Pray for positive thinking

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
~Philippians 4:4-8

• Pray Philippians 4:4-8 for a friend or loved one:
• Pray that they'll have a song (of worship) in their heart all day everyday, and thereby grow closer to the Lord.
• Pray that even in the most challenging times in life, they will bring everything to Him in prayer and that no matter how stressful life becomes, she will not be anxious.
• Sure, the battle is already won- it was won by Jesus on the cross and in His resurrection, but we don't always remember that, we are too caught up in the difficulty in the here and now to keep our eyes on the prize- so pray that this peace that passes all understanding will be something that they are acutely is aware of. Sure, our religion is about faith, not feelings, but pray that they actually feel His peace and be reminded of it minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.
• And finally, please pray that they fear, love and trust in Him so much that they will think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy— rather than all the things that are so discouraging, difficult, and distracting.

Fourth Watch

So next Sunday, I take over the high school Bible class at our church. Who knows how many kids will actually come. I want it to be meaningful and practical, so naturally I started worrying about what to teach. (worrying of course is the 8th deadly sin).

I did some surfing around here on the web on "prayer," and one of the topics that caught my attention were "prayer-watches." Evidently, in a number of cities, it is a growing activity to be praying during specific times of the night while other people pledge to stay up praying about the same things at the same times. Kinda interesting.

Apparently there is some historical and Scriptural background to this. In Old Testament times, watchmen were assigned to one of three shifts throughout the night to watch over a city. The Romans had four such watches; First watch was 6-9 pm, Second watch was 9-Midnight, Third watch (like the now defunct NBC series) was Midnight-3 am, and the one I always seemed to get stuck with when chaperoning junior high lock-ins and high school youth gatherings... Fourth Watch was 3-6 am.

Jesus implored the disciples to "keep watch" and pray in the garden in Gethsemene. This passage always makes me feel guilty, even if Jesus meant it as an analogy rather than literally.
Maybe this is because for years I would get up at 4:30 in the morning to read the Bible, go for a walk and pray. It has been years since I've done this. Once you have kids, it's hard to find time alone with God (T.A.W.G.) and if you actually get up that early, you're bound to be grouchy and irritable, or at least sluggish during the day.

At any rate, one of these websites that I found, obviously not a very Lutheran one, suggested that the Fourth watch was special because there was so much more spiritual activity at this time and important things happen. Well, duh, armies always launch operations just before dawn, right? Because people need SLEEP! God designed us that way.

Needless to say, the power of suggestion is a terrible thing. It could be concern over several of my students who have been facing some life altering trials lately, it could be God actually wanting me to offer up the sacrifice of sleep deprivation in order that He might talk to me (like Samuel or something), or it might be that we were at a family reunion with 11 of us (ages 2-65) all sleeping in the same cabin. After the second child threw up, it was clear to me that I wasn't going to get much sleep the other night. My wife gave up and took the 2 year old out to the van around 1:30, my teenage nephew finally turned in about 2:30 and my 10 year old nephew was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6.

But I will tell you, it did feel good to spend so much time talking to God. I never did figure out if or what He was trying to tell me that night, but you can bet I kept telling Him how tired I was the next day.

Just on a Lark

A friend and former classmate of mine at Concordia College was reading my blogs and asked if I'd ever taken any flack from any Missouri Synod pastors. Not yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone in St. Louis stumbles across this one. Like I said in the "About this Blog" entry, I'm not a pastor and don't plan on becoming a pastor, so c'est la vie if they decided not to allow me to. And, readers should know that I don't speak for my denomination and this blog in no way reflects any of their official doctrinal positions. Like Luther's 99 theses on the Castle Church Door, these posts are intended to spark discussion and debate- by no means are they tantamount to Scripture. Lord knows I get a lot of things wrong, but I hope He can use me in spite of that to provoke debate, challenge thinking, and inspire prayer and Bible reading. That's all I want to do.

