The PRAYERwerks: Epiphanies - Divine Messaging

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Epiphanies - Divine Messaging

Lord Christ,

Angels, dreams and the Spirit - they all play a big part in the story of your birth.

Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the magi and Simeon - they all receive a form of divine messaging.

We focus on the fantastical - it makes the stories memorable - but I’m getting a practical message for the new year:

Pay attention! Look and listen! Follow!

That divine messaging is found in the things of God, in the people of God. In Bible study, in sermons and music, in books and blogs, in friends and service, in nature.

Simeon called it the light for revelation. (Luke 2:22-40) The pursuit of that treasure must be my priority. I’m too easily distracted. My commitment is sporadic. And I miss the angels, dreams and Spirit.

Righteous and devout, that's how Simeon is described. He established a foundation of faith. It made him receptive to divine messaging - receptive to your voice, receptive to your leading.

May it be so for me! Amen.

Artwork credit

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