, and questions. Surely he often felt overwhelmed, tired, or burnt just as we do. Luke 6:12 says, “Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God.”
Multiple times throughout the gospel, we see Jesus making room for prayer. We wake up each day seeking to be who God created us to be and fulfill our life’s purpose in the world. Despite our willingness, there are barriers, challenges, and frustrations everywhere we turn—be them financial, psychological, systematic, communal, or personal.
This was no different than Jesus’ experience on Earth. Nevertheless, he knew the value of prayer. When we’ve worked too hard, can’t find the answers, or don’t know the way to go, we must deepen our prayer life. If we are to do any of what we are on Earth to do, we have got to learn that we cannot do it on our own.
Mark 1:35 says, “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” Sometimes we need to get away from the chaos, move away from the noise, and live in the quiet. In the quiet are riches, wisdom, and restoration. The church should be a place where all are reminded of that.
While we can never know all of what transpired in those private moments of prayer between Jesus and the Father, we do know they happened and with regularity. May we strive for prayer that lasts more than a moment and guides and leads us to the greatest joy we’ve ever known. Matthew 14:23 says, “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.”
The Rev. Arionne Yvette Williams is an ordained elder in the AME Zion Church and the author of Love Like I’ve Never Been Hurt: How To Heal From Heartbreak. She currently serves as Associate Chaplain at the University of Indianapolis. You can connect with her at ArionneYvette.com.
