First of all, what is “pray?”
Well, one definition in the Oxford English Dictionary is “a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.” Praying is also one way, if not the only way, to communicate to God or Jesus in Heaven.
When a family prays together, they should stay together. Amen!
The Bible talks about “pray” in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. It says, “Rejoice evermore, Pray without ceasing, In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Once again, we must pray for each other and we must love and care and share, and pray for our enemies. Amen!
Glory be that the Lord have mercy on me when it comes down to giving or receiving donations. Please help tackle the hard-to-tackle homeless sin! We must not have discouragement but have some encouragement to help people. You and me must go from disgrace to Amazing Grace! Amen!
The Bible talks about pray once again in 1 Peter 4-7. It says, “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”
I am fond of the Serenity Prayer, which dates back to at least 1932 and is often used in modern recovery programs.
Dear Lord God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
And the courage to change the things I can.
And the wisdom to know the difference.
May we all pray for serenity in the new year. Living one day at a time. Enjoying one moment at a time. Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace. I take this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that God will make all things right if I surrender to His will, that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next life. Amen!
Here’s a small song about prayers, my riff on Dorothy Norwood’s “Somebody Prayed for Me”:
The Church of Epiphany prayed for me, they had me on their mind
They took the time to pray for me, I am so glad they prayed for me!
My donators prayed for me, they had me on their minds
They took the time to pray for me, I am so glad they prayed for me!
My brother and sister prayed for me, they had me on their mind
They took the time to pray for me, I am so glad they prayed for me!
Street Sense Media prayed for me, they had me on their mind
They took the time to pray for me, I am so glad they prayed for me!
Nineteen years ago, in the spring of 2001, I was preparing to graduate with my Master of Arts degree and had to write a thesis. My topic was the prayer of the righteous versus the prayer of the unrighteous. Matthew 7:13-14 talks about the way we must listen to the Lord when choosing our paths in life. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
All the evil around us is no match against the God that is within us. Service to the Lord is absolute faithfulness wherever he places you or I or us.
We as a world must take the straight and narrow way, which leads to life and the ending of homelessness. Amen! The broad and wide way is leading us, as a world, to continue to homelessness, problems, issues, and sins.
Here are some more New Testament prayers I value: The Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:9-13, The Prayer of Faith – James 5:15-16. Here are some common Old Testament prayers you may appreciate: Exodus 15:2-3, 1 Samuel 2:1-2, Numbers 6:24-26.
