Tag Archives: prayer

Groanings

praying hard

The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26

Sometimes all we can muster up from within us when we pray is a sigh, a breath, a groan. But the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit can take these sounds and make them into groanings to God that capture everything we mean to say to God the Father through them. You see, we never need to have just the right word or phrase. We don’t need to recite familiar prayers from our childhood verbatim. We should never be afraid to just come to God and moan a little over everything that is happening to us and around us. Our every utterance to God, intelligible to the world around us or not, is a prayer. And it is those deep and longing noises from within us that often say the most to God about what is going on in our lives and where we really need some critical help.

I am reminded a little in all of this of Jacob wrestling with God in the Old Testament (See Genesis 32:24.). Our moans and groans are a kind of wrestling with God over issues that are not easily resolved or very clear cut. But God does not mind wrestling with us; in fact, he wants us to be real and honest with him about how we are feeling. So let out your sorrow, your pain, your anger, your frustration in prayer. Don’t hold back. God can take it. The Spirit will express it to him fully. We will be heard and understood by God, even if it feels like no one else is getting the reason or reasons for our wrangling.

No matter how intense it gets, when we walk away from prayer, we will have the assurance from God that he is with us always and he is in the struggle with us. Christ’s moans and groans from the cross on our behalf prove that to us.

No More Sighing

big sigh

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:10

We’ve all had moments in our lives when we let out “the big sigh.” Maybe it was a sigh of frustration in a person or situation. Maybe it was a sigh of sadness or recognition over a loss. Maybe it was a sigh simply uttered out of sheer exhaustion with life itself. I have sighed them all, and so have you, no doubt.

Sighs like this are signs that we know that sin is in the world and perhaps has gotten the best of us. The good news is that sighs like this can actually become prayers and pleas to God for help. And even better news is that God hears our sighs through the work of the Holy Spirit, as it says in Romans 8:26: ”The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”

While our sighing many continue in this world, I was struck by the phrasing “sorrow and sighing shall flee away” from Isaiah. We can look forward with joy to that day when there will be no more sighing, only endless praise to the Lord!

Oaks of Righteousness

oak

They may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. —Isaiah 61:3

Oaks were the main trees of Israel’s natural groves and forests. The three species which grow there have in common their strong and hard wood and all attain a great height and reach a very old age. The Hebrew name, allon, even means strong. So it is no wonder then that Isaiah uses the imagery of oak trees to symbolize those who are strong in the Lord.

Besides being strong, oak trees also rise up to the sky. Oak trees branch out to provide shade for those who need shelter from danger. And oak trees expand with a new ring of growth each year.

In much the same way, people who are oaks of righteousness are drawn closer to heaven through the Holy Spirit. Oaks of righteousness protect others from the evils of this world by the power of God. And oaks of righteousness continue to mature in their faith in Christ through prayer and Scripture reading in order to grow stronger in him year after year.

Who are some oaks of righteousness that you know who are like this? How can you become more and more like an oak of righteousness at this time in your life? People are watching us more than we think, and it is time for us to show the world, as in Isaiah’s day, that the glory of the Lord is within us through the death of Christ on the tree of the cross.

On Thanksgiving Day

turkey

A Prayer of Thanks

O God of grace, we come to you this Thanksgiving with deep appreciation for the many gifts you have given to us. You have poured out upon us much more than we could ever ask or imagine, want or need. No one cares for us as much as you do, O Lord, though we are undeserving of your generosity toward us. We have all turned away from you by our sins, yet you have never turned your back on us. Therefore, in all thankfulness and praise, we ask for your blessing on this day. We pray that the food we eat would nourish and sustain us. We request that we would enjoy each other’s company and come to know each other better as we eat together. Be our guest at our tables with us and grant us harmony and peace through your presence. Amen.

—by Mark Zimmermann

On Veterans Day

soldier

A Soldier’s Prayer

Into every battle I go, Lord, be my shield. In each danger

I find myself, God, be my safety. In every enemy

territory, Savior, be my friend. Within each hidden

place, Redeemer, be my refuge. In every operation, be

my guide and deliverer. Through every troubled land,

be my peace, so I can stand. Amen.

—from “Onward, Christian Soldiers: Prayers for Those in Service” by Mark Zimmermann

Headsets

bluetooth headset

I recently was on a walking tour of the outside of Fallingwater, a Frank Lloyd Wright home in western Pennsylvania. One of the features of the tour was that each person on the tour got an individual bluetooth headset to put on our ears so that we could clearly hear everything that the tour guide was saying, even if we could not see her or were a short distance away from her.

I liked the experience because I did not have to strain to hear her or always try to walk close to her. I could know exactly what she was saying about one thing while I was looking at something else. The information was helpful no matter where I was.

