M.C. Wright

Powerful Prayers Vol. 6 "Change The World By Changing Me" Bayazid

Across most cultures and faiths, there are a few key concepts, thoughts, or values that seem to emerge. One of these transferable truths is that the most profound way to impact the planet and the lives of others is by first allowing God to do a work in our own hearts.

This month's powerful prayer, while credited to a Sufi poet from the 800's, is one to take to heart. Find a place to settle, remove your distractions, grab a cup of coffee or tea and slowly read the prayer/story.
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Change the World By Changing Me

I was a revolutionary when I
was young and all my prayer
to God was 'Lord, give me the
energy to change the world.'

"As I approached middle age
and realized that half my life
was gone without my changing
a single soul, I changed my
prayer to 'Lord, give me the
grace to change all those who
come in contact with me.
Just my family and friends and
I shall be satisfied.'

"Now that I am an old man and
my days are numbered, my one
prayer is, 'Lord, give me the grace
to change myself.' If I had prayed
for this right from the start I should
have not wasted my life."

                     ~attributed to Bayazid
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Monty's Rumination...

Perhaps this poets words struck a chord with me because this seems to have been a journey which mirrors my own. As we look at the different decades of our lives, we begin to see this reality played out in the way we approach the world, other people, and ourselves.

In our 20's and 30's we are consumed with passion to make the world and the planet a different and better place. This age is marked with a needed egocentrism that propels us to passionately stand up and try to right the wrongs that our conscience sees in the world. We are in love with the idea that we can be a change agent,and as we begin down this path, our good intentions are often overshadowed by our lack of maturity and the good that we desire to accomplish becomes a hard-edged, often legalistic and a graceless attempt to fix the world to the way we think it should be. As we grow up, and begin to consider our ways, we transition to the next phase of life. While we transition it is important to remember that passion though...I have met far too many people who simply traded the passion of their youth in for money, stuff and things...then they wonder what ever happened to the person they used to be...

In our 30's and 40's our focus has changed as we enter into marriage, children, and sustaining our home life. The desire to see the world changed is still there, but it is tempered by the realities and the responsibilities of life. No longer able to join every demonstration that comes along, nor able to afford to go wherever the fight may be, we try to make an impact where we are. Volunteering at church, synagogue, or community. Investing in our children's  education and social lives. Infusing our friends and family connections with the passion that still remains in our soul but seems to have fewer outlets. In this phase of life it is important to process the limitations we experience in life. If we do not transition this time of our life well, we will begin to "act out"  in ways to try to regain that power and control that we thought we had before. This is a key time to consider the paradoxes of life as you realize that the old way of doing things not only no longer works, but often, they didn't really help that much. Here we begin to transition from Me-control to God-control.

From our 40's and 50's and beyond we begin to learn the God-rhythms of life that began early on but were done more as a duty than as a part of our humanity. This is the time of surrender in our lives...when we are secure enough to be insecure; smart enough to admit we don't know; and realize that we can no longer fake it. Our focus moves off of changing everything around us, and we begin to change the one thing that we can...ourselves.

What is actually so powerful about this transition is that as I truly allow God to move and morph me, I have the greatest impact on those closest to me, those around me, and in a very real way can impact the planet. While the delivery changes, the desire is fulfilled, but it is done in such a way that I am forever changed.

Jesus said it best, "Seek first the kingdom and these things shall be added to you." In otherwords, keep your heart's focus on your life with God, His ways, His purposes, and those passions and desires that roam the corridors of  your heart will find fulfillment through Christ.

So this month as you pray, may the meditation of your heart be to first experience a divine life change in the depths of who you are....as that happens, believe me, this planet will change!

Dei Gratia,

Monty

Powerful Prayers Vol. V: Reinhold Niebuhr

The Serenity Prayer has been instrumental for millions of people working through all the hard stuff of life. It was penned in 1943 by Reinhold Niebuhr who was an activist, theologian, and pastor. Niebuhr spoke out against the Ku Klux Klan, and even spoke against what he saw as deplorable worker conditions under Henry Ford.

