More Than We Ask by Lillie Ammann
May 10, 2009
I had several tight deadlines scheduled during the week when I encountered technical problems on a Web site I was creating for a client. Not only could the Web site not be found, but also the client couldn’t send or receive e-mail.
Tech support told me I needed to delete everything I had done and start over from scratch, losing many hours of work and putting me way behind schedule. It was the end of my workday, and I decided to wait until the next day to figure out whether to wipe out all my work or try something else first.
When I went to bed, I prayed that God would give me peaceful rest and that I would wake with a clear mind and the knowledge of what to do to solve the problem.
I woke to a ringing phone. My client said, ”I don’t know what you did while you were sleeping, but I have e-mails pouring in.” I checked the Web site, and it, too, was functioning perfectly.
I asked God for the wisdom to solve the problem. He did more than that—He fixed the problem as I slept. How often I try to solve everything myself when all I have to do is pray. He is our help in all our needs, even technical challenges.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; birth a spirit of prayer in our hearts, both individually and corporately; raise up prayer warriors among us; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ~ Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
Liturgy Lesson for the Fourth Sunday after Easter: Incense in Divine Worship
May 8, 2009
Incense used in Divine Worship has been, from very early times, throughout the whole Church. Enjoined by God Himself, offering incense was part of the daily morning and evening services in the Jewish Temple and was also part of the ceremonial on the Day of Atonement—the Jewish day of national repentance—and was among the most closely-held privileges of the Levitical Priesthood. Other Levitical ceremonies passed away, but this, honoring the Sacrifice, has been retained and become one of the spiritual tools of the Universal Christian Church. It can claim our Lord’s sanction, not only from His connection with the Temple worship, but from the facts (1) that the moment Zachariah offered incense marked the time God began to establish the New Covenant; (2) that it was among the gifts offered to Jesus by the Magi. At All Saints, we regularly burn it in worship at our highest holy days, before our regular worship, and during Evensong. Because of its roots in ancient worship of our God, it retains the element of the sacrificial nature of our lives in Him, holding special significance for us as a symbol of our repentance and the sweet savor of our prayers rising to God. Furthermore, according to ancient custom, it is also part of spiritual warfare, when used in conjunction with the liturgy or in prayers beforehand. Because of the manner we bless it for the Church’s use, its fragrant smoke, while rendered to God’s worship, is also component to repelling the Enemy of Our Souls, much as our repentance robs him of his freedom in our lives. May our prayers rise, then as the incense—and the lifting up of our hands be as the Evening Sacrifice!
National Day of Prayer 2009
May 7, 2009
Today is the 58th annual observance of the National Day of Prayer. This year’s theme is Prayer … America’s Hope.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force’s mission is to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, mobilizing the Christian community to intercede for America and its leadership in the seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.
All Saints prays for our country in every service. Members of our intercessory prayer team will participate in the Steps of City Hall Prayer and Praise Gathering. This is the 22nd annual observance of the National Day of Prayer in San Antonio. Praise music begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by a prayer service beginning at noon.
For more local events, visit the Find an Event page of the NDP Web site and perform a search.
2009 Prayer for Our Nation
by Beth Moore, Honorary Chairman, National Day of Prayer Task Force
Father in Heaven,
We lift our eyes toward Your Throne, where You reign in righteousness.
Your Word assures us that when Your people cry out in sincerity and humility, You will never turn a deaf ear to us.
We call upon You now, seeking Your forgiveness and favor.
Look over this fevered landscape and heal us, Lord.
Drop knees to the floor and raise eyes to the sky, for we know where our help comes from.
Unite these States again in devotion to You, and blur every dividing line.
Do not give us over to our sins. Give us, instead, over to passionate prayer that moves Your heart.
“May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You.”
In the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
Amen
Prayer for Our C0untry from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer
ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Life Given, Life Chosen, Life Taken by Diana Dunlap
May 5, 2009
I recently offered to care for a precious baby girl during Koinonia while a dear friend, the child’s grandmother, rehearsed and later sang with the band. As I held this tiny life in my arms, she slept peacefully amidst the joyful praise. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at her innocent, peaceful face and realized the precious gift of life our Lord gives us. He gave this precious gift to everyone—not only her family, but to everyone who will enter her life. I thought of how simple her life is at this point and how difficult it could become as she grows. However, I know her grandmother will make sure she knows the Lord and will pray she has a loving relationship with Him throughout her life. She will then be able to touch the lives of others with the love of our Lord.
