Casual Prayer

Hear, O Lord, and answer me…guard my life…have mercy on me…bring joy to your servant…lift up my soul…teach me your way…give me an undivided heart…

You are my God…You are forgiving and good, abounding in love….Among the gods there is none like you…no deeds can compare with yours…you are great and do marvelous deeds…great is your love toward me…you O Lord are a compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness… (Excerpts from David’s Prayer in Psalm 86).

Disclaimer:  

Critiquing prayer is as risky as suggesting a chef can’t boil water.  Amen?  

I’m going to do it anyway.

People pray.  We can’t help it.  God made us to enjoy a symbiotic relationship with him.  That’s why even atheists pray when backed in a corner with nowhere to go, their life in the balance and nothing to lose.  Prayer is the most intimate part of our relationship with God and is not to be engaged in casually.

Sometimes life is so overwhelming that all we can do is press our souls against God’s heart and keen silently from the depths of our misery.  Most of you know what I mean.  If you haven’t been there yet, you will.

Other times we fling our prayers in the direction of God’s throne hoping He’ll answer without slowing us down.  “Casual” prayer falls somewhere in between.  

In casual prayer we talk at God, not with him.  “I want [fill in the blank].”  “Forgive my sins.”  “Help me (be more spiritual…do a good job…make good decisions…”  “Be with me (at work…at school…during the game…).”  Casual prayers are benign statements we can – and do – recite with our eyes closed.    

God already promised to be with us and help us and forgive us.  He’s faithful to all his promises, loving toward all he made, and remains faithful forever (Psalm 145:13; 146:6).  God’s faithfulness changes our dull, casual prayers into brilliant, purposeful thanksgiving for everything he’s already done and continues to do!

Imagine:  God knew us before we were born (Psalm 139:13)!  In Psalm 86 we can tell that not only does the psalmist know God, but he knows that he is known by God.  Throughout this lament, their relationship is beautifully and thoroughly articulated.  I want to learn how to pray like that.

Father God, your love and faithfulness fill us with awe.  We want to be more respectful of you, and more thoughtful and purposeful when we talk to you.  Give us open hearts to know you intimately, as you already know us.  Thank you for answering this prayer as we offer it through Jesus, our brother and Savior, amen.            

Sandra Milholland

Abilene, Texas

Calling on the Name of the Lord Sets Us Free

It was a hot day at Park Gardens Church of Christ in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The louvered windows were open to their maximum angle and the metal blades of the ceiling fans overhead whirred at a rate that could have launched a single engine aircraft when I first heard the words of a song that forever changed my heart.  Jeff and I spent the first two years of our marriage in Puerto Rico.  His work took us into an adventure that would shape our young marriage and offer us a rich source of growth and perspective.   We were blessed to be a part of an English speaking, Caribbean congregation.  At first it was quite an adjustment being the only “specks of salt in a whole shaker of pepper”, but soon enough we grew to love and be loved by our brothers and sisters.  One of the many things we enjoyed about worshipping with the congregation was the singing.   

The song that had such great impact was an old spiritual, “By the Rivers of Babylon”.  It is actually a combination of Psalms 137 and 19 and is found in most song books as “Psalm 137”.  The words are as follows:
“By the rivers of Babylon…
where we sat down.
And there we wept,
as we remembered Zion.
O, the wicked!
Carried us away to captivity,
required from us a song.
How can we sing the Lord’s
song in a strange land?
So, let the words of our mouths
and the meditation of our hearts
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord.”  

I myself have never felt the pain of physical enslavement or a lack of freedom to do as I will on a daily basis. The lyrics of the psalmist and the singing of my brothers and sisters conveyed a deep sadness, yet a longing to never forget the power of God or the freedom that comes through calling on his name.  Many of the congregants gathered that day were a generation or less away from enslavement themselves.  I grew teary-eyed at the realization that to many of them this song was both an anthem of freedom in Christ as well as freedom from slavery.  The passion that filled the congregation when we sang this hymn has stayed with my husband and me over 10 years later and is easily recalled when we sing it today. However, the message behind the passion seems to be needed in my life more today than ever before.  It is a call for God’s rescue and freedom.   

