Skip to main content

A Prayer for the Church

                 The letter to the Romans ends with several short prayers.  This is my favourite: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
                Sadly, some seem to believe that anything holy, pure or good must also be difficult, boring or depressing.  This prayer confronts that thinking by stating that joy and peace are to be the marks of Christian people.  In fact, we are not to have just a little joy, or some peace occasionally.  Rather, Christians are to be filled with these qualities.  This does not mean that life will be easy, but it does mean that we will approach it in a certain way while looking for our blessings.
                By the way, did you notice the title attributed to God?  What could ever be hopeless when “the God of hope” is involved?  Why would we ever give up on someone, or quit in difficult times when we serve a God who is defined that way?
                Note, too, that these blessings come to life as we begin to trust.  As we learn more about God and put his teaching into practice, we find a better way to live and that allows us to trust him even more.  Joy and peace are not found by chasing after them.  They cannot be travelled to or bought.  Rather, they are the result of moving my trust from what I can do to what God can do in, around and through me.
                Lastly, the prayer is that the power of the Holy Spirit would cause hope to overflow from them.  God’s blessings are not just for me to enjoy.  We make a huge mistake when we think that faith is just about me, God and the Bible.  God’s blessings are supposed to spill out from us and on to others so that, “… they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
                Are you joyful, peaceful and hopeful?  Is that how others would describe you?  Would those words describe your congregation?  Is that what is overflowing from you? 
                If not, it is time to start praying this prayer.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Path Worth Following

  Jehoram was a terrible king.  He reigned in Judah around the year 850 B.C. and he did not care about God or his people.  His first act as king was to assassinate his six brothers so that no one could challenge his authority.  He was brutal and selfish.   Therefore, when the Bible sums up his life, it says, “Jehoram… passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David” (2 Chronicles 21:20).  Did you catch that?  “To no one’s regret!”  What a terrible phrase for your tombstone. On the other hand, consider a lady named Tabitha.  She lived in the city of Joppa in the first century A.D. and we are told, “… she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).  She became sick and died.  This caused the community so much grief that they called Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda, to come and help them.  When Peter arrived, a crowd gathered, bringing all the robes and other clothing that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Press The Button!

  Consider This:  Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy.  I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart.  These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult.  However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success.  He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer.  Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act.  You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer.  If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it.  Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...
Post a Comment
Read more