Skip to main content

December 2016 Prayer Column

Image
By

Asking in faith

A thing that has bothered me for many years is why Jesus didn’t explain his parables to the crowds when he spoke, but only later to his disciples (when they asked: Mt 13:36; 15:15; Lk 8:8). Was he leaving the stories to do their own work with most people in some way? Did they have to ponder them to get the full meaning? Or perhaps, as I heard a story teller once say, even if people don’t ponder them, or actually forget them, the stories they hear can be exploded into life at the right moment by the Holy Spirit, the meaning and application suddenly made clear, and all the more powerfully for the wait.

But without denying either of those reasons, I wonder if there was another possible thread as well: the disciples were ready for the explanations. They had committed themselves to follow Jesus in faith, and so they were prepared to accept his teaching – and that made all the difference, because obviously not everyone was in that relationship with him.

So commitment would be a necessary part of hearing and understanding; and that seems more than a bit true for prayer as well. We are much more confident in prayer when we’re fully committed to faith in the Lord, and thus able to accept whatever answer the Father God chooses to give. In faith we’re prepared to wait, if necessary; and even to look searchingly for the answers which we know must come because he has promised to hear and act when we pray. Does that seem plausible?

Roy LS


A prayer for each week


Heavenly Father, as the man said, “I believe; but help my unbelief.” Please give me faith to pray confidently about all difficulties facing me. Amen.

Heavenly Father, please boost my faith in your power to cope with the problems I want to bring before you, and in your love as you answer. Amen.

Heavenly Father, waiting for late buses is hard. Please give us the faith that your answers always come, even if we don’t know the timetables. Amen.

Heavenly Father, you love to surprise us in ways we don’t expect or can’t imagine, so please help us search confidently for answers to our prayers. Amen.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Message from the Link

By
D ISSUE 16 OCTOBER 2012 ear Friends How many times have you heard people say in your church ‘Well, I didn’t know about that!’  Quickly followed by, ‘Well, if you read the notices …’ Communication within churches can be wonderful, it can be a little frustrating and it can be never quite what we had hoped.  The same is true across the Circuit, and very soon we will be reviewing methods and means of communication.  Part of this review may include looking at ‘The Link’ and ‘Outlook’ in the light of our focus upon Mission.  For example, it may be that we move more towards what has happened and how it worked to encourage churches to think about the stories that they have to share, rather than being a notice sheet of things to come. Which leads me to ask, have we ever wondered about who it is we are trying to communicate to, and about what?  For example, there have been many adverts in ‘ The Link’ about coffee mornings and cake....
Post a Comment
Read more

News from Allerton Methodist Church

By
Allerton’s Community Play & Learn Hub In October we were approached by the Bradford Community Play Partnership to ask if they could use the church premises for their Allerton & Lower Grange Community Learning Hub. They had been running this from Ladyhill Park since 1st April but needed somewhere more suitable for the winter months. Supporting local families and linking with 5 local primary schools, 7 volunteers, including 3 of our own congregation, are working together to provide ‘Bags of Creativity’ during the pandemic. The group have provided over 5,000 packs to children, signed up over 700 children to a Summer Reading Challenge, engaged with 1,500 children in the Light Project with a physical literacy music lesson in the car park, with pallet Christmas trees, a grotto, forest school activities including making Bird Cake and incorporating: Exercise Counting, Measuring, Weighing Investigating natural materials Growing Sunflowers Reading Music The Hub will continue until Februa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fairtrade Summer Fair - 31 May 2014

By
Did you know that it is Fairtrade ’s 20th birthday this year? Yes, 2014 marks 20 years since the first Fairtrade product was sold in the UK. In that time, Fairtrade supporters have helped make huge progress, so that millions of farmers, workers and their families now have a brighter future. To celebrate this milestone, we will be having a: Fairtrade Summer Fair at Calverley Methodist Church on Saturday 31st May from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.  Please come along and give your support. There will be refreshments, Fairtrade tasting, a quiz with prize and lots of lovely Fairtrade products for sale.
Post a Comment
Read more