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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #6. The Church exists for the sake of the world.

12 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#6. The Church exists for the sake of the world.

Dear God, I think before I address the observation above, I need to step back and ask a different question: Why do I exist? Really quick, however, I want to point out something I just noticed. Numbers 5 and 6 are actually a bit redundant and, I suppose, #6 builds on #5 so it cannot exist without #5 being first. As a refresher, #5 is, “The point of the Church is to receive and reflect the love of God in Christ.” What caught my eye this morning is that #5 starts with “The point of the Church…” while #6 starts with “The Church exists for…” Two different ways of saying the same thing, but he starts with receiving and reflecting your love and then moves to doing #5 so we can be here for the sake of the world.

Now that I have that out of the way, I want to go back and look at my first question: Why do I exist? I think the answer for that question is probably pretty easy. I am here to worship you. I am part of your creation and if all of us remain silent in our worship then the rocks will cry out (Luke 19:40–although I might be taking that verse slightly out of context for my purposes here). At the most basic level, that is why I am here. Everything I experience, while it might have other purposes in your plan, contains the ingredient that you expect my worship. You expect my submission. You expect my repentance for my sins. You expect my attention. You expect my dependence. You are a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). You don’t want me to put my faith in myself, my country and its economy, government or military, my wife, my children, my parents, etc. I am here to worship you and you alone. So that’s the core of why I am here.

Frankly, all of why we are here can be found in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. that goes for us as individuals and as your Church:

  • Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name: Worship
  • Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven: Wishing for your will to be done in the world at large, but also through my life.
  • Give me this day my daily bread: Dependence.
  • Forgive me of my sins: Repentance.
  • As I forgive those who sin against me: Personal growth for me and spreading your love to others.
  • Lead me not into temptation: Help me to stay pure.
  • Deliver me from evil: Back to dependence, but this time with a twist of committing to live righteously.
  • For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever: This one isn’t always in there, but we are back to worship and submission.

So that’s a crude summary of why I exist. Now, why does the collection of individuals doing these things and calling itself the Church exist? I think the first thing is that I will be better at doing the list above if I am doing it as part of a collective as opposed to being on my own. It’s like the piece of charcoal burning off by itself as opposed to being on a pile with other pieces of burning charcoal. We burn hotter and brighter together. We accomplish things like providing warmth and cooking food more effectively in a group. So I suppose we exist as a collective Church to help us and then help others. Helping others can simply include serving, but ultimately it’s to bring others to you as well so that they might experience the fullness of life in you.

Father, help me to know how to effectively be part of your Church. It starts with my own discipline of worshipping you, submitting to you, and repenting to you. Then it moves to making myself available to others in your Church for both accountability for myself and then service to them. When my kids were little and didn’t want to go to church because they weren’t “getting anything out of it,” I would remind them that maybe their reason to be there was to help someone else to get something out of going. So help me to remember that and be that as well. Finally, help me to know how to work corporately with your Church and individually to bring others into your family and be worshippers of you. Help me to do all of this through the humility and love you would have me present because you and I both know I have nothing about which I can boast on my own. I’ve done nothing apart from you.

You are my God. Holy Spirit, counsel me today. Jesus, help me to learn from you today. I worship you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as my one true God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 12, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #5. The point of the Church is to receive and reflect the love of God in Christ.

09 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#5. The point of the Church is to receive and reflect the love of God in Christ.

Dear God, my first thought when I read this observation was to question it. Is that the point of the (capital C) Church? I want to think through that a little this morning. Pray through it like this. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to me as I process it. What is the point of the Church?

I guess I should start with the body of Christ to which Paul refers (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). We are all one body. So how should that body act and what should it do?

First, it should worship. Well, I guess the first thing all of us should do is repent before you and submit to you. Then we should worship you as individuals and corporately.

Second, we should commit to pursuing you and discipling as individuals and corporately. This is where I think 90% of Christians miss the mark, but it is foundational. There has to be time spent consistently communing with you in one way or another. If that is not happening then it gives Satan too much freedom to influence us.

Third, we should live out our faith in the world and let you use us to draw others to yourself. This is where I am both good and bad. I think my life is pretty representative of a life submitted to you, but I am terrible about actually bringing people to you and offering you to them.

