Connecting Prayer with Holy Communion

Sometimes we might see prayer as an isolated event. However, one church has connected their prayers to the sacrament of Holy Communion. The members of St. John Lutheran Church in Atlanta as an Advent project wrote their prayers for the world on strips of cloth. The pieces of cloth were then draped over the communion rail. They saw the need for God's grace to come through their prayers.

It also made me think that Jesus, who comes in the sacrament, would also become incarnate by an answer to prayer. What other thoughts might come to your mind?

Read the full story of St. John's experience here.

A Sense of Gratitude in Celebrating Thanksgiving Day

"And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name." 1 Chronicles 29:13

I came across this Bible passage in an email that reminds me that the people of Israel never ceased from giving thanks for what they had. They had recognized the grandeur of the God who had chosen them and led them out of Egypt into freedom.

As we come to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, do you have a feeling of thanks that you can offer to God through your praying?

As you look at your life, maybe this year has been a difficult one with finances or with other hardships. However, can you still offer thanks for what you have? Can you offer thanks for the kind of God that you have - one who loved you enough to send Jesus for your salvation. I believe it's easy for us to look at and accentuate the negative; we need to highlight the positive.

What we receive from God all comes as a gift. Can you count your blessings this year? If so, can you offer them up to God in prayer?

Praying on Demand

"Please pray for me." How often have you heard that? How often might you have said that you would pray in Sunday worship or maybe later during your devotional time. Just maybe, you might be moved to pray right on the spot! Check out the story in Living Lutheran that has us think about praying on demand.

Blessings,

Pastor Marty

Using Intercessory Prayer

Certainly, not all of our praying is for ourselves. We pray for those in our family, friends, and members of a congregation. We also can pray for those whom we do not know (such as those suffering from natural disasters.) It's possible and likely that there are many people who do not even know we are praying for them.

Intercessory prayer we find in Scripture. The apostle Paul was praying for the believers in Ephesus. He wrote: "I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers..." (Eph. 1:16) He prayed that the believers there would have wisdom and knowledge and the hope to which they have been called.

We are able to pray for others. How often do you do this? It's true that we don't know the effect of our prayers. For some of our prayers, we might see them answered; but for others, we can only trust God to work in people's lives.

As we pray for others, we realize that praying is no longer a solitary activity. Our thoughts not only turn to God, but we are bringing to mind those for whom we care deeply. It's possible they might really need our prayers.