Good to be with you this Saturday! Glad to come to the end of another week together in the Workshop.
At the close of each week, we give God thanks for a good time of preparation. We’re grateful for whatever message we’ve written, believing that the Spirit has been active in our minds and hearts as we’ve done our work.
We’re also aware that whatever is on our pages is not the “final product”.
Preparation is phase one. The proclamation is another critical step in bringing a message. Part of our prayer on Saturday is to ask God, that just as the Spirit has been with us in getting ready, the Spirit would be with us in presenting the message. We pray the message would be delivered clearly, concisely and compellingly.
But that is not the end of our Saturday prayer. Thirdly, we pray for impact. We ask God to bless the message in the lives of the hearers. We pray the message works in minds and hearts, inspiring, encouraging and strengthening us to be faithful followers of Christ. That’s the end goal of every message – that it might be a word communicating God’s Word, connecting worshippers with the Lord in ways we grow up in God’s grace.
With all that said, what about our prayer for this week? What impact would we specifically ask?
My prayer is that as we hear this word from I Timothy, to “train ourselves in godliness”, as a calling into an opportunity. I hope we realize how sheltering in place might offer a blessing. It is a time to build God’s goodwill and God’s good ways into our will and ways. It is a chance to pursue a purpose that is personally productive. We can be deliberate about cultivating one or two new habits that would be beneficial for us and for others.
My second prayer is that we realize “training ourselves in godliness” can extend beyond this season of sheltering. This training can be part of our “new normal”. In the Resurrection of Christ, God constantly invites us to embrace and grow in lives of love and service. The theological term for this is “sanctification”. “Training myself in godliness” is how I intentionally and faithfully cooperate with God in this growth.
Those are two prayers I ask God to work in our lives through this message and through our worship tomorrow. What are your prayers? What are your prayers for yourself? For other worshippers? For our church? For our community? How might a blessing grow and spread if you “train yourself in godliness”? Make sure you write down your prayers. Then you can see how God will answer them!
I know God hears our prayers as we lift them in Christ’s name, for the Kingdom’s sake. In that trust, I look forward to being with you in worship tomorrow. I’m excited about all God will be working as we “train ourselves in godliness” as our new normal!
See you tomorrow!
Prayer: Lord, we work hard to get ready and prepare for Sunday. The message we bring and present in worship is an offering. It doesn’t have the spiritual power required to do transforming work in the heart until you fill all with your Spirit. So in your grace, we pray for this blessing. Let all that has been prepared and proclaimed be to your Glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen