appointed prayer

week of October 5

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Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon your church the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Anna, Isaac, and Haley the Christmas dogSolomon tells us that “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Proverbs 17:22, AMP ). God undoubtedly has a sense of humor; we need only look at some of the animals He created (it’s hard not to smile at the sight of a hippo, a monkey, or a puppy). Or think of some of the married couples you know: don’t you think God was smiling at the wedding as He looked ahead to the interaction of the wildly different personalities that will be living together?

And as if often the case, medical science is proving the wisdom of Solomon’s Spirit-inspired words.

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Posts Tagged ‘enemies’

praying for our enemies

Monday, September 18, 2006 · living the life · 3 responses · comments closed

Joee Blogs posted photos yesterday of Muslim protesters outside Westminster Cathedral in London. He took the photos not as a casual bystander or journalist but as someone on his way to mass.

The protesters were holding signs with sayings like, “May Allah curse the Pope” and “Jesus is the slave of Allah.” As you might expect, the photos generated a considerable response. Two things stood out to me as I read the post and the comments: 1. Joee took time to pray for the protesters while he was at the cathedral. 2. The level of hatred in the comments was disturbing.

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the beauty of the Lord

Sunday, September 3, 2006 · meditations · no responses · comments closed

Psalm 27 has long been a favorite of mine. About 7 years ago, I regularly prayed the first verse over Zachary and helped him memorize it to combat frequent nightmares:

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

Taken by itself, this verse is encouraging, but it could be read as if David is simply asserting a theory: “God is on my side, I shouldn’t be afraid.” The next two verses make clear that he’s not talking theory; he’s talking certainty…

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