Tag Archives: pray

Pray Today

praying

Today, May 4, is the National Day of Prayer this year in the United States. How did this observance come about? On April 17, 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill into law proclaiming a National Day of Prayer must be declared by each subsequent president at an appropriate date of his or her choice. In 1988, the law was amended so that the National Day of Prayer would be held on the first Thursday of May every year. 

While it is wonderful that we have such a day formally set aside for prayer in this country, it is also good for us as Christians and citizens of the kingdom of God to remember that we do not need a law to pray, and we do not need a special day to do it. We can pray any day in any way we want. What a joy and blessing that is. Prayer is something we sometimes take for granted or forget doing. One my pastors once said that when we get to heaven, he thinks we are going to say, “I should have prayed more.”

Well, there is no time like the present to make prayer an integral and regular part of your day, like brushing your teeth or getting dressed. Pray in the morning; pray at night; pray at mealtimes. Those are good routines to have. But let prayer be always on your lips when you think of someone in need, when you are heading into a difficult meeting, when you are grateful for a positive outcome. This is what Paul meant when he said, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). There is no day or time when prayer should not be on our internal agenda. So pray today as a signal to yourself to pray every day. Amen.

Family Dinner

family dinner 2

It has almost become a joke, but for those of a certain age (me included, I guess) Friday night is “Blue Bloods” night on TV. It is a show about a multigenerational family most of whom are or have been in law enforcement or the legal field. At the end of each episode, all the members of the clan gather together for a Sunday night family dinner to discuss, debate, commiserate and joke with each other about the events in their lives in the past week. Each show ends with everyone joining in the common mealtime prayer: Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

It warms my heart to see collective prayer portrayed on TV, but I also find the idea of family dinner a good one. Close friends of mine have been having family dinner every Sunday night with their extended family for decades, but overall I would say that we do not gather in this manner much anymore, which is sad to me.

In many ways, the concept of family dinner is very Christian. In Acts we read that in the early Church: they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42). Sounds like all the elements of a family dinner to me. Dining together is a very personal experience and indicates a connection with the people you are sitting next to. It also allows us a time to decompress, learn and grow. Such experiences are encouraged in Scripture:

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10).

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives (Colossians 1:9).

I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another (Romans 15:14).

Even if you are not able to have a family dinner like this, consider incorporating “family dinner” aspects into your weekly routine: Do you have a time to touch base with a member of your extended family regularly? Is there a moment when you can express to a loved one how you are doing really? And is there an opportunity to share with those close to you a realization that has come to you? In the end pray as one, since we are all members of God’s family.

Stooping Down

stooping down

When the Resurrection Gospel from Luke 24 was read this Easter, a word stuck out for me that hadn’t before: The word was stooping. When Peter ran to the empty tomb of Jesus, he had to stoop down and look in to see the linen cloths but no Jesus. He had to physically lower himself to see what had happened. I don’t know about you, but stooping down is not something I like to do very often, whether it is to pick something up off the ground or get something from the back of a bottom shelf. It is an uncomfortable position and can make you feel awkward. So it must have been for Peter, but he was more than willing to stoop down to discover the empty tomb for himself.

I think of times when Jesus stooped down in his life. He got on the ground to wash his disciples’ feet. He bent down in the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He was hunched over when he was whipped by the soldiers. But the most dramatic way in which he stooped down was when he came down from heaven and took on human flesh to save us by dying on the cross.

We cannot imagine how far our Savior had to go to humble himself to save us all from sin and death. Jesus came down to us so that we might be raised up to him. No more stooping is necessary from either Christ or ourselves. We will stand in glory with him and lift up holy hands in praise to him, who is exalted evermore.

A Three-Year Plan

ministry

Jesus began his formal ministry when he was 30 years old and continued that ministry to its culmination three years later in his death and resurrection. “Why only three years?” we may wonder. And we may never truly know the answer until we are with Jesus in heaven.

Suffice it to say that Jesus knew when the time was right for the events of his ministry and God’s plan of salvation to take place. There were moments when Jesus said, “My time has not yet come” (John 7:6). He also knew when it was time to move forward, as when he instructed his disciples to prepare the Last Supper with the words, “My time is at hand” (Matthew 26:18).

The Gospels detail the many healings and miracles, teachings and travels that took place in Jesus’ ministry. But they also make mention of the time Jesus took to be away by himself and pray. We all remember the account of Jesus sleeping in the boat, even during a storm. It was not always go, go, go with Jesus. He made sure to take it slow sometimes and rest. We all need that in our own ministries as his disciples.

We cannot be everything to everybody and we are not Energizer Bunnies. We are human beings, just as Jesus was, who need balance between hard work and rest. Jesus himself did not visit every town and village on earth during his ministry and he certainly did not heal every sick person alive then. So we should not expect to do it all in our ministries either.

In business, employees are often asked, “What do you see as your 5-year plan?” For some, the answer is simple: Do more of the same. For others, it is to keep growing and learning. For us as Christians, it is a little of both. We continue in his Word as we have been doing AND we grow to know Christ more. And it doesn’t matter how long that takes: three years, five years, ten years, a lifetime. God will show us when the time is right to carry out the particular plan he has in place for us. So live in God’s ministry time and be blessed.

