Christian Reflection and Prayer

"But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer".
Luke 5:16, NLT    

Reflection:

I remember when I was a kid there
was one event each week, that I was
not allowed to miss. That was going
to church.  This was a must, with my
mother, I had no choice.  It was a
Swedish Mission Church and one
thing about that church was that those
old swedes loved to pray.  During prayer
meeting, I would sit next to my mother
and listen to these long, extremely long
public prayers.  In my young mind I was
absolutely sure that they were reading
from scripts.
If you read the Gospels you will notice
that Jesus did the exact opposite.
Jesus often withdrew to quiet, solitary
places to pray.  Jesus Christ was
constantly surrounded by people who
wanted to hear Him preach or to have
their diseases healed.  He needed to
get away and pray to  His Father.  We
need to get away and to pray to our
father in heaven.  Remember strength
comes from God, and we can only be
strengthened by spending time with him.

Let us Pray

(From God's Daily Promises)

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim your unfailing
love in the morning, your faithfulness
in the evening, accompanied by the
harp and lute and the harmony of
the lyre. You thrill me, Lord, with
all you have done for me! I sing for
joy because of what you have done.
Psalm 92:1-4 NLT

Giving thanks morning and night

What a way to start the day! The
verses in Psalm 92 represent one
of the first prayers on the priests'
lips on the Sabbath day: "You thrill
me, Lord, with all you have done
for me!"

What if before you read your
morning paper, before you head out
the door, before you start the
countless tasks you have to do
for each day, you determine that
you're going to start your day with
praise for how God has "thrilled" you?
Right now, you have the chance to
start afresh. A new day is before you.
Why not start things off right with a
regimen of praise instead of the old
routine? In prayer today, proclaim his
unfailing love, and tonight, before going
to bed, praise him again for his
faithfulness.

Adapted from The One Year Book of
Bible Prayers (Tyndale House) entry
for May 15

Scripture:

Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped
from the boat, and he had compassion on
them and healed their sick.
Matthew 14:14, NLT

Reflection:

Do you know somebody that is really hurting
right now? Maybe your in some kind of pain,
physical, mental or spiritual. If so please
remember this verse. Jesus performed some
miracles and healed people because He "had
compassion on them." Jesus was, and is, a
loving, caring, and feeling person. Remember
this when you or someone you know is
suffering. Always keep in your heart that
Jesus, our shepherd, hurts with us. He
died for us on the cross, He knows what
it means to suffer pain. Jesus identifies
with us and has real compassion for us.
If Jesus can have compassion for us then
we should be able to feel compassion for
others. You see that is where the real
miracle lies "CARING"

Prayer:

Lord thank You for Your love and
compassion.Teach me to embrace others
with compassionate arms, no matter what
their age, color, creed, history, or belief.