July 22nd, 2025

Meditation: The Freedom of Speaking Truth for Prayer
​Based on Mark 4:21–25
Rev. Derrick McQueen, Ph.D.
St. James Presbyterian Church, Harlem, NYC
Let us pray.
Gracious God of light and liberation,
You who know what is hidden and bring it gently to the surface--
Breathe on us your Spirit in this moment, that what we offer in silence and in speech
Might become the truth that sets us free. Amen.
Scripture tells us in Mark 4:22:
“For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.”

Now that’s a Word.
I learned something about truth when I was only six years old.
It was the summer my baby brother was born. Mommy was home from work, and I was home from school—and every day after morning play I’d run home for summer lunch, make myself a peanut butter sandwich or maybe a grilled cheese if I was feeling fancy,
And I’d sit right beside her to watch All My Children. Now don’t judge me—Erica Kane had a way of pulling you into a mess you didn’t ask for!
But I started to notice something. Those soap operas all turned on one thing—secrets.
People keeping secrets they thought no one would ever know, until one day—Boom!—a door swings open, a paternity test arrives, somebody walks in the room who was supposed to be dead… And just like that, the whole thing gets revealed.
And I remember saying to my mother, “Mommy, it seems like nobody can shame you if your business is yours, so you don’t need to keep secrets.” She didn’t miss a beat. She looked at me and said, “Sounds right to me. God knows all our secrets anyway.”
Whew.
That stuck with me. Because what she was saying—what I now hear Jesus saying in Mark—is this: Secrets might feel like safety, but they are often just fear with a mask on. And God—who knows all—does not come to shame us, but to free us. To let what is hidden come to light so that it can breathe, so that we can breathe, so that healing can begin.
This is the freedom of speaking truth in prayer. Not because God doesn’t already know,
But because we need to hear ourselves say the thing that holds us back. We need to name what we carry so that it doesn’t carry us. Jesus says, “Let those with ears hear.”  This is not just about listening. It’s about having the courage to bring your whole truth—ugly, broken, blessed, and beautiful—into the presence of a God who loves you anyway.
So today, we are invited to a different kind of soap opera—one not built on drama and secrets,
yet on the gentle drama of grace. Where our confessions don’t end in scandal, they end in freedom.
Maybe you’ve been carrying something, a secret, a burden, a shame—not ready to say it aloud.
That’s alright. But know this: There is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed.
And there is nothing God brings into the light that isn’t already held in mercy.
And here’s the deeper grace: When we bring our truth before God, we are set free not just for our own sake—but so that we can pray truthfully for others.
To intercede for a hurting world,
To speak with honesty about injustice,
To lift up others not from a place of hiding, but from the power of being seen and known.
This is how truth becomes not just personal, but prophetic.
So as we move into our time of prayer, I want to invite you—not just to whisper requests or give God the polite version of your day— but to speak a little truth.
To name a piece of your story. To lay down a lie that’s been stealing your peace. To claim the freedom of being known—fully—and still called beloved. And from that freedom, to pray boldly for your neighbor, for the oppressed, for those still afraid to speak. Because that’s what truth does when it meets grace. It doesn’t shame you.  It sets you free. And it sets the world in motion toward healing.

There is courage in speaking truth in prayer.  What is your prayer today?
Let us pray:
God of truth and tenderness,
You know what we fear, what we hide, and what we long to be free from.
Help us bring what is hidden into the light of your mercy.
Give us courage to speak truth in prayer,
And give us ears to hear your truth in return:
That we are loved, we are not alone, and we are already being made whole.

And from the freedom you grant us, O God,
Make us bold to pray for others--
To tell the truth about the world’s wounds,
And trust that you are already moving toward healing.
Amen.