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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Prayer for the Morning

I call upon you, O Lord. In the morning you hear me; in the morning I offer you my prayer, watching and waiting.

I lift my heart to you, O Lord, to be strengthened for this day. Be with me in all I do, my God; guide me in all my ways.

I will carry some burdens today; some trials will be mine. So I wait for your help, Lord, lest I stumble and fall.

I will do my work, Father, the work begun by your Son. He lives in me and I in him; may his work today be done.

Simple Thanks

For our restful sleep at night,

or the rain and sunshine bright,
For the love that Thou dost send,
For our homes and for each friend,

For the day and all its pleasures,
Grateful thanks I render now.
May our lives pass on the blessings,
None can give to us, but Thou.

Benediction

Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, let me think about these things. What I have learned and received, let me do; and the God of peace be with us all.

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Colossians 1:1-4, 9-12 (TNIV)

Prayer + Faith = Life!

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To God's holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all his people — For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his people in the kingdom of light.

Notes on the Scripture

Our Commentary today was submitted by the Rev. Linda A. Richard.

I am learning to appreciate "Facebook" more and more each day. As time goes by, I lose contact with friends and family members. Now many of us are separated by more than one thousand miles. But since I have begun contacting folks on Facebook, I have relocated some very special people and we are able to exchange messages on a regular basis. One of the most important benefits of reconnecting has been our ability to pray for one another whenever a crisis or special joy or other circumstance arises.

In this passage from Colossians 1, the Apostle Paul highlights the importance of Prayers on behalf of our brothers an sisters in Christ. In this instance, Paul specifically prays with thankfulness for the faithfulness and love demonstrated by the Christians in Colossae. He assures his audience that he never stops praying for them. Paul’s prayers are for spiritual knowledge, wisdom and understanding. He states the specific end goal of his prayers that they "may live a life worthy of the Lord", " pleasing the Lord in every way", and "bearing fruit in every good work."

Reading this scripture reminds me of our prayers for our three sons, the youngest is a teenager and the older two are in there early twenties. Sometimes I am tempted to pray that they would do or say certain things which seem best by my measures. It takes a leap of faith on my part to pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding; and then let God determine exactly what that means for each of them! And ultimately my hope for them is that they live faithful lives doing good things which allow them to be in the closest possible relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

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