July 20, 2020,
Good afternoon,
" Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. " I Thessalonians 5:16-18
You can pray anywhere. You can pray with your eyes closed, or open. You can pray while you're doing chores, or driving a tractor. You can pray with words or with singing. You can pray while you are playing an instrument or humming an old tune. You can pray in English, Pennsylvania Dutch , Arabic, Spanish or without any words at all.
We believe that God is omnipresent and omni-everything. So, God knows our words before we even say them, or even think them. But, God wants us to share them with God . Why would God want us to say something that God already knows ? It is not manipulation. It is not that God needs to know. I think, and I do not know it for sure, but by saying or thinking our prayers to God, it changes us. Before we begin to speak or think or cry out, we might not know what we are going to speak to God. Pray to God right now….( silence, I will wait for you ). What did you pray about ? Does it say more about you than about God ? You might have to change the way you live your life, by what you prayed to God. Maybe you prayed about a certain person, and now you know you should send them a card, or a call them, or send them a text. See, prayer changes us, and not God.
When we cannot pray to God, it might say more about us. We might be struggling with our job, or a relationship or a pandemic, and just cannot or do not want to speak to God. We feel bad. God has the strongest and widest shoulders in the universe, and God can take anything. Moses got mad at God. Job was furious with God. Jonah was so mad at God for changing God's mind at Nineveh. God forgave the Ninevites, Jonah did not. Even the Psalmist got angry( many times ) with God, for God not doing the right thing, at least in our minds.
Think of one person right now( I will wait again ). Pray for them for the next week. Pray for them without words at least one time. At the end of the week, next Monday, think of the ways in which your prayers for the person have changed you . Journal , if that is something that you do, about your week in prayer. If you feel led, contact that person in some way.
Prayer – Psalm 91: 14-16 ( made it more inclusive by inserting " her" sometimes. )
" Because he/she loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect her, for she acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer her;
I will be with her in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy her,
and show her my salvation.” AMEN .
Fred
Tread on bold new paths !
Fireflies flash the direction
Hope springs eternal ! Monica Pieper Landoni 2020
Fred Redekop
Pastor
Poole Mennonite Church
Ponder Anew 