The use of a headset is a good reminder to me that we can let God’s Word speak to us wherever we are and whatever we are doing. I sometimes recite my favorite Bible verses in my mind while I am doing chores around the house. I listen to Christian music with my earbuds in when I am taking a walk and looking at the nature around me in my neighborhood. I can hear a sermon from a livestream worship service recording through headphones while I am grocery shopping.

God’s Word is not something reserved for hearing at church or at night when we say our prayers. Everywhere and anytime, the Word can come to our ears loud and clear.

Pulled to Pray

pulled to pray

I watched the movie Father Stu last month, a film which I highly recommend. One of the scenes in the movie involves Father Stu crawling to an altar in a church, pulling his mostly paralyzed body toward the cross to pray.

That’s how determined Father Stu was to pray to Jesus, asking him, begging him for help and guidance in the midst of a battle with inclusion body myositis, a rare incurable muscular disease similar to Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Father Stu sought answers, and he would get them when Jesus presented him with the opportunity to minister to people who flocked to him while he resided in a skilled nursing facility. He was able to share with all those he met that prayer helped him realize that his suffering was a gift from God that drew him closer to the suffering of Christ.

Suffering is something we mostly want to avoid, but suffering can be a catalyst that pulls us, often kicking and screaming, to prayer, which, in turn, pulls us into a relationship with Christ that can become far deeper than we ever thought possible. Lay yourself before the throne of Christ this day in prayer and let him bring you peace in whatever struggles you are dealing with.

Check out this Bible study from our parent company, Bayard, Inc., based on the Father Stu movie: https://bayardfaithresources.com/products/the-official-study-guide-to-father-stu-reborn?_pos=1&_sid=e2f97ad7c&_ss=r

Stay Rooted

tree with roots

My backyard is currently dotted with volunteer trees that have started to overtake my grass and some of the bushes around the perimeter of my yard. I have clipped the fledgling trees just above the grass line, only for the trees to begin growing back again.

Finally, my brother-in-law helped me to realize that unless I dig into the ground and pull out all the roots attached to these sprouting trees, the trees will keep coming back. The roots under the surface control what can be seen above ground and drive the growing process. Without any roots, no trees will pop up in these places again.

This Bible verse comes to mind when I ponder this situation:

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.  Ephesians 3:16-17

Like the volunteer trees in my yard, if we stay rooted and grounded in Christ’s love, we will continue to grow up and branch out in the faith. Without the roots of Christ’s love supporting and nourishing us, our faith will die and we will cease to make a difference in this world for Christ.

So stay rooted in his love through regularly digging into Scripture, continually deepening our prayer life, and constantly attaching ourselves to the message of his gracious and compassionate mercy toward us on the cross.

The tree of the cross makes the foundation of our tree of faith forever strong.

Paths As Yet Untrodden

graduation

O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The above prayer first appeared in a book called Daily Prayer in 1941, but since then has appeared in liturgies of Evening Prayer and is used at retreat centers, and I just recently learned that it is spoken every year at the end of the Baccalaureate service for graduates at Valparaiso University.

Originally entitled “The Call of Abraham,” the prayer seems to be the perfect prayer for this time of graduation when students step out into unknown territory, as Abraham did long ago. Consider praying it over the graduates you know or writing it in a card or note.

The truth is, no matter what phase of life we are in, we really have only one thing to hang onto: the hand of God. With faith, we trust every day that he will lead us on the path that is best for us. Have good courage, graduates and all of us, and hold tight to him!

Doors

church door

A few years ago, I decided to take pictures of church doors in the St. Louis area. It led to some interesting discoveries. For instance, did you know that a great number of church doors are painted red? It seems that historically church doors were red to signify that the church was a safe place or refuge if you were in danger. Red doors also symbolize the blood of Christ and that when you pass through the door you are in a holy space.

I found that church doors come in many shapes and sizes. Many people could recognize a particular church’s door at first glance at my photos. The uniqueness of a church door speaks to the unique quality of each person in the Church.

Christ called himself the Door (John 10:9). Only through him can we pass through into heaven and everlasting life. Jesus also says that when we knock, the door will be opened unto us (Matthew 7:7). That calls to mind the truth that Jesus listens to our every prayer each time we come to him for help. He will never close the door on us. In Revelation, Jesus proclaims, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20). That reminds us that we should never shut the door on Jesus, but should always allow him to be with us.

Doors in the kingdom of God are meant to welcome and not keep out. May the doors of your church open often to invite more people into God’s house. May the doors of your home swing wide to greet visitors who have come to spend time with you. And may the doors of your heart let Jesus in each and every day.