A Prayer from the Cross

Jesus prayed up until the hour of his death.  What dramatic endurance and faith we find as we remember our Lord's death on this day.

We would recall the example of Jesus praying:  "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)  Rather than seeking revenge or speaking words of anger, we discover him praying for forgiveness upon those who crucified him.  It might be hard to imagine such a prayer coming from one who was weak, battered, and felt deserted.  Yet, love still resided in him at the final hour of his death.

What words we find here - asking for forgiveness on those putting him to death.  Jesus realized their own ignorance.  Isn't it the same with us that we don't always know what we are doing?  We might at times deny our Lord - we don't realize it?  Jesus still pleads for forgiveness for you and me.

I hope that Jesus' prayer will serve as an example of the power of faith to you.  May you be deepened in your own prayer life through what Jesus did and said on the cross.

Book on Prayer

I have read through the book Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson for this season of Lent and found it very inspiring.  I have always enjoyed being renewed in my life of prayer.

The author ends the book by saying "Prayer is the difference between appointments and divine appointments.  Prayer is the difference between good ideas and God-ideas.  Prayer is the difference between the favor of God and the luck of the draw.  Prayer is the difference between closed doors and open doors.  Prayer is the difference between possible and impossible.  Prayer is the difference between the best we can do and the best God can do."    

I firmly believe as well that the discipline of prayer is essential for the person of faith.  God has given us the privilege to enter into conversation.  We can draw near to God with our deepest concerns.  Of course, there are the many promises in find in Scripture in regard to prayer.  We have every reason to pray!

Here is a book that is beneficial to read to help give you more confidence in your praying.  Have you even read much on prayer to help you along in this discipline?

Praying for People to Do God's Work

I began reading through the book Prayer by Ole Hallesby, which I had read many years ago.  One emphasis popped out at me.  It was that we would pray for God to send us people to do work in the kingdom.  Hallesby referred to Matthew 9:37-38 "Jesus said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore, the Lord of harvest, to send out laborers into his harvest."    He makes the statement that while we may be praying  for workers already in God's kingdom (those doing church work), we also need to pray for God to be sending us new people.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about praying for our missionaries.  We certainly need to pray for them.  I realize now that I also need to be praying for new people to be laborers in doing God's work.  Yes, we might just say a general prayer in this regard to God.  Or we could be praying for someone whom we recognize might have some talent that God could use to further the kingdom..  Or maybe we get an inkling that a person shows an interest in the church and we pray for that person.

I believe that this doesn't necessarily mean we are praying for full-time paid church workers.  It means that we are praying for people to come forward and take up the task of service and of being witnesses to others.  Today, it seems more than ever, we are in need of creative ways of doing ministry in order to reach all kinds of folks.  There are people out there who can help.  Our prayers will help to raise up new people for doing God's work. 

Prayer in Time of a Severe Illness

This coming Sunday, I once again am offering the individual prayer for health and healing to worshipers.  It is a prayer for the healing of body, mind, and spirit.  I am doing this prayer in conjunction with Psalm 6, the text for my message on Sunday.  The psalmist cries out:  "O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror."  (Psalm 6:2)  The psalmist was at the point of death.

In time of illness, we might make use of the medical profession.  We must remember that their work is considered part of the healing arts. In addition, we can draw upon divine help and ask God for intervention. 

There is nothing wrong with asking for divine help.  King Hezekiah was sick and at the point of death and offered up prayer to God. (2 Kings 20:1-6)    He had been confronting an invasion from the Assyrians.  Yet, the king still felt he had a mission to fulfill.  As a result, he prayed and the prophet Isaiah came and told the king that 15 years would be added to his life.

When we do pray in the case of a severe illness, might it not be okay to ask God for more time, believing that we have a mission to fulfill?  We might feel our work on Earth is not yet done.

The main thing here is that we ask in faith.  What a powerful resource we have in prayer and also know that we are praying, too, for God's will to be done in our lives.

Ash Wednesday Prayer

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent and is also a time of introspection.  We come to look more closely at our own sin and how we have fallen short of God's expectations.  This day ought to put in focus more the need for a Savior and also that we would be more appreciative of Jesus' suffering and the giving up of his life on the cross.

While we might look at our own sin, we also hope to be changed in order to live more in God's ways.  Lent is a time of renewal.  We would hope maybe to see what needs to be changed in our lives.

The traditional psalm for this day is Psalm 51.  It has the words:  "Create in me a clean heart, O God."  (vs. 10)  I hope that this would be your prayer on this day.  It all starts with the heart, i.e. from the inside.  Once we have been renewed from our hearts, we can make the outward changes.

Commit yourself today to this prayer and let God renew you.

Praying for Missionaries

The other day I received in the mail a copy of the 2013 Missionary Directory of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  I was quite overwhelmed by the number of people who are serving in foreign fields!

As I was thumbing through the pages, I started thinking about the commitment (and possibly sacrifice) these missionaries are making.  They have decided to uproot themselves from our land to go to another place where they have to adjust to the dynamics of another culture, such as with food, language, and social customs. They might not enjoy many of the conveniences we have here in America.

Yet, their work is to bring and show God's love in Christ to others.  This is a tall order.

I would think that these folks of our ELCA serving as missionaries need our prayers.  They might be thousands of miles away. We might not be aware of their stories, yet we know they are serving the Lord and witnessing to Him.

Can you take a moment to remember in prayer those who are serving in the foreign fields?

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

We are now in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which extends from January 18-25.  Prayer is needed.since often times there is competition among congregations, or congregations do not agree on certain points of doctrine and become isolated and are not able to worship jointly or participate in cooperative ministry.

The theme for this year's week of prayer is "What does God require of us?"   The words are taken from the prophet Micah, who in response to this question wrote: "to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."
 
I personally believe that we will find unity in recognizing our common hope in our Savior Jesus Christ.  With him, we can see where we can help others in their brokenness, especially where there is injustice.  Can we work together as churches for doing some positive work here?  Maybe there is some wrong that has been committed or a group of people in need are being ignored.  Can churches working together address these problems?

What about loving kindness?  How we treat one another in the body of Christ is significant in our witness to outsiders.  Can we show kindness to one another and also to those outside the church?

Then, we are to walk humbly with God.  Humility is that disposition that frees us from acting in an elitist or egotistical way.  We can acknowledge our wrongs to one another and move forward together in miission.

These goals are not easy, which is why prayer might be in order.  Will you take the time to pray for Christian unity?