If you went to church yesterday, you are probably like me and left with a feeling of peace and hopefulness. Preparing for another week in a society that has in many ways grown cold and godless is not always easy and it is why we need His guiding hand. If you woke up this morning dreading what might be ahead, take a moment to commune with God. And if you don't know how to do that I want to tell you that the answer is surprisingly easy.
It's in prayer, my friends, simple prayer. Prayer gives you a way to commune with God just like you talk with your neighbor over the backyard fence. I find that as a Christian starting and ending each day with prayerful communal with Him is very helpful in facing the real world of us mortals and it is also what God expects us to do.
The format of your prayer is not important. Whether you speak it out loud or in silence, do it standing up, sitting or even kneeling, conduct it singularly or in your family setting, none of that matters. The important thing is just to do it. You don't have to be eloquent or elaborate, just speak from the heart, for your heart is what God yearns to open. He wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit. He knows and is pleased when you do so.
So what do we need to pray about? Well, we each have our own special concerns but I think we all share a major worries about our country and the direction it seems to be headed. Here is my prayer which you might want to follow or create your own. It doesn't matter, it's just important that we ask Him to help.
Dear Lord, After a wonderful day yesterday at church and enjoying a beautiful sunny afternoon on my farm, I awake this morning thinking about my country and how far she has fallen so fast. I am concerned that we have lost sight of Thee and, in so doing, have lost our heart and soul.
America today is nothing like I grew up in. God was foremost in our lives and we all tried to live by the Golden Rule. Oh, there were those who didn't believe in Thee and tried to convince us that secularism and removal of Thee from public life was the proper course, but they were never a large number. But something has happened to our country in the last generation and it is quite ugly. Many of us have replaced our God-driven individualism and work ethic based on Thy law with the Almighty State or the Almighty Dollar as our diet.
Possessions, acquiring money without working for it and lack of trust in Thee seems to be the course that many have followed. Help our society to open its eyes to this and realize that it is the road to destruction, for without Thee we are and will always be nothing. We will also forfeit the promise of Eternal Life that was given to us through the death of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, by his horrific death on the Cross. Help us to always keep this center stage in our life and live accordingly.
And going forward, help us to identify and elect leaders who are willing to sacrifice their personal wealth and power for Thee, and for them to know that their purpose is to do what is right and not what is merely politically expedient. Give them the willpower and the strength to approach their duties like the Founding Fathers, always fighting for truth, freedom and our inalienable rights which come from Thee not man.
And help us to look at those who oppose us and would do us harm not with hate, but with love. Let us show them by our example that the love of Jesus is infectious and is open to them. Love, not hate, will always ultimately win out just as the Bible shows in the end, but it will be a difficult struggle along the way. But in loving them, let us not accept faulty and evil actions as acceptable but things which they must change through opening of their hearts.
We know, Lord, that this will not be easy, but help us to stand together as the community of Christ always seeking the Truth and the Way. And keep us strong in the knowledge that by living the true Christian life our reward will come in Eternal Life, not necessarily in our life on earth. Bless and keep us in They protective love always. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Try a little prayer, won't you? It works and it will make you a better person. Have a great work week.
It's in prayer, my friends, simple prayer. Prayer gives you a way to commune with God just like you talk with your neighbor over the backyard fence. I find that as a Christian starting and ending each day with prayerful communal with Him is very helpful in facing the real world of us mortals and it is also what God expects us to do.
The format of your prayer is not important. Whether you speak it out loud or in silence, do it standing up, sitting or even kneeling, conduct it singularly or in your family setting, none of that matters. The important thing is just to do it. You don't have to be eloquent or elaborate, just speak from the heart, for your heart is what God yearns to open. He wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit. He knows and is pleased when you do so.
So what do we need to pray about? Well, we each have our own special concerns but I think we all share a major worries about our country and the direction it seems to be headed. Here is my prayer which you might want to follow or create your own. It doesn't matter, it's just important that we ask Him to help.
Dear Lord, After a wonderful day yesterday at church and enjoying a beautiful sunny afternoon on my farm, I awake this morning thinking about my country and how far she has fallen so fast. I am concerned that we have lost sight of Thee and, in so doing, have lost our heart and soul.
America today is nothing like I grew up in. God was foremost in our lives and we all tried to live by the Golden Rule. Oh, there were those who didn't believe in Thee and tried to convince us that secularism and removal of Thee from public life was the proper course, but they were never a large number. But something has happened to our country in the last generation and it is quite ugly. Many of us have replaced our God-driven individualism and work ethic based on Thy law with the Almighty State or the Almighty Dollar as our diet.
Possessions, acquiring money without working for it and lack of trust in Thee seems to be the course that many have followed. Help our society to open its eyes to this and realize that it is the road to destruction, for without Thee we are and will always be nothing. We will also forfeit the promise of Eternal Life that was given to us through the death of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, by his horrific death on the Cross. Help us to always keep this center stage in our life and live accordingly.
And going forward, help us to identify and elect leaders who are willing to sacrifice their personal wealth and power for Thee, and for them to know that their purpose is to do what is right and not what is merely politically expedient. Give them the willpower and the strength to approach their duties like the Founding Fathers, always fighting for truth, freedom and our inalienable rights which come from Thee not man.
And help us to look at those who oppose us and would do us harm not with hate, but with love. Let us show them by our example that the love of Jesus is infectious and is open to them. Love, not hate, will always ultimately win out just as the Bible shows in the end, but it will be a difficult struggle along the way. But in loving them, let us not accept faulty and evil actions as acceptable but things which they must change through opening of their hearts.
We know, Lord, that this will not be easy, but help us to stand together as the community of Christ always seeking the Truth and the Way. And keep us strong in the knowledge that by living the true Christian life our reward will come in Eternal Life, not necessarily in our life on earth. Bless and keep us in They protective love always. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Try a little prayer, won't you? It works and it will make you a better person. Have a great work week.
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