Prayer matters

United by love

(Photo: Irene Bom)

I took this photograph of John and Ruth Robertson's wedding plaque when I last visited them in South Africa in 2015. Both have since passed away after a long life of loving and prayerful devotion in God’s service.

I first met John and Ruth the year after they were married, when I was in my 20’s, and they graciously took me (and later my family) into their hearts and prayers.

Ruth and John had been friends for years and when Ruth heard that John’s wife had died, she sent John a letter of condolence. Imagine her surprise when he came to visit her and proposed. Ruth’s initial response was “no”. She was in her fifties and happily single. But then, after praying about it, she contacted John and said, “If you ask me again, I’ll say yes”. So began a new chapter in their lives as instruments of love as a couple.

May you and I be instruments of love wherever God has called us and may we inspire and support others as John and Ruth have inspired and supported so many over the years – also me.

A prayer: Instruments of love

Let us pray to our kind and merciful God that his love for us may animate all we do and that our love may become contagious. Let us say: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That the Church, the People of God, may never cease to proclaim by its teaching, life and liturgy that love of God and neighbour is the heart of the gospel and that people are God’s gift to us, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That people may not lose their hearts in today’s economic systems of profit, efficiency, production and competition, but that they may keep giving first place to human relationships of friendship and respect, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That we may have room in our hearts and homes for refugees and strangers, that we may learn to share our goods and ourselves with the little people loved by God – the poor and the lonely and those who suffer, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That those who don’t know how to forgive, those who have not experienced much happiness in life or whose longings have not been fulfilled may encounter a bit of God’s goodness in our attention and care, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That in our Christian communities we may uplift one another rather than tear down, accept each other with trust and affection, forgive one another from the heart and go forward together in hope and love, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

Our gentle God, help us to love you and one another with your measure, that is, without measure,
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

from Liturgies Alive, Models of Celebration,
posted on re-worship.blogspot.nl.

From a grateful heart

(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)

A Prayer

based on Psalm 103:1-5

Come!
Come praise the eternal God!
Let all that is within us —
body, emotions, mind, and will —
praise God’s holy name!

Despite our failures, He forgives and releases us.
More than any doctor, He heals our diseases.
When we are famished and weak,
He fills us with good and beautiful things,
satisfying our needs,
and restoring our strength.

So come!
Come, praise the eternal God!
Sing songs from a grateful heart,
and remember all that He has done for us.

source: https://re-worship.blogspot.nl

What songs of praise and thanksgiving is your heart dying to sing today? Sing away.

Give me a heart of flesh

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland (Photo: Irene Bom)

God said to the Jews in exile in Babylon, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26, NIVUK)

Here is a prayer dating back to the 4th century asking God to work this miracle in us.

O Lord, who has mercy on all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore you,
a heart to delight in you,
to follow and enjoy you,
for Christ’s sake, Amen

St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)

To keep our hearts in tune

Children learning about God's heart for the world
Children learning about God’s heart for the world (Photo: Irene Bom)

In October 2017 I visited the Scots Kirk in Lausanne, as part of a Local Church Review team.

At lunch one day I met Geraldine Ewen (82) who has been a part of the Lausanne congregation for 23 … 25 years. She told me about her links with the Salvation Army, through her grandparents. Still today Geraldine occasionally foregoes Sunday worship in her own church to attend the Salvation Army Sunday morning service with the band playing all the lovely hymn tunes.

Here is Geraldine singing one of the songs she learned as a child, and sharing how this and other songs from her childhood continue to do her heart good.

Transcript

Geraldine (singing):

Whisper a prayer in the morning
Whisper a prayer at noon
Whisper a prayer in the evening
to keep your heart in tune

Irene: Tell me the story of the song.

Geraldine: It was Salvation Army that we used to sing it. Yes. I don’t know if it was used by other churches.

Irene: You learned it from your grandparents or not?

Geraldine: Yes. Yes, and from Sunday School.

Irene: Right. Thank you.