Much like the washing machine I seem to daily attend to, I can easily become caught in the spin cycle.  Living life in a reactionary mode and permitting the attitude of my heart to be affected by others and the circumstances around me can become a bad habit.  We all need God’s recue and freedom.  I start with good intentions, I want to help.  So I fix this, organize that, prepare another meal and comfort a friend.  But then the winds pick up and the waves get a little higher.  I fight back and paddle harder.   I teach the classes, and hold bible studies, and try to have all the answers when my family is in crises or when something else goes wrong.  The chaos builds and life is once again chaotic and overwhelming.  So I work harder, do more, and yet it seems that, all the things I’m doing for God seem to be going wrong!   And then I remember Gal 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free.” 

What is that freedom?  As we open our hearts to the message of the savior, we come full circle to the idea of slavery.  Turns out we are human and despite our best efforts we will serve something.  Listen to what Paul teaches in Rom 6.  After laying out the simple message of the gospel (6:1-5); Paul goes on to simply say:  Who will you serve?  Verses 16 – 18 say:
“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”  

So how does the idea of freedom in Christ and being slaves to righteousness fit together?  Simply.  We all know that on our best day, when we think we are in control and everything is up to us, we mess it up.  It is when we give up control and give ourselves over to God’s love and direction that we are able to be free.  Let God be the provider, let God be the leader, let God be the forgiver, let God be the master, let God be the protector, let God be the healer.   He’s God, He can handle it.    

Prayer:  “Dear God, pierce my ear.  Give me the strength to let go.  Give me the strength to take hold of your freedom.”   

Dana and Jeff Jaworski
Anchor Point, AK

Those Good Ole Days of Summer

Summer blessings come in all shapes, sizes, colors, smells, and tastes.  As I reflect over the past couple of months I see God’s blessings all over my summer.  The relaxed summer schedule has allowed me and my family to glorify God through simple acts of love such as creating memories with family and friends, mission trip, city outreaches, church camp, work projects, and lending a helping hand to those in need.  It’s not the task itself that’s important to mention, but what’s in the heart while doing it and the simple love for the One we serve.

My teenager has a favorite t-shirt that reads Live with Love.  In John 15:12 we are commanded to love each other as Christ has loved us.  There are countless scriptures that reflect on this: John 13: 34-35; Romans 13:8, I Thes. 4:9; Heb. 13:1, I Pet. 1:22, 4:8; I John 3:11, 23, 4:7, 4:11-12: II John 5.  Living with love makes us stretch our love beyond our own family circle so that it becomes a force that shapes the immediate lives around us.

As obstacles of life continue we will always long for “those good ole days of summer,” when life seemed so much simpler.  Sometimes it’s difficult to love others, so we have to go not by our feelings, but by our hearts.  Do you have the love of Jesus Christ in your heart?  Make a decision to open up and live with love.  You will experience genuine and lasting joy --- for God is love. John 15:11.

Father God, give us eyes to see others in need and grant us grace to serve in a way that truly models the humility of Jesus Christ.  Thank you for summertime and the relaxed spirit it brings to our lives.  Let our love be fierce and strong!

Carla Henson

Tuscola, Texas

Mile 17

Who inspires you to press on when the going gets tough? Who motivates you spiritually to live a life pleasing to God?

I got the call during her final training preparations for the Boston Marathon. My best friend Karmen had qualified to run in this storied event and wanted to tell me she would be praying for my family and me during mile 17 of the race. Backing up, I will tell you that Karm had been my spiritual giant and exercise buddy since high school and even though several states separated us in our adult years (Texas and Idaho), we had remained as close as sisters and held each other accountable in our faith, fitness and family endeavors.

Focus and purpose are two necessary tools to draw on during endurance events, and Karm had come up with a clever idea of intersecting faith and fitness while providing a clear focus during her race. She compiled a list of 26 people or topics she would specifically pray for during each mile of the race, and I was honored to be chosen for mile 17. She completed the marathon in 3:42.04 and learned eight months later that her next competition was to battle stage IV pancreatic cancer (which she did gallantly for 27 months before receiving her heavenly prize.) In response to her idea, I have written ―Mile 17‖ on my bike helmet and dedicate part of each ride thanking God for our friendship.