That said, I thought I was getting a little too heavy, not to mention too political, so here's something to lighten things up a little:

MANSFIELD, Ohio — Anita Johanssen has alienated her women's Bible study partners by bringing innocuous prayer requests, or no prayer requests at all, to their weekly meetings.
"We dump out our life garbage, and she says something like, 'I don't really have anything. Just pray things will keep going well for me,'" one woman says. "After the fourth or fifth time it gets annoying."
During a recent meeting a woman requested prayer for a relative who was in prison. Another admitted that her husband was severely depressed after losing his job. When it was her turn, Johanssen asked them to pray that the Lord "would continue to bless my life."
"They all sat there staring at me," Johanssen says. "I just don't have anything to match their level of prayer requests. I've got a good family and the Lord in my life. What am I supposed to do — invent problems?"
To satisfy her Bible study partners, Johanssen has begun planning out prayer requests. She recently requested prayer for her unsaved neighbor and a co-worker who lost her cat. But the requests don't seem to carry the kind of weight the others want. One Bible study partner responded, "If a missing cat is your most pressing issue, then I want your life."
Johanssen is considering joining a different Bible study in which her prayer requests allow her to "blend in better," she says. •

Read more Christian satire like this at LarkNews.com

Me ka pule,
Pirate Ted

Hand Prayer

A Good Way to Pray
(...and easy to memorize!)

1. Thumb: Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

Lord, please bless our family. Bless AJ. If it be Your will, heal him and strengthen him. If it is your will, ease his suffering and bring him home to you. Bless AM as he deals with losing his father AJ, as well as facing the possibility of having to cope with illness himself. Bless CA as he deals with losing his grandfather AJ and the health issues of his father AM, with his marriage, with the possibility of swiching careers, and especially with his disease as well. Bless NA as he deals with losing his great-grandfather AJ, and the changes with his grandfather and hero AM, and the stress his dad, CA is under. Guard, protect, comfort, heal, hold, and lead, all of the members of their families, siblings, spouses, and children, so that they might weather these storms and be assured of Your love and providence.

2. Index finger: The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

Lord, bless our pastor- Holy Spirit, direct him and work through him so that he will be Your instrument and feed and serve Your flock in the ways that they need.

3. Middle finger: The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

Dear Jesus! I am truly afraid for our country, my family and the world. It seems like our President is leading us toward WWIII. Hold him accountable, keep the dogs of war at bay. Father God, keep our troops safe and work in the hearts and minds of our leaders so that they bring them home soon and choose diplomacy over saber-rattling.

4. Ring finger: The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

Dear Jesus, there are hundreds of thousands of refugees from Iraq, from Sudan and Chad, and other torn and ravaged regions in our world. There are millions of children who's parents have to choose between bills, food, medicine, and other needs. There area indentured servants and even slaves, still today, not just in depressed or undeveloped portions of the world, but here in our own country. Open our eyes to how You can use us to help them. Please rescue them, provide for them, and protect them. Lord, Jesus wipe out horrors like Guinea worm. Somehow Father God, force America and Americans to see how we can use our vast resourses for healing and helping, rather than manipulating and influencing.

5. Pinkie finger: And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Lord, please forgive me for being such a hypocrite, for being "the chief among sinners." Lord I believe, help my unbelief. Then empty me of myself and my sin and fill me with Your presence, so that You can use me as Your instrument, your vessel so that You can use me to reflect Your light and Your love, so that You can use me to help and support and teach, love and comfort others- instead of feeding my angers and selfishness, my depressions and fears.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen

Found at: http://www.churchsermon.org/prayer.html

ACTS

Praying through the elements of a worship service= A.C.T.S.

A-Adoration
If God were oneof your aquaintences, what compliments could you pay Him? What's cool about God? What 7 things does God deserve in Revelation 7:12?

C-Confession
What is standing between you and your relationship[ with God?
Psalm 139:23-24


T-Thanksgiving
What has God done for you, through you, or given you lately- for which you need to give Him credit?
Psalm 136:1-3


S-Supplication
Okay, let's pray- but remember J.O.Y. (Jesus, Others, then Yourself)
Why not follow this "HANDY" (see photo) outline?
Matthew 7:7