Sunday Devotions - Simplicity

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 


Once again it's Saturday night and I'm trying to come up with my Sunday devotional. Usually I don't mind skipping a blogging day now and then...but not Sunday. My Sunday blog has, for me, become the most important and hardest to write. I'm no great theological scholar, and consider myself lousy with words, but I write my Sunday posts with the hopes that someone, somewhere, someday my be led to Christ through something I've written. 


It's Saturday night and I'm grasping at straws...what to write? What to write?? I'm flipping through books and verses when I come upon a book on my Kindle I had forgotten about; Little Folded Hands Prayers for Children. I even found the prayer I grew up reciting. 


Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray Thee Lord my soul to take. Amen. 


...and there are others that caught my eye. 


I thank Thee, Lord, for sleep and rest. For all the things that I love best. Now guide me through another day And bless my work and bless my play. Lord, make me strong for noble ends. Protect and bless my loving friends; Of all mankind good Christians make. All this I ask for Jesus sake. Amen. 


All praise to Thee, my God, this night for all the blessings of the light; Keep me, O keep me, King of kings, beneath Thine own almighty wings. Amen. 


Sometimes I struggle with communicating my thoughts, especially on Sundays. I have the idea in my head that I have to have some long winded message. Have you ever noticed how quickly a child can get the truth out? Kids get straight to the point. A lot like some of the prayers I came across. They pack a lot of meaning in a few words. 


I have a hard time writing and communicating; I'm not good with words. And, sometimes, when I pray, getting my thoughts across in my conversation with God seems impossible until I find myself rambling. I guess these prayers for children have reminded me that prayers don't have to be grandiose. I can keep it simple because, really, even if I don't say the right words God knows my intent. 


Dear God, Thanks for listening and hearing me. Amen. 

Sunday Devotions for Kids - Mealtime Prayers

How do you pray at mealtime? I grew up with this prayer;

God is good,
God is great,
And we thank Him for our food.
Amen.


My boys have learned a couple from preschool this year.
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat.
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.
Amen.

Come Lord Jesus be our guest
And to us these gifts be blessed.
Amen

Do you ever forget to pray at mealtimes? I know we do! Usually we forget at breakfast in the morning when we are still too sleepy to remember. But it's important to pray and give thanks for everything! We are blessed with so much food that we sometimes take for granted that it is a gift from God. 

God blessed the farmers with a bountiful harvest. God blessed your Mom and Dad with a job that provided the money to buy your groceries. Even a meal as simple as your breakfast cereal is a blessing. Let's try to remember to thank God for every meal! 

Dear God, Thanks for reminding us that every meal is a gift. Thank you for blessing all the people it took to bring to our table today. Amen.

What is your favorite mealtime prayer?

Sunday Devotions - The Prophet Elijah

Yip, Yap and I read part of the Bible every night at bedtime. We have just finished reading about the prophet Elijah and his challenge against Ahab and Jezebel's priests who worshiped Baal. In 1 Kings 18 Elijah challenges 450 propehts of Baal.

Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God."
Then the priests called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.


With the stones Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [c] of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."

"Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed quietly: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."


Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.


Elijah prayed to God, and God answered Elijah. Not only was his prayer short but it was quiet too. No dancing or screaming just Elijah having a conversation with God.
What a wonderful Bible story, I think it has to be one of my favorites. First of all, it illustrates perfect faith in God in impossible circumstances. After all, logically a pile of soaking wet wood shouldn't catch on fire...but the fire of God did that and more! "...burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench."  To have just a bit of Elijah's faith would be an awesome thing.


However, my favorite part of Elijah's story is how he prayed to God.  The priests of Baal prayed all day long, shouting, dancing, cutting themselves but to no avail. Maybe they thought the better show they put on for Baal, the better the results. But read Elijah's prayer to God again, read it out loud.


"O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."


How long did it take you to read? Probably less than a minute. In less than a minute Elijah prayed to God and God answered. Sometimes it's important to take stock of how we pray. Do we pray and tell everyone about it? Do we make a big display on Sunday mornings of "praying" in front of the whole church? Or do we pray privately, quietly?

Dear God,
Thank you for the prophet Elijah and the lessons to be learned from him. Thank you for reminding us that prayer is not a show to put on for others but is a conversation between You and me! Amen.