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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Thursday, July 17, 2003 "Prayer for the Masses" |
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Frontline Devotion for Thursday, July 17, 2003 By Pastor Dave Sonnenberg
Text- Psalm 139: 1-16
In June, I finished a study on the book of Psalms. During that 7 week study, our group looked at the different types of Psalms. One of the first sessions was a comfort to all of us because we discovered that the most common type of prayer in the Psalms is the “prayer of help of an individual.” Basically, in countless psalms, an individual is in need or distress and reaches out to God in hopes of help. Isn’t that the nature of our prayer life. We often begin with asking God for help in the nuts and bolts things of life. “God, help me with this task. God help me through this difficult situation. God, give me patience because my kids are nutty today. God, help me deal with this difficult co-worker.”. . .
One quote we discovered along the way was helpful. Many feel guilty about praying for simple needs but one writer said that “praying for personal needs is a sign of authentic faith.”
As the weeks rolled on, we looked at many other types of faith which encouraged us to go way beyond our personal needs. It was kind of fun.
Today, I simply want to ask you to consider a special type of prayer. Quite simply, I want to encourage you to pray for a large group of people. “Hold them in the palm of God’s hand and ask God to bless them.” Maybe you’d pray for a school or a synod or a country or a company or a gathering. Ask God to watch over the people and open their eyes to new insights.
The massive group that I am praying for today is the teenagers attending the National Youth Gathering in Atlanta. (see www.elca.org/gathering) At least 25,000 kids descended upon Atlanta yesterday for this inspiring gathering. Their opening message from scripture was based on Psalm 139, which taught them that they are made in the image of God and are shaped by God in wonderful ways. I know they had a much more creative way of sharing that message but in a day when too many teenagers suffer from depression ,anxiety, and lack of self esteem- isn’t that a message they need to hear. My prayer is that the kids who are in Atlanta will recognize how precious they are in the eyes of God and will return charged up with new insight (all 25,000 of them).
Who is on your mind? Hold the masses in your prayers.
Prayer: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of prayer. You reach out to individuals as well as the masses. Move our concerns this day beyond ourselves to concerns for larger groups of people. Bless nations in turmoil with new hope and bless the young people attending the ELCA youth gathering with your loving and life-giving message. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry. Pastor Dave welcomes and appreciates feedback. pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org.