Prayer & Praise
We know about your presence
that fills the world,
that occupies our life,
that makes our life in the world true and good.
We notice your powerful transformative presence
in word and
in sacrament,
in food and in water,
in gestures of mercy
and practices of justice,
in gentle neighbors
and daring gratitude.
We count so on your presence
and then plunge – without intending – into your absence.
We find ourselves alone, abandoned, without resources
remembering your goodness,
hoping your future,
but mired in anxiety and threat and risk beyond our coping.
In your absence we bid your presence,
come again,
come soon,
come here.
Come to every garden become a jungle
Come to every community become joyless
sad and numb.
We acknowledge your dreadful absence and insist on your presence.
Come again, come soon. Come here.
Walter Brueggemann
Unfortunately the majority of those who read or hear the words in this article will say “Amen”; when actually considering the “Amen” to mean a closure of their placement in connection with “God-thinking”. They will feel good about themselves agreeing with such a profound realization and then walk away from the meaning of the words and from the presence of God.
Hypocrites abound.
Please pray for Barbara, a coworkers mom.
She had a stroke as a result of a peice of a mystery infection in her heart breaking free and traving to her brain.
It’s been about 6 weeks of strong antibiotics and the infection has grown instead if reducing.
She now has another infection in her lungs and is on a vent which they expect she will not be able to get off of.
The stroke left her incapacitated and the vent left her unable to speak.
The doctors are baffled about the infection and have to keep her off meds long enough to let it build in her blood stream enough to show on a test so they will know what it is.
So thankful to God that my son and his best friend are ok after rolling a small truck. The cab crushed in, just short of my youngest’s head. They’re sore, but intact tonight.
London….praying for Barbara…
praying
While launching out teams to serve in Moore OK, a pastor shared that a ten year old girl from his church has been abused in ways that no child should ever have to endure by family members. Apparently this precious child who lives in constant fear has learned that fear is how life is supposed to be. She shared that when the tornado hit her school she was more afraid than she had ever been in her life. She went on to say that when she started to cry, she heard an unfamiliar voice while alone hiding from the wind tell here, “keep your head down, I love you”. She went on to ask the pastor if that could have been Jesus.
Father, have mercy on those who prey on children. Reveal yourself to those who are afraid and finally Lord, thank you for speaking to this precious child who learned that her real Father loves her.
Ed Taylor’s Son Eddie passed away this morning. He was only 26yrs old. Leaves behind a young wife and infant son.
O merciful Father, who taught us in your holy Word that you would not willingly affict us, look with pity upon the sorrows of Ed Taylor, and family for whom our prayers are offered. Remember them, O Lord, in mercy, nourish their soul with patience, comfort them with a sense of your goodness, lift up your countenance upon them, and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pray for me and my wife, Becky, for traveling mercies. We start the 1200+ mile trip in the Uhaul back to MS tomorrow.
Praying for you and Becky, Derek.
Amen, Becky and praying Derek…
Thanks Y’all!
I just got settled in at the Days Inn in Concordia, MO. So far the trip has been okay, although a little delayed. Looking forward to visiting with my brother, who lives in Knob Noster, MO tomorrow. He is stationed at Whiteman AFB.
Derek…thanks for the update! Are you being impacted by any of these storms?
No, we had some providence that seemed bad at the time, but turned out to a)make sure we had a truck big enough for all our stuff without paying more and b)held us in Rapid City long enough to avoid most of the storm activity.
God is good!
Derek, love when that bad stuff works together for good! Enjoy your visit with your brother.
Me too, CK. It seems that the more it happens, the more likely I am to wait when something bad seems to be happening and not just get angry about it. Seems to be a patience bulider for me from the Lord.
Please pray for a long-time Phoenix Preacher friend, Mike Macon. His wife has left him and he has resigned his pastorate. He is holding on to faith, but understandably, this is extremely difficult and heartbreaking. I have posted this prayer request with his permission.
Glad to hear you all are okay. Praying for all those impacted by these storms…have a few friends in that area. As a kid from NM I never thought about tornados, but now having lived in TN for almost 20 years the threat of one makes me ill. My kids are used to asking if there is a tornado warning and if we need to go hide in the bathroom. I can’t imagine the fear that would be part of your life after going through these storms. Praying for peace to settle in their midst.
CK,
Let me add the amen to what you’ve written above.
Over the years, Mike Macon has been a staunch spokesman and supporter of the Calvary Chapel movement.
Yet, he has been unfailingly kind and fair to me…even when I was the scourge of much he held dear.
He is a very good man.
I call Mike my friend and I love him as a brother.
Pray for him, his wife and especially their son.
Thank you, CK…
Kevin…thank you for posting. Have been praying for him and his family, especially his boy.
Also…would appreciate prayers for my Dad. Just been a tough week…
Sarah’s dad is an unknown giant of the faith…except in heaven.
A great man…
Macon, which rhymes with Bacon
You are a giant compared to me. But I am here for you, brother. My number is on my FB info page, and you are welcome to call it.
Sarah, praying for your dad.
Thanks Sarah, Michael and Reuben for praying for Mike and his family. My heart is broken for them.
Just got a cryptic text from my nephew who is out of town at his best friends wedding. All it said was “I have asthma. I just got out”.
He’s not the best communicator in the world so I have no idea what that means and probably won’t get the whole story, but please pray for him and whatever is going on
Luckily, he is with a group of friends that he’s known since childhood. Great group that will make sure he’s ok. He’s also diabetic so they know to watch out for him.
Praying for the whole thread from the top down.