Sunday, July 15, 2018

A Prayer

Father,

We are people with full schedules. We have things to do, places to go and people to see. We have our lives mapped out pretty well. And as long as we are able to keep up with our schedules, it all works out fairly well.

But then, You speak into our lives. And You say to us,

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  (James 4:13-15)

Father, it is all too easy for us to forget this. We plot and scheme to get it all to fit, and when we do, we are quite pleased with ourselves. But we forget who actually runs our lives.

Father, we have bought into the myth that we decide what happens. How arrogant! Are we gods? Clearly not. We did not control the time of our birth nor will we control the time of our death. And we don’t control what happens in between those two dates either. But all too often we think that we do. How foolish.

So, forgive us, Father, for thinking that we can do what only You can do. You are the only one who runs this place and us in it. Help us to see that more clearly.

And then, Father, help us to set up our plans wisely. Get us to understand that we will do this or that only if You will it. We don’t have to repeat, ‘If the Lord wills’, at every moment. But that does have to be an attitude deeply rooted in our hearts as we think about doing this or that. It will be clear enough whether we actually have adopted that attitude when You bring something unplanned into our lives. There will be either submission or complaint.

And teach us, Father, that having that attitude is the way to peace and joy. Who knows the best route through this life? Not us. You do. So, when You interrupt our plans, whether we’re talking about little frustrations or major problems, remind us, Father, that your plan is always best. Get us to rest in that so that we can be granted Your peace.

We want to live in this way, Father, because it’s just another way to make You look as good as You actually are. We live among a people who don’t know You. And they scurry about. And when their plans are interrupted by You, they get angry or fearful or some other sinful response. Their lives are not good. But if we could show them by our lives the blessings of the Gospel, then maybe they would be open to hear it from our lips. So, make us like Jesus, who trusted You with each day’s planning and made You look so very good. Amen.

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