Category Archives: The Small Catechism
Feeling Disconnected?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. 3 Give us each day the food we need, 4 and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.” 5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
Luke 11:1-13 (NLT)
445 If you abandon prayer you may at first live on spiritual reserves… and after that, by cheating.
Of course, God’s name is holy in and of itself, but by this request, we pray that He will make it holy among us, too.
One would think that we have enough examples in scripture, that we wouldn’t forget its importance.
One would think we have had enough examples from our own lives, and from the lives of those who disciple, teach and pastor us.
A few days ago, my devotion quoted the Lutheran Confessions, specifically the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, which said if we called it a sacrament, maybe, then maybe, men would realize the blessing and do it more often.
Far too often I hear people tell of feeling distant from God, who are troubled because He doesn’t seem to be there. Or they feel overwhelmed and challenged, and the anxiety levels continue to climb. Who struggle to know any kind of peace in their lives. It may start in one place, let’s say their workplace. The stress soon affects other places in their life, their home, their friendships, it can even drive them away from the one place they will be reminded of the answer, and the encouragement that helps us realize that God isn’t so far away, that He isn’t so uncaring.
What our forefathers found so incredible, so necessary, so much a preventative against feeling disconnected is simple prayer.
Not because in prayer we do something that proves our holiness, not because the more time in prayer, the more you cause yourself to grow holier. It is not a spiritual discipline in the manner of lifting weights, or working out, where our suffering and pain builds us up.
It is because we are being heard, and as we pray, we become more aware of it. As we become more aware of it, we trust God more and more, we dump the stuff we are trying to deal with at His feet.
Like the idea that we drift away from prayer slowly, it takes us some time to develop a life that is one lived in conversation with God. It is one where our confidence in His presence, in His listening, in His fulfilling His promises grows. Not because of our skill, not because of how eloquent we are, but it grows as we learn to trust Him, as we learn to depend upon Him. And that growth does take time and a continued transformation.
That is why Jesus talks of such persistence in Luke’s account. It is why Jesus talks about the love of a father that will answer his children’s requests. It is to cause us to draw near, to drop our self-defense mechanisms, to show God our wounds, the wounds that are healed because Jesus was wounded on the cross.
The more we see that love, the more we find ourselves exploring it, the more we find salvation to make a tangible change in our lives, the more we learn to desire to prayer. And the more we see those prayers answered….
So pray my friends, and if you don’t know how simply start with the prayer Jesus taught us…. in it all things are prayed for anyway.
Lord have mercy on us, teach us to approach the throne with confidence, and give you all, including that which causes guilt, share, fear or anxiety. Help us be confident that you never will leave us disconnected. AMEN!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1975-1977). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Martin Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism: Developed and Explained, WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “The First Request”
Are We Willing to Pray for Our Needs?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)
9 “If any of you were asked by his son for bread would you be likely to give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish would you give him a snake? If you then, for all your evil, quite naturally give good things to your children, how much more likely is it that your Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him?” Matthew 7:9 (Phillips NT)
“Give us this day our daily bread.” What does this mean?
Answer: To be sure, God provides daily bread, even to the wicked, without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that God may make us aware of his gifts and enable us to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
14 What is meant by daily bread?
Answer: Everything required to satisfy our bodily needs, such as food and clothing, house and home, fields and flocks, money and property; a pious spouse and good children, trustworthy servants, godly and faithful rulers, good government; seasonable weather, peace and health, order and honor; true friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. (1)
807 I copy these words for you because they can bring peace to your soul. “My financial situation is as tight as it ever has been. But I don’t lose my peace. I’m quite sure that God, my Father, will settle the whole business once and for all. I want, Lord, to abandon the care of all my affairs into your generous hands. Our Mother—your Mother—will have let you hear those words, now as in Cana: ‘They have none!’ I believe in you, I hope in you, I love you, Jesus. I want nothing for myself: it’s for them.”
in the Lutheran and evangelical churches, there is a reaction to the works of those like Joel Osteen and those who teach what is referred to as Dominion Theology, or more degradingly, as the prosperity gospel, or the “Name it-Claim it” movement. So much of a reaction, I think we forget to tell people to pray, even as the Lord taught us to, and to recognize He will meet our needs. He will care for us, and while we have to live wisely, we also need to live trusting Him.
Our reaction to those who sometimes advocate praying for selfish desires to be met, whether financial or relational is damaging. Yes, we know God doesn’t necessarily want us to win the lottery, He probably won’t grant always grant that teenager’s prayer to date the supermodel, or that everything will wok out perfectly, as we see it. He does want us to look to Him, to see His love, to see His care for us. To have us depend on Him, like a child depends on their dad.
Yes, to often our prayers can become a form of idolatry, as we put our desires before our relationship with God, or make that relationship conditional upon getting what we want. (and we’ll even throw a tantrum when we don’t!) But to stop depending on God, leads to anxiety, and coveting, and temptations to get what we want, without God. To manipulate our situations, to become machivellian, that is what happens when we forget God is our source
We need to be aware of God’s gifts, we need to receive them and celebrate them, whether it is that last can of soup in the cupboard, or the bank account that is down to $2 the day before payday. As we do realize that even these things are gifts of God, our attitude towards them will change. We’ll treasure what we have, not because of its fiscal value, but because of from whom we received it.
We need to pray, God give us what we need, even fervently pray for it. Our relationship must be that kind of relationship – where He is the source of all our blessings… not just the eternal ones. Don’t forget those, but also realize, from Him we have life,
Praying for our daily bread is not just about spiritual nurture. for we aren’t called to love Him with just our soul, but with every part of our lives. Mind, Soul, Body and Spirit. We need to realize our dependence and His faithfulness in this part of the prayer as much as any other!
So let us pray, even as our Savior taught us…
(1) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 347). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2877-2882). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
