Prayer

A Morning Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

In our Bible reading together we have recently been going through the life of the prophet Samuel and how he was instructed to anoint Saul as king over Israel. We encounter Saul as a nice young man full of hope and potential. How sad it is that once given high position and the blessings of God that he soon failed, broke Samuel’s heart and missed the path that God wanted him to walk.

Saul’s failure was that, while he was respectful and well liked, he never had a personal connection with God. He was always just trying his best to serve Samuel’s God. How different the heart of David, who longed to know and serve God long before he was called to be king. Watching over his father’s sheep while he was still a teenager, David prayed to really know God and learn the path God wanted him to walk. Sure David had plenty of his own failures but he never stopped longing to know and please God. These verses from Psalm 25 are often central to my own morning prayers. A few years back I wrote this song based on those verses and I pray the words and music may awaken your own hearts to really seek God and His ways today. Only He knows the path on which each of us are called to walk today!

Learning to Wait

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
And Calls us to His Side

"Oh, what’s the use?” 
I ask God while I'm praying
Since you know the way 
That things must be
Then in quiet I listen 
For an answer from 
The one who gave Himself for me

For once He prayed till sweat Flowed like blood drops
Through the night, with sorrows 
He was tossed
Then He surrendered all that 
He had wished for
Our lives to save 
And for our sin’s full cost

And then as dawn 
Had still not fully wakened
On the third day 
Before the sun was bright
The tomb was opened 
So we could see inside that
He is alive 
And calls us to His side!

And Calls Us to His Side by Peter Caligiuri copyright 2022
All rights reserved

But as I rav'd and grew more fierce and wilde - At every word,
Me thoughts I heard one calling, Child! - And I reply'd, My Lord.
George Herbert - excerpt from The Collar

Answered Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 ESV

This morning as I was beginning to pray, I realized I didn’t need to pray for my father anymore. My first prayer for my dad was answered when he received Christ as his Savior. As the years passed, I prayed for him to be guided and helped by God. As Dad grew older, I often asked for healing and strength. After my stepmom slipped into eternity, I prayed for comfort. When he chose to live alone, I prayed for him to experience God’s presence. This morning as I looked back, I suddenly realized that every prayer has been answered along the way. Dad is now healed and young again! He is no longer lonely, confused or tired. He found every answer on the other side of heaven’s door.

Today as we pray, Jesus teaches us that we can be assured that our prayers will be answered, because of God’s promise. When we ask, He promises we will receive. When we truly seek, He guarantees we will truly find. When we knock, knock eagerly, knowing that our Father in heaven already has his hand on the doorknob waiting to open! Prayer is the longing that God has put in our hearts for a world that reflects His purpose. Be faithful. Don’t give up on prayer. We may forget what we have asked, but God remembers and hears and answers prayer. It doesn’t matter what it looks like now. One day we will see that every one of our prayers has been answered: And so much more!

Make my life a prayer to You
I wanna do what You want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers, no compromise
I wanna shine the light You gave
Through Your Son You sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know
You're really there
Make My Life a Prayer by Keith Green