The heart of the man that is credited for this month's Powerful Prayer is clearly articulated in the words that follow. So, find a quiet spot...get comfortable...breathe in God's goodness...breathe out the days struggle...open your eyes...and slowly read the prayer. I will post some ruminations at the end of the prayer.

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God grant me the serenity
    to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
    not as I would have it;
Trusting that He 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.

Amen.
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Monty's Rumination...

There are at least five powerful movements in this prayer, and each movement builds upon the other to lead us to a place of surrender, empowerment, and peace.

1. God-reality

The first movement is the most important. From the first word of this prayer we are immersed in the truth that "I am not the center of the world." So often we live and interact with others as if we believed we were the epicenter of the universe. An overinflated view of self always disconnects us from the love of others and places us as an adversary with God...not a great place to be!

Movement #1: God is...and if God is, then I am not God. If I am not God, I can begin to give up my tendency to try to control the world, other people, and all my circumstances. When we begin to play God through the vehicle of control, it wears us out...wipes us out...and makes us weary. Take this step...peace is coming soon!

Prayer Point: Tell God you are ready for Him to be in charge, not only in your words, but in your actions. Ask Him to help you decrease so that He can increase.

2. Acceptance

Health and peace and balance are available when we decide to accept our current reality. Denial very often warps our perception, that is why we need other people who we trust to tell us the truth about our circumstances. I call that person a true friend! Someone who will point out the relational, emotional, or even physical realities of our life. When we hold onto a false reality we lengthen our struggle and pain. Some things are so hard to accept. Illness, injustice, given-talents verses wanted talents, or even another person withdrawing their love from us. All these things wound deeply and can be a causation where we try to fix, change, manipulate or morph the actual reality into desired reality. Eventually we learn that the only thing in this life that we are able to control is "me."But changing me is the way to changing my world!

As a pastor I have watched and encouraged people as they struggled with what they wanted to do, verses what God had created them to do. When they got their will in alignment with God's plan they had epiphanies and wondered why they had ever wanted to do that other thing! I just smile and remind myself there is no need to say "I told you so!" Acceptance, then, can even be applied to accepting the good things God has given us. Sometimes we feel unworthy, or undeserving of the blessings we encounter...Are you allowing mistakes from the past to keep you from accepting a God-reality today...this one works both sides of the track.

Spiritual growth happens as we step out of denial into God's grace and accept our current reality for what it is...then we are ready for the next movement...wisdom!

Prayer Point: Ask God to help you see and accept your life as it is, not as you want it, or think it should be. Thank God that you are right where you need to be to experience more of Him. Pray that you would be honest with yourself, others, and God in all that you say and do.

3. Wisdom

After we center our hearts and lives on the God-reality, we pray about the circumstances that we encounter each and every day. Some things in this life we have absolutely no ability or possibility to change, morph or control. Do you try to control your spouse, your kids, your boss, the weather, the stock market? I know that in my own life, I have very often relied up and trusted my abilities, my savvy, my entrepreneurial spirit, or my talents to change my reality. And do you know what? Many times I was able to do some pretty incredible things!

Then one unsuspecting day, a situation or three came along that God did not intend me to change, and bang...I hit a wall that I didn't know what to do with. So I tried harder...worked harder...and still nothing. That lead to some anger, resentment and frustration...I desperately needed to breath this prayer!

Finally, when God breaks through, we realize that if we are to experience peace, balance and passion in this life, we need to hold things lightly. That means we need this prayer. We need wisdom to know what is changeable (my choices, my issues, my life) and what is out of my control (most everything else!) But this is huge...when we enter into the awareness of what is changeable, and what is not, we will journey to the next movement...courage.

Prayer Point: Pray for supernatural wisdom to discern what God is up to in your life. Also pray that God would lead you to some incredible friends who will stand with you, be honest with you, and love you on your good days and your bad days!

4. Courage

Making changes in our lives (the things that we can control) is not easy...in fact, this is hard work! Courage is not the absence of fear as some people believe, rather courage is doing what we know we need to do in spite of the fear! I like what 17th century writer Baltasar Gracian said: "Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit." So courage is like the miracle grow formula for wisdom!