A few days later, I received a call at the office from a friend whose relative was in the hospital, not expected to live. My husband and I went to the hospital and found the frail man lying in a bed in ICU. He was being kept alive at this point. We did not know this man, but in talking with our friend, it sounded as though he had lived a full life. He loved his family, enjoyed life, and had served his country. There was nothing to do here but wait for the official word that his life on earth had ceased. One of our priests came to administer last rites, and it touched my heart to hear these words—the first time for me. The words were so loving and kind. I could feel the Lord in the room with us, listening and waiting to take the spirit of this man to the Father. The man was pronounced dead about five hours later. I hope the words he heard were “well done, good and faithful servant.”
Our friend had met a woman in the hospital whose son also was in ICU. He was there due to a cruel act of others. This young man was unconscious and his organs were shutting down. His mother was distressed but trying to hold on to hope. She asked our priest to pray for him. As we entered his room, he began to arch his back and groan in pain. As the priest prayed the peace of the Lord over him, his body calmed immediately and peace covered his face. We prayed and as I rested my hand on his feet, I felt the Holy Spirit move. My husband was at the door of the room and said he felt the Holy presence so strongly he could see it. What a difference in the two experiences. The first, a life had ended on this earth. As for the second, there is still hope.
My husband and I have been in and out of many hospitals during our married life—I in the waiting rooms and he in the surgery rooms. He has had numerous heart surgeries, including bypass surgery, and I was always there, waiting for hours. I know what it is like to cling to hope while I waited, and he knows what it is like to hope that he has done all he could for his family in case this is the time our Lord calls him home.
One of our doctors asked me several years ago if I was afraid of dying. I confessed that I was. This doctor told me that “fear of death is a lack of faith.” I have come to realize more fully what he was saying. If we don’t know our Lord God and what He has for us both in this life and in the next, then we do fear death. But, we can be dead in life if we don’t know Him and follow Him. It is our choice to live with the Lord or try to live without Him and His guidance and wisdom. How many times do we try to “do it ourselves” without consulting Him in prayer—without taking time to know him? I imagine it works out for you like is does for me when I try to go it on my own—not so well!
I have been reading John 17 over and over lately:
13″But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.14I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 20I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25″O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;26and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (NASB)
This scripture tells me how exceeding His love is for all of His people. Knowing such love, how can we fear what is waiting for us at the end of this life when we meet Him face to face? We only fear what we do not know. If we take the time, daily, to talk with Him and read His word, the fear will diminish. I hope the day comes soon when all of our fears, no matter how small, are a vague memory at most. I am still growing and learning and hope I always feel that I need to grow and learn. I believe the Lord is going to use the experiences my husband and I have had in the hospitals over the years. We both feel drawn to visit those who are hospitalized and give them prayers of comfort. However, we will leave that decision to Him through our prayers.
I pray that we all make the most of the precious gift of life by asking the One who gave it to us how HE wants us to live it. If we please Him, we need not do anything else.
May you always keep the Lord in your heart and may He bless you. He blessed me when He brought me here. I give thanks to all of you whom He has used to teach me and to touch my heart.
Liturgy Lesson for SS. Philip and James: Lives on Fire
May 2, 2009
Saints’ days (such as Saints Philip and James we commemorate today) honor these athletes of God that the Gospel records as those faithful that made themselves available for the Lord to use to establish His Body on Earth—the Church. They were willing to suffer, and in most cases, die, usually in a very unpleasant and painful manner—after they had given up all they had for Jesus. St Philip was the first to leave his life at home to follow the Lord and was eventually hanged for the Faith far from home in Phrygia. St. James remained in Israel, becoming the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and was renowned for his outreach, and did, according to some scholars, assemble the first service liturgies—from which our own services stem today. Although he was also a successful evangelist, local Jews, unhappy with his success, threw him from the Temple pinnacle. St. James survived briefly, only to be clubbed to death after being stoned. Amazingly, however, a new bishop was consecrated immediately—and the ministry continued! It was this unswerving commitment ancient Christians wanted to maintain by assembling at martyrs’ graves on the anniversaries of their deaths. They celebrated the saints’ Godly virtues and called down the Holy Ghost to renew their own commitment and faith. They wanted their lives fired by the Spirit, even if it meant death. So should we, as our fathers did, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit—know Jesus so personally and powerfully that we can’t help being His messengers, even if it means surrendering home, hearth, and even life. Once we are rewired to our Lord’s specification, we can take joy in Him, and know—this world is not our home! Come, then, Holy Ghost—set our lives on fire!