Geraldine: But it’s something that has come, come with me all along. And when I go to Bible Study … we have Bible study in Le Mont. One of the girls here, she runs it in her home. And sometimes I just think of a chorus, a refrain, you know.

My grandfather, he used to sing, ‘He came right down to me … He came right down to me to condescend to be my friend. (in a whisper) He came right down to me.’ That’s another lovely one. ‘Condescended to come right down to me.’

Irene: What’s your name?

Geraldine: Geraldine.

Irene: Geraldine.

Geraldine: Geraldine Ewen from Lausanne, yes.

Verse 2 of “Whisper a prayer in the morning”:

Prayer changes things in the morning
Prayer changes things at noon
Prayer changes things in the evening
And keeps your heart in tune

Unite my divided heart

(Illustration: Irene Bom)

This post – the first post in 2018 – introduces the theme for the month of January: Heart.

(source: Logos Bible Software)

In other words …

Here are some other English translations of Psalm 86:11 to help flesh out the meaning of the words, “unite my divided heart” (from The Voice).

Good News Translation
“Teach me, Lord, what you want me to do, and I will obey you faithfully; teach me to serve you with complete devotion.”

The Passion Translation
“Teach me more about you, how you work and how you move, so that I can walk onward in your truth until everything within me brings honor to your name.”

New American Bible (Revised Edition)
“Teach me, Lord, your way that I may walk in your truth, single-hearted and revering your name.”

Evangelical Heritage Version
“Teach me your way, O Lord. I will walk in your truth. Give me wholehearted commitment to fear your name.”

Modern Evangelical Version
“bind my heart”

Names of God Bible
“focus my heart”

Get creative

If you’re feeling inspired, design your own “postcard” featuring a Bible verse or quotation that speaks to you.

3 Prayers for endings and beginnings

Where do you go from here? (photo: Irene Bom)

Here are 3 prayers for happier endings and good beginnings as we approach the end of one year and the start of another.

Go with God.

And if you’re looking for guidance on what to focus on in your walk with God in the coming year, here’s Paul’s advice, from his first letter to the Thessalonians:

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this. ¹⁹ Don’t put out the Spirit’s fire. ²⁰ Don’t despise what God has revealed. ²¹ Instead, test everything. Hold on to what is good.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-21 (God’s Word translation)

A new story

Author of Salvation, write in us a new story.
Erase the sins of the past and create a new narrative,
one in which we seek Your love and justice in this world.
Write a new direction for our lives,
away from the busy-ness
and cares of the world for success and stability,
and instead plot us towards ways of living Your compassion,
care and grace in the world.

Create new opportunities for us, O God,
to explore and live this adventure of life in bold and daring ways,
in which new insights may unfold for us.
Grant us the fullness of life by living for others,
as You taught us to love our neighbour as ourselves,
but most of all, may our story be about You,
about Your love for us,
and what Your love for us calls us to do.
In the name of Christ,
who writes the new ending and beginning, we pray.
Amen.

by Rev. Mindi, and posted on her Rev-o-lution blog.

God’s timing

O God of all seasons and senses,
grant us the sense of your timing
to submit gracefully and rejoice quietly
in the turn of the seasons.

In this season of short days and long nights,
of grey and white and cold,
teach us the lessons of endings;
children growing, friends leaving, loved ones dying,
grieving over,
grudges over,
blaming over,
excuses over.

O God, grant us a sense of your timing.

In this season of short days and long nights,
of grey and white and cold,
teach us the lessons of beginnings;
that such waitings and endings may be the starting place,
a planting of seeds which bring to birth
what is ready to be born –
something right and just and different,
a new song, a deeper relationship, a fuller love –
in the fullness of your time.

O God, grant us the sense of your timing.

by Ted Loder, in Guerrillas of Grace.

Prayer at the threshold

And so we take the ragged fragments,

the patches of darkness
that give shape to the light;
the scraps of desires
unslaked or realized;
the memories of spaces
of blessing, of pain.

And so we gather the scattered pieces

the hopes we carry
fractured or whole;
the struggles of birthing
exhausted, elated;
the places of welcome
that bring healing and life.

