Tag: The Lord’s Prayer

Pray, Prepare & Plan, and Participate

Today’s Reading: Luke 11

The purpose of Chapter 11 of Luke is to give us a blueprint or outline of our daily work and spiritual growth.  In the days of Christ and in our society, we are all seeking ways to better our mind, body, and spirit.  The same questions that the early church dealt with are seen in our lives.  We are confronted with how to pray, how to worship, how to sing and praise, what to wear, how to live for God?   But in this passage of scriptures we can find some solace in Christ’s words.  The outline that I find here is: Pray, Prepare and Plan, and Participate.

PRAY:

As Stephanie stated in the previous section, we must pray often and daily.

Luke 11: 1- 4

Now Jesus[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,[b]
4 and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”

 Jesus has given us the most powerful prayer that can be prayed.  This is the purest connection that the Father and Son had and it was given openly and graciously to us to have an inherited connection with the Father. This prayer contains all the essentials that God requires of us.  We can come into true relationship with Him with this prayer.  Jesus uses the relational language to create peace and reverence to reconcile us with God.  This prayer creates the aim and focus for our lives and daily living.

PREPARE AND PLAN:

Luke 11: 24-26

24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

Throughout my life, my father has always had a saying that means more as I grow into a young man and father: Focus and Plan.  Even as a child I had this printed and framed in my room.  The meaning behind this statement is: You must FOCUS on the goal or the dream and then you must PLAN how to achieve it.  In Luke 11, Christ teaches about not only do you need to PRAY, but also you must PREPARE & PLAN your life to be for God and live for him daily.   In this passage Jesus performs several miracles that are questioned by the Pharisees thereby questions his authority.  Christ expels an unclean spirit from a man and then proceeds to give a parable about how to maintain the new Christ-filled life.  Jesus states it s not only a one-time process of cleaning, but it must be a continual and daily process.  Sometimes, when we commit to Christ, we have the newbie excitement and then it fades and we may find ourselves back where we were before or even in worst places.  Christ relaying this information, with a warning to allow him to clean us up and then we need to continue to seek him and make him a part of our house.  When He is the Lord of the house, not only the cleaner, we will be made whole.  This will allow his light to shine through us and bring others to Him.

PARTICIPATE

Luke 11:39-44

And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.

42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

Jesus has had many interactions with people of all backgrounds and is genuinely truthful in all aspects.  I love the way that he goes to the dinners he is invited and then challenges each person. In the passage, Jesus is sitting and enjoying food with the Pharisees and lawyers and then gives them and us great advice.  We can be blinded by the “proper and correct” manner of living and neglect justice and the love of God.  How many times do we turn a blind eye to the injustices that happen in our daily lives? How often do we see our brothers or sisters in need and turn the other way?  Sometimes this is easy to see, but there are some instances that we don’t see or choose not acknowledge.  We must become better participants in God’s plan and continually ask Him for guidance and direction to show His Love.

This outline is one that will allow us to be ambassadors to the kingdom of God.  Praying, Preparing& Planning, and Participating are the essential parts to allow Our Father to create his Kingdom to Come. Are we following the blueprint? How can we change to become more aligned with his vision and purpose? Be Blessed.

Our Father

“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.” Luke 11: 2-4

Today’s Reading: Luke Chapter 11

One of the things that I’ve learned in the past year (hey…yeah I’ve been writing for a year now!) is that the sharing of our personal testimony, no matter how simple is so very powerful.  In so many ways, I’m working to strengthen my faith in what I call the post-honeymoon phase of Christian journey. Being a Christian isn’t so new and shiny anymore, it’s more about holding myself accountable to go deeper into God’s word and mature in my faith.  It’s not just about the having faith anymore but about growing in my faith.

When I read Luke 11 today I was struck by the coincidence that in the first several verses we hear the Lord’s prayer that was literally a cornerstone of my Catholic upbringing. The famous painting pictured above hung in both my grandmother’s kitchens as a symbol of their faith. Then, just a few verses later I read the verse that actually opened the door to real faith for me. I want to share that story with you today. I grew up in a strong Catholic family. I attended Catholic school my whole life from elementary school through my doctorate degree at Creighton University.  I wouldn’t trade my Catholic roots. I learned about social justice, about self sacrifice and most importantly about the strength that can be found in a group of believers. Even now, as we approach lent I will observe some Catholic traditions as a way to connect with God through discipline and intentional prayer.

In October of 2011, I realized for the first time that I needed a lot more spiritual strength than I had. I hit a literal spiritual rock bottom. Our son had come through a very severe illness and was seemingly healthy again. Until one day he wasn’t.  A whole new and different problem arose that had been silent since his conception. Our pediatrician found the problem with Ollie’s heart purely by accident.  He heard a murmur that was actually unrelated to his actual more serious diagnosis. I’ll never forget that day. In fact, I now work at the same hospital that we went to for his first cardiac echo.  Would you believe that just last week I ran into the technician that performed that echo while at work? Just seeing her face brought that day back to me with full force.

It was a Wednesday.  I was supposed to be at work but instead I just drove home and sat alone on my couch. I kept thinking that I should call this parent I knew from work, but I really didn’t know why.  I know now that it was the firm hand of the Holy Spirit guiding me.  Amy acted quickly.  She showed up at my door with her bible in hand and those infamous yellow cards.  I have all my cards as you know if you are a frequent reader here.  The other thing I have are the memories of the words she said to me. On that day, I was hopeless. I viewed what was happening as a kind of punishment.  I was searching for a way to bargain with God to make this go away. Through tears I asked Amy why God was “doing this to me?” What had I done wrong and how could I appease him again so that he would take this suffering from my child. Her answer was this passage from Luke:

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:11-13

For the very first time in my life, I saw God as a gracious and loving Father.  For the very first time. I understood that my pain and sadness were not something He was “doing” to me rather something that He was using to bring us closer to Him. Now, when I face these types of situations, and I often do, I have the ability to look to God for strength and trust in Him that there is a greater plan.  What a miracle! Our Father is there for us. In the daily ritual of a prayer and in the bigger chasms of our life. I hope you’ll read Luke Chapter 11 today and receive the comfort and strength that our Father has for us. Certainly, there are lessons to be learned but also the reminder that He is with us always.