St. Francis' Prayer

“Lord, make me an instrument of your 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.”

St. Francis of Assisi

This was my mom's favorite prayer when I was young.

Thoughts on Prayer

Perseverance in Prayer
5 And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' 7 And he answers from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. 9 "So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 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 11:5-13 (NRSV)

Jesus has told us to be vigilant and perserve in prayer. This week has been very trying for me. God has been vigilant with me this week. I can feel his calming influence at this moment. He has not left my side this week. I am so relieved he has been there to calm my personal storm. Anger or acting out in anger is no solution. God has made me realize this. I am praying he can keep me even calmer as the weeks progress.

My Prayer was Answered!

Well, my prayer was answered yesterday... It was a simple prayer but none the less, important to me.
Our first Apple Pie Ministry apple pie was delivered to a new visitor/prospective member at Epworth UMC. From start to finish, we have worked hard on these pies and the ministry is such a welcoming, friendly beginning for new people trying to make friends.
So upon completion of the first pie, I began to worry that our new friend Bill might not make it out in all this snow and yucky weather. I didn't want the fruit (pie) of our labor to begin to spoil...that would not make a welcoming gesture-presenting a rotting pie!
So I prayed yesterday. I prayed that God would allow me to deliver this pie without intrusion or too much time delay... (by intrusion I mean taking the pie and my two nutty kids to his house trying to deliver it in haste).
But God responded...he guided Bill to our Wednesday Night Dinner where we were able to safely give him his pie.
This is not the first time my spoken prayer has been responded to, but it definitely was the quickest.
Now, this may not seem like the most profound use of prayer in one's life...but the point is we are opening our lives to God's time line. We worry so much about getting everything done in the shortest amount of time...
God will help us get done what REALLY NEEDS to get done, according to a plan that we know nothing about and a time-frame we can not understand.
And, as a mom with a need to control, stimulate and fill my children's time with activities of all kinds, this idea of "not on my time" is actually comforting. :)

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Prayer of Thanksgiving
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, 10 asking that by God's will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you-- 12 or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. 13 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish 15 --hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Romans 1:8-15 (NRSV)

To me, Paul has given all of us perfect examples of prayer. This prayer of Thanksgiving from Romans is a fine example of praying for all Christians to spread the news even in the darkest times. Paul always thanks God for giving him the stength and energy to carry out his mission. We like Paul need to pray to give us the energy to carry out the same mission, spreading God's gospel throughout the world.

My prayer would be that the people of Epworth would grow in konwledge of prayer and use it daily to help spread the good news of Jesus Christ wherever you go.

In His name,
Andy

ACTS for Lent

I am so happy to have co-authors to drive content!
I just logged on to find Pastor David's January Newsletter content designed to introduce us lay persons to the discipline of prayer.
As I am reading his description of catechumen and Lenten penance, I am reminded of what my parents raised me with as a child. As I was a child I had no reference for penance or the suffering Christ did for me. To me, Lent was the time before Easter when I had to give up potato chips because my mother gave them up every year. It was when we always had fish sticks for lunch on Fridays and were actually expected to fast THREE DAYS of the year!!
My mother still gives up potato chips every year, and I now know why! She is practicing her discipline. By praying, fasting, sacrificing and simplifying she was bringing herself closer to God. Her small efforts were the best way to impart these acts of prayer to God, and her family too.
So I will ACT this Lent!
I will adore-Thank you God for I love my life and family!
I will confess- I don't know your plan and that can be troubling...
I will thank- Thank you for supplying my life with love and solid ground
I will ask- That you continue to help me learn to listen and hear your spirit.

And, I will embrace my Lenten-sacrifice heritage and give up my favorite things in the world that I have all the time and just don't know if I'll be able to live without........check back to see how it goes.....

February Lenten Newsletter message on prayer

We prepare to enter the season of the “paschal mystery.” This strange term comes from the word pascha (suffer) in the ancient Greek, Latin, and Syriac, and it came to English during the medieval period. The most common image from Hebrew tradition is the paschal lamb that was sacrificed at “Passover” in memory of the deliverance from death of the Hebrews in Egypt. Christ becomes our “Passover,” sacrificed for us. This becomes our feast in the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, the Eucharist. At the center of our Christian lives is this “paschal mystery,” the story of God’s history with humankind, brought to focus in the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is, therefore, essential to our common faith and life to enact and to show forth the full and dynamic meaning of dying and rising with Christ. This is what the Lent, Easter, and Pentecost seasons will help us do.