And so we lay them at the threshold, God;

bid you hold them, bless them, use them;
ask you tend them, mend them,
transform them
to keep us warm,
make us whole, and send us forth.

by Jan L. Richardson in Through the Advent Door: Entering a Contemplative Christmas, Posted on Prayers and Creeds.

Tip: World in prayer
Their final post for 2017 invites us to pray for everyone and includes a list of every nation, so we can pray for them by name.

Other posts in the “3 Prayers” series
3 Prayers to the Sacred Trinity
3 Prayers for Wayfarers
3 Prayers for Refugees

Theme: The greatest is love

PDF version

As promised, a new prayer sheet to bring our 2017 Advent series on Faith, Hope, Joy and Love to a close.

“And now there remain: FAITH [abiding trust in God and His promises], HOPE [confident expectation of eternal salvation], LOVE [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me] … but the greatest of these is LOVE.”
(1 Corinthians 13:13, Amplified Version)

(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)

Continue reading “Theme: The greatest is love”

2017: Advent Joy #7

(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)

THE JOY OF THE ASSURANCE OF GOD’S LOVE IN CHRIST

Romans 8:31-35 (The Voice)

³¹ So what should we say about all of this? If God is on our side, then tell me: whom should we fear? ³² If He did not spare His own Son, but handed Him over on our account, then don’t you think that He will graciously give us all things with Him? ³³ Can anyone be so bold as to level a charge against God’s chosen? Especially since God’s “not guilty” verdict is already declared. ³⁴ Who has the authority to condemn? Jesus the Anointed who died, but more importantly, conquered death when He was raised to sit at the right hand of God where He pleads on our behalf. ³⁵ So who can separate us? What can come between us and the love of God’s Anointed? Can troubles, hardships, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, or even death? The answer is, absolutely nothing.

Reflection

Fanny Crosby’s hymn, Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine, is well-loved. Our congregation sings its uplifting melody and inspiring words with gusto. What is it to have the assurance of our faith? Assurance in Christ is a work of the Holy Spirit in someone’s life which gives the believer confidence in the truths of the gospel.

Someone who has assurance in Christ may not have led an easy Christian life. They are likely to have wrestled with Christ’s gospel, asked hard questions of the scriptures and faced challenging times and seasons in life. Assurance is a sign of Christian maturity that gives the believer the level of respectful assertiveness needed to share the gospel in words and action.

In his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul writes about assurance in the Christian life, commenting on his confidence in God’s sovereign work and how it impacts the life of the believer: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). Paul then confidently reminds them that nothing – absolutely nothing – can separate them from the love of God.

What will such confidence in a Sovereign God and perfect Saviour do for us? As you ponder this, let God fill you with deep peace and joy.

Praying the psalms

⁶ Often at night I lie in bed and remember You,
meditating on Your greatness
till morning smiles through my window.
⁷ You have been my constant helper;
therefore, I sing for joy under the protection of Your wings.
⁸ My soul clings to You;
Your right hand reaches down and holds me up.

Psalm 63:6-8 (The Voice)

XTRA XTRA XTRA
Church of Scotland Advent Calendar
Journey daily with characters in the Nativity through video, reflection and prayer

TIP … from the blog
In a joyful vein:
The Gift #8 : Adoption

2017: Advent Joy #6

Treacle – Lindy and Laurence’s dog – source of much joy and exercise
(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)

REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS

Philippians 4:4-7 (The Voice)

⁴ Most of all, friends, always rejoice in the Lord! I never tire of saying it: Rejoice! ⁵ Keep your gentle nature so that all people will know what it looks like to walk in His footsteps. The Lord is ever present with us. ⁶ Don’t be anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your needs and be thankful for what has come. ⁷ And know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed One.

Reflection

My favourite letter of the Apostle Paul is to the Christians in Philippi. It is an incredibly upbeat epistle, considering that Paul is under house arrest. The underlying theme of the letter is ‘rejoicing’ and ‘joy’. Paul doesn’t seem in any way intimidated by his situation or restrictions on his movements.

