Prayers for a Friday

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

As a closing to our postings this week Lord, I’d like to offer up a few prayers if I may.

As You know Father, yesterday morning for no obvious reason our beloved American Eskimo dog Merlin started having severe seizures.  We’ve only seen these with him once or twice before when he was extremely stressed or anxious, such as when he was being boarded overnight or getting examined by a veterinarian.  Each time prior to this, the seizures were isolated incidents, lasting only thirty seconds or so.  Yesterday, he had five episodes over the course of the day with no apparent triggers, each lasting upwards of three minutes.  Shannon took him to our vet first thing this morning, and they’ve put him on medication to try and “break the cycle”.  We’re very hopeful this will get a handle on these attacks, but truly aren’t sure what the outcome of this situation will be.  We consider him a loved member of our family Lord, and pray that You bring Your healing touch to his aid.  Please comfort him through this frightening ordeal, and fill him with the understanding that he’s loved not only by his family, but by the Father of all Creation as well.

On a happier note Lord, this Sunday begins Jonathan’s week away at Kay’s Kamp.  Kamp has become one of the highlights of Jonathan’s year, and he’s extremely excited to be attending this coming week.  And this year Father, I’m actually a little excited about it myself.  Through the kindness of the Kaylyn Elaine Warren Foundation I’ve been given the opportunity to go on Wednesday for the “Media Day” event with other journalists and members of the press, to chronicle the wonderful work You do through this amazing group of people.  Please bestow Your Blessings upon the staff and campers this coming week, and aid this giving group of people in their mission to shine Your Light into these children’s lives.

And finally Father, I pray for You to bring Your comfort and peace to a friend of ours that’s dealing with the results of a house fire this past week.  Open her heart to Your Presence, and embolden her with the knowledge that even in the midst of our struggles, Your strength is greater than any trial we may face.

Heavenly Father, for all the Blessings You’ve graced us with this week, I give thanks.  Please help us maintain the resolve, caring and understanding that we as Followers of Christ need to show the world Your Love, and guide us to best serve Your Will.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Meditations Monday: Like a Little Child

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

You know Father, sometimes I think that I go to work each week to get some rest after the weekends.  🙂

Once again Lord, You Blessed us with a busy but joyful weekend.  From the “Breakfast for Dinner” Friday night get-together we hosted, to hiking and taking photos with the boys and Shannon’s mother during the day on Saturday, to attending the big yearly party at my father’s home on Sunday after church, it was a wonderful couple days spent in the company of family and good friends.  Thank You for that time together Father!

This week’s Meditations Monday Scripture selection comes from the 10^th chapter of the Gospel of Mark:

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. – Mark 10:13-16 (NIV)

Such a powerful image of tenderness and affection this brings to mind Father, and with it some excellent lessons for us as well.

First off, Jesus’ response to His disciples’ attempt to “head off” the children from coming to Him clearly demonstrates His view that all Your Children are precious; none are too insignificant to seek Christ’s Presence.  As many of us suffer from feelings of being unworthy of Your Love, this is a powerful truth to remember.

And then Father, Jesus makes a statement that I’ll be meditating and praying on this week;

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

“Like a little child”;

Humble…

Trusting…

Accepting…

Obedient…

Faithful…

Heavenly Father, as adults we allow so many things in our lives to obscure our hearts from You.  Please open us to experience Your Glory with the wonder, acceptance and understanding that only a truly unencumbered spirit can.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

I Can See Clearly Now…

Dear Lord; Happy Friday Father!

This morning Lord, I had another one of those inspired geek moments that You grant me from time to time.  I was working on a laptop PC that was in for service, with the primary customer complaint being that it was running very slowly.  External malware and virus scans had come back clean, so I booted into the operating system to evaluate the situation.

It was clogged to the hilt with “stuff” starting up automatically every time it booted.

Now, this is something we see pretty regularly.  Between the bundled software that comes loaded on new machines, “add-on” downloads that come along for the ride with installs over the Internet, and all the little “extras” that get installed automatically with new components like printers and scanners, unless you know what’s safe to remove or deselect, it builds up quickly.  The result over time is a computer that takes a long time to boot up, and acts slow and sluggish when performing tasks.