Another inspiring idea came from the book about Colt McCoy called, Growing Up Colt. Aside from detailing the way his parents and grandparents instilled Christian values that have carried him to the NFL, the book spoke of his college coach, Mack-Brown. He challenged each player to dedicate the season to someone who had inspired them, so that when the season got tough, each player could draw motivation from his specific person (or person’s memory).

Coach Brown’s idea, coupled with Karmen’s focused prayers, prompted me to reflect on Jesus’ dedication. His every decision, thought, word, and action over 33 years was dedicated to an eternal plan. Although it was not 26.2 miles, I contend that some of his steps on earth were dedicated to you and me.

In Jesus’ final walk (to Golgotha), we learn from his own words and deeds where he put His focus:

The disciple, John, whom he directed to care for his mother

His Mother

The thief on the cross

His Father God, in heaven

All of us who have sinned

Now it’s your turn. To whom have you dedicated your season of life? Who inspires your thoughts, speech, and actions? Do you draw motivation from earthly or heavenly things? Find an accountability partner to run beside you in this life. Several of mine are in that great cloud of witnesses cheering me on, but one is waiting at the finish line with nail-pierced hands stretched wide, encouraging me by name.

Deonna Shake

Wrestling

One of the strangest stories in Genesis is found in the thirty second chapter. Here, Jacob and God wrestle all night. What a struggle! What a night! This was no ordinary fight. Jacob’s goals and God’s were not the same. 

Imagine a Father wrestling on the floor with his children. What is going on in the father’s mind is very different from what the child is thinking. The child thinks he is winning. So he keeps working on his secret moves. The father (although he knows the match is over whenever he wills) prolongs the event for the pleasure of fellowship.        

Our life is often one long wrestling match with God. We think if we work hard enough, we can beat Him. And our Father keeps pinning us and holding us for His pleasure and our good.        

Instead of trying to beat God, why don’t we get to know Him. Why don’t we learn to trust Him.         

Dear God and Father, sine you know everything, you know me inside and out. You know what a mess I have made of things. Rarely do I resist the devil but I often resist You. I say I love You, but I disobey. I say I trust You yet I am always resisting You. I am sorry. Help me defeat me. Help me to die to self. Please dear Lord, deliver me. Thank you for putting up with me. And thank you for forgiving me.  In the name of Your Son, Jesus, who never resisted You, I pray. Amen.

Paul Shero

San Angelo, Texas

Admitting Weakness

The Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

The apostle Paul was forced to defend the integrity of his ministry.  He was being subjected to false accusations, his actions were wrongly being compared to the self-centered actions of others and his God-given authority was being questioned.  In the final four chapters of the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul made efforts to reestablish his credibility among the Corinthian brothers and sisters.  For me, his most unexpected tactic was making himself vulnerable.  He admitted his weaknesses and, by doing so, established his complete reliance upon the power of God.

Admitting weakness, first of all, demonstrates Paul’s humility.  He had the credentials to justify himself according to human standards.  However, he doesn’t let pride rule his heart and mind.  He knows the “thorn” he contends with is keeping him from becoming conceited, a reminder of his need for a savior.  Secondly, admitting weakness demonstrates Paul’s honesty.  He isn’t blind or insecure about his faults, nor does he make an effort to hide his weaknesses from others.  This type of openness is a refreshing display of trust.  Thirdly, admitting weakness demonstrates Paul’s desire to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ.  He discounts his own accomplishments and publicly confesses his “weaknesses.”  For Paul, dying to self is relinquishing control.

We, too, can benefit from admitting weakness.  Daily reminders are needed to focus on God’s divine power.  The evil and corrupt “standards of this world” deceive our minds and, falsely, convince us to boast in our own accomplishments.  As people of faith, we must instead look deeper, not only on the surface of things.  Admitting weakness can be a good thing.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, You are the only true, living and powerful God.  Please help us to learn from Paul’s transparent words and humble heart.  We want to rely on your power for strength and guidance.  We need your mercy to overcome our weakness.  In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Carl Smith

Stephenville, Texas