The fact that the gospel is being preached by others as a result of Paul’s imprisonment brings him joy, regardless of the motivation behind it (1:12-18). Paul rejoices in the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ, reminding the believers in Philippi that their attitude towards one another should be the same as that of Christ (2:5). Also, the friendships that he shares with Timothy and Epaphroditus bring him joy (2:19-30). Lastly, Paul is filled with deep joy at the ‘the peace that passes all understanding’ resulting from his prayer life, and he encourages the Philippian Christians to experience this for themselves.

Advent is a time of preparation. We fill our time with too much busyness; present-buying, meeting up with friends, tidying the house for visitors coming to stay. Yet, it is not that sort of preparation that I am thinking of. In all of the ‘stuff’ that we do, let us take time to reflect on the Nativity story and ponder afresh on what God has done for us in giving us his incarnate Son. There we will discover deep joy, just as the Apostle Paul did.

(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)

Praying the psalms

⁹ This is a good life—my heart is glad, my soul is full of joy,
and my body is at rest.
Who could want for more?
¹⁰ You will not abandon me to experience death and the grave
or leave me to rot alone.
¹¹ Instead, You direct me on the path that leads to a beautiful life.
As I walk with You, the pleasures are never-ending,
and I know true joy and contentment.

Psalm 16:9-11 The Voice

XTRA XTRA XTRA
Church of Scotland Advent Calendar
Journey daily with characters in the Nativity through video, reflection and prayer

TIP … from the blog
3 Prayers for Wayfarers
For when you’re travelling, to help you tune in to God’s presence

2017: Advent Joy #5

(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)

GRIEF WILL TURN TO JOY

John 16:20 (The Voice)

20 I tell you the truth, a time is approaching when you will weep and mourn while the world is celebrating. You will grieve, but that grief will give birth to great joy.

Reflection

The gospel of John gives us a detailed account of the conversations that Jesus had with his apostles in the upper room. There are some tense moments as the scene plays out, when Jesus confronts Judas, who will betray him, before he departs into the night. Jesus is explicit about his own death and he knows that he will face it very soon. Yet, despite all the gloom about the crucifixion to come, Jesus promises that the apostles’ grief will turn to joy.

Who was it that grieved the Lord’s death? We know of Judas, the betrayer, whose despair at his own actions so overwhelmed him that he took his own life. Then there’s Peter, the rock on which Christ would build his Church, who denied his Lord three times in the courtyard. When Christ is led out, he looks at Peter from across the courtyard, and Peter runs off sobbing. How many tears of grief Peter cried we will never know.

Yet the grief of Christ’s death turns into the joy of the resurrection on Easter morning. After breakfast the risen Christ invites Peter for a walk along the shore of the lake. The conversation begins ‘Peter, do you love me?’ and concludes with Peter’s joyful restoration.

Praying the psalms

You did it: You turned my deepest pains into joyful dancing;
You stripped off my dark clothing
and covered me with joyful light.
12 You have restored my honor.
My heart is ready to explode, erupt in new songs!
It’s impossible to keep quiet!
Eternal One, my God, my Life-Giver, I will thank You forever.

Psalm 30:11-12 (The Voice)

XTRA XTRA XTRA
Church of Scotland Advent Calendar
Journey daily with characters in the Nativity through video, reflection and prayer

Prayer matters

United by love

A prayer: Instruments of love

Related topics to explore to your heart’s content

From a grateful heart

A Prayer

Give me a heart of flesh

Related topics to explore to your heart’s content

To keep our hearts in tune

Transcript

Unite my divided heart

In other words …

Related topics to explore to your heart’s content

Get creative

3 Prayers for endings and beginnings

A new story

God’s timing

Prayer at the threshold

Theme: The greatest is love

2017: Advent Joy #7

Romans 8:31-35 (The Voice)

Reflection

Praying the psalms

2017: Advent Joy #6

Philippians 4:4-7 (The Voice)

Reflection

Praying the psalms

2017: Advent Joy #5

John 16:20 (The Voice)

Reflection

Praying the psalms