Praying for the Body of Christ

When I heard of your faith
in Jesus the LORD
and your love for one another
in the family of God,
I just had to thank God for you
constantly in my prayers.

I pray for you all the time,
asking God,
the glorious Father
of our LORD Jesus Christ,
to give you the spirit of wisdom
and the discernment to know Him.

Then the eyes of your heart
will open to the light
of knowing
the hope to which God has called you,
the riches of all the LORD has given
to you, His children.

I pray, too, for you to know
the power of God’s greatness
at work in those who believe.

This is the same power God
put to work in Christ when He arose
from the dead and rose to the realm
of heavenly places far above
every ruler,
every authority,
every power,
every kingdom, and
every name you can name,
not only now
but in all times to come.

For God has put all things
under the feet of Christ
and given Him the full authority and power of God
and made Him the head of all things in the church –

the full church Body of Christ,
which is being filled with Christ
and completed in Christ,
Who will fully fill all in All.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase of today's Daily Bible Reading in the NT Epistle, Ephesians 1:15-23

~~

Consider the lilies

And Jesus said:

Don’t fret over your life!
Don’t be anxious for what you’ll eat.
Don’t worry about what you’ll wear.
Your life carries more than food,
and your body wears more than clothing.

Think about the ravens:
They neither plant seeds nor harvest,
and they have neither barns nor warehouses,
but your Father tends them.

Aren’t you a bigger treasure than birds?

Worry cannot add one inch
or ounce or hour to your life!
So if you can’t make yourself grow
even a tiny bit,
why worry about the rest?

Consider the lilies.
See how they grow?
They do not work or weave,
but I tell you that even the glorious
King Solomon had no finer attire.

So, if God dresses up field grass
with the finest wildflowers that wilt
and dry up as if in a fire,
just think how much more
God desires to take care of you
and your little faith!

So, don’t keep straining
and stressing over food and water,
and don’t keep worrying.

All over the world people
work for more things,
and your Father knows your needs,
but instead of the world’s way
that doesn’t work well, I suggest
you try this:

Work toward the Kingdom of God
with God-speed,
and you will surely be given
whatever you need.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase of Luke 12:22-31, today’s Daily Bible Reading in the Gospels

~~

Jesus tells us to ask, seek, find

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He had finished, one of His closest followers asked Him to teach them to pray as John the Baptist had taught His followers. And Jesus answered by saying, When you’re praying, say:

Father, keep Your name holy in us.
Into us, let Your kingdom come.

Each day give us what we can hold,
but let go of our sins as we console
others beholden to us, and oh,
do not give us too trying a time!

For a moment, Jesus paused then said to look at it like this.

Suppose you go to your friend at the very last hour to ask
for bread for an unexpected visitor who suddenly came
and caught you empty-handed. Feeling ashamed to have
nothing to give, you ask your friend to assist, but he resists
your request saying, “Go away, please! I have locked my door.
My kids are in bed, and if I get up, I’ll wake them for sure.”
I tell you, even though your friend won’t get out of bed to help
you as his friend, he will surely help you if you persist.

So what I’m saying is this:

Keep on asking,
and it will be given.
Keep on searching,
and you will find.
Keep on knocking,
and the door will open.

Believe
in the asking,
and you will
receive.

Think about it!
If your children ask you for fish,
would you wish on them snakes?
Or if your children ask for eggs,
would you give them the eggs of a spider?

You’re definitely not perfect, and yet you know
what’s good for your kids, so
don’t you think God knows
what good gifts to give?

Yes! And, oh, how much more will
our Father in Heaven
give the Holy Spirit to you who still
ask!

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase of Luke 11:1-13 from today’s Daily Bible Readings in the Gospels

~~

Remembering the promise

Moses called all the people together and said:

Take care to obey
everything I tell you today,
so you can live and multiply then
go in and gain the land the LORD swore
to give your ancestors.

Remember how God led you
through desolate places
for forty years?

He did this to humble and test you
to see what your heart held
and whether you could keep
His commandments.

