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MEDITATION:

Written by Michael Casey, a contemporary author and Cistercian monk living in Australia. This is an excerpt from his book “Toward God.”

The worst thing we can think about prayer is that it is a trivial exercise – saying a few words or channeling one’s thoughts in a particular direction. Authentic prayer is not that. It is usually difficult. That is not because it takes great expertise or is reserved to an elite, but because it takes a lot of courage. To pray well I must first find out where I am. Self-knowledge is never procured cheaply. To pray well I need to face up to realities about myself, that I would prefer to ignore: my anxieties, fears, private griefs, failures, lovelessness, my utter lack of resources. To accept the truth about what I am, as also the truth about other human beings, demands courage. If I do not pray well, it is usually because I lack that kind of courage. Once I have confronted and accepted—as far as possible—that I am a needy person, the act of turning toward God is relatively easy. It is not faith in God that is hard, but the renunciation of illusory faith in myself. To turn toward God means, first, turning away from whatever is untrue or delusory—no matter how much comfort it brings.

PRAYER:

Written by Padre Pio (1887-1968), an Italian  friar, priest, and mystic.

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You. Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often. Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor. Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness. Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will. Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You. Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company. Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You. Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of Love. Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes, death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches. I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile! Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You. Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of bread, so that Communion be the light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart. Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love. Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but, the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You! Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for. Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more. With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen  

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MEDITATION:

Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher, theologian, and author.  This is an excerpt from his book “The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God’s Kingdom on Earth.”

The Great Commandment … directs us to first love God with every aspect of our being and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Finding well-being or a flourishing existence in such a condition is much less difficult than in the secular proposal. Love is not an abstraction. Christians must be continually reminded to resist making love intangible or primarily theoretical. God’s kind of love must remain vital, concrete, positive, and practical. Agape [love] is devoted to seeking the good of the person loved. It can and must occupy and energize our lives.

PRAYER:

Written by Debbie McDaniel, a contemporary Christian writer.

Lord thank you that your love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, thank you that your love never fails. Help us to love as you love. Fill us with your Spirit so that we can choose what is best. We are weak Lord, but we know also, that even when we are weak, you are strong within us. Thank you that it’s not all up to us. Thank you that you equip us to face each day with the power of your love, your forgiveness, and your grace.

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MEDITATION:

Written by David Jeremiah, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his book “Where Do We Go From Here?”

The Lord created your human imagination to be a powerful force. It can create beautiful visions of a desirable future, or it can conjure up worst-case scenarios. These dark products of the imagination can put you in the grip of fear—a place God would never have you go. The power that banishes fear is a sound mind. We maintain a sound mind by “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). When an unhealthy thought enters your head (“I’m sick;” “all is lost;” I’m going to die!”), examine it in light of the knowledge of God. Does this thought have any basis in reality? If not, take it captive. Don’t give it free rein in your mind. Don’t let it lead your imagination away from God’s goodness and into unhealthy fear.  When Isobel Kuhn was fighting cancer, she realized the real enemy was something too deep for the surgeon’s scalpel. It lay in the invisible world of her imagination. She wrote, “I had to refuse to allow my imagination to play with my future. That future, I believe, is ordered of God, and no man can guess it. For me to let myself imagine how or when the end would come was not only unprofitable, it was definitely harmful, so I had to bring my thoughts into captivity that they might not dishonor Christ.” Gaining a sound and centered mind is not as difficult as you think. If we simply read the Scripture deeply, thoughtfully, and openly every day, we will invite the Holy Spirit to whisper new strength into our thoughts. He and He alone can tame the reckless power of the human mind. A mind centered on the truth of God is the key to His sustaining grace. He will keep you from losing heart. The best definition I’ve ever heard of anxiety is “imagining the future without Jesus in it.” Have you done some of that? When we realize that Jesus is present today and will be present tomorrow, we can be set free from worry. As someone said, “Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster, and belief in defeat. Worry is wasting today’s time to clutter up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.”

PRAYER:

This prayer is from the Episocopal Book of Comon Prayer.

Merciful Jesus, you are my guide, the joy of my heart, the author of my hope, and the object of my love. I come seeking refreshment and peace. Show me your mercy, relieve my fears and anxieties, and grant me a quiet mind and an expectant heart, that by the assurance of your presence I may learn to abide in you, who is my Lord and my God. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by D. A. Carson, a contemporary biblical scholar and professor. He co-founded the Gospel Coalition. This is an excerpt from his book “For the Love of God.”

Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.

PRAYER:

Written by Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932), a prolific writer of poems.

