August 31, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Heavenly Father, please make me an instrument of your love and forgiveness. Forgive me for my bitter thoughts and for my desire for revenge against those who have wronged me. Help me to lay my anger at your feet and allow you to work things out according to your will. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 248

If you have been blessed by the prayers for the last couple of weeks, I highly recommend Whispers of Wisdom for Mothers of Preschoolers for your reading list. It contains all of the prayers from the last two weeks plus an entire year's worth of inspirational readings and prayers.

August 30, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you that your words have been passed down through the generations. I pray for knowledge and for clarity as I teach them to my children. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 222

August 29, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Father, thank you for your great sacrifice of love. Thank you also for those who, in their love for you, have laid down their own lives. Help me to remember that kind of love, and show it to my family, as I celebrate this day. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 45

Systematic Theology - Soteriology

Here is the next installment of my credo sharing project:

Soteriology

By recognizing the seriousness and depth of the presence of sin and evil in the world, we find ourselves in a predicament that we are unable to get out of on our own. If everything previously stated is true, then the issue is not how humanity can vindicate God, but “how in the face of such evil does God vindicate us” (Morse, 216). Our full reconciliation requires a doctrine of salvation that comes from God and exemplifies the continuation of God’s graceful movement towards his good purposes. Christ’s death and resurrection accomplishes that very task.

Western theologians have posited a juridical metaphor to explain God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ. This implies that there is some ransom or price that has to be paid in order for the relationship to be restored. I am more inclined towards images of wholeness and healing. It is true that the distortion of the image of God in us goes to the depths of our core. It is equally true that in a single self-sacrificial act of love, God draws near enough to eradicate that distortion and make us completely who we were made to be; made by God, for God, and for others. Therefore, salvation is our restoration to the capacity towards living out of love. This understanding recognizes how deeply sin has marred us by understanding that the only one that can bridge the chasm between us and God is God himself. Just as Christ heals the leper, Christ heals us. It is a total healing that happens on physical, spiritual, emotional, and relational levels (Matt. 8:1-4).

There is nothing lacking in this gift of salvation in Christ Jesus. There is no need for such an act to ever occur again. This saving act was complete in its power and its saving. Our communion liturgy reminds us that Christ has “delivered us from slavery to sin and death,” (UMH, 13) and Paul’s writings also remind us that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:31-39). Taking these two statements together, along with other evidence within our canonical heritage, sin and death are no longer threats; they have been overcome. Christ’s victory was and is sufficient. As such, if we are truly living in light of these salvific acts and are living lives that lay claim to them through our faith in Christ, then we are equally justified and sanctified. In justification, we are accounted as loved by God because of what God has done in Christ, not by anything that we have done on our own. Juridically, our sins are forgiven and we are found righteous because of Christ’s righteousness. In a healing sense, salvation is the removal of that which has distorted us (the toxicity of sin, you might say). It is an immediate reorientation of the love within us that had been distorted. Sanctification, understood as an ongoing process of growing in holiness, is that sacred space where our continued healing occurs and all that is within us is reoriented to our original purposes. Some suggest that this can only be fully accomplished after death, but if the aforementioned act was so powerful that death and sin is already overcome then there is no reason why we cannot live without sin, in perfect love of God and one another, completely healed. To suggest anything less might be viewed as a cop out for those who desire to remain somewhat distorted in their loving. Because not everyone will devote themselves so fully to this gift of grace, “sin is acknowledged to remain, although no longer to reign” (Morse, 244).

A final comment is in order here relating to soteriology and the future. It should be noted that “the finished origin and providential continuance of covenant existence are seen in the gospel message to involve an expectancy that still awaits realization” (Morse, 220). More simply, some fullness of the salvific act remains for the future. Just as sin affected creation (not just humanity), so does salvation. While we are capable by grace to have a proper love of God and others in this life, those two relationships only comprise part of our relationships. The third relationship we were created to be in was with creation, and as such, that relationship must also be righted. This will happen at the time that Christ returns and will be addressed in greater detail in the section on eschatology.