God humbled you with hunger
then fed you with manna –
a food neither you
nor your ancestors had,
so this you would know:

You do not live by bread alone
but by every word that comes
from the mouth of God.

For forty years your clothes
did not wear out nor your feet swell,
so you would know well
that the LORD your God
disciplines you as a parent
disciplines a beloved child.

And now, you must keep the commandments
of the LORD your God,
walking in the ways He lays out for you – even
dreading to do anything else!

For the LORD your God
is bringing you into a good land –
a land of fresh water springing forth from hills and valleys,
a land of wheat and barley,
a land of grapevines and fig trees and pomegranates,
a land pouring out fine olive oil and pure honey,
a land with no lack of food, nor lack of anything,
a land with iron as common as stones
and hills where you can dig copper.

And when you have all that you want
of the good that God gives,
remember this word from the LORD:
Remember to bless your God.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase of Deuteronomy 8:1-10 from today’s Daily Bible Reading

~~

Praying for God to get speedy

O God! Please hurry!
O LORD, please hurry to my help.

People make so many demands
on me and my time,
they ought to be ashamed!

If they intend to bring me any hurt, let
their words become mumble-jumble.

Let them stop such behavior!
Let them stop saying “Ah” and Aha!”
or else be disgraced and ashamed
of their own words.

As for those who seek You and know
their need for You, LORD,
let them rejoice in You and be glad.
Let them say, again and again,
“How great is our God!”

But, as for me, O God, I’m feeling
pitiful and needy today,
so I speedily need Your help.

You are The One I count on
to release me from all harm,
so please hurry! Please!
O God, don’t linger too long.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrased poem of Psalm 70 from today’s Daily Bible Reading

~~

Waiting for God

This prayer-a-phrased poem from today's Daily Bible Reading in the Psalms gives a glimpse of the Psalmist's prayer stance as he awaited a response from God:

Psalm 62:1-2

For God alone
in silence waits
my soul.
From Him alone
in strength waits
my salvation.
My Rock! My Fortress!
I shall not be moved.
In God alone
my soul shall not be shaken.

© 1998, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. The poem first appeared in 1998 in UpSouth and the Saints Alive chapbook then the Letters to a Priest anthology in 2010.


©2013, Mary Sayler

Chatting with Paul about the church

Me: Paul, recently I heard you say there’s only one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, and yet we children of God don’t always act like that’s true. How can this change? What do we do?

The Apostle Paul: Each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Me: Yes, we’re different and have different ways of doing things, but sometimes that seems to make misunderstandings and ill feelings get in our way.

Paul: That’s why the Bible says Jesus ascended into heaven and captured captivity.

Me: Wow! Jesus imprisoned prisons. He bound up whatever binds us. He confined whatever confines us. He….

Paul: He gave gifts to His people. So some of us are apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.

Me: It’s wonderful how God gives each of us exactly what we need to do the work God gave us to do! Now, if we’d just respect those differences and appreciate one another more.

Paul, nodding: Each gift equips each saint for a unique work of ministry to build up the Body of Christ (the Church) so we can all be united in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God as we grow and mature into the full standing of Christ.

Me: Hmm. Sounds like God wants us to grow up! And grow into the Spirit of Christ.

Paul, nodding his head again: We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro or blown about by every wind of doctrine or by people's trickery or by craftiness and deceitful schemes.

Me: But, oh, sometimes it’s hard to know what's what! So I pray for God to help us become more discerning and loving too.

Paul: As we speak the truth in love, we grow up in every way into Christ, Who is the head of the whole body, joined and knitted together by each ligament, so each part is equipped to work properly, promote body growth, and build up the whole Church Body of Christ in love.

Me: Amen! And may God keep on reminding us to keep on praying for spiritual growth, discernment, love, and unity in the Body of Christ in Jesus’ Name.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrased conversation with the Apostle Paul drawn from today’s Bible reading in Ephesians 4:7-8, 4:11-16

~~