Wednesday, January 7, 2026
“Always be
joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s
will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 16 -18, New
Living Translation)
I am not big on New Year’s Resolutions. I may have the best of intentions but sooner
or later I am most likely to break them. But I am making a resolution this year
that I intend fully to keep.
A little back ground first. Over the last few
years, I have been a frequent contributor to the daily devotionals that our
church, Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, produces on-line. One must be a subscriber
- easily done, at no cost, through their website. I have been told that they
have readers from around the world. I love writing, so it has been a joy. Then,
this past December, as staff changes began to happen, the Rev. Paula Willis asked
me to become a regular contributor, twice a month, the first and fourth
Tuesdays of the month and the fifth Tuesday if there is one. All the daily
readings are from the lectionary which makes it an interesting challenge. It
gets me thinking and off my computer games.
One of the aspects that go with each
daily devotional is a brief prayer, just a sentence or two. As I have not done
this with my own blog, I would often forget and send the devotional into Paula with no prayer. She would then kindly
remind me and I would send her one. Now that I am a regular writer, I am doing my
best to remember to pray (which is a topic for a whole other blog).
This brings me to my resolution. Beginning
with this, my first blog of the year, I am adding a brief prayer at the end of
it and will continue to do so from now on. Perhaps, this is not
earth-shattering news, but I am hoping that many of you will find it helpful in
some small way.
The disciples once asked Jesus to teach them to pray. He gave the Church the beautiful Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father who art in heaven.” If prayer is hard for you or you feel that you can’t find the right words, the Lord’s Prayer captures so much of our need for God’s Presence in our lives, that you can’t go wrong using this prayer as the standard. God will hear you through it. “The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer.” (Psalm 6:9)
Prayer is mentioned several hundreds
of times in the Bible. It is crucial for a healthy relationship with God. “I
am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen
as I pray.” (Psalm 17:6) The Psalms are also very helpful if ever you are
stuck in finding the words to pray. They cover every human emotion from joy to sorrow,
from confidence to fear from hope to despair, from peace to anger. “But each
day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing
his songs, praying to God who gives me life.” (Psalm 42:8)
Many people claim that they don’t know
how to pray. I have had church deacons who were very bashful about praying in
front of others. Some may think that prayer needs to be done by a professional or needs to be articulated with pious and high-minded words. They see prayer in
formal and liturgical resonance. But really, prayer, at its most basic and simplest,
is having a real-life conversation with God. It doesn’t have to be pretty or convoluted.
It just needs to be sincere and honest, expressing yourself in the best way you
know how. God will take it from there. “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our
weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the
Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”
(Romans 8: 26)
Our text from 1 Thessalonians is a wonderful
text for beginning the New Year. Worth repeating: “Be cheerful no matter
what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God
wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (The Message Bible) If only
we lived this verse out all year long! Pray it be so!
Prayer
Our loving God,
we thank you for listening to us even if we stumble for the right words. You
call us and know us by name, so we never need fear to approach you and lay our
lives before you. Help us to listen. Help us to understand who you want us to
be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
