ther day I was so excited to have a meeting with our 5th Grade parents. It was a meeting to give all of our crazy info about the summer. But, I was really encouraged to have some of the parents ask me about some of my ministry goals for this next year. One of them centering around prayer.If I'm honest that is a place that I fall short many times. I want to make sure that I get everything done and then after I am done with that then I will lift up a short prayer to God. But, that is not how I want to live my life. I want to be in constant prayer both for ministry and for surrounding me. I have failed lately in that way. Prayer is essential and if I tell people to pray but don't do it I am a lot like the Pharisees. I think about the passage in Luke 18 where it says:
" To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other men- like this tax collector, I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
So here is confession time. I am a sinner. I am a youth pastor and I have told people to pray and to trust God but then when it is my turn I walk away and do my own thing. There are many times that I wish that I would have trusted God more but I like to control situations. This is my simple and earnest prayer that God's will be done. Help me Father to get out of the way. Don't let me take over any longer. I am beating my breast and asking you to forgive me.
Grace and Peace,
Scott
1 comment:
You're not alone, Mr. Pharisee. There's a lot of us in your boat.
Post a Comment