When God reveals the changes we can and need to make...sometimes our feet feel like they are encased in concrete, unable to move. Your stomach is in knots, you begin to weigh the potential losses and assess whether or not you think your heart can take the hits that might come. You wonder if it is possible for this thing to change, for you to change, and you wonder how things will be different if they do change!

The courage necessary to move through the growth challenges must come from a source much stronger than you! You need the God's power to infuse you and unleash your courage to help you choose the next step!

Prayer Point: Pray that God would fill you, flood you, and infuse you with His Spirit of power. That is the same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead! Ask the Spirit of God to give you the courage you need in every situation...then move!

5. Trust

What is it that truly unleashes a man or a woman to do the impossible? What is the difference between the person who says "it can't be done," and the one who says "why not?" It is the depth of their faith. But faith must have an object...in otherwords, the power of your faith is determined by who or what you put your faith in. If my faith is in a door-knob, there probably will not be a whole lot of change, peace or healing taking place in my life. However, if my faith is placed in God who has proven Himself faithful and able, I begin to trust the outcomes of my life.

This is critical. If  believe that God truly loves and cares for me. If I believe that God has my best interests at heart. If I believe that nothing is impossible for God...then I am faced with a choice as good and bad situations invade my life.

Will I trust that God has me, or will I try to control what I don't like. When I trust God in all things and circumstances, I stop second guessing the pain or hardship in my life as signs that He is angry with me. They are in fact, just a part of life. BUT...if I belong to God, He promises to use those experiences to grow me, strengthen me, and heal me...the one ingredient needed is trust. Trust is like the activator agent for all the movements we have talked about. Trust doesn't second guess...deny its reality...whither at the challenge...or fail to see the truth. No, trust merely clings and believes in the goodness of God which sustains all things.

Prayer Point: Ask God to help you identity the things that have caused you not to trust Him. Ask Him to heal those wounds and bless you with a faith-filled and trusting heart.

When we practice these prayer movements we begin to experience happiness and joy in this life no matter what the circumstances. Your world is no longer controlled by externals, but your soul is growing stronger in the grace and presence of God in your life.

Dei Gratia,
Monty

Powerful Prayers Vol. IV: St. Benedict

This month's Powerful Prayer comes from St. Benedict. He was the creator of what become Western Monasticism living between 480 and 543 AD. The "Rule" that Benedict created, became a way of life and living not just for monks, but for common people as well.

In His Rule, Benedict sought to create a lifestyle that incorporated worship, service and community. Benedict saw the life of Christ as best formed in the context of relationships, not isolation. So, faith then, was to be a shared experience, not a solo gig!

This month's prayer is a long one, so I would encourage you to read it slowly, and perhaps to meditate on each of the prayers stanzas each day. A stanza a day so to speak. That would give you some great prayer and meditation time this month!

Monty
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O Lord,

I place myself in Your hands and dedicate myself to You.

I pledge myself to do Your will in all things:
To love the Lord God with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength.

Not to kill, not to steal not to covet, not to bear false witness, to honor all persons.
Not to do to another what I should not want done to myself.
Not to seek after pleasures.

To love fasting.
To relieve the poor.
To clothe the naked.
To visit the sick.

To bury the dead.
To help those in trouble.
To console the sorrowing.
To hold myself aloof from worldly ways.
To prefer nothing to the love of Christ.

Not to give way to anger.
Not to foster a desire for revenge.
Not to entertain deceit in the heart.
Not to make a false peace.

Not to forsake charity.
Not to swear, lest I swear falsely.
To speak the truth with heart and tongue.
Not to return evil for evil

To do no injury, indeed, even to bear patiently any injury done to me.
To love my enemies.
Not to curse those who curse me but rather to bless them.
To bear persecution for justice's sake.

Not to be proud.
Not to be given to intoxicating drink.
Not to be an overeater.
Not to be lazy.
Not to be slothful
Not to be a detractor.

To put my trust in God.
To refer the good I see in myself to God.
To refer any evil I see in myself to myself
To fear the day of judgment.
To be in dread of hell.

