Tag: prayer

Psalm 62:5-12

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            The Old Testament book of Psalms is the church’s prayer book.  Each psalm has been carefully crafted and designed for repeated prayers by the faithful.  Today’s psalm needs no comment.  Read it slowly and deliberately as many times as you need, allowing the words to wash over you and fill you with the grace and peace which can only come from God alone:
Only God gives inward peace,
and I depend on him.
God alone is the mighty rock
that keeps me safe,
and he is the fortress
where I feel secure.
God saves me and honors me.
He is that mighty rock
where I find safety.
Trust God, my friends,
and always tell him
each one of your concerns.
God is our place of safety.
We humans are only a breath;
none of us are truly great.
All of us together weigh less
than a puff of air.
Don’t trust in violence
or depend on dishonesty
or rely on great wealth.
I heard God say two things:
“I am powerful,
     and I am very kind.”
The Lord rewards each of us
according to what we do.
(Contemporary English Version)
 

 

Amen, and amen.

Psalm 69:1-5, 30-36

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            As the church’s and the Christian’s prayer book, the psalms offer a way to come to God when our feelings and emotions have us not knowing how to pray at all.  If you are depressed because of people who would like to see you fail or are out to get you, then this is the psalm for you to pray!
Save me, God!
I am about to drown.
I am sinking deep in the mud,
and my feet are slipping.
I am about to be swept under
by a mighty flood.
I am worn out from crying,
and my throat is dry.
I have waited for you
till my eyes are blurred.
There are more people
who hate me for no reason
than there are hairs
on my head.
Many terrible enemies
want to destroy me, God.
Am I supposed to give back
something I didn’t steal?
 
            When you are voiceless, the psalter can voice it for you.  When you are unable to put your thoughts into words, the Scripture can word it for you.  Two of the great attributes of God is that He is powerful and loving, which means God is more than able to do something about your situation, and it will always be in a loving way.  Know that today He hears you and He is working on a response to your lament lifted to Him – even if it isn’t in your own words.  And I want you to think the thought that He hears you, especially if it is not in your own words, but in the words of Holy Scripture.
            God will come through in His own good time.  But that doesn’t mean you cannot praise Him right now in your dilemma.  David chose to praise God, even though he didn’t get an immediate answer to his prayers.  Perhaps God is more concerned to change you and I first, before he chooses to change your circumstance.  So, let this be your decision right now:

 

I will praise the Lord God
with a song
and a thankful heart.
This will please the Lord
better than offering….

Pray for Your Pastor

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
 “Obey your leaders and do what they say. They are watching over you, and they must answer to God. So don’t make them sad as they do their work. Make them happy. Otherwise, they won’t be able to help you at all” (Hebrews 13:17, Contemporary English Version).
 
“Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God.Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit” (Hebrews 13:17, New Living Translation).
 
“Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them?” (Hebrews 13:17, The Message)
 
A survey on American clergy by the Schaeffer Institute found some of the following information:
·         90% of pastors report working between 55-75 hours per week.
·         70% of pastors constantly fight depression.
·         50% of pastors feel so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they had another job lined-up right away.
·         80% of pastors believe church ministry has negatively affected their families.
·         80% of pastoral spouses feel lonely and underappreciated by church members.
·         40% of pastors report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.
·         50% of pastors starting out will not last five years.
·         Only 10% of pastors will actually retire as pastors.
·         Over 1,700 pastors leave the ministry every month in the United States; 1,300 of them are fired by their churches.
·         The number one reason pastors leave the ministry is that church people are not willing to go the same direction and support the goal of the pastor; pastors believe God wants them to go in one direction but the people are not willing to follow.
 
Speaking as a pastor, the one thing I want every single church member to know about me is this:  Your prayer support is my life support.  Without regular, earnest, sustained, fervent, and constant prayers sent for me and my family, no matter how hard I labor or how much I work the ministry will go nowhere.  But with habitual and spirited prayer, even the most anemic weaknesses can be transcended and the church can grow with thriving health and joy.
 
Lift up prayers for your pastor today and every day, appealing to God concerning these things:
            P rotection from the enemy
            R est
            A nointing of the Spirit
            Y ielded heart to God
            E ffectiveness in ministry

 

            Righteous life of integrity

Luke 22:39-46

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            It’s easy to believe that we are people of prayer, that is, until we contrast ourselves with Jesus.  One of the problems we often run into when thinking about ourselves is that we make comparisons with the wrong people.  Compared to others, we look pretty good.  After all, I pray more than the next guy, right!?  But consider how Jesus prayed when faced with enduring the ignominy of the cross:  “Jesus was in great pain and prayed so sincerely that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood.”
 
            Even Jesus, the Son of God, felt the intense need to watch and pray so that he could face his time of suffering and humiliation on behalf of humanity.  I would conjecture that even your most incredible time of prayer probably doesn’t compare to the experience of Jesus in prayer.  That isn’t meant to be a source of guilt, to try and somehow twist our collective arm to be more sincere and focused.  Rather, it is meant to show us that there is much more room to grow in this business of prayer than we ever thought.
 
            Perhaps there is so little church renewal, so puny personal revival, and such a paucity of revitalization and reformation among so many Christians because our prayers are so small and so far in between each other.  Jesus prayed because he needed it.  I pray because without God I am hopelessly lost.  I pray because I desperately need Jesus.  I pray because only the Holy Spirit can bring the empowerment to face the rigors of ministry in front of me.  I pray because I sincerely believe that humanity’s hope rests with the blessed Holy Trinity, the God whom I serve.
 

 

            Gracious Lord Jesus, I am eternally grateful for what you did on my behalf by enduring the shame of the cross.  I have much to learn in praying sincerely, earnestly, and effectively.  Teach me, Lord, so that I might be like you in all I do and say.  Amen.