This Side of the Pulpit » Entries tagged with "prayer"
Wait, wait! Now that You’ve Answered that Prayer, I’ve Changed my Mind!
Ugh. Rain. It’s rained and may rain some more. The sky is leaden and it’s depressing out there. It was so nice this weekend. Nevermind that we have been praying for rain for a year. Nevermind that just a few days ago we prayed for an end to the drought. Never mind that we need 11 inches for us to simply get back to normal. Sometimes I think we need to make lists of everything we pray for and keep them tied to our hands and foreheads. Then when something happens–when anything happens–we should first check the list and see if it’s something we prayed for. Then we can give thanks instead of complaining about it. Then we can give thanks instead of forgetting that we ever prayed for it. Ok. Maybe make … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
More than We Desire or Deserve
Almighty and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and art wont to give more than we desire or deserve: Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen. Collect for the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
“My Smokin’ Hot Wife”: the NASCAR Prayer
Joe Nelms, the pastor of Family Baptist Church in Tennessee gave an invocation at a racing event in which he thanked God for his “smokin’ hot wife.” Apparently this is controversial. On the one hand, I thank God for my smokin’ hot wife all the time. She is, even though she doesn’t always realize it. Thanking God for your spouse is good. Believing that your spouse is attractive and wonderful and thanking God for that is even better. There is the question of tact and taste in referring to this on natinoal television, but I don’t begrudge the man for loving his wife. There is a problem with why he prayed it, on the other hand. It wasn’t really for God. He said, “I want to get somebody’s attention, so that’s been … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Prayer Request
Dear all–please pray for my friend and brother in Christ Rev. Mason Beecroft, who has announced a leave of absence from his ministry at Grace Lutheran in Tulsa. Thank you! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Lost Man Found and Answered Prayer
Ed Sutter, a friend of a member here, went missing Sunday morning. He left for his church at 9:30 and never showed up there, nor back at his home. At 88 and in poor health, his friends and family were very worried about him. Sheriff’s deputies, search and rescue and observation planes looked for him Monday and Tuesday. Thoughts were that Ed went West, where he owns a vast extent of property. But he was not found. With temperatures well below freezing at night and not much above during the day, hope of finding him alive was growing thin. Wednesday at noon the Senior’s Group gathered for lunch. Ed had joined his friend at these monthly lunches often for the last year or so, and his absence was on all our minds. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Pre-Lent Has Begun
We’ve entered the season of Pre-Lent, for those of you who don’t follow Vatican II. In other words, Lent begins in sixteen days and now is the time to begin preparing for that. Preparing to prepare for Easter, if you want to think of it that way. So how do you prepare for Lent? First, remember that repentance, prayer, fasting and charity are not optional for Christians. We do not earn favor with God for doing these things, but our Lord says that these are what his disciples do. Even though we should be doing these things all the time, in Lent we ramp them up or do these things more intentionally. Second, get ready now. Pray and consider how you are going to incorporate more fasting and prayer into your day. Take … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Today’s To-Do
God is good and merciful and does not treat us as we deserve. Repeat as necessary several times an hour. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
No Time Left for What?
My brother in Christ and Circuit neighbor Pr. Brown writes this about the need for devotion and meditation during busy seasons. I couldn’t agree more. At the seminary I heard an anecdote about Luther–the busier he was, the more he prayed and read Scripture. And Brown is correct in that the trick Satan plays is to make us believe we have little–no–time for God’s Word. Read his post. In other news, the voice is not-quite-so-silent this morning, but it still sounds like I’ve been channeling Tom Waits while gargling with rocks. And feels like it too. Other symptoms are still present, but I decided to come into church today and work…and only lasted an hour. Thank you for your prayers! … Read entire article »
A Prayer to Change Your Life
I noted one of the automatically generated sponsor ads on this site offered a “prayer that can change your life.” I don’t know what they are proposing. Part of the agreement is that I cannot click on the links. I have no idea what kind of snake oil they were selling. But here is a genuine prayer that will most assuredly change your life: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” One could add more prayers to this category of prayers that will change your life–the Lord’s Prayer would be tops. The Lord’s Prayer is probably the prayer that will change your life. And to be honest, you could say that any and every prayer offered in faith to the Holy Trinity (and not some other false god) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
The Family Altar Revisited
Some time ago I wrote a brief introduction to making a family altar and having family devotions. It was a popular post. But posting and doing are different animals. Personally, our family altar and devotion time has been lacking–for a little longer than I’d care to think about. It’s not an unusual problem for families. It’s hard to make new habits and easy to fall into old routines. As St. Gregory the Great (“A man with a lot of g’s,” as Olivia said) wrote, “While we do not possess [spiritual delights] we regard them with dislike and aversion; but once we partake of them we begin to desire them, and the more we partake of them, the more do we hunger for them.” (PL 76, Sermon 36) Having personal devotions if you’re … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
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