A Call to Pray
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8
We are called to pray. Our prayer life enables us to communicate as well as develop a spiritual relationship with God. In his message "A Call to Prayer," Rev. Brian Harbour states that there is power in prayer. The ultimate outcome of prayer is not to get something from God, but to grow us into the kind of Christians God can use. The only way we can develop a faith strong enough to enable us to persevere in our service for God is through the habit of daily prayer.
Prayer mobilizes us to serve God in the world. Prayer is the power that strengthens our faith and matures us as Christians. There is no power on earth like the power released through the prayer of God's people. As James states in his epistle, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
As we spend time with God in our devotions or daily prayer, let us remember our Millennium Development Goals. Please pray with the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund that God would heal those who are struggling with poverty and diseases worldwide.
Let us pray:
Give us grateful hearts, our Father, for all thy mercies, and make us mindful of the needs of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (Book of Common Prayer, page 835)
Our Father, Thou knowest our nature and readest our innermost thoughts, and nothing can be hidden from Thee; help us, then, to unburden ourselves of every disguise we wear before the world, and find strength in being what we are, Thy humble and grateful children. Enable us to put off sham and pretense. Be patient with any of us who still prefer vain shows and empty pride to the freedom and security of Thy truth. Because we have talked with Thee here, may we be able to work more patiently for Thy Kingdom, bringing light upon the problems that perplex the world, dispelling the night of doubt and fear with Thy sheltering love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ("Meditations of the Heart" by Howard Thurman)