To desire eternal life with spiritual longing.
To keep death before my eyes daily.
To keep constant watch over my actions.
To remember that God sees me everywhere.

To call upon Christ for defense against evil thoughts that arise in my heart.
To guard my tongue against wicked speech.
To avoid much speaking.
To avoid idle talk.

Not to seek to appear clever.
To read only what is good to read.
To pray often.
To ask forgiveness daily for my sins, and to seek ways to amend my life.

To obey my superiors in all things rightful.
Not to desire to be thought holy, but to seek holiness.
To fulfill the commandments of God by good works.

To love chastity.
To hate no one.
Not be jealous or envious of anyone.
Not to love strife.
Not to love pride.

To honor the aged.
To pray for my enemies.
To make peace after a quarrel, before the setting of the sun.
Never to despair of your mercy, O God of mercy.
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Monty's Rumination

There is much to ponder with this prayer. It is hard to escape the heartbeat of Jesus that pulsates through Benedict's prayer. As I read and prayed through this prayer myself, there were some meditative words that were illuminated for me. Here is what came to my mind with some ruminations...

1. Devotion:

Life starts with and is culminated in God. When we believe we are separate from this reality is when life lacks the beauty and purpose and divine support we long for. Benedict started out with devotion to God, not for what he could get from God, but because God simply is.

2. Others-centeredness:

The Big 10 (commandments) are all about our relationship with and towards God and other people. To be a God-pursuer, we must also be people pursuers. In this prayer, as in the core truth of the Bible, we find that we desperately need a heart change to be "others-oriented." When we begin to live out the reality that our lives are interconnected because of God, and that God dwells in those who choose Him, then we honor God as we love and honor each other.

3. Grace:

The rarest of commodities in a performance based world. Grace is a gift that is unearned...an extension of love to someone not deserving...a sliver of divinity in the plains of desolation. Without grace, life would be a contractual game of tit for tat...someone always loses in this game. But with God's grace, you always win, even when you don't deserve it. Because God dwells within you, you are now able to be a channel of Divine grace to others...especially the ones who don't deserve it. As you grow in grace, you will know that your life is being submerged in God.

4. Integrity:

To live out our beliefs in real time. To begin the morphing of our outward life with our inner soul. To realize that in Christ's love we no longer have to pretend to be someone we aren't. When we live as posers to our true self, with live a disintegrated life and we are often stressed out, depressed, discouraged and disillusioned, and often don't know why. When we embrace Christ who loves us as we are, not as we should be (as Brennan Manning says) we are finally able to bring those shadow parts of our lives into the light where God can heal, restore and reintegrate us towards wholeness.

5. Paradox:

Ah paradox. This is to live life in divine-tension. To embrace the way of Jesus where I love those who don't love me...where I pray for those who plot against me...where I give away what I don't have...where I find energy when my tank is empty...when I heal others when I am broken...paradox is choosing to follow God when we loose the way.

6. Humility:

Humility is knowing who you are. Your strengths and your weakness, and allowing God to lead you in both of these realities. In your strength, you don't need to show the world that you are strong, you can allow others to be strong, to receive the spotlight. You release the need to be right or justified...those needs come from your weakness, or uncertainty of who you are. In your weakness, humility is seen in honesty and authenticity. In being able to be helped and part of community. As Paul said, "We should think of others more highly than ourselves." An others-centric heart will pave the road for humility to grow, and humility is the gateway to a God-infused life.

7. Service:

It seems all these thoughts are interconnected and build upon each other. Worship at it's most powerful pinnacle is seen when we serve each other. For Jesus it was...when you feed a hungry person, clothe someone without clothing...visit someone in prison...and pour out water for the thirsty, you are doing that -to- and -for- me. It amazes me how God continually loves all people through people. We best serve God when we love each other.

