Prayer

Chance of Thunderstorms

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Our local National Day of Prayer event was moved at the last minute by thunderstorms being predicted for exactly the time of the meeting. Because not everyone gets their updates via Facebook a lot less people than hoped for showed up at the alternate venue. We started late. One of the pastors got lost and things seemed a bit shakey. But when we get disorganized and off of our perfectly planned program God delights in surprises.

The Latino worship group from the church where we did meet was great and deftly moved us between Spanish and English during “How great is our God” one lay pastor who does prison ministry filled in for the missing pastor and passionately prayed for the police and first responders. While we lacked in attendance there was no lack of sincerity in our cry to God for our community our nation and our churches. Holding hands in worship and prayers at the end put an exclamation point on God’s presence and made me hungry for more!

Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
Isaiah 35:6 ESV

 

 

Rejoice-Pray-Give Thanks

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Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18

When I worked as a tree climber years ago I learned that my life depended on my rope. Our ropes in those days were generally three separate cords woven together. Each cord could have held our weight but in the case of a sudden fall the breaking point of that strand was only one tenth of its load capacity. By having a rope of three woven strands we were assured that in any situation we would be held safely. In the same way God has woven together a three stranded lifeline to hold us. In the past I always carved up these verses into three separate commands, but as I read this morning I realized they are in fact three strands of just one cord in Jesus Christ.

We must rejoice because by His amazing grace He has chosen to come to us no matter how humble our place. The Bible tells us that He is not ashamed to call us brothers. He is willing to include us in His family.

We should always pray, because our Lord like a brother will always listen. There is nothing that affects our life that does not concern Him. Since He has taken the time to count the hairs on our head how can we doubt that He will help us in even our smallest struggles? Remember that He said. “Without me you can do nothing!” John 15:5

Give thanks. Ingratitude will not undo the miracle of God’s healing, but it will keep us from a close relationship with Jesus. In Luke’s gospel we see that one day Jesus healed ten lepers. They had all prayed and all rejoiced but only one remembered to say thanks.

He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:16

The bible does not say that the other nine lost their healing or that they had sinned. But the man who was thankful was the only one who worshipped at the feet of Jesus. The three stranded rope of this man’s faith brought him all the way to an intimate relationship with Christ. Today we are just the same as any of these lepers. We all have a need for a miracle and we all can rejoice in His amazing grace, but only when we are truly grateful will we know how to worship God. He is so kind and good to us all. Will we be found at His feet today?

Quiet!

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So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
James 1:19 NKJV

Why are we so afraid of quiet? Why is it so difficult to listen? Neither hearing nor obeying may require a word today. Maybe God has called us to walk with Him by quiet waters. We can never know what God or others might say unless we are silent for a time .