I knew that the discipline of early morning prayer was practiced & urged in the scriptures but to see it practiced & encouraged by so many of the remarkable saints throughout history was quite compelling. When Mother Teresa was asked by a minister how to be a better minister she urged him to spend an hour every morning in prayer. Carlo Carretto’s regimen for intentionally drawing close to God begins each day with ‘Lauds’-a word I had never really encountered until recently. For an evangelical, ‘lauds’ is basically morning devotions complete with prayer & scripture reading. Saint Benedict & his disciples began each morning in prayer & singing from the Psalms. Continue Reading…
Tag Archive - Prayer
A Case for Early Morning Prayer
4 Views on Physical Healing
Below is a helpful summary of 4 Views on Healing from Francis MacNutt’s book Healing. By the way, this book is the most insightful & balanced work on healing I have yet to come across.
- Healing is our Responsibility.
In other words, take full advantage of every natural means of healing such as surgery & medication but do not expect God to directly intervene. You’re on your own! - Healing is possible BUT extraordinary.
In this view healing is possible but not very likely. God has the power to heal but not the desire. Healing is the exception-a rare occurrence maybe to prove something. Accordingly, the ordinary will of God is NOT health & wholeness, but suffering & pain. Some actually encourage the acceptance of sickness as a means to advance spiritually, while looking at those who desire healing as suspect or ‘less-than-spiritual.’ Continue Reading…
40 Day Challenge
Here we go again! 2 things…
- The men in our church are signing up to fast & pray 1 day over the next 40 days leading up to Easter (Tues Mar 3 – Sat Apr 11). With each man taking a day our men will put together 40 days of nonstop fasting & prayer. Lord, may you be pleased with our attempts to reach out to you. Don’t change, but please change us! If you want more information or would like to participate just email Bill at wirvin.forge@comcast.net & ask him about the 40 Days for 40 Men.
- Jill & I are also doing some personal fasting during these 40 days. Basically, we are cutting out “Pleasure Spending” & “Pleasure Eating.” Here’s what we mean…
- No Pleasure Spending: We commit to cut out unnecessary purchases & to buy only essentials-groceries, gas & a few gifts for birthdays. (We didn’t want to show up at my brother’s birthday & say, “Sorry, we didn’t get you anything because we’re on a spending freeze!”) Otherwise unnecessary spending is on a 40 day freeze. For example, shopping, starbucks, eating out, etc. In this fast we are trying to pull down the idol of materialism.
- No Pleasure Eating: We commit to eating what I never eat…soups & salads. This rule will be relaxed in situations when it would be rude or inappropriate to refuse what is offered. In this fast, we are trying to pull down the idol of our appetite.
Lord, help us. I am challenged to the max with your 1st commandment. I feel like a spiritual 1st grader. Help us to have no other gods before you.
PS. In case you’re wondering, the photo has nothing to do with this blog. We were just thrilled that it finally snowed! Oakley lasted 2 minutes before he came inside & cried for 15 (frozen fingers)!
A Prayer (Day 15 of my 40 Day Challenge)
NKJ Zechariah 10:4 From him comes the cornerstone, From him the tent peg, From him the battle bow, From him every commander together.
Oh Lord, you are are my cornerstone, my tent peg, my battle bow, my commander. And since you are my commander then why do I not look to you more regularly for commands, for instructions, for orders? Am I guilty of insubordination? Am I subtly committing treason? If you are really my authority, my commander-in-chief then the only response I ought to have is “yes, sir.” My duty is to follow orders–not question them or even worse to smugly ignore them. I know it is highly offensive to you when you are not listened to or heeded. Please Lord, continue to have mercy. I take this time now to open my heart & mind up to you. Holy Spirit help me to hear. So, speak Lord & grant me the ability, the grace to promptly obey.
Please see these small tokens–the fasting, the journaling, the reading of scripture–as my attempts, feeble as they are, to draw near, to reach out to you. Please see, oh Lord. Please hear & renew the joy of my salvation, the joy of walking with & knowing you. I’ve tasted & I know that there is no greater pleasure, no greater peace, no greater joy, no greater satisfaction then being in your presence & walking in right relationship with you. Your word is true–’taste & see that the Lord is good!’ You are good & your mercies endureth forever. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness. Amen.
40 Day Challenge
The other day I saw a question that really challenged me. What would happen if every Christian fasted & prayed 40 days before the election? Wow! I assume that God would listen & intervene in our political life. After all, this is a well grounded principle in scripture-that God listens when his children pray. Just take for instance the promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Well, here I go. I’m excepting the challenge… Continue Reading…
