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| Submitted: Tuesday, December 26, 2006; 1:22 p.m. print this page ● feedback ● main ALSBOM site |
Lord, as we your children
embrace the prospects of a New Year of ministry in your name, I
pray that each one of us will ask for wisdom like daily bread to
be consumed for nourishment. The opportunities before us are
unknown to us and, that in itself can cause concern and anxiety,
but knowing that you never leave us or forsake us, offers
immeasurable assurance for the challenges we face.
Father, we need the wisdom that only you can give to us. We need
the wisdom that comes from walking with you daily and learning
from you through the experiences of life. This wisdom can teach
us to be patient when life seems to be moving to slowly in terms
of our own agendas. Your wisdom afforded to us can also give us
courage to change our behavior when it is not Christ-honoring.
As the New Year faces us over the horizon of time, help us to
see it in the bite size pieces of daily living and not in the
chunks of time we call weeks and months. Teach us to number our
days so that we will develop a heart of wisdom. Remind us to ask
in faith so that your daily dose of wisdom can come like a
helpful prescription from the divine pharmacy of heaven.
As we walk in wisdom through the opportunities of 2007, may we
understand that life is a journey to be lived in fellowship with
You and others who know You and love You. Let this experience be
an act of daily worship of You and an act of daily fellowship
with Your people. Although we are not promised tomorrow, we
trust for the gift of life as we have it in Jesus. It is in His
name we make this prayer, amen.
Christmas Wishes and Christmas Prayers
| Submitted: Wednesday, December 6, 2006; 11:29 p.m. print this page ● feedback ● main ALSBOM site |
A pastor friend of mine once
told me about a time early in ministry when his children were
very young and excited that Christmas was fast approaching. My
friend saw his daughters in the living room floor eagerly
examining magazines featuring the attractive new toys popular
for the gift buying frenzy of the season. As a young pastor and
father, my friend knew that his modest budget could not possibly
support the ambitious agendas of his daughters. This led him to
offer a few words of realism about the financial resources
available this year. One of the daughters spoke emphatically at
him with a gleam in her eye, "Oh, Daddy, we are just wushing."
Wushing is the sentiment expressed by older children and adults
when they form a wish list for Christmas.
Somewhere along the way, my Christmas wishing turned into more
of an exercise of Christmas praying. This reminds me of another
anecdotal account of how wishing and praying can match well in
this season. There was a little girl who knelt by her bed with
her Mom to say her prayers. This child was a fervent pray-er. On
this occasion she prayed about the usual concerns and then
offered thanks for the memorable blessings. But then her volume
was raised to the intensity of a shout when she made one last
request. "Dear Lord, you know I have asked for a new bicycle
this Christmas and you know the good things I could do for You
with it. Please give me a new bike for Christmas." She closed
the prayer with an amen, and then her mother asked, "Honey, why
did you yell out your request for a new bike? The Lord is not
deaf." "I know He is not deaf, Mom, but Grandmother is and she
is in the next room."
Wishing and praying during the Christmas season can become one. However, I have formed a prayer list for Christmas filled with personal concerns, and not one of them is material in nature.
There will be gift buying, but this Christmas my main prayer is that I will not just buy a gift for my loved ones, but I pray that I will be a gift to my loved ones. The giving of the material things can veil the real desire of our hearts which is to give ourselves to those we love, especially The One-- Jesus Christ the Lord!
When Christ came at Christmas He received gifts of value from a few admirers and worshippers, but most notably Jesus was the Gift in the truest sense of the word. Following in His footsteps I hope I can be a gift to someone this Christmas. That desire is more than a wish, it is a prayer. It is the mission of my Christmas experience. Do I still wish? Yes, but I enjoy praying more. Do I still buy gifts? Yes, but I want to be sure I am packaged well to be a gift to Christ and others.
