“Blessed are You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for You have created me in body and soul, redeemed me by the blood of the cross and sanctified me in Holy Baptism to be Your own possession. With Your Word dwelling richly in my heart, bless, guide, direct and bring to completion all my work done in Your name this week. Deliver me from sloth and laziness. Enable me to accomplish the tasks You give me with competence, humility and joy. Direct days and deeds this week according to Your good and gracious will that I may be Your instrument to give daily bread to my neighbors in this world. Trusting in Your promises, I commend myself and all that I have to You and implore You to have good use of me this day through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.” From the Portals of Prayer.
This was my Monday morning prayer from the Portals of Prayer and the words ‘Deliver me from sloth and laziness’ have been churning inside this week as I look around at others in the world and also look at the face in the mirror. I have heard the question “did you have fun this weekend’ or ‘did you have fun last night’ and it seems that more and more the most important thing in our lives in this world is ‘having fun’ than doing what God has called us to do.
If I have a choice to ‘have fun’ during the evening hours after my dinner my time is usually spent sitting down at my laptop and writing another devotion that will prayerfully move one more person to help support the Trinity/HOPE feeding program in Caredeux where these five girls attend; then my ‘fun’ will be doing His work to help feed them. If three hours of my time will provide another $1.25 to feed these five missionaries there is really no question of what needs to be done by me…or you. Lord, deliver me from laziness and direct my deeds according to Your good and gracious will.
When I see this group of kids, one of my favorite hymns; ‘Gather Your children, dear Savior in peace’ that was written by Carl Schalk comes to mind. It always reminds me of being in the same flock with the children in Haiti and around the world for that matter, who know their Savior.
“Gather Your children, dear Savior, in peace. And draw us to You with Your passionate pleas; still seek us and call us to come and be blessed. To find in Your arms Lord, safety, comfort and rest. Knowing You, inviting You naming You Lord. We cluster around You and grow by Your Word. One day to remember these moments so rare, of caring and closeness, just because You are there. Love be our banner, forgiveness our theme. Compassion our nature, Your vision our dream. Who knows what the Spirit of God yet can do, what joy may be tasted, or what promise come true? Host at our table in our house and Yours. Here bind us together with love that endures; like parents, like children, let this be our fame; that blest we bless many to the praise of Your Name.”
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay