Prayer

Who is on Guard Duty?

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

A few days ago, the verse of the day in my Bible app was the one from Proverbs that told us to guard our hearts. It was great advice, but my problem is that I am not always great at guard duty. Sometimes I am distracted by temporary problems, get embroiled in controversies with the other guards or have days when I just feel like being lazy. That is why I was encouraged by these words of Paul to in the church in Philippi. After several chapters dealing with the hot topics of the day, he gives some fatherly advice to his friends telling them that they could bring all their problems and anxieties to God in prayer. But they must also remember to give God thanks in advance and trust Him for the answer.

I am so happy to learn that it isn’t just by my being vigilant or adhering to a strict set of rules that my heart is protected. I am guarded by asking God for help. Now, I don’t know about you, but God is definitely a better guard than me! I fall asleep about ten o’clock every night, but God stays awake 24/7. God never sleeps so that we can. He never fails, though we do so often. God is always faithful, loving kind and powerful, so why should we ever doubt Him? Let’s start today by giving Him thanks for His help in our crisis, His mercy to forgive our sins and most of all for His sacrifice of His only Son Jesus, so that His peace could guard our hearts and minds today!

Don’t Stop Praying!

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments 
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 
Luke 18:1 NIV

God knows that some days we feel like giving up on prayer. Maybe we think that there are bigger problems in the world or that God isn’t interested. Yet, instead of just lecturing us, Jesus tells us a story about a widow and a judge. This widow wasn’t politically connected, or rich and she had an someone harassing her. We aren’t told exactly the issue: only that the one person she could turn to for help was a corrupt judge. Yet she didn’t give up, run away, or complain to her neighbors. Instead, every morning she walked down to the judge’s house. I can just picture him looking out his window, as he heard her knock, muttering, “Oh no! Not her again!”

Maybe she was driving him crazy, but all she really wanted was for him to do his job. Finally, the judge threw up his hands, and said something like, “All right! I’ll do it! Just please leave me alone!” Then, Jesus reminds us that God is not even a little bit like that judge. God wants to hear our prayers. God loves us, wants the best for us, and since He is so good, we should never give up. God is listening, and if we keep on praying and believing, we can trust that one day He is sure to answer!

“I have abandoned all particular forms of devotion, all prayer techniques. My only prayer practice is attention. I carry on a habitual, silent, and secret conversation with God that fills me with overwhelming joy.” 
Brother Lawrence

Shelter in a Storm

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

We are thankful for having made it through Hurricane Helene unscathed, but friends, just a couple of miles away have lost everything due to storm surge. I can’t take time right now to go into detail but please keep people on the Gulf Coast in your prayers. Those who experienced that tidal flooding are told that there may not be power restored for a couple of days. I hope that will be sooner as all the food will spoil, if it hasn’t already. Also, living without AC, at the end of September in this part of Florida means dealing with 91-degree temps with rain again in the forecast tomorrow and Sunday. Please keep all of us, but especially the exhausted first-responders in your thoughts and prayers. If your church is doing a collection or you can donate blood, anything you can do will be a blessing. I have to go to check on some folks, but will update tomorrow, maybe with a few photos.