8. Surrender:

Pause...this is huge. This word is so needed in our hearts and souls, yet so elusive. To surrender is almost an anti-American statement. We thrive on phrases like "Never Surrender" right? But with God, the pathway to success begins on the trail of surrender...not to the powers around us, but to God. To trust that no matter where we are, or what we are facing, that we are not abandoned. That the good that comes to us is as beneficial as the bad we encounter, and that God allows events and circumstances into our lives to grow us, mold us, morph us, and refine us. The root of surrendered life is a heart that can trust, but trust is hard to come by in a world of broken promises and dreams. The most beautiful picture of trust is Christ upon the cross, at that most painful and intense moment of His life crying out, "Abba, into Your hands I commit My Spirit." In otherwords...Abba, this hurts, I don't get it, but I will move beyond the "why's" of life and simply lay all of who I am into your hands...I trust you. Now that is surrender.

9. Sovereignty:

Benedict gets back to this thought over and over again in his prayer. Sovereignty is the truth that God is God and I am not. We tend to live most of our lives as if we were God. We are control freaks and meddlers of affairs :-) Since God is, I have found that I don't need to be His defense attorney when life is hard or doesn't make sense. I also have found that I don't always need to "fix" things or people, in fact I can't, only God can because He is sovereign. Sovereignty is the most under-taught concept today, and radically needed. When I make myself or someone else God...guess what happens? You got it, tension, anxiety, pain, confusion and a gutting of my energy. Allowing God to be God reminds me that there is help and hope, because it is not based on me or my performance...phew, I am thankful for God's sovereignty.

10. Vigilance:

Vigilance comes out of the depths of our soul when we truly long and desire to know and experience God. We become "hem grabbers." Like the woman who reached through the packed streets to touch the hem of Jesus' robe to receive healing, we know that the best place to be is holding onto Christ with a tenacious grip that says "I will never let go!" Vigilance reminds me that even when something seems to be done or dead, God is the God of resurrection, and nothing is beyond His ability to infuse with new life and hope. Vigilance makes sure the next candle is ready before the current candle burns out. Vigilance trusts in the sovereignty and grace of God creating a heart that trusts...so don't give up!

11. Wisdom:

In the Proverbs, wisdom is personified, and becomes something that is so highly valued that we should do absolutely anything to gain her! Wisdom is the ability to meditate and become proactive people. The opposite of wisdom is reaction without meditation. We live in a reactionary world. This is why we have so many wars, collapsing economies, and disintegrating communities. We react when we should respond. Reactions are generally not full of wisdom, but raw emotion, and we all know that emotions are not always based on a full picture of reality. Godly wisdom comes from reflection, prayer, meditation and the counsel of friends and God.

12. Forgiveness:

What a way to end eh?! Forgiveness happens when we begin to integrate all the words that I have just ruminated through. First, forgiveness is a choice, but later it becomes a state of being as you allow God to do in you what only the love and person of Christ can do. To forgive is to release your offender. You have them dead to rights, but you release them...forgiveness is the actual practice of grace, or the fruit of it. Forgiveness is never easy, but almost impossible towards those who have truly wounded us or someone we love...but forgiveness is also the most transforming agent in the Divine arsenal. Ask God today to help you forgive...then you will experience a level of God-reality like you have never known!

Have an incredible day...keep praying, it truly works.

Monty

Powerful Prayers Vol. III: From Dante's Inferno

I came across this adaption of a prayer from Dante's Inferno and found myself reading it, meditating on it, and praying it. The accompanying video of the prayer by Loreena Mckennitt was very soulful as well.

Dante's work, "The Divine Comedy" is considered to be one of the greatest works of world literature. Dante Alighieri wrote it between 1308 and his death in 1321, it's epic scope looks into a medieval view of the afterlife.

So often, we forget that we are all eternal beings...but when we remember that we were created to live eternally, we are then able to more honestly navigate this life knowing that we are not alone, abandoned or without hope.There are three movements to the Divine Comedy:

This adapted prayer comes from "The Inferno" one of three movements in the Diiine Comedy. We all face inferno's in this life, and it's good to know that God is still at work even when life gets hot!

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Adapted From Dante's Inferno

When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say
there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone

I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in
the light of the stars

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars

Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Please remember me

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This prayer is a bit of lyric, prayer and thought all rolled into one. What strikes me most is how it deals with what St. John of the Cross calls our Dark Night of the Soul."

