Skip to main content

October 2014 Prayer Column

Image
By
Joseph and his khaki-coloured prayer shawl

Joseph’s story from sneaky, swanky, daddy’s-pet dreamer to practical, protective first lord of Egypt is in Genesis 37-50.  We’re told God was with him, as Potiphar’s slave, and in prison; God tells him what dreams mean, for his fellow prisoners and Pharaoh; and he sees God’s hand in his whole life, from betrayed little brother to family saviour in the famine.  Missing from the record are his prayers, but I think he must have prayed. 
Put yourself in his sandals.  How would you pray when God gave you dreams of greatness?  Or how do you pray about his promises?  Wouldn’t you cry out to God in a pit, hungry, thirsty, bruised and miserable; or horrified as brothers flogged you off as a slave for 20 shekels; or on the long, hard road south to Egypt?  And isn’t it likely he prayed to keep his hands off the boss’s wife when she come-hithered him?  Don’t you need to pray to keep on the straight and narrow when temptation looms?
He must have asked God what those dreams meant.  And when suddenly promoted to government with a famine portfolio, wouldn’t you seek guidance about what to do?  Then as he saw the famine affecting his far-off family, he must have worried (and prayed?) about them.  And when those brothers of his showed up – how to handle that but by prayer!  Similarly how to avoid ethnic strife when his whole clan came to Egypt.

The fact that he saw God’s hand in it all suggests strongly that he did pray, even though so camouflaged in the account that we can see it only in our imaginations.  And I for one imagine also that he thanked God, over and over again, as we all should too (Col 3:17).
Roy Lorrain-Smith


A prayer for each week
Lord of the nations, and also of each person and family, please help us to put our trust in you: utterly, absolutely, always and for everything – through Jesus.  Amen.

Lord of the future, and also of the present, please help us to seek and follow your guidance today, for only you know where the good road runs –  after Jesus.  Amen.

Lord of the unexpected, and also of the everyday and ordinary, please help us see what you are doing, and gladly obey in each opportunity – trusting Jesus.  Amen.

Lord of amazing outcomes, tying together loose threads we could never have matched up, please fill our hearts continually with thankful praise –  glorifying Jesus.  Amen.

Your own prayers



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soupermums! Wilsden Trinity Church

By
Do you have a young baby? Looking for something to do? If the answer is yes then Soupermums is for you. We're here from 11 until 1 every Monday, Mums (and dads) have a rest and the babies can play. Have a lovely sit down whilst you sip on a brew. Enjoy having someone else make lunch for you! Come along to Wilsden Church, meet the rest of the group. Lovely ladies cuddle the babies, whilst you eat your soup. Chat with the mums, new friends you will make. Swap tips and advice over a slice or two of cake. So what are you waiting for? come on along, For homemade treats, good company and if you're lucky a song. We're looking forward to meeting you, please come take a peek, 11-1 at Wilsden Trinity, we're here every week! Celine V  (a Soupermum!) Where can new mums go, to have lunch where it’s warm and safe and you get to eat fresh soup and homemade cakes, while someone holds your baby? Too big an ask? Not at Wilsden Trinity! Every Mond
Post a Comment
Read more

A year in the life of Baildon Methodist Church

By
The snippets below are taken from Baildon Methodist Church report to the Charity Commissioners for the year ending August 2017. Church membership increased to 187 by the end of the year. As a further development of the Jesus Shaped People programme, which we found so inspiring, (https://www.jesusshapedpeople.net/) a five-week teaching programme entitled ‘Parables For Baildon’ again took place in the New Year, studying the relevance of the Parables in relation to living today. A ‘Family Focus’ leaflet, updated seasonally, was produced listing all activities and events available at Baildon Methodist Church for children and young families. Events during the year included a harvest supper and entertainment, a Gilbert & Sullivan evening, a comedy night, a Church Anniversary social, Action For Children Christmas Fayre and concerts by Village Voices, Aire Valley Male Voice choir and Woodhouse Grove School. In the autumn, the Church hosted a visit by a group of young Palestinian dan
Post a Comment
Read more

Message from the Ministry Team

By
Dear friends By the time you read this, we will already be a month through this new year. Where does the time go? It really does seem to go by ever more quickly, as each year passes. For children who have returned to school after the Christmas and New Year break, next Christmas will seem an age away. When I started secondary school, I couldn’t imagine getting to the end of school at 18. I worked out that I would be 35 at the turn of the century, but that seemed impossibly far away. So what makes time seem to pass quickly? After all, each week is made up of seven days and each day has 24 hours, whatever our age or stage in life. Responsibilities play a part: there are things we need to do at certain times, and any deadline always makes us aware of time ticking away as we approach it. We accrue responsibilities as we grow older and take on more senior positions at work, or have a family to look after. At church, we ta
Post a Comment
Read more