Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

I love the LORD because he hears
my voice and my prayer for mercy.
Because he bends down to listen,
I will pray as long as I have breath!
Psalm 116:1-2, NLT

Reflection:

God is so responsive that you can
always reach him. He bends down
and listens to your voice. This writer's
love for the Lord had grown because
he had experienced answers to his
prayers.
If you are discouraged, remember that
God is near, listening carefully to every
prayer and answering each prayer in
order to give you his best.

(Life Application Daily Devotion)

Several years ago, a 98-year-old woman who
had been a volunteer for a prison ministry and
other service organizations passed on to her
Eternal Reward. For twenty solid, persistent
years she had brought encouragement and
new hope to prisoners, shut-ins, and persons
from all walks of life who were experiencing
loneliness and despair. Over the years she
had led countless people into the Community
of Christ. At her funeral, an ex-offender gave
the following tribute to this remarkable
Christian woman who had changed his life:

I met her, only once, although I talked to
her on the telephone almost every week for
fifteen years while I was in prison. Our
telephone talks and her letters led me to
the Lord, and kept me sane! Then, through
a series of miracles, I was put on work release,
then on parole (long before I was due for it).
When I got out she put me in touch with people
who found me a place to live, and others who
gave me employment.

I called her "Mom." And whenever I felt lonely
and blue, I phoned Mom. She always helped
me to see my circumstances from an eternal
perspective. I know I owe my life, as well as
my salvation, to that faithful woman. (The man
who gave that tribute to "Mom" has since been
ordained and is serving as Chaplain in a Federal
prison.)

"Mom" was the messenger the Lord had sent to
rescue that lost soul. When they finally met, she
could not see him. "Mom" had been blind since
childhood. And, in her later years, she was
confined to a wheelchair! She was unable to walk
and she could not see. These things she lacked.
Seemingly, she had little to offer, this little blind
and crippled lady. But one thing she had in
abundance: Christian compassion.1

It is important for us to talk about the compassion
of the Christian because unless we are a people
of compassion, the love of God is not flowing in us
and through us.
COMPASSION IS A MARK OF A CHRISTIAN PERSON.


(The Staff and editors of Sunday Sermons Online )