August 28, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Father God, you have perfectly and beautifully designed your body to function as a unit. You desire that we join together in service to you. Please forgive me for my pride and grant me the grace I need to share with others and support them on this journey. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 84

August 27, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Father, let me be a living testimony of the faith you have authored within me. I want your light to shine so brightly from me that there could be no question of its origin. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 117

August 26, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

O God, my strength, thank you for your Word. Even though I hold the window to your heart and mind, at times I do not open it often enough. When I begin neglecting your Word, lovingly pull me back to it, for it is the true source of strength. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 131

August 25, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Father, how often I've become frustrated when my children have interrupted my quiet times. I've been wrong in this, Lord. Help me see that sharing you with my children is more fruitful than keeping you all to myself. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 142

August 24, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Thank you, Father, for preparing that table for me right in the middle of all my struggles. Help me to keep my focus on you so that I can hear my children when they are calling for my attention. Help me to never let the noisy clamor of the world drown out the call of my family. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 151

Sliding Solo

The Saturday before Easter this year, we went to First UMC in Canton, Texas to participate in their Easter festivities for children. There were eggs to hunt, stories to hear, crafts to make, food to eat, and of course slides to slide down (which Bailey insisted that she do herself!).

This little snippet just makes me smile!

August 23, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Dear Lord, although time is a difficult taskmaster, you created it to put order in my life. Let me order my days wisely so in my haste I will not forget you or the children you have entrusted to me. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 156

August 22, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Lord, direct me to guard my children's hearts from all that is contrary to a Christ-centered purpose, and guide me to expose my children's hearts to all that is in line with your purpose. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 161

August 21, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Father, in the daily war to survive, help me to never underestimate what you do by your Spirit in my children's lives. Thank you for making me a part of the miracle. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 173

August 20, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Father God, thank you for giving me the strength to love my child in all that I do concerning them. I want to be the parent you want me to be. I know that I need you to help me when I have to use tough love and then stand my ground. I love you, Lord. Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 174

August 19, 2009

For the rest of August, I am going to be sharing prayers with you from Whispers of Wisdom for Mothers of Preschoolers. While many of these prayers were created for MOPS, I find them quite helpful - even as a father with a preschooler! I hope you enjoy this series of prayers.

Here is today's prayer:

Jesus, when you grew weary, you rested so you could care for people who needed you. Please help me to let go of unrealistic expectations so I can get much-needed rest.

Amen.

-From Whispers of Wisdom, Day 190

August 18, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

We praise and thank you, O God,
for you are without beginning and without end.
Through Christ, you created the whole world;
through Christ, you preserve it.
You made the day for the works of light
and the night for the refreshment of our minds and bodies.
Keep us now in Christ; grant us a peaceful evening,
a night free from sin; and bring us at last to eternal life.
Through Christ and in the Holy Spirit,
we offer you all glory, honor, and worship,
now and forever.

Amen.

An order for Evening Praise and Prayer - UMH 878

August 17, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

New every morning is your love, great God of light,
and all day long you are working for good in the world.
Stir up in us desire to serve you,
to live peacefully with our neighbors,
and to devote each day to your Son,
our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.

Amen.

United Methodist Hymnal - 877

August 16, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

I am no longer my own but yours,
Put me to what you will
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal
And now glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And this covenant now made on earth, let it be satisfied in heaven.

Amen

Waiting in Line for the Ferry

Yesterday afternoon, Erica, Bailey and I went to Galveston to hang out with some old friends, eat, and play on the beach. The trip was supposed to take about 2 hours and 17 minutes using the Bolivar ferry. However, the trip there took the better part of 4, yes 4, hours. During our wait for the ferry across, we horsed around with Bailey while she was in her car seat (she was an exceptional traveler!).

Here are a few of the pictures from that wait:











These are definitely the good ole days!

August 15, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Prayer for Anxiety

Dear Lord,
I need you now because I am full of stress and anxiety.
Reading your Word brings comfort, as I ask you to come and take my heavy burdens. I take each burden, one by one, and lay them at your feet. Please carry them for me so that I don't have to. Replace them with your humble and gentle yoke so that I will find rest for my soul today. I receive your gift of peace of mind and heart. Thank you that I can lie down tonight in peace and sleep. I know that you, Lord, will keep me safe. I am not afraid because you are always with me. Please keep me daily, Lord, in your perfect peace.

