As I begin to write this, it is 3:45 PM on Friday afternoon, and I just finished praying for our forthcoming Sunday service; well, let me rephrase that: I just prayed for our forthcoming Sunday service.
Anyway, at this moment I really wish I knew how to pray "according to His will" regarding our service but sometimes knowing His will is not easy, at least it is not for me. There are many things I desire but my desiring them does not mean that He desires them for me, and that for good reason.
Yes, I know that the Holy Spirit intercedes for me according to God's will, and I take great comfort in that. The truth is were it not for that knowledge, I would stop praying--today.
Do you ever wonder if we will ever get to the place where we can pray on our own according to His will? Do you think it possible to live in such intimacy with Him, that even the Holy Spirit is astonished at the accuracy of our prayers? Do you ever get up from a prayer thinking that you actually prayed according to His will, or do you, like I, wonder if you even came close?
For reasons that are probably obvious to most of you, I often wonder how much of what I am asking Him for is asked out of my own selfishness. Most of the time, my prayers would probably sound unselfish to others but I know my own motives--sometimes.
Anyway, these are the items that were on my "prayer list" this afternoon: that He would manifest His Presence in a very special way in our service this Sunday; that He would motivate visitors to attend this service, especially those who are hungry for Jesus; that He would motivate YOU to attend this service; that our time of worship would be a sweet-smelling fragrance of Jesus to His nostrils; that His Word would feed and nourish those who attend; that He would provide financially; and that He would use our celebration of the Eucharist to empower us to be His witnesses, as we make our way through another week.
Just thought you would want to know!
Love,
Your Pastor
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