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,

He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;

To added affliction He addeth His mercies,

To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Sherwood Eliot Wirt (1911-2008), a Christian author. This is an excerpt from his book “A Thirst for God.”

Spiritual hunger…works just opposite from physical hunger. When we are physically hungry, we eat and satisfy our appetites and cease to be hungry. But when we are spiritually undernourished and are then given a feast of good spiritual food, it makes us hungrier than ever. Thus, the more we learn about God’s love, the more we want to know; we can’t get enough. The reverse…is also true. When we are physically hungry and miss a meal, our appetite becomes ravenous. But if time passes and we receive no spiritual food, we may lose our appetite for it. Malnutrition sets in and we cease to care.

PRAYER:

Written by Tommy Tenney, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Experiencing His Presence: Devotions for God Chasers.”

Lord Jesus, my soul aches at the mere mention of Your name. My heart leaps for every rumor of Your coming, and each possibility that You will manifest Your presence. I’m not satisfied with mere spiritual dainties. I’m ravenously hungry for You in Your fullness. I’m desperate to feast on the bread of Your presence and quench my thirst with the wine of Your Spirit.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Renee Andrews, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from the book “Mornings with Jesus.”

My family has a Labor Day tradition. The entire gang gathers at my parents’ home on the river for jet-skiing, swimming, good food… and homemade ice cream. My mother makes the best homemade ice cream. This Labor Day we were waiting for the ice cream, but the ice-cream maker just kept spinning. Then my dad remembered that he accidentally tossed the tiny part in the bottom out. That one little part ended up being important, and without it, the ice cream took much longer to get firm. Like that tiny part in the ice-cream maker, each part of Christ’s body is important to the livelihood of Christ’s church. We may not feel like our tiny part matters, but in the entire scheme of things, we could be the reason the church doesn’t stand firm. He needs our part. For me, I sometimes feel I don’t offer anything overly impressive to the growth of the Kingdom. I can speak, but I’m sure not great at it. I can sing, but it’s nothing to write home about. And it took me years before I gathered the courage to pray out loud. But I do have a few things I can do and enjoy doing. I can write and share God’s message with my readers. I can teach the preschoolers at church and help start their growth in the Lord. I can do my part servicing the nursery so new moms can fully enjoy the sermon. I can be willing to attribute my good mood to my good Lord whenever asked why I seem particularly happy. I can also let others know that God will see me through when I’m having hard times.

PRAYER:

Written by Lisa Heffernan, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her prayer “Belonging to the Body of Christ.”

God of all people, we thank you for the gifts you give each one of us to serve in the name of Jesus Christ. Help us to care for and love one another, especially those whom we may view as lesser than ourselves. Help us to see each other’s minds, bodies, and hearts as beautiful in their own ways, as we seek to create a church without barriers of any kind. May we see one another as your beloved children, each needed to participate in your mission of love and justice in our world. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Mark D. Roberts, a contemporary author and speaker.

Isaiah 6 begins with the prophet’s vision of a thrice-holy God: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty” (6:3). Isaiah’s first response to this revelation is to lament his own sinfulness: “Woe to me! . . . I am ruined!” (6:5). Yet, through an angel, God removes Isaiah’s sin. Then the Lord poses a question: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (6:8). Isaiah’s response is one of simple trust: “Here I am. Send me!” Isaiah will take God’s message of justice and hope to the people of Israel. In many ways, our story parallels that of Isaiah. We have seen a revelation of God’s holiness in Jesus Christ. Like Isaiah, we might at first recoil from the Lord because of our sin. Yet, our sinfulness has been cleansed by the mercy of God through the death of Christ. Moreover, like Isaiah, we have been cleansed in order to share God’s message of justice and hope to the people around us. When God considers your co-workers, your neighbors, your family, your fellow students, your friends at the gym, your brothers and sisters at church, the people without homes who hang out downtown, and the other people in your life, God asks: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” How will you respond to this question? In a way, God has already “sent” you to your place in the world so that you might bear witness to him in deed and in word. You have the opportunity and, indeed, the calling to live for God right where you are, at work and at home, among your friends and colleagues, in all that you do. Will you accept the mission to which God has sent you? Will you live for God’s purposes in all that you do?

PRAYER:

Written by Mark D. Roberts, the author of today’s meditation.