Amen

August 14, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Prayer for Friends

Lord Jesus Christ,
while on earth you had close and devoted friends,
such as John. Lazarus, Martha and Mary.
You showed in this way that friendship
is one of life's great blessings.

Thank you for the friends that you have given me
to love me in spite of my failures and weaknesses,
and to enrich my life after your example.
Let me ever behave toward them
as you behaved toward your friends.

Bind us close together in you and enable us
to help one another on our earthly journey.

Amen.

August 13, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Prayer for Focus

Lord, let me focus on my task.
Place all my mind on my work.
Let my labors be in service of You.
For Your eternal glory and honor.

Amen.

August 12, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Prayer for Family

Blessed are you, loving Father,
Ruler of the universe:

You have given us Your Son as Your Leader,
And have made us temples of Your Holy Spirit.

Fill our family with Your light and peace.
Have mercy on all who suffer,
And bring us to everlasting joy with You.

Father,
We bless Your Name for ever and ever.

Amen.

Systematic Theology - Creation and Providence - Part V

Here is the original brief excerpt on evil:

Creation and Providence (Concluded)

Evil:

I believe that too often evil has been reduced to a descriptor of human agency and extreme acts of sinfulness. I believe that I stand in solidarity with other individuals, the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, Scripture, and the experience of millions of Christians around the world when I say that this simply is not enough. We Protestants must confess to and repent for our elusive and inexcusable behavior when faced with real evil and the demonic. A full description of evil and the demonic is beyond the scope of this work save for a couple of comments. First, these are not concepts, but realities that further evidence the fact that we are living in a fallen world; a fall that has affected both heaven and earth. Second, while this outside force of evil and its agents stand against God and all God stands for, God’s ultimate good purposes and the saving acts of Jesus Christ on the Cross, have already won the victory over these realities. This does not grant us freedom to ignore or dismiss their presence as either not our problem or as already taken care of, but instead calls us to fully participate with God in standing against such realities. How Protestants are to work with the Church to accomplish this is a task for another day.

August 11, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Prayer for Employment

God, our Father,
I turn to You seeking Your Divine help and guidance
as I look for suitable employment.
I need Your wisdom to guide my footsteps along the right path,
and to lead me to find the proper things to say
and do in this quest.
I wish to use the gifts and talents You have given me,
but I need the opportunity to do so with gainful employment.
Do not abandon me, dear Father, in this search,
but rather grant me this favor I seek
so that I may return to You with praise and thanksgiving
for your gracious assistance.
Grant this through Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Systematic Theology - Creation and Providence - Part IV

Here is the segment on Sin and Its Effects:

Creation and Providence (Continued)

Sin and its Effects:

Sin can be defined in a number of ways. First, sin is called an evil that acts as “an opposing force that seeks to annihilate the covenant life that God is calling into being” (Morse, 213). Second, sin is when creatures choose evil and humanity is alienated from its “authentic self,” from the image of God in us (Ruether, 159). Third, sin is a denial of our relatedness to God and, therefore, our need for God’s grace (Migliore, 130). Fourth, sin is a betrayal of the divine intent for God’s creation. That divine intent is that we were created in “for-otherness”—for God, for God’s creation, and for other human beings (Gonzalez, 136). Sin is both individual and corporate as it is “the violation of God’s image in us, which is precisely the image of God’s for-otherness” (Gonzalez, 137). Other descriptors of sin include: missing the mark, separation from God, disobedience, and so on. While these ideas about sin are not readily disposable, my favorite definition of sin involves a synthesis of ideas. Sin originates in the free agency of humanity who began by distrusting and being unfaithful to God (Abraham, 2008), acting in ways that places the love of themselves above their love of God (Marshall, 2008).

