A PRAYER from ST. PAUL'S LETTER to THE COLOSSIANS


I often find prayers in the Psalms that become my prayers, but yesterday I found one in St. Paul's letter to the Colossians that I thought was so beautiful and so perfect I wanted to share it.


Heavenly Father, please give me a complete understanding of what you want to do in my life. Make me wise with spiritual wisdom so that the way I live will always honor and please you, and that I will continually do good, kind things for others. Help me, all the while, to learn to know you better and better.


I pray also that I will be strengthened with your glorious power so that I will have all the patience and endurance I need.


May I always be filled with your joy, always thanking you, who have enabled me to share the inheritance that belongs to your holy people who live in the light. Thank you for rescuing me from the one who rules the kingdom of darkness and for bringing me into your kingdom. Thank you for purchasing my freedom with your blood and for forgiving all my sins. Amen.


Adapted from Colossians 1: 9-14 ( New Living Translation)

WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE

"At once the Spirit sent Jesus out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him." (Mark 1:12-13 NIV)

Reading this, I was struck by the fact that in the same way we are all sent into the deserts of our lives.

In many ways our entire lives here on Earth are desert lives, desert experiences. "Forty" is the usual Biblical expression for "many," and can refer to our whole lifespan. And while we are here, we are all subject to the devil's temptations.

Wild animals can be both beautiful and very dangerous from snow leopards to mosquitoes, from grizzly bears to bacteria. They can be our friends or our enemies. Human animals can be the most frightening and deadly of all or the best of good friends and neighbors.

And unseen by us, our guardian angels always attend us, protecting and guiding.

IN THE SILENCE

Too often, Lord, I forget that prayer, like conversation, is supposed to be a two-way street, and so I prayed this morning:

"‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears.’ You have said, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ Help me to be still and listen. . . ."

And this was the answer I received, not in audible words, but in thoughts that came quickly to me:

"Offer your day’s planned activities one-by-one for guidance or inspiration or warning. Doing this is not a distraction, but a leading. Be still. The Old Testament has great value; read the lessons. Their worth may not be immediately apparent to you. I have shown you this before. Keep silence. Saul disobeyed. Rebellion is akin to witchcraft; stubbornness is akin to iniquity and idolatry. Saul tried to go beyond God’s command. He was more afraid of his people than of God. He made excuses to justify doing things his way. Keep track of what is revealed to you so you may remember and see your progress in spiritual learning and growth."

{From A Journal of the Spirit, a Journey of the Soul, by D.C. Ice, Nov. 12, 1991.}