Monday, May 12, 2008
John Simmons on Church of Scotland To Call In Mediators To Quell Disputes: No, Going Home, you are thinking of the Scottish Episcopal Church, which is tiny. But this article is about the Church of Scotland (presbyterian)…
Going Home on Church of Scotland To Call In Mediators To Quell Disputes: Its a tiny church numerically, with very liberal leadership. However, there are a handful of orthodox Priests, such as David McCarthy. Not surprisingly, their…
driver8 on Protestant or Catholic: Anglicans Must Decide: 1. The definition of catholic is essentially a theological not historical judgement. 2. If being catholic is essentially about sharing a partular set of…
Chancellor on OPEN THREAD: What three virtues of your Mother do you most want to emulate?: My late-night math was off: that post (#20) should read: “for nearly seventy years”.
Sarah Hey on The Diocese of Athabasca Synod declares itself in Communion with ANiC and the Southern Cone: RE: “Toward what?” Chazaq, I have written nearly a score of essays detailing just that.  I’m afraid there is so much strategically to be…
driver8 on Protestant or Catholic: Anglicans Must Decide: #111 I assume COE canon law is practiced as you described because the COE is an establishment church.  I believe the present means of…
Dannon on The Rector of Bruce Garner's Parish Preaches Yet Another "Gospel-grounded and based sermon": #11 ODC, depending on where in/around Atlanta you’re going to be, I can recommend a couple of non-TEC options. In the southern suburbs, in…
Fr. Carter Croft+ on The Diocese of Athabasca Synod declares itself in Communion with ANiC and the Southern Cone: Chazaq - point well taken!
Alice Linsley on Protestant or Catholic: Anglicans Must Decide: Yes, thank you for a thoughtful thread. Dr. Witt, when you speak of the “the Marian dogmas” not found in scripture or in early…
Chancellor on OPEN THREAD: What three virtues of your Mother do you most want to emulate?: I think the others have touched upon the qualities I most admired in my mother (she died three years ago, but at age 97,…
PROPHET MICAIAH on OPEN THREAD: What three virtues of your Mother do you most want to emulate?: Reading all the above comments two thoughts come forth: 1.  During the years of preaching and attending funerals many of non-christians, I am increasingly…
Jill Woodliff on Church of Scotland To Call In Mediators To Quell Disputes: Regarding Richard Dawkins, if you have not yet seen the movie “Expelled,” go now.
Craig Goodrich on Protestant or Catholic: Anglicans Must Decide: I have nothing substantive to add to this wonderful thread; I was raised High-Church and will presumably remain intellectually a Catholic with strong reservations…
Irenaeus on DioCT Sues for Control of Groton Church: Bill C [#9]: It wouldn’t have to be that secretive. “Diocesan services” could conceivably encompass a wide range of things. The “black ops” parallel…
Johng on OPEN THREAD: What three virtues of your Mother do you most want to emulate?: Faith Perseverance Kindness My mom suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, but she never fails to amaze me with how much she does.  I praise God…
The Lakeland Two on OPEN THREAD: What three virtues of your Mother do you most want to emulate?: Tenacity - my mom had polio when she was 2 and had several operations as a child.  She never let the disfigurment of her…
JHGraves on +Rowan Williams On The Human Embryo Debate: ....dissipate into the void? Yes, but I’ll still take it.
Connie Sandlin on OPEN THREAD: What three virtues of your Mother do you most want to emulate?: Three traits of my mom’s I do or would like to emulate: 1. Her gift for making friends and sustaining friendships (wish I was…
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Chazaq on +Rowan Williams On The Human Embryo Debate: physician without health, Rowan has so undermined his own credibility and whatever moral authority he might have had, through his amazingly ill-advised statements, mendacious…
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Jackie Bruchi
Today’s Christian:  The Summer I Learned To Pray
Monday, March 24, 2008 • 11:22 am
I was taking the summer off from my college studies in chemistry and mathematics to earn money and learn to pray.

Earning money was the easy part. The praying part was tougher-especially at first. A new pastor-and old friend-arrived in town and he invited me to meet with him every Monday evening to pray together.

Initially, I found myself running out of things to say, and many of my prayers sounded like wish lists. After three weeks or so, my friend quietly suggested that the following Monday he would start to teach me how to pray.

At our next meeting, he asked, "What shall we pray for tonight?"

I had received a letter from a young woman whom I will call Jane. The pastor and I both knew her. Her life had been in a mess before God saved her. Now, three years later, she was dying of cancer and was not expected to live more than a few weeks. Her letter was full of bitterness, hurt, and fear.

What, then, should we pray for her? "Lord, heal Jane"? "Lord, rebuke Jane for her bitterness"? Or how about the usual prayer: "Lord, bless Jane"?

My friend helped me to think through all the options. Certainly we could ask that God would heal Jane, just as children ask their fathers for something. God could heal her, and we should ask. But God hasn't promised to bring instant physical restoration to all who ask.

Wasn't there something we should pray for Jane that was in line with God's own promises for his people, something we could claim with confidence on Jane's behalf?

As we went through verse after verse, I was struck by the number and the beauty of the passages promising that God will keep his own people and bring fruit from their lives. We may be "confident of this, that he who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6). We were convinced God had genuinely begun a "good work" in Jane's life. Now we would petition God to keep his promise and carry it on.


The entire article can be found here.

Hat/tip: Prophet Micaiah

Comments:

Great article.  One of the pitfalls of living in the midst of a heresy battle is that it is too easy to fall into the habit of complaining about the church, our worthy opponents, and even about our allies, rather than bringing them to God in prayer.
Thanks to Jackie and to PM.

[1] Posted by Jill Woodliff on 03-24-2008 at 01:30 PM

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