Amy Ochier

mom, wife, medical assistant, and most recently UMC licensed local pastor BUT always and foremost a child of God

[Carey Nieuwhof @cnieuwhof]

What if I said Christians should stop saying the phrase "prayer works"

WAIT 🛑 Hear me out...

Do prayers work? Should we really stop saying that prayer works?

Well, yes and no.

Most people who say prayer works these days really mean God did what I wanted him to do. As if prayer was a button to be pushed to release exactly what they wanted from the vending machine.

Prayer does ‘work,’ but it works very differently than we’d like. Prayer works as a relationship to be pursued; NOT as a button to be pushed.

It still ‘works’…

👉🏻 When the opposite of what we prayed for happens.
👉🏻 In those moments when we feel very distant from God.
👉🏻 When we bang down the door of heaven for years and are not sure anything is going on up there at all.
👉🏻 Prayer is not a button to be pushed; it’s a relationship to be pursued. SHARE ON X

There are scores of people inside and outside the church whose spirits are crushed because they prayed (fervently) and…

👉🏻 They didn’t get the job.
👉🏻 Their mom died of cancer.
👉🏻 Their child was born without a heartbeat.
👉🏻 They ended up in a car crash that left them permanently disabled.
👉🏻 Prayer doesn’t ‘work’ because I got what I wanted and they didn’t.

The parade of saints across the centuries would have been shocked to see prayer reduced to God-doing-what-I-asked-him-to-do-when-I-asked-him-to-do-it. God is not a puppy to be trained or a chef in the kitchen who prepares food to suit our every whim. He is sovereign.

I think Christians can take consolation in the fact that when we pray, we often don’t know what to pray for or even how to pray, yet the Scriptures tell us the Holy Spirit will translate the prayer into something better than we could phrase at the moment.

So pour your heart out to God. Prayers work, but we should pray about the things the scripture says are close to God’s heart. And when something ‘goes your way,’ be grateful and offer it back to the God who gave it to you.

And when things don’t go your way, understand that God is still very much in control and very much loves you. Just because God is silent doesn’t mean God is absent.

[🪼🦋meredith🦋🪼 @meremoonbeam]

i posted this to my story 💀

[Amy Ochier @amynuala]

Illness that I can protect myself and others (esp. my daughter) from catching. My parishioner was embarrassed that I was wearing the PPE and kept apologizing, but we had a lovely visit, shared in Holy Communion, and a time of prayer.

[Amy Ochier @amynuala]

Went to visit a parishioner in the hospital that had asked me to come and bring her communion. She didn’t tell me she is under isolation protocols (I honestly don’t think she knew). After explaining I was her pastor, the RN permitted me to go in and handed me the PPE. 1/?

[Amy Ochier @amynuala]

They really appreciated that I respected the rules and didn’t argue with them. I wore the gown, the gloves, the shield, and that blasted N-95 because I was asked to do so not because of some “horrible conspiracy” but because my parishioner has a potentially deadly 4/?

[Art Candee 🍿🥤 @ArtCandee]

Reverend Adam Banks of Springfield, Ohio has a message for all those MAGA “Christians” out there who are demonizing Haitians in their community.

Subtle yet totally smoldering.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[Rev. Benjamin Cremer @Brcremer]

Racism masquerading as a political position is still racism.

Misogyny masquerading as a political position is still misogyny.

Hate masquerading as a political position is still hate.

Wrapping these “political positions” in Christianity is just evil.

[Alexis @TheNotoriousLEX]

GEORGIA HAS FOREVER CHANGED THE ROLL CALL GAME!!!

WHAT?!?!?! OKKKKKKK!

[Amy Ochier @amynuala]

@reverendwild1 I went from a career in health care to pastoral ministry- the compassion fatigue turned out to be transferable. I would say it is probably common for bivocational and second/third career pastors.

[Amy Ochier @amynuala]

Wait…. So I just need to remove my estrogen replacement patch… and in a few weeks I’ll be able to be a man so when I say I’m a pastor I won’t get told that’s not possible? Am I interpreting the current definition of being a woman correctly?.? 🙄🙄

[Rev. Benjamin Cremer @Brcremer]

Women in positions of power may never hear your ignorant and disparaging comments about them.

But the women in your life will.

[Amy Ochier @amynuala]

@SVeillance 2 - Busch Gardens Williamsburg 80-94 Cedar Point 94- current

[Amy Ochier @amynuala]

https://t.co/vp6RR9TpLO

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

YES!!! facts!!

Drop the mic. 🎤

#VoteDemToRestoreRoe

[Amy Ochier @amynuala]

@jonathan_priebe They are puppets that do both.

[Rev. Benjamin Cremer @Brcremer]

When fear controls us Christians rather than love, we will believe the most outrageous myths and half truths about those who we consider our enemies. 🧵

[Zach W. Lambert @ZachWLambert]

When I was a kid in church we sang “Onward Christian Soldier” and “I’m in The Lord’s Army.”

When you grow up hearing non-Christians are the enemy and Jesus is coming back to wage war against them with you by his side, its really easy to demonize anyone who isn’t a Christian.