Incubating Hope

March of the Penguins is a beautiful documentary about the migratory habits of emperor penguins. I watched this movie several years ago, and the one fact that I still remember is that these animals huddle together to conserve heat while incubating their eggs. They take turns moving from the cold outer rim of their group to the warm center.

This penguin huddle reminded me of my prayer group. We live in different places, so we don’t all get together in one location. Technology has helped us to communicate and send out prayer signals. We have prayed for each other’s kids, marriages, health, safety, and peace. We have shared our fears, anxieties, wisdom, and experience. We have huddled together in spirit, conserving faith, incubating hope.

Without this group, my hopes would have perished out in the cold. For years, these women have sustained me, encouraged me, and prayed with me. When I sat despairing, they consoled me. When my hope showed signs of hatching, they rejoiced with me. Each of us rotated from the outer rim to the inner core, sometimes sheltering—other times receiving nourishment. This movement provided ventilation, prevented suffocation, and allowed for proper maturation.

“When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” (Matt. 18:20 MSG)

I’m grateful for this group of women. When we join together in prayer, the Spirit of God broods over us, our hopes, our concerns. Braided and woven together, we are not easily defeated.