I used to put my best face on my private prayers. I thought I had to be good to talk with God. Then I realized that if God was all-knowing, he already knew my true feelings. He’d rather have honest anger than fake goodness.
Be brutally honest with God. He can take it. But here’s the catch . . . he’ll be honest in return. It’s not his nature to lie.
Back when our children were young, someone might say, “Your boys are so well-behaved.” We’d think, “You gotta be kidding!”
I wonder if God feels that way. Does he think, when someone admires another’s faith, “If you only knew what I know.”
So which side do you show God? Your best, or your worst?
All of the above, God knows.
More than 2 million people in the United States are incarcerated. Our prisons and jails are fertile fields for ministry. Most prisoners will eventually complete their terms and head back into their communities.
“Are our communities prepared for this huge influx of returning citizens? Are our churches ready to open their doors and welcome individuals that deserve a second chance? Are we prepared to deal with the conflicts caused by having victims and perpetrators entering the same place of worship?”
Prisoner Re-entry and Aftercare Ministries
American Baptist Home Missions Societies
Lord, teach us teach us to pray, teach us to love, teach us to care. Grant these prisoners new life–in you and in their communities. May we willingly embrace them as brothers and sisters in the faith. Amen.
Lord, fill me with your love for folks I don’t know so I can earnestly pray for their physical and spiritual well-being.
Not sure how to pray for a stranger?
You can’t go wrong praying for their salvation.
2 Peter 3:9 (CEV)
God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.
Why we pray for people we don’t know:
“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
It’s Lent.
Lots of people give up something for Lent. Some people do something extra during these days leading to Easter.
This year, let your stealth prayers (your random acts of prayer) be your Lenten sacrifice.
Who do you pray for?
I ran across a name for something I’ve been doing for years: stealth prayer, praying for people who don’t know you’re praying for them.
You’ve heard of random acts of kindness, these are random acts of prayer:
— The frustrated mom with the whining toddler
— The student stomping his way to the school bus
— The impatient driver riding your bumper
— The guy with the small shovel and big snowbank
Speak God’s blessing into their lives: patience, joy, gratitude, love, salvation.
America has an opioid crisis. People around us are dying of overdoses.
“God is calling the Church to minister to those souls who are caught in the grip of this deadly disease.”
A Christ-centered culture of recovery makes a difference:
From The Christian Citizen, Volume 1, 2018, “Creating a Christ-Centered Culture of Recovery” by Rev. Dr. Morris Stimage, executive officer of New Life Center for Recovery in Indian Orchard, MA:
“Grace is fundamental . . . we sinners are saved and set free from drug abuse by God’s grace . . .
Hope creates a sense of optimism . . . God can and will deliver people from the ills of addition.
Prayer is essential . . . Without prayer, the ministry cannot guide people along the pathway of sobriety and freedom in Jesus Christ . . .
Christ-centered love is a powerful antidote . . .
Healing happens because God is able to heal.”
Yes, Lord! Grace, hope, love and healing—in Jesus name, we pray.