Fourth, we should collectively help each other in our discipleship and life decisions. This happens through relationship and a willingness to be confronted and to lovingly confront.

Fifth, we should collectively reach out and help those in need. Of course, that includes evangelizing, but it also includes simply loving others and meeting their needs in a appropriate way.

Sixth, we should collectively be an example of your love to the world. It should generate naturally as a fruit of the Spirit in our individual lives brought together as one body.

I might have missed some things in there, but there is nothing about influencing the world through political power, top-down ruling, or force. It’s grassroots. It’s love. It’s healing. You don’t force us. Why would we force others?

Father, if I were to boil the six things I’ve said here down into a 16-word sentence, I am comfortable with what Neder has here. “Receive.” “Reflect.” Those two words summarize what I’ve listed here. Help me to do that today. Help me to receive your nature into my life. Use me as the sun uses the moon to reflect your light into the world.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 9, 2022 in 1 Corinthians, Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #4. Politically moderate Christianity is disappearing.

08 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#4. Politically moderate Christianity is disappearing.

Dear God, I guess I have to ask the question: What kind of political activity and perspective do you want me to have as a Christian? I would have been curious to hear more about what Mr. Neder had to say about this topic.

For me, it feels like everyone on both sides is fighting for more political power. It’s interesting to me that Jesus never did. He never seemed to care what Caesar was doing. He helped the centurion and complimented his faith (Matthew 8:5-13). He said to pay your taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:13-17). I never heard him say, “Make Israel great again!” or, “Israel first!” When he was offended by the Samaritans and John and James wanted to cast fire down on them, Jesus rebuked John and James and went the other way (Luke 9:51-56). So what does he, what do you, Father and Holy Spirit, want me to do? I’m sure you don’t want me to be a political zealot. It’s interesting that Jesus spent more time fussing at the church than he did at the government.

I guess I always come back to the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)–the fruit that is born through you living through me. Discernment is not a fruit that Paul listed. In fact, it might be more of a discipline, but it could probably make the list. But the fruits Paul described are more outward expressions of love as opposed to actions of decision making. I just don’t think there is a way to be a politically fringe zealot and exhibit any of the fruits. There are times when I see people who are resolute to speak in absolutes–I must be right about this, that, or the other thing and there is not room for compromise–and wonder if they don’t feel that way because they are terrified they are wrong and therefore cannot allow themselves to consider they are wrong.

Father, Holy Spirit, I need to wrap this up and go to work, but I want to know how you would have me use my own political influence today. In terms of national politics, there isn’t much I can do but vote and, if I see an injustice that I feel you would have me address, partner with others to see if there is a constructive way to a follow-up. On a local level, you have given me relationships and standing in the community to the point where I can work with others to move the needle for the good of others. Help me to know how to do that and how to do it in love. Help me to do it in a way that you are using me to have your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give me the courage to do it even if it might cost me something.

I pray all of this through Jesus, my savior and Lord,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 8, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #3. Cable news and social media accelerate partisanship.

07 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#3. Cable news and social media accelerate partisanship.

Dear God, what is it in our nature that gravitates towards confirmation bias? I mean, I guess it’s as simple as the concept of if I like something then I’ll take more of it. It can go as far as an addiction to food, sex, alcohol, drugs, etc. It can be as simple as steering towards foods that I like but aren’t good for me. But this thing about the algorithms used by the Internet is insidious to its core.

I was listening to David French speak yesterday, and he was quoting a survey that said often people who spend the most time listening to political news often know less about their opponents viewpoints than those who do not spend as much time. That’s probably because they don’t want to know everything about the person. They just want to know the parts they don’t like about the person.

I also heard French say that, in the church today, as we approach politics, we’ve made the things that should be negotiable non-negotiable, and we’ve made negotiable the things that should be, for us as your followers, non-negotiable. For example, healthcare and the extent to which it should be made available to everyone in an affordable way should be negotiable, but we have drawn hard lines in our ideologies and taken non-negotiable stances–and we’ve asked our political representatives to do the same. On the other hand, we’ve taken the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self control) and made those characteristics negotiable in our politicians. In fact, many seem to like it if that person doesn’t have some of those qualities. They will “fight” for us.