Unfortunately many United Methodists and other Protestant Christians think of Lent purely as a “Catholic” (Roman Catholic) practice and tradition. Historically, Lent developed as a season of preparing and training persons for initiation into the church at Easter. It became the forty days of preparation of the whole church for the great Paschal celebrations, growing out of the intense period of discipline and instructions of the converts, known as the “catechumenate.” Lent was also the time when those who had drifted from the church could be reconciled and restored to fellowship through prayer and penance.

The reality of prayer, alongside vibrant worship and prophetic outreach, has served as the central discipline of the Lenten Season. We would do well to explore fasting, meditation, hospitality, simplifying our lifestyles, daily Bible reading, and generous living during this season as well.

Prayer is, however, a foundational part of Christian discipline and stewardship. It is our way of receiving godly instruction, support, guidance, and nurture. We can, of course, focus our prayers in different ways. Some use the acronym ACTS as an outline for their prayers.

A – Adoration. Adoration is the expression of our reverence, love and esteem for God.

C – Confession. Confession is like breathing out used air. It gets rid of the garbage and makes ready for God’s forgiving strength and the fresh new breath of life in Christ.

T – Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is counting your blessings and realizing that even those things that do not seem like blessings have their place in the full scheme of God’s plan and work.

S – Supplication. Supplication (or intercession) is truly calling upon God’s power, grace and love for specific needs, concerns, joys, or opportunities.

For this “paschal season” you are invited to experience the great drama of God’s interaction with you and with all creation. In particular, you are invited to develop even further you practices of prayer. Here are some further suggestions about prayer:

-prayer may be the simple repetition of a word or phrase that helps you focus on

the nature and purpose of God and your relationship with God.

-prayer may be conversational, poetic, or an inspirational reading.

-specific prayers might be for persons with particular needs: illness, bereavement,

loss of a job, financial hardship, a crisis in a relationship, etc.

-pray for your church. Ask God to give members generous hearts for the spiritual

alertness and expression. Ask God to bless your churches leadership. Ask God to

lead persons who need a place of peace and blessing to your church. Ask God to

make generosity a dynamic edge of Christian discipleship at your church with

time, talent, and financial resources.

-pray for your country, its leaders, and those who serve in capacities that extend

the benefits of building up the global community (including the military, Peace

Corps, other civil, political, and religious extensions)

-pray for forgivenss. It is very healthy to take seriously your own “growth” edges

and alertness to where you fall short and would be renewed by God’s

forgiveness.

-pray in humble thanksgiving. Name the taken-for-granted things in your life as

well as any special blessings (the gift of life, friends, a home, food, health,

pleasant conversations, landscapes of beauty, etc.)

-use the book of Psalms as a regular guide for prayer because it includes

expressions that range from fury and frustration to ecstatic joy and celebration.

Welcome to the “paschal season” and I pray that God enriches all our lives in a deep, abiding and refreshing fashion this Lent, Easter, and Pentecost!

With deep appreciation,

Pastor David Newhouse

Our Words for Prayer

Here is the first post to Epworth UMC Prayer Blog. Thank you Lord, another blog to manage!!
But really, this is new for me because I am hoping to get others involved in the authoring of this site. I am excited to see where this blog leads...
While listening to the inspirational station on the FM, I heard a story pointing out the Inuit peoples of Alaska actually have 17 words for snow in their active vernacular. It is such a large part of their lives they can describe it 17 specific ways. While we as a society know only one word for prayer.

I wondered about this...do we only know one word for prayer? So I am asking those in my community to respond...research...ask around, maybe....and lets really see how many ways we can describe prayer in our lives.

This blog is designed to be an open resource for communication in our church, so if you are a member of Epworth and would like to share, please contact Kara B. and I will get you access!
Otherwise visitors can respond to the individual stories and prayer that will gather in this digital space.