In the Background

Zoom background

I find it interesting in these days of Zoom calls that we get to see where people actually live. A co-worker of mine noticed a book on a bookshelf behind me on a Zoom call that he also had. We chatted about the coincidence. I have seen wall hangings and knickknacks that caught my eye. I have viewed couches and comfy-looking chairs where people most likely do their relaxing when the work day is done.

These glimpses into the background of people’s lives got me to thinking, “What do people notice behind us (literally and figuratively) that reveal our connection to Christ and our life of faith?” It might be a cross on the wall or a Scripture verse on a plaque. It could be a carving of praying hands or a Bible set on a bedside table. But it is also actions like setting aside a time for prayer and opening Scripture on a daily basis, things that we do “behind the scenes,” so to speak, that invigorate and enliven our face and demeanor to the public. Our spiritual background can have a great impact on what goes on in the foreground of our lives. Now, more than ever, people are watching and we have a great opportunity to show to others the reason for the hope we have in us (1 Peter 3:15). Do not be afraid to share “what is behind you,” spiritually leading you on.

Moving Forward

road

There are times during this pandemic when things feel like they are at a stand-still. We are stuck at home working remotely. Our children are stationed in front of their screens for online learning. Many of our churches have still not opened their doors to in-person worship. We may not feel we should venture out too far for fear of being around too many people.

But even with all these restrictions and parameters placed upon us and by us, we still have the ability and the calling to move forward in different ways. Think about what Jesus told his disciples before he left. He said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). That calling has not changed, even though we may not be walking around our neighborhoods as much as we used to or have not been getting in the car to go to church as often or at all.

We can move forward spiritually in our discipleship by reaching out by text or email or phone to friends and family with cheer in the Lord’s name. We can share something we have learned from Scripture on our computer screens through Zoom or other video conferencing platforms. We can pray for people around the world who are struggling during these times.

Any lack of mobility we are encountering now does not sideline our spiritually. We are always growing and changing and maturing in our faith no matter where we are. So don’t stop. Keep moving forward for the Lord. The Bible says, “Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11). The day when we will be with Jesus in heaven is getting closer, so using our time until then spreading the Word of God is increasingly important. Get going!

Accompaniment

accompanimentOur sister company, Twenty-Third Publications, came out with a publication recently called The Art of Accompaniment, a term expressed by Pope Francis in The Joy of the Gospel. Here is the link to the booklet:

http://www.twentythirdpublications.com/artofacniesc.html

By the term “the art of accompaniment,” Pope Francis is referring to the call of the Church to walk with people in compassion and love in whatever circumstances of life they are given.

The concept of the art of accompaniment can be applied to our journeying with younger generations through their milestones of faith as well (baptism, First Communion, confirmation). Our presence at these events and our encouragement of them in their faith can go a long way in keeping them grounded and confident in their relationship with Christ.

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Attractors

butterfliesThis summer I attended a garden tour in my community and got to see many interesting plants and flowers. One of the interesting concepts that caught my attention was that there are particular plants that are called attractors because they attract butterflies. Not just any plant attracts any butterfly, but only certain plants attract very particular butterflies. For instance, black-eyed Susans are known attractors of Monarch butterflies, asters attract Painted Lady butterflies, and zinnias draw Swallowtail butterflies.

It strikes me that this idea could be applied to our Christian witness. First of all, are we living as Christian “attractors,” that is to say, are we people who draw others closer to know more about our faith by the way we live? Or are we living in such a way that we “repel” others from the faith and send them flying to other pastures of religion? I am reminded of Jesus’ words, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Our role is to attract others to the glory of God revealed in us. How can we go about that? I so often am personally attracted to the faith present in those who respond to a difficulty in their lives with hope and grace and confidence that God is in charge of the outcome. Our faith-filled reactions to the inevitable troubles that life throws at us serve as attractors to others who are intrigued and curious about such responses that are counter to what secular society expects.

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The Model Prayer

Lord’s PrayerAuthor Michael Kelley in the book Holy Vocabulary: Rescuing the Language of Faith, takes a good, hard look at how we approach the Lord’s Prayer.

“in modern usage,” he says, “the prayer has become something of an incantation, recited laboriously before a sports event or a civic meeting. It’s become a tool we use in an attempt to guarantee God’s endorsement of whatever we’re about to do” (p. 30).

Sounds somewhat harsh at first reading, but the more I think about it, the more he is right about how I personally approach the Lord’s Prayer from time to time: something to just say, get through and check off to say I talked to God today.

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Lectio Divina

praying handsIn the last few years there has been a resurgence in the concept of Lectio Divina (Latin for divine reading) in religious literature. It is a structure of meditative prayer that has four parts: read, meditate, pray, contemplate. It is a way for people to focus on a word, phrase or verse from Scripture and then let Christ speak to them through that Word. Lectio Divina has been likened to “feasting on the Word”: first, the taking of a bite (lectio); then chewing on it (meditatio); savoring its essence (oratio) and, finally, “digesting” it and making it a part of the body (contemplatio).

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