Father, Holy Spirit, I will admit that it is hard for me to see how to get the toothpaste of social media and Internet/cable news back in the tube. However, it needs to be killed. Your Spirit of love…well, we as your people need to carry it into the world. We need to stop allowing news and social media to scratch our self-righteous itch and repent before you. We need to struggle through the things that are negotiable and reject the things that are non-negotiable. We need to stop reaching for political power and seek your power in our individual lives. Show me my sin in this area (that’s a scary thing to ask of you) and help me to be your ambassador into the world.

I pray this through the power of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 7, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #2. American churches are becoming less politically diverse and more partisan.

06 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes this morning, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#2. American churches are becoming less politically diverse and more partisan.

Dear God, I would love to go back to the 1960s and see what the political makeup of American churches was back then. In retrospect, it seems like, from my limited perspective, that Satan used the abortion issue in the 70s to start to divide the church on political lines. When I think about the political divide now and how it has come into the church, it seems, frankly, hopeless. I don’t pray about it like I should, that’s for sure. A couple of weeks ago, I was praying through the verses about us all being part of one body and I asked you if it is possible for American Democrats and Republicans to be part of the same body. The answer is obviously yes because neither side is holier or has the monopoly on you. All political platforms are flawed and full of sin. All of us need to repent. All of us need to extend your grace to others and, even if we think we are absolutely right, allow someone else to be “wrong” as much as we expect them to allow us to be “wrong.” And when it’s important, we can discuss it and keep our minds open to see if there might be error in the way we are thinking or see an issue.

If I were a pastor, I honestly don’t know what I would do except go back to what I said for Neder’s first observation, and go back to emphasizing discipleship. I find that the deeper I get into you the less I need to be right because I realize step by step that I’m wrong so often. And then the more I look for your grace and mercy to be wrong the more I end up giving people space to either be, what I consider to be, wrong or allow for the idea that they might be right and I am wrong. Or, in the end, maybe neither of us are wrong, but simply have different opinions.

Father, Holy Spirit, please be with your church. As Jesus said in John 17:20-21: 20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. This is my prayer for your church. Help us to repent from spending more time reading or watching news than with you. Help us to be in the world but not of the world. Use us as your vessels to love others, take your will and kingdom into the world, and be your ambassadors to a world that needs you. Speak to us. Comfort us. Counsel us. Guide us. Teach us. Motivate us.

I pray this through your son, Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 6, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, John, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #1. The American religious landscape is changing quickly.

05 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes this morning, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#1. The American religious landscape is changing quickly.

Dear God, I know there is nothing new under the sun, and you’ve seen it all. But this shift in electronic media feels different. Number 3 is media so I don’t want to spend too much time on that thought today, but it’s the first thing that came to mind when I thought about the religious landscape changing quickly.

It’s funny. As I think of things that are changing in the “religious landscape,” I keep coming upon thoughts that are covered in the other points such as increased partisanship in the church. But what’s deeper? What is Satan doing at the foundation of the church to divide us? I think it comes down to a simple thing: discipleship and a pursued relationship with you is lacking for many, if not most self-professed Christians in America. We are simply treating religion like a philosophical position whose moral compass is rooted in our ideas of what we think you think about something instead of meditative prayer time spent repenting of our sins, seeking the wisdom of your Word (and I mean both scripture and the Holy Spirit’s still, small voice), and asking for your love to fill us and flow through us.

It in interesting that there are more self-professed Evangelicals in America (at least among White people) over the last six years, but fewer of them are in church. Their community is no longer found on Sunday morning, but at political rallies and on cable news. Pastors are either quitting or wanting to quit (or being discouraged to become pastors) at a higher rate given all of the division. Their congregations spend more time with cable news and on social media during the week than they spend in personal prayer and scripture. Again, I’m sliding into some of the other observations, but for me the foundation upon which they are all built is true discipleship.