In every persons life there comes a Dark Night of the Soul when life has delivered a circumstance that knocks us off our illusion of control. When we experience this, it comes in many forms. It can be a terrifying diagnosis, a son or daughter who has gone rouge, the loss of a loved one or the loss of a job. It could be an addiction or struggle that at one time seemed conquerable, but suddenly has wrapped a death grip around our lives.

Whatever the situation, the Dark Night of the Soul is a time when we come face to face with our inability to control anything in our lives...when we realize that we are not God...when we admit that we have exhausted all our possibilities and used up all the tricks up our sleeves and our left seemingly alone, stuck, without hope and often devastated.

This is a time when we also realize that there is much that God needs to reorder in our soul and in our life and He alone can do the reordering...in short, the dark Night is when we finally, desperately, and honestly cry out to God, not out of our strength, but out of our desperate need of Him.

Ego, pride, the American way...these all keep us from getting to this point in our lives, but in truth, we are never fully realizing our human potential until we experience our human lack.

"When the dark seems endless...please remember me."

The spiritual life truly begins when we arrive here...not when we think we have the answers, or feel on top of the world, but when we can honestly pray...

"God, I am in the dark...I don't understand why or what is going on around me right now...my strength is gone and has been shown to be weak...my wings have seemingly been clipped...my power has shown itself as fragility...please remember me..."

Generally we pray, "God strengthen me, empower me, grant me favor, or some other self inflating prayer...the prayer that comes out of the Dark Night knows that simply to be remembered by God is sufficient.

As you pray this week...know that God has remembered you, and that He will become the source of your strength, power, and life. When we allow God to be our source we finally begin to live and experience His goodness even in the midst of the dark

Dei Gratia
Monty

Powerful Prayers vol. II (Mother Theresa)

As we move into February, the month of love, I could think of no one who better embodied the definition of love than Mother Theresa. One of my favorite quotes of hers is:

"There is no greater sickness in the world today than the lack of love."

Most of us know of her sacrificial service in Calcutta. Here, I will not try to give you her history, but rather I long for you to see her heart. She said of herself:

I am nothing. He is all.
I do nothing of my own. He does it.
I am God's pencil. 
A tiny bit of pencil with which He writes what He likes.
God writes through us,
and however imperfect instruments we may be,
He writes beautifully.

So, this month's Powerful Prayer is the prayer that she prayed daily. When you read...pause, ask God to slow your thoughts, and allow yourself to move beyond a mental reading of the words. Let your heart absorb the prayer...
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DEAR JESUS, help me to spread Thy fragrance
everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly
that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine.
Shine through me and be so in me that every soul
I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus.
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine,
so to shine as to be a light to others.

Listen To Mother Theresa pray her daily prayer: Download Prayer

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Monty’s Rumination

Mother Theresa's love for God, and for those people who had been discarded by the world, is found in what she called her “Simple Path.” The Simple Path consisted of 6 things: Silence; Prayer; Faith; Love; Service; Peace.

She articulated this path in such a way that each practice led to the next resulting in peace. She articulated it like this:

The Fruit of Silence is Prayer
The Fruit of Prayer is faith
The Fruit of Faith is Love
The Fruit of Love is Service
The Fruit of Service is Peace

This path is so evident in our Powerful Prayer this month. The centrifugal force of Mother Theresa’s life was her love for Jesus. Her goal was not simply to do good, but to do good in such a way that the lover of her soul, Jesus, was the fragrance of the flower of her life and work

She longed for people to feel the Christ of her soul when they met so that they saw him in her love and service, and not her.

When she prays, “Stay with me then I shall begin to shine as you shine…” you can sense her longing to be united with God in such a way that only comes from a knowingness that one has experienced and knows that there is no religious substitute that will ever come close.

For me, the power that is infused into this prayer comes from the elimination of ego. Ego is that human state that causes people to compete with each other, hurt each other, demand from each other, and walk over others in order to satisfy self.

This prayer strips the ego of its allies of self indulgence; self centeredness; and self promotion. This prayer of Theresa’s knows that true peace and joy that survives the harshest of realities never comes from the pursuit of happiness, but rather from the pursuit of God. I leave you with a note written in her own hand about prayer.

