A Prayer for the Headlines for Wednesday, September 19th

Good Morning, God

Lord, your word says to us, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  You want something but don’t get it”.

Yes, James, you are absolutely right.  From as soon as we are born, we have desires.  Some desires are immediately important to our health.  Some desires come from our sinful nature.  Some desires come from our wanting to please you, our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

But, we are human, Lord God.  We are willful people, so we quarrel and fight; we look for the specks in every eye but ours – but in ours is a log!

Lord, God, what if we would consider applying one criteria to our headlines – no political agenda, no self-aggrandizing, no ego-centeredness, no money-hunger – but the one criteria of how does what we are doing and the way we are being glorify you, Lord God.  Help our politicians, and we who support them, make better headlines because their and our own sight is on you.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

A Prayer for the Headlines for Monday, September 17th

Good morning, God

Lord, there are many men and women of every age and stage of life praying with us this morning.  They perhaps listen to these prayers all the time, or perhaps for some reason are listening by happenstance this day.  However, after any of us listens, Lord, we are listening for a word from you.  We listen for encouragement, for direction, for discipline (yes, Lord, we often want someone to tell us that what we are doing and the way we are living is not the right way, so we listen to be told by you).  We also listen for forgiveness – forgiveness for what we have done wrong or the strength to forgive someone for what they did to us.

In whatever the case, Lord Jesus, we know that your help is available for the asking.  Then, there is a ton of help available all around us with 12-step programs, prayer services, support groups.   If it is needed by someone, it is available for the asking.

Gracious God, lead us to the help we need today, for you love us and want us to have life abundantly – and help us make all the right choices.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

A Prayer for the Headlines for Friday, September 14th

Good morning, God

The headlines were about a legislative panel study about how a criminal’s past history of convictions affected his or her sentencing for any new convictions.  In fact, in a system that is supposed to both punish and rehabilitate those convicted of a crime, two-thirds of Class-D felons in prison had three or more prior convictions and three-fourths of new Class D felons had failed in at least one type of other punishment like probation, work-release or home detention.

God, you are a God of justice.  You have given us THE Law – the Ten Commandments – upon which all of our laws are based.  And, you have created us with the privilege to chose how we will live – either obeying the laws – yours and the land’s – or breaking both sets.  Your word even tells us that we are tempted by our own desires and lured and enticed by them; then when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin – to crime, and when sin – crime – is fully grown, it gives birth to death, perhaps not physical death but certainly spiritual death.  Lord, God, inspire and strengthen us to make choices to obey both your laws and society’s.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

A Prayer for the Headlines for Wednesday, September 12th

Good morning, God

Lord of heaven and earth, of life and of death, we ask your special presence with us today as we give respect and honor to one of our fallen young men.  Alec Terwiske is coming home to us today, but not the same way we last saw him.  Alec, one of your creations, is coming home to us in a casket.  Thankfully, his soul came home to you when his life here was snuffed out.  We give you thanks and praise for our heavenly home where there is no more death but only eternal life.

Lord of the universe, when our local men and women die in service to our country, it hits us hard because they are so close to us.  But we also need to always remember what we thought about yesterday – the terrorist attacks on the twin towers, on our country, on our democracy, on our way of life and on innocent lives.  But we don’t need to remember in order to seek revenge, but we need to remember because of the necessity to pray to you for peace and well-being, for you desire us to have peace through faith and belief in Jesus Christ, your Son.  May we all believe.

In Jesus’ name, Amen