Father, let it start with me. Help me to continue to sit here and hear your voice. Help me to share my love for you with others. Love them richly through me. Bring glory to your name through me. Help me to decrease so you can increase. Help us to know what it truly means to know you, repent before you, and extend the love we’ve received from you to others. Help us–help me–to be humble. Help me to extend grace and mercy.

I pray this through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection as part of the Triune God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 5, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Grief, Support, and Judgment

31 Aug

Dear God, I just read an essay by Lisa Marie Presley as printed by People Magazine. It touched me on a few levels. It touched me as a parent who, in many ways, feels like I failed. It touched me as a parent who has been through the loss of a child (through miscarriage). It touched me as a parent who has felt judged by others for things that, on one hand, I judge myself, but, on the other hand, feel like they were due to circumstances beyond my control. It touched me as a fellow sojourner with Ms. Presley. She’s two years older than me. Her son was one year older than my son is now when he died.

One of the tragedies in our divided nation right now is that we tend to judge each other a lot more easily than we support each other. Even within your Church, we judge each other. I prayed the other day about whether or not people in different political parties were able to all be part of your Body at the same time. We can be mean, but I wonder how much of that meanness is fueled by our own insecurities, mourning, and sin. Ms. Presley mentioned the importance of support groups. She said that they didn’t take away the grief, but at least they took away some of the loneliness. I can see that. As a parent who struggled, I could have used more support group help.

I talked with someone yesterday who was struggling with her own parenting issues, both as a parent and as a grandparent. There’s real pain there. There was also a real sense that she didn’t know what to do next or how to respond to the situation at hand. She was doing the best she could in each moment–with each decision–trying to figure out what you need from her and her husband as spouses for each other, parents, and grandparents. It’s not easy.

Father, I could go on an on. I feel like I could probably type nonstop about this for at least an hour. More and more thoughts just keep coming into my head. But it comes down to this. I need–we need–the Holy Spirit to guide us beyond what we can see and help us to make the decisions that must be made in what is darkness to us, but complete light to you. Please help us. Help our children. Our grandchildren. Help us as spouses. Help us to mourn. Help us to use the mourning and the scars it leaves to take your light into the world–especially to others who mourn. Let us be your comfort to them. Fill their loneliness through our lives. And fill our loneliness through the lives of others. For the pain we are experiencing, please make it count. Make it count for your glory. And I’d also like to pray for Ms. Presley. Don’t let her pain be wasted. Use it in some way, even through this essay she beautifully wrote, to help someone. And ease her pain. Give her peace. Help her to find you and your heart in the midst of this and use her life for your glory.

I pray this through the power of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 31, 2022 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Vacations and Sabbaths

06 Aug

Dear God, I was listening to the Bible in a Year podcast from Ascension Press, and they were talking about how in Isaiah 58 he is emphasizing the Sabbath and its importance. Admittedly, I half-heartedly observe the Sabbath. There have been times in the past when I’ve said that I would be more intentional about it by not only taking the day to rest, but to also really spend some additional intentional time with you. Do I do it? No. But I intend to.

Now I’m on this luxurious vacation that will last over two weeks. As I type this, I’m overlooking a bay on the Olympic peninsula in Washington state where I can see Victoria Canada across the water. The bay is still. A private sailboat is anchored about 300 yards from me. There are tankers, cargo ships and cruise ships within view. It is sunny and the temperature is in the 60s. I say all of that to just describe what an idyllic environment I’m currently in. This is very restful, and I do feel my soul being restored. I’m not worrying about a lot of things I normally worry about.

Much like two weeks of camp helps a youth to detox from social media and electronics, and enjoy the outdoors instead, this vacation for me is possibly helping me detox from my worries at home and the, when I return a week from today, I will have a choice regarding which things I want to resume addressing and which ones I’ll decide to not pick up again. It was on a vacation nearly two years ago that I decided to stop looking at social media and my life has been better for it. Are there barnacles on my current hull that need scraped off now?

Father, Holy Spirit, please guide me in this next week. Guide me as I sit in silence. Guide me as I visit with others. Guide me as I consume media. Guide me as I hear your call.