This latter definition of sin finds its origins in the story of our fall in Genesis, and continues throughout history as humanity continues to be unfaithful to God by placing their love for themselves over their love for God and others. Sin, understood this way, entails several implications. First, the entirety of the creation is affected by sin. Sinning corporately and individually, sinning against one another and ourselves, and sinning against God and God’s creation, leaves nothing created unmarred by sin. Second, we sin and are sinners, not because God has created sin or sin acts strictly as a force of outside evil directly opposed to God, but rather because it is a consequence of the fall; it is because of the original and ongoing distortion of our God given freedom and God’s permitting of that distortion as a potential (and now realized) consequence of granting such a freedom. Third, as a distortion, sin does not change our original ontological identities, but rather mars them so thoroughly that without God’s intervention, there is no way to fully restore the goodness that is God given. Fourth, sin creates separation from God; a separation so great that no one but God can overcome the chasm. Though imaged in the goodness of God, we are distorted creatures, in need of restoration that can only come from the source that gave us that goodness to begin with.

August 10, 2009

Here is today's prayer (for all my fire fighting buddies out there - I miss you guys):

Fireman’s Prayer

When I am called to duty, God,
wherever flames may rage,
give me strength to save a life,
whatever be its age.
Help me embrace a little child
before it is too late,
or save an older person from
the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert,
and hear the weakest shout,
quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out.
I want to fill my calling,
to give the best in me,
to guard my friend and neighbor,
and protect his property.
And if according to Your will
I must answer death's call,
bless with Your protecting hand,
my family one and all.

Systematic Theology - Creation and Providence - Part III

Here is the segment on The Human Creature:

Creation and Providence (Continued)

The Human Creature:

Scripture proclaims that God created humankind in God’s own image (Gen. 1:26). This truth begs the question: can we know something about ourselves based upon what we know of our Creator? The answer is yes and that is affirmed by other theologians writing such statements as, “since human beings are created ‘after God’s likeness,’ it is reasoned that this enables us to compare and contrast God’s being who God is with our being who we are” (Morse, 122). Central to this understanding are two ideas: we are made for each other and we are made to know and to love (Marshall, 2008). The Trinity, as a community of distinct persons, calls us to reflect on how we might be as human creatures. Our being made for one another, to be in community and to have an attitude of being for others outside of ourselves, reflects the very community of the Trinity. Likewise, we can see God’s longing to know us and to love us. Since we are made in the image of God, then we too must be made to know and to love. Thus, the image that we are made in can only find its full expression in community with God and others.

Other understandings of humanity are not as easily discernable from our knowledge of God. For example, when we recognize that God is the sole source of everything and everyone, we recognize God as our own Creator. We are created as something other than God, and though valued by God, we are not properly God; we are merely images of God. Additionally, we are made not just by God, but we are made for God. To be made for God is to insinuate that we have purpose in God’s created order and that we are made for intimacy and union with the One who created us (Marshall, 2008). Also of great importance is the fact that we are made with bodies. There is something inherently good in our having bodies. This assumption is posited simply because the second person of the Trinity has been resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven with nothing less than a body! Additionally, when we consider the fact that the angels were not given bodies as we were, there must be something important about our bodies. Furthermore, if our bodies were inherently bad, why would there be such importance for a resurrection that includes the body? The need of such emphasis would be unnecessary. While I cannot fathom the fullness of the body’s meaning, the fact that we were given them and that we are promised new ones upon Christ’s return signifies they are of great importance. Finally, any systematic theology that does not specifically recognize that we are made free is, at the very least, incomplete. This freedom is a gift from God, in that the God who wills to have communion with humanity gives humanity the freedom to return love for love (Migliore, 110). Without such freedom, we are reduced to mere puppets. This freedom gives us the opportunity to choose love. Love without such opportunity to choose it is not love at all.

August 9, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Marriage Prayer

We thank you, O God,
for the Love You have implanted in our hearts.
May it always inspire us to be kind in our words,
considerate of feeling,
and concerned for each other's needs and wishes.
Help us to be understanding and forgiving
of human weaknesses and failings.
Increase our faith and trust in You
and may Your Prudence guide our life and love.
Bless our Marriage O God,
with Peace and Happiness,
and make our love fruitful for Your glory
and our Joy both here and in eternity.

Amen.