This month may you experience the freedom that comes from a life that finds it center in the One who loves you, created you, and longs to fulfill your deepest need.

Dei Gratia

Monty

Powerful Prayers

In light of Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaching, I thought it would be fitting for his voice to be our first prayer for 2009!   MC

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Giving Thanks for a Committed Life
Martin Luther King
Source: Harold A. Carter, “Prayer Tradition of Black People (1985)”

 O God, our heavenly Father, we thank thee for this golden privilege to worship thee, the only true God of the universe. We come to thee today grateful that thou hast kept us through the long night of the past and ushered us into the challenge of the present and the bright hope of the future. We are mindful, O God, that man cannot save himself, for man is not the measure of things and humanity is not God.

Bound by our chains of sin and finiteness, we know we need a savior. We thank thee, O God, for the spiritual nature of man. We are in nature but we live above nature. Help us never to let anyone or any condition pull us so low as to cause us to hate. Give us the strength to love our enemies and do good to those who despitefully use us and persecute us.

We thank thee for thy Church, founded upon the Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon thee. Then, finally, help us to realize that man was created to shine like the stars and live on through all eternity.

Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace, help us to walk together, pray together, sing together, and live together until that day when all of God's children -- Black, White, Red, and Yellow -- will rejoice in one common band of humanity in the kingdom of our Lord and of our God, we pray. Amen.

Monty’s Rumination:

In the Book “Standing in the need of prayer” Coretta Scott King said this about her husbands prayer life:

For my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. prayer was a daily source of courage and strength that gave him the ability to carry on in even the darkest hours of our struggle. I remember one very difficult day when he came home bone-weary from the stress that came with his leadership of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In the middle of that night, he was awakened by a threatening and abusive phone call, one of many we received throughout the movement. On this particular occasion, however, Martin had had enough.

After the call, he got up from bed and made himself some coffee. He began to worry about his family, and all of the burdens that came with our movement weighed heavily on his soul. With his head in his hands, Martin bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud to God: "Lord, I am taking a stand for what I believe is right. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I can't face it alone.”

Later he told me, "At that moment, I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before. It seemed as though I could hear a voice saying: 'Stand up for righteousness; stand up for truth; and God will be at our side forever.'" When Martin stood up from the table, he was imbued with a new sense of confidence, and he was ready to face anything.

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I am reminded that the primary purpose of prayer is not to change “things” but to change me. When I am changed, then I can be used by God in such a way as to be a planet changer through my actions. There is a synergy in prayer where we pray as if all depends on God, then we get up and serve as if all depends on us!

In this prayer we see the building blocks of Martin Luther King’s prayer life, and missional accomplishments:

1.    Humility. Everything Starts and Ends with God.
2.    Responsibility.  I am called to live to a higher standard than our culture’s.
3.    Community. The Church is a formative and missional force for good in the world. We are better and more effective together than solo.
4.    Acceptance.  Loving others (not just the people like me, or the people I like) is the key to experiencing beauty in this life.

May we all grow in grace and truth.

Dei Gratia
Monty

Powerful Prayers -Assisi

The next prayer in my powerful prayer focus is one of St. Francis of Assisi. In so many ways, his life became the embodiment of his prayer life. This prayer is perhaps one of his more famous, yet deserves a slow and thoughtful going over. Each line is worth time praying and contemplating...enjoy...MC

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I had many requests for the prayer I ended last Sunday's message with. We also read it together on the youth canoe trip last week at Lake Chelan while we were digging into the book of Philippians. I have still not been able to identify the name of the one who penned it. The closest I have been able to come is that it was found among the papers of an African evangelists/pastor just after he had been martyred for his faith in Zimbabwe. That seems to be the most consistent evidence. Regardless of who wrote it, the words are powerful. Read it today three times. Twice slowly, and the third time with passion. May it flood your soul with faith!

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, or popularity. I do not have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, am uplifted by prayers, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way rough, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I will not give up, shut up, or let up. I will go until He comes, and work until He stops me!

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So, whatcha' think about that?

MC