I pray all of this through Jesus’s life, death and resurrection,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 6, 2022 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Little Miss Sunshine (movie)

05 Aug

Dear God, I was reminded of a movie yesterday that is one of the great family dynamic movies (dysfunctional family as it may be) of all time: Little Miss Sunshine. It’s not clean. It’s profane. It shows broken people moving through a life situation together. Three generations with step children, half siblings, drug addicted grandfathers, suicidal uncles, etc. Just that sentence alone should scare me off, but it doesn’t.

We’d like to think that Christian families are different. If we love and fear you then your Holy Spirit will run all of the way through our families and make us whole, functional, loving, etc. But the truth is, for the most part, our families don’t look really that much different than this family. And this goes all of the way back to the Bible. There are very few biblical families who are much different than the family in Little Miss Sunshine. Even Jesus had a mother and brothers who thought he was crazy. David was a terrible father and husband with murder and rape among his children.

So as I think about the writer(s) of Little Miss Sunshine, the story that they were telling, and the hope to which they were trying to point us at the end, I wonder what the difference would be if the family–even one person in the family–worshipped you. Would there functionally be any difference?

My wife and I were talking last night about some of the issues in our own family and how we are living through them. And while there is not much my relationship with you can do to impact others, it can impact how I relate to others. It can impact how their actions towards me affect me. It helps me to take my eyes off of them to meet my needs and turn to you instead. I heard someone say at the beginning of COVID that we have made an idol out of certainty, but the things we try to put our certainty in will always fail us. Our economy. Our government, Our military. Our spouse. Our children. Parents. Etc. You get the idea. All of it is fragile and fallible. But you are the same yesterday today and forever. You are the only thing in which I can put my faith, and you never ever promised certainty.

Father, help me to know how to be the worshipper of you I need to be, how to be the husband I need to be, and how to be the father I need to be. Show me how to be a son, brother, uncle through my current circumstances. Show me what to do in each moment, but let it start with my worship of you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 5, 2022 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Preparing to Preach

17 Jul

Dear God, I am preaching this morning for a small Presbyterian church. I know you know this because I have been praying to you about it since their pastor called and asked me to fill in for him this Sunday. I’ve done my preparation. I’ve prayed. I’ve read scripture. I’ve studied commentaries. I’ve gone back and pulled from other lessons you’ve taught me to help make the point. I’ve put it all into an outline from which I am, supposedly, ready to preach. But this isn’t going anywhere if the Holy Spirit isn’t speaking through me. Flowing through me. Using me in the way he needs to so that the ears of those who need to hear what you’ve given me to say can be blessed. Yes, the mechanics are done, but the mechanics of putting together a sermon are less than half of the process. Now, with less than two hours to go before I am standing before a collection of Jesus worshippers who are waiting for you to speak to them this morning, I pray that I would me what you need them to have. Holy Spirit, use me as your audible voice. Bring me no glory this morning. In fact, it would be better if I could receive no praise at all. My only goal this morning is to be pleasing in your sight.

There is one couple in the congregation, in particular, about whom I thought mostly when I was preparing this sermon. It’s about prayer and they are facing a terrible medical situation for their adult daughter. I cannot imagine the pain and fear they have. Speak to them. Use this pain to help them grow into who you need them to be. Use my own pain in the areas of my life that concern me and grow me into the man you need me to be. Let nothing be wasted. Let nothing that comes from you or from this life return void. Use it all for your glory.

And now, let me pray the chorus of a song that always helps me get over myself in times like this:

“I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody all about somebody who saved my soul. Ever since you rescued me you gave my heart a song to sing. I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus” (Casting Crowns).

Father, teach us to pray. Teach me to pray. Teach us this morning. Convict us for our selfish, narcissistic prayers. I’m certainly sorry for mine. I’m sorry for how I have allowed my own selfish hurt to influence my prayers. I’m sorry for the people for whom I neglect to pray. I don’t spend enough time in intercessory prayer. I’m sorry for that. My wife is so good at it and I am not. I’m sorry for that. I remember making a prayer list one time over 30 years ago, and it got so long that it because unwieldy and I gave up on it. Maybe I should try it again and organize it a little differently. Anyway, give me everything you need me to say that morning. Fill me. Enter the world this morning through me and through this church.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 17, 2022 in Miscellaneous

 
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