Gracious God, you are indeed holy, holy, holy. The more we experience your holiness, the less we feel worthy to serve you. Like Isaiah, we know that we are sinful people of unclean lips. Yet, in your mercy, you have called us to yourself and set us apart for your work in this world. You have cleansed us through Christ so that we might serve you with all that we are. So, our answer is like that of Isaiah, though sometimes it’s inconsistent and hesitant. Yes, Lord, send us! Send me! To my neighbors and friends, send me. To the folks at church, send me. To my colleagues at work, send me. To any who needs to experience your love and grace, send me. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Henry W. Frost (1858-1945), missions leader and mobilizer, Bible teacher, conference speaker, evangelist, counselor, and author.

Nothing so pleases God in connection with our prayer as our praise, and nothing so blesses the man who prays as the praise which he offers. I got a great blessing once in China in this connection. I had received bad and sad news from home, and deep shadows had covered my soul. I prayed, but the darkness did not vanish. I summoned myself to endure, but the darkness only deepened. Just then I went to an inland station and saw on the wall of the mission home these words: “Try Thanksgiving.” I did, and in a moment every shadow was gone, not to return. Yes, the Psalmist was right, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”

PRAYER:

Written by Aaron Brown is a contemporary writer, teacher, and visual artist.

My Father, I want to thank you. I want to thank you well in advance of the blessing that is to come. Though today feels marred with anxieties and trouble, I want to give you thanks knowing that this difficult season won’t last always. While I suffer, and in the glorious season to come, God, you remain the same. Scripture reminds me that your love endures forever. You do not love me based on the circumstances I face. Your love is truly unconditional. I thank you for that truth. I am grateful that you see me fit to be loved. May my words praise your name forever, just as your love endures. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), a British author, professor, and lay theologian. This is an excerpt from his book “Mere Christianity.”

I know the words ‘leave it to God’ can be misunderstood, but they must stay for the moment. The sense in which a Christian leaves it to God is that he puts all his trust in Christ: trusts that Christ will somehow share with him the perfect human obedience which He carried out from His birth to His crucifixion: that Christ will make the man more like Himself and, in a sense, make good his deficiencies. In Christian language, He will share His ‘sonship’ with us, will make us, like Himself, ‘Sons of God’. . . . . If you like to put it that way, Christ offers something for nothing: He even offers everything for nothing. In a sense, the whole Christian life consists in accepting that very remarkable offer. But the difficulty is to reach the point of recognizing that all we have done and can do is nothing. What we should have liked would be for God to count our good points and ignore our bad ones. Again, in a sense, you may say that no temptation is ever overcome until we stop trying to overcome it—throw up the sponge. But then you could not ‘stop trying’ in the right way and for the right reason until you had tried your very hardest. And, in yet another sense, handing everything over to Christ does not, of course, mean that you stop trying. To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus, if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.

PRAYER:

Written by James Taiwo, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from this work  “Book of Prayers.”

Father, I realize that you will perform great wonders for anyone who faithfully serve and obey your instructions. Therefore, I want to obey you and maintain good a relationship with you. Please help me to shun every form of ungodliness so that I can enjoy you deeply. Let me love and serve you well, and let me qualify to receive your undaunted blessings on earth and in heaven. For in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Naomi Reed, a Christian writer and speaker who spent six years in Nepal with a medical mission.

I have Parkinson’s Disease now. I can’t walk anymore and I’m mostly in my bed. I can’t leave this room, or go to church, or visit people. It’s a change for me. I spent my whole adult life sharing the Gospel. Back then, I walked through 72 districts in Nepal, preaching the Gospel…and we started a Bible correspondence course. In total, we’ve had 700,000 students. I was put in jail three times for my faith, and I was tortured. But I can’t walk anymore or get out of bed. The challenge for me, today, is in reading Colossians 1:28-29. The apostle Paul said, “Christ is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”  I want to be like Paul. I know that he used all his energy to share the Gospel, right to the end. And I want to do that too. I don’t have any energy in my body anymore, but I still have energy in my heart and my mind. Even now, people can ring me on my phone…and they ask me about Jesus and I still tell them. I’m still taking calls from our Bible correspondence students. I’m still using all my energy, even while I’m lying on my bed—all the energy that Christ has given me!

PRAYER:

Written by Stephen Macchia, a contemporary author and leader of spiritual formation.

Lord Jesus, may I be captivated today by your Great Commission, to go into all the world and preach the gospel, inviting others to become disciples of yours now and forever. May your mission become my own, for I long to know how best to reflect that in my daily life and service to others in your name. Whisper in my ear and continually invite me into deeper fellowship with you, which will result in a life of mission with you and co-mission with others. Illuminate the path and enlighten my heart so that I may be refreshed and renewed in all my ways. In Christ’s name and for his glorious sake I pray. Amen.

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