Systematic Theology - Creation and Providence - Part II

Here is the segment on Providence:

Creation and Providence (Continued)

Providence:

Creation was not a single act in which a transcendent God, acting like a watch maker, put things in motion and left them to their own devices. Instead, God is involved in the ongoing transformation of the world. God not only originated creation, but also serves as sustainer and director of that creation. This is often referred to as God’s providence. Karl Barth best surmises this idea writing, “Everything that is, is created, upheld, and ruled by the one true God” (Barth, 57). How this happens can be best described by the Latin terms conservatio, gubernatio, and concursus. That is to say, God’s ongoing act in creation, or providence, exists as preservation, governance and cooperation (Pöhlmann, 22).

This admission has two very distinct implications. First, providence requires us to return to God’s attribute of omniscience. God acts in accordance with what God knows. Most doctrines of providence will push this idea, suggesting that God acts with the foresight or foreknowledge of what is going to happen (Abraham, 2007). So long as this ongoing activity of God does not violate the aforementioned understanding that God never acts coercively, it is an embraceable idea. The second implication is that God continuously provides for creation in line with His good purposes. These purposes can be described as God ‘making all things new’ by ordering relationships that work for “covenant fidelity in freedom” as the goal for the right order of God’s creation (Morse, 222). No matter how we delineate God’s good purposes, we are called to trust that God’s activity will never be in accordance with anything else other than God’s character and nature.

August 8, 2009

A lot of folks I know have experienced recent losses of loved ones, so today's prayer is a prayer of consolation for everyone experiencing losses.

Here is today's prayer:

Father of all mercies and God of all consolation,
you pursue us with untiring love
and dispel the shadow of death
with the bright dawn of life.
Give courage to this family in their loss and sorrow.
Be their refuge and strength, O Lord,
reassure them of your continuing love
and lift them from the depths of grief
into the peace and light of your presence.
Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
by dying has destroyed our death,
and by rising, restored our life.
Your Holy Spirit, our comforter,
speaks for us in groans too deep for words.
Come alongside your people,
remind them of your eternal presence
and give them your comfort and strength.
All Amen.

Systematic Theology - Creation and Providence - Part I

Continuing with our discussion of systematic theology and my attempt at the credo, I am going to post an article each day for the next 5 days or so to cover the Creation and Providence part of the credo (which has the subcategories of Creation, Providence, the Human Creature, Sin and its effects, and Evil). I invite you to comment on each subcategory or wait until all 5 are posted to see how they are inter-related before commenting...the choice is yours.

Here is the segment on Creation:

Creation and Providence

Creation:
God created the heavens and the earth and all that inhabit them; God is the sole source of all that is. This statement causes us to question why God created in the first place. Some theologians have posited that God created the world because “God finds it unjust to be alone” (Herzog, 83). While there is much that we can know about God, I can find no support in Scripture, tradition, experience or reason to affirm this statement. After all, if God exists as a community of persons, how is it that God is alone? Furthermore, does this statement not demand that God is then dependent upon what God has created? I do not pretend to know, nor do I pretend knowledge on behalf of the Church, why God created. Such reasoning is unnecessary for the affirmation that God created. God is not dependent upon creation and creation is not necessary. If either were true, God would not be God as previously described; something would be missing from God or God could be considered imperfect or incomplete. Rather than perplex our finite minds with the reasoning behind God’s activity of creation, it is far more important to recognize that God is our Creator, and we are God’s creation. This implies a relationship of dependence; namely, it describes our dependence upon God. As Paul reminds us, it is in him that “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

There are a few clarifying remarks to make about God’s creation. First, this creative act of God was done ex nihilo. This removes from God any dependence upon the created order. Additionally, this implies the fact that while creation is of God, it is not God (Abraham, 2007). Second, as is recorded in the Scriptures, all that God created was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Nothing was lacking and God’s acceptance of creation was complete. The ramifications of this understanding will become more apparent in my statements regarding the human condition and sin. Third, the act of creation, although attributed to the Father, is an act of the Trinity. All three persons of the Trinity are involved “according to the way that is distinctive to each” (Morse, 207). Fourth, we are able to know something of God because of God’s actions. This means that creation serves, not in a natural function, but rather in a general function, as an act of the self-revelation of God (Abraham, 2007). Finally, God relates to the created order the same way that God relates to God’s self in the Trinity. This is surmised in the statement that “the commonality that exists within the Trinity is the pattern and goal of creation” (Gonzalez, 113).