As I started to strip away the layers of unnecessary bloat from the machine, my mind drifted back to yesterday, and the “fog” my mind had been in for most of the day…

I was slow…

I was sluggish…

I had problems focusing on tasks…

Your Voice wasn’t as clear as it usually is.

Hmmm… A parallel maybe?  🙂

Like the laptop in my care, my mind yesterday was filled with unnecessary “clutter”.  Ponderings and concerns about everything from money, to groceries, to laundry preoccupied my thoughts, making focusing on more important matters (like talking with You) much more difficult.

Therefore Father, going into this weekend my prayer is a simple one:

Heavenly Father, please grant us Clarity;

Clarity of focus to see past our earthly concerns…

Clarity of mind to listen in the Stillness for Your Voice…

Clarity of purpose to make choices that best Glorify You…

Clarity of Spirit to draw us closer to Your Presence.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

The Prayers of a Leader

Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!

Well Lord, first off I want to say a quick thank You for a break in the steamy weather we’ve been having.  It’s still good and warm to be sure (90 degrees or so), but the humidity has dropped substantially and the over-100 degree temperatures have abated for the moment.  Based on the forecast things will be getting warmer again soon, but nonetheless the intermission is very much appreciated!

Today Father, I was reading in the Old Testament in 1 Kings, Chapter 3 and came across something that touched my spirit and got me thinking.  It was early on in king Solomon’s reign and while visiting Gibeon to offer sacrifices to You, You came to him in a dream with an amazingly magnanimous offer…

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” – 1 Kings 3:5 (NIV)

Wow… Now that’s a proposition!  The Author of all Creation asking “what can I give to you?”.  For most people, this question would instantly flood their minds with thoughts of wealth, power, longevity or other earthly gifts.  Solomon however, had a slightly different request of You…

“Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 

Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 

So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” – 1 Kings 3:7-9 (NIV)

Such a humble, thoughtful answer he gave to You Father!  It makes me wonder what kind of world we’d be living in if all of our leaders petitioned You in such a way?  Or for that matter, what kind of world would it be if we ALL prayed for the strength, wisdom and temperament to serve others selflessly in Your Name…

It’s a powerful and inspiring thought Father, and one I’ll be praying on.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Meditations Monday: Seeking Fault

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

And once again Lord, we lay behind us yet another lovely weekend filled with family, friends and Your obvious Love for us all.  While the scorching weather restricted our outdoor activities, there were many Blessings to be found inside with good company, good food and great fun to be had by all.  Thank You so much for those days of respite Father!

Today’s Meditations Monday Scripture comes from Chapter 9 of the Gospel of John:

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”” – John 9:1-3 (NIV)

Now Father, something I hear quite regularly from people going through difficulties in their lives is “What did I do to deserve this?” or “Why is God doing this to me?”.  I’ll admit it, I’ve even had those thoughts myself over the years.  In the case of this passage, when Jesus and His disciples came across a man who had been blind since birth, the question was raised as to whose sin was at fault for his affliction; the man’s or his parents.  Jesus clearly replied that it was in fact neither, but instead was intended to allow for Your Grace to be made manifest.

This is an important and powerful truth Father, and one that I fear we all miss now and again.  As the limited beings we are, we try desperately to put everything into a “Cause and Effect” bubble.  And while quite often there are certainly consequences for our actions, not all earthly suffering is a direct result of a specific “Instigating” sin.

When my son Jonathan was born and we were initially given his grim diagnosis, I spent many hours asking “Why?!?… Why would You do this to us?!?”  I was angry, and scared, and very insistently sought answers that at the time, seemed never to come.  Ten years later, I realize now that Your Plan for his life, and for mine to a great extent, needed those events to unfold as they did.  Our lives, and the lives of many others were altered by his struggle, and Blessed in ways we’re still unraveling today.  We weren’t being persecuted for something we’d done, but were instead walking a journey designed by the One with the “Big Picture” in His sight.

“but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

Heavenly Father, as this week begins I pray that in times of trial you open our hearts and minds to this fundamental truth.  Let us see past our desire to seek fault and lay blame, and gain strength from the knowledge that Your Path for our lives comes from a far greater perspective than our own.

Amen.

~Phather Phil