The PRAYERwerks: Advent

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Advent - Week IV

We give thanks, Eternal God, for Jesus, with this memorable line from the Christmas carol:

Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today!

(O Little Town of Bethlehem)

That is the Christmas story: Jesus removes the barrier of sin between man and God, and we have fellowship with God. Not a vague sense of God, but a rapport with God.

We give thanks, Dear Father, for Immanuel, for “God with us.” As Jesus said to Phillip:

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

(John 14:9)

That is the Christmas story: We see the love, the compassion, the mercy, the seeking heart, the purity of God. In Jesus we see what God is like and what God means for us to be. (William Barclay)

Thanks be to God - for Jesus, Amen.

I admire people who can pray spontaneously, but there’s something to be said for word craft, especially when the words are offered to the Lord.

The PRAYERwerks is my attempt to assemble the components of prayer: Praise. Gratitude. Confession. Repentance. Intercession. Humility. Authenticity. The result: A connection with the presence and power of God.

(There’s a significant omission from the list above: silence before the Lord and listening for his voice. I can’t really assist with that on the Internet other than to remind you of its importance!)

I'm publishing my prayers on the web because we can’t get enough…offer enough…speak enough…internalize enough PRAYER. As St. Paul advised the Thessalonians “PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.” This is my modest contribution to the cause.

Here’s a disclaimer: I may "sample" ideas and language from my daily Bible study - Encounter with God - from Scripture Union USA, and the other resources listed below on the sidebar. Some might consider it plagiarism. I prefer to think of it as improvisation, and I attempt to give the authors and expositors credit.

Thanks for visiting The PRAYERwerks.

G.W. Habel
Durham NC, USA

I only pray when I'm in trouble. But I'm in trouble all the time, so I always pray.

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Nobel Laureate

Prayer is eternity in the midst of mortality, life among death, hope amidst despair, true promise surrounded by lies. So let us pray unceasingly.

Henri Nouwen

One way to make sure that your heart is in tune with God is to pray often. The more you talk to God, the more he will talk to you.

Family Christian Press

Prayer names how God becomes present to us and how we participate in that presence by praying for others.

Stanley Hauerwas
Duke University
From Hannah’s Child