August 7, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Merciful God, giver of every gift, now and in times past, we remember your mighty acts that have given us strength and endurance through hardship and loss. We remember your steadfast love that has brought joy and new life. Be with us all in these days of change. We give thanks for all that has been good in our ministry together, and we confess with sadness those times we have hurt one another or failed to live out our ministry together faithfully. Forgive us and help us forgive one another. Be now our shelter and our guide, this day and forever more. Through Christ, the One in whom we have known grace and healing. Amen.

August 6, 2009

Here is today's prayer (it is one of my favorites from our United Methodist Book of Worship:

Almighty and everlasting God, in whom we live and move and have our being, you created us for yourself, so that our hearts are restless until they find rest in you. Grant to us such piety of heart and strength of purpose that no selfish passion may hinder us from knowing your will, and no weakness from doing it. In your light may we see life clearly and in your service find perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

August 5, 2009

Today's prayer is the last in the series from Richard Foster's book Prayer - Finding The Heart's True Home. It is from Foster's chapter on Authoritative Prayer. Again, if this series of prayers has provoked your thought, growth in your prayer life, or simply your curiosity, I highly recommend this book to your reading.

Here is today's prayer:

In the strong name of Jesus Christ I stand against the world, the flesh, and the devil. I resist every force that would seek to distract me from my center in God. I reject the distorted concepts and ideas that make sin plausible and desirable. I oppose every attempt to keep me from knowing full fellowship with God.

By the power of the Holy Spirit I speak directly to the thoughts, emotions, and desires of my heart and command you to find your satisfaction in the infinite variety of God's love rather than the bland diet of sin. I call upon the good, the true, and the beautiful to rise up within me and the evil to subside. I ask for an increase of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

By the authority of almighty God I tear down Satan's strongholds in my life, in the lives of those I love, and in the society in which I live. I take into myself the weapons of truth, righteousness, peace, salvation, the word of God, and prayer. I command every evil influence to leave; you have no right here and I allow you no point of entry. I ask for an increase of faith, hope, and love so that, by the power of God, I can be a light set on a hill, causing truth and justice to flourish.

These things I pray for the sake of him who loved me and gave himself for me. Amen.

Prayer - Finding The Heart's True Home, pg. 242 - Richard J. Foster

August 4, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

O Holy Spirit of God, so many hurt today. Help me to stand with them in their suffering. I do not really know how to do this. My temptation is to offer some quick prayer and send them off rather than endure with them the desolation of suffering. Show me the pathway into their pain.

In the name and for the sake of Jesus. Amen.

Prayer - Finding The Heart's True Home, pg. 227 - Richard J. Foster

August 3, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

My Lord and my God, I have a thousand arguments against Healing Prayer. You are the one argument for it...You win. Help me to be a conduit through which your healing love can flow to others.

For Jesus' sake. Amen.

Prayer - Finding The Heart's True Home, pg. 216 - Richard J. Foster

August 2, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Gracious Holy Spirit, so much of my life seems to revolve around my interests and my welfare. I would like to live just one day in which everything I did benefited someone besides myself. Perhaps prayer for others is a starting. Help me to do so without any need for praise or reward.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Prayer - Finding The Heart's True Home, pg. 201 - Richard J. Foster

August 1, 2009

Here is today's prayer:

Dear Father, I don't want to treat you like Santa Claus, but I do need to ask things of you. Give me, please, food to eat today. I'm not asking for tomorrow, but I am asking for today. Please forgive me for the infinite offenses to your goodness that I have committed today...this hour. I'm not even aware of most of them. I live too unaware. That in itself is a sin against heaven. I'm sorry. Increase my awareness.

And in my ignorance if I have asked for things that would really be destructive, please, do not give them to me--do not lead me into temptation. Do protect me from the evil one.

For Jesus' sake. Amen.

Prayer - Finding The Heart's True Home, pg. 24-25 - Richard J. Foster