It is easy to pray for good things. You want our loved ones to be healthy and safe. You want the unrest and violence in our country to end. You want your children to follow God. You want those suffering with sickness to be healed. You want joy to be restored in your marriage. These are good things. But do you have the courage to pray for something more? You sell God short when you only ask for things that seem to good to you. In the prayer of our Lord, Christ gives us something better to ask for: he asks that God’s kingdom will come and that his will be done. This request requires trust in God. This is […]
Prayer
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Franklin Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer Each year I repost the prayer President Franklin Roosevelt made for the success of the D Day invasion on June 6, 1944. What is striking about this prayer is that FDR did not speak of many Gods or many faiths or many religions. He asked that the will of Almighty God be done. Today, we seek protection from a moment of silence offered to a god of our own choosing. We have become too proud to seek the protection of the one true God. June 6, 1944 My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies […]
Father, grant me the courage to love you for who you are and not for what I want you to be. Grant me the peace to honor you for what you do and not for what I want you to do. Grant me the power to live for what adds to your reputation and not to my own. Grant me the compassion to long for people to know you and not to know me. Grant me the humility to speak well of you and not of myself. Grant me the discernment build your kingdom and not my own. Grant me the wisdom to say what praises you and not what makes me look good. Grant me the vision to live […]
In the Lord’s prayer Jesus tells you to pray for God’s will to be done. By asking God for his kingdom to rule and his will to be done, you are making a life-changing request! You are acknowledging that his purpose and plan is better than your own. God’s way is better than your way! It does not work to say or think, “Please do your will and mine.” This is a foolish statement. Are your desires as important as God’s? It is God’s kingdom and will that must desired above all else. This thought ties directly to Christ’s words just a few verses later in the Sermon on the Mount; “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” […]
Your objective as a Christian parent is to raise your children to live a godly life following Christ. This idea is exciting, even inspiring. But how conscious are you that there is another side to living a godly life? Encouraging your children to follow Christ also will lead them into persecution. This reality balances the excitement. Following Christ is a wonderful, fulfilling and sobering pursuit. It is a path not to be taken lightly. Paul reminds us of this when he says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” 2 Timothy 3:12 Following God requires courage and boldness. There are enemies on every side, both spiritual and earthly. Living as children of […]
The young daughter of a family friend realized that her pet turtle had gone missing while getting some sun in the backyard. This little girl had cared for this turtle for over a year. Understandably, the missing turtle brought sadness and hurt. I encouraged prayer for the return of the hard cased reptile. It might seem to be a stretch to ask for the turtle to be found. Perhaps some would say that this prayer might offer false hope to the daughter. But let’s think this through. This provides a great opportunity to teach about prayer. Anytime we pray we seek the face and care of the Lord of the Universe. We know that he is powerful and gracious and […]
It is easy to pray for good things. We want our loved ones to be healthy and safe. We desire for our country to turn to God in repentance. It is good to pray that our children will come to know and love Christ more deeply. These are good things. But do we have the courage to pray for something more? We sell God short in our prayers when we only ask for things that seem to good to us. In the prayer of our Lord, Christ gives us something better to ask for: he asks that God’s kingdom will come and that his will be done. Wow! This request requires trust in God. This is a request for God […]
Parenting can be a lonely occupation at times. Gone from your memory are the baby showers, first steps, birthday parties, and adoring friends fawning over your children. Instead, you are faced with one child who is sick and another one who is whining that he has no one to play with since his sister is sick in bed (the same sister that has gifted you with the same cold she has). Your husband is out of town for three days and it has been raining for forever. Lonely, indeed. Two thousand years ago, your brother Paul knelt before his Father and yours and prayed a simple, profound prayer for you. No, Paul didn’t know you by name, but the Holy Spirit […]
When you are sick you want relief. When you are angry you seek justice. When you are hurt you want comfort. For all of these things, we as Christians are told to cry out to God. This is good! But from this point things can get a little uncertain. Should you pray for an immediate response? Has God turned away from you if there does not appear to be one? There is some clear guidance for us in the Lord’s prayer. Christ instructs his disciples to pray: “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” These directions put everything in perspective! Yes, you want immediate relief. I can relate to this, having just undergone 7 weeks of […]
My Father, my God, my Savior, This night brings no certainty about the next day. I know what I would like to see, but then I think of all that could happen and all the good that might be left undone. I want to be healed, but then there are so many that need healing. There are so many that hurt. I want my family to be known and cared for by you. But there is so much more than my family that needs to be cared for. I think about tomorrow and I feel so inadequate, so incapable of knowing how to pray to you, the one who knows me better than any other. I am at a loss […]