what struck me immediately about this psalm is where it begins, with a loud chorus of praise to God, acknowledging Who He is: 'Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness.' [vs.1-2] that even the heavenly beings must sing praises to God. that is great - often i rush into prayer [...]
some more challenges from ‘Prayer: Does it make any difference?’ by Philip Yancey and you really should get the book: 'I remembered reading the account of a spiritual seeker who interrupted a busy life to spend a few days in a monastery. 'I hope your stay is a blessed one,' said the monk who showed the visitor to his cell. 'If you need anything, let us know, and we'll teach you how to live without [...]
more standing out passages and ideas from ‘Prayer: Does it make any difference?’ by Philip Yancey: 'David Ford, a professor at Cambridge, asked a Catholic priest the most common problem he encountered in twenty years of hearing confession. With no hesitation the priest replied, 'God.' Very few of the parishioners he meets in confession behave as if God is a God of love, forgiveness, gentleness and compassion. They see God as someone to cower before, [...]
some more quotes from ‘Prayer: Does it make any difference?’ by Philip Yancey, which i am really enjoying at the moment: 'In Jesus' day tax collectors, prostitutes and unclean persons reached out their hands to receive God's grace while religious professionals closed theirs into tight fists. In receiving a free gift, having open hands is the only requirement.' [pg. 23] 'Most parents feel a pang when the child outgrows dependence, even while knowing the growth [...]
some more quotes from ‘Prayer: Does it make any difference?’ by Philip Yancey, which you really should read: 'Be still and know that I am God': the Latin imperative for 'be still' is vacate. As Simon Tugwell explains, 'God invites us to take a holiday [vacation], to stop being God for a while, and let Him be God.' Too often we think of prayer as a serious chore, something that must be scheduled around other [...]
i have just started reading 'Prayer: Does it make any difference?' by Philip Yancey which was given to me by two great friends Emiel and Philippa a while back and which i just started reading at the right time... still early days but REALLY enjoying it and highly recommend it [and it is not 'the ten steps to really great prayer' at all] and while you should read the book, until you do, i thort [...]
we read this as part of morning prayer this morning: 'Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "Jesus Christ lived in the midst of His enemies. At the end, all of His disciples deserted Him. On the cross He was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause He had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life, but in the thick of [...]
the danger of this, for me, much like for a preacher to be planning a preach, is that the reading becomes preparation for blogging as in reading to find my blog point... and so i am doing my best to ensure that doesn't happen by trying to read the psalm a number of times, where a later one of those will be to draw out the point i am wanting to share, but the first [...]
i've mentioned this site before but i'm still really enjoying the simple daily prayer thorts they put up there so if you looking for a place to help you meditate and reflect and prepare for prayer and for the day check out this daily prayer site commonprayer.net just some of the thorts on there today: When we love and learn to share : when we love, Christ is there. Elizabeth of the Trinity, a nineteenth-century [...]
i came across this article about barack obama's personal faith and the unsurprising statement that it is the call to look after 'the least of these' [matthew 25, sheep and goats parable] that keeps him focused... very cool... excerpt from article below - link to full article and clip here 'President Barack Obama gave an unusually personal speech about his religious faith on Thursday, saying that "it is the biblical injunction to serve the least [...]