Sunday, March 11, 2018

A Prayer

Father,
Our world is a mess. Confusion abounds and about such basic things. What's a man? What's a woman? How is the marriage of a man and a woman supposed to work? What is this life even for?

And our world is so given to the pursuit of pleasure. That’s supposed to make life work. But as our friends and neighbors and family discover that such pleasures don't satisfy, they don't stop this foolish pursuit but simply change the focus, hoping that the next thing that promises satisfaction will actually do that. But it never does.

And then, there are the many who are simply overwhelmed by it all. So, they give themselves to different kinds of distractions. They are hoping that this will help them cope.

But, of course, none of these ploys work. They can't. Only Jesus makes life work. Only Jesus satisfies.

Father, we know that it's the calling of the Church to live and speak in such a way that Jesus will be presented to these confused and hurting, and yes, rebellious people. And yet, the Church in America is not up to the task.

We are also confused about the basics, what it means to be a man who leads his household sacrificially and yet decisively, and what it means to be a woman who follows his lead using her strengths to assist in him in that work. We also pursue pleasure and distractions. We are not the people You have called us to be.

And so, Father, we ask that You would revive Your Church. We're not asking for dramatic displays of the miraculous. No, what we want to see is a growing piety among us, a growing love for You and our neighbors, a growing ability to see reality and thus to live wisely.

So, teach us Your truths, Father, so that we would know You better. Bring us to a sincere repentance of our sins so that we would turn from them and toward Godly thinking and living. Grant us a lively faith so that we might present Jesus to the world by our lives and our words. We appeal to You, Father, to grant our request so that we would be the kind of people that You want us to be, whole people serving Jesus.

We are grateful that You have already shown us that You are the God who answers prayer. You've responded to our requests in the past, and You will continue to do that in the future. And that gives us hope as we make these requests to You through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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