Mid Day (lunch)

For some of our "prayer warriors," a lunch break is part of the schedule. If so, this is an extended period of time for prayer and meditation. Again, some of you will easily be able to transition right into meaningful communication with God. Some of us may need a little help. I know that my mind can wander off topic so quickly that I need some guidance. As a result, I am printing off this page, and will be taking it and my Bible to a nearby park. If you don't have a Bible, no worries. Printing this post will get you through.

Prayer of Thanks

Start your midday break with a prayer of thanksgiving. We all have much to be thankful for. If you're having a difficult time coming up with something to be thankful about, here are a few thoughts I had:

• God has blessed me with amazing wealth and opportunity compared with so many in the world - I am so thankful that I don't have to be hungry everyday

• God has provided me with people to love, and people to love me

• God has provided me with good health

• God sacrificed his Son, Jesus Christ, to save me from my sins

The list could go on, but you should pray about what you're thankful for, not what I'm thankful for.


Devotional

My daugher, Hillary, emailed this to me last night. She wanted to share this meditation from Charles Spurgeon with all of you.

"And he requested for himself that he might die."—1 Kings 19:4.


It was a remarkable thing that the man who was never to die, for whom God had ordained an infinitely better lot, the man who should be carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, and be translated, that he should not see death—should thus pray, "Let me die, I am no better than my fathers." We have here a memorable proof that God does not always answer prayer in kind, though He always does in effect. He gave Elias something better than that which he asked for, and thus really heard and answered him. Strange was it that the lion-hearted Elijah should be so depressed by Jezebel's threat as to ask to die, and blessedly kind was it on the part of our heavenly Father that He did not take His desponding servant at his word.

There is a limit to the doctrine of the prayer of faith. We are not to expect that God will give us everything we choose to ask for. We know that we sometimes ask, and do not receive, because we ask amiss. If we ask for that which is not promised—if we run counter to the spirit which the Lord would have us cultivate—if we ask contrary to His will, or to the decrees of His providence—if we ask merely for the gratification of our own ease, and without an eye to His glory, we must not expect that we shall receive.

Yet, when we ask in faith, nothing doubting, if we receive not the precise thing asked for, we shall receive an equivalent, and more than an equivalent, for it. As one remarks, "If the Lord does not pay in silver, He will in gold; and if He does not pay in gold, He will in diamonds." If He does not give you precisely what you ask for, He will give you that which is tantamount to it, and that which you will greatly rejoice to receive in lieu thereof. Be then, dear reader, much in prayer, and make this evening a season of earnest intercession, but take heed what you ask.

I read this a couple times, last night, and will read it again, today. I will meditate on it for awhile. I do not want to "ask amiss" as I continue praying throughout this day, and in the future.


Scripture Reading
Matthew 15:29-38
29Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.


33His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"34"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked."Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."35He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children. 39After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Observations about scripture reading

1. Jesus is the Great Physician. "Great crowds came bringing the lame, blind, crippled, mute and many others, and Jesus healed them. Instantly. Miraculously." Here we are, people thousands of miles from each other, lifting up Adam to Jesus in prayer.

2. Jesus cares about our basic needs. After all those healing miracles, he was still worried about feeding the crowds.

3. Jesus is patient with us, even when we are clueless. In verse 33, His disciples asked, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?" Duh! In Chapter 14 (verses 13-18), just a short time prior to this one, Jesus fed 5,000 people in a similar situation. Even so, he did not call them out for their very short memories!

Pray for Adam

Before returning to work, I will pray again for Adam. Just as Jesus healed the crowds, I will be asking Jesus to send the Holy Spirit to North Carolina to heal Adam. 32Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."