To the children of God there stands, behind all that changes, only one unchangeable joy. That is God.
HANNAH WHITALL SMITH
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray as the disciples of John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray. Jesus gave them an example of prayer that contains all the elements of prayer anyone could need. Emmet Fox says the prayer that we call the Lords Prayer is the most important of all the Christian documents, and is the one common denominator of all the Christian churches. I find it sad that we have taken this beautiful example of communicating with our heavenly Father and turned it into a sing-song group of words that we recite from memory without any thought about what we are saying. Share with me what Emmet Fox has to say about this: The prayer is a carefully constructed organic whole. Many people rattle through it like parrots, forgetful of the warning that Jesus gave us against vain repetitions, and, of course no one derives any profit from that sort of thing. We say the prayer at the close of every AA meeting, and I am teaching myself to concentrate on each clause and its meaning. Emmet Fox says the prayer is a compact formula for the development of the soul. As I came across the prayer today in my time of reading Gods Word, what Jesus had to say directly after giving the example touched my spirit. Share this with me from the New Living Translation.
Then teaching them more about prayer, he used this illustration: Suppose you went to a friends house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would say to him, A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat. He would call out from his bedroom, Dont bother me. The door is locked for the night, and we are all in bed. I cant help you this time. But I tell you this, though he wont do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation wont be damaged.
And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.
Luke 11:5-10 (New Living Translation)
Jesus gave the disciples an excellent example of how to pray, but just as importantly He taught them about continuity. Keeping on keeping on. I have a friend who got a job at a steel plant that moved into town fifteen years ago. It was the best job he had ever had. After about three years the steel plant shut down and laid off the workers. They did have a plant about thirty-five miles down the road, and my friend put in his application there. They were not hiring and he was somewhat discouraged. I remember him saying that he was going to keep trying until he got hired. For months he would scrape up the money for gas and drive down the road to make a personal appearance at the employment office at that plant. Many thought it was useless because they just werent hiring, but he kept at it. You know what? He got the job. He just kept knocking and the door was opened to him. In my life I kept knocking at a door that said freedom from alcohol and drugs. I would knock on the door but failed to be willing walk through. I wanted to walk through the door, but was not willing to work at the changes that it required. I kept knocking at that door and in time I was ready to walk through. The door was opened each time I knocked, but I was reluctant to enter in. Today having entered in I find more doors to knock on. Different phases of my recovery seem to open to new levels of service and serenity. May I never be afraid to ask, seek and knock. God always will do for me what I cannot do for myself if I ask and it is in His will ..JRE
HANNAH WHITALL SMITH
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray as the disciples of John the Baptist had taught his disciples to pray. Jesus gave them an example of prayer that contains all the elements of prayer anyone could need. Emmet Fox says the prayer that we call the Lords Prayer is the most important of all the Christian documents, and is the one common denominator of all the Christian churches. I find it sad that we have taken this beautiful example of communicating with our heavenly Father and turned it into a sing-song group of words that we recite from memory without any thought about what we are saying. Share with me what Emmet Fox has to say about this: The prayer is a carefully constructed organic whole. Many people rattle through it like parrots, forgetful of the warning that Jesus gave us against vain repetitions, and, of course no one derives any profit from that sort of thing. We say the prayer at the close of every AA meeting, and I am teaching myself to concentrate on each clause and its meaning. Emmet Fox says the prayer is a compact formula for the development of the soul. As I came across the prayer today in my time of reading Gods Word, what Jesus had to say directly after giving the example touched my spirit. Share this with me from the New Living Translation.
Then teaching them more about prayer, he used this illustration: Suppose you went to a friends house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would say to him, A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat. He would call out from his bedroom, Dont bother me. The door is locked for the night, and we are all in bed. I cant help you this time. But I tell you this, though he wont do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation wont be damaged.
And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.
Luke 11:5-10 (New Living Translation)
Jesus gave the disciples an excellent example of how to pray, but just as importantly He taught them about continuity. Keeping on keeping on. I have a friend who got a job at a steel plant that moved into town fifteen years ago. It was the best job he had ever had. After about three years the steel plant shut down and laid off the workers. They did have a plant about thirty-five miles down the road, and my friend put in his application there. They were not hiring and he was somewhat discouraged. I remember him saying that he was going to keep trying until he got hired. For months he would scrape up the money for gas and drive down the road to make a personal appearance at the employment office at that plant. Many thought it was useless because they just werent hiring, but he kept at it. You know what? He got the job. He just kept knocking and the door was opened to him. In my life I kept knocking at a door that said freedom from alcohol and drugs. I would knock on the door but failed to be willing walk through. I wanted to walk through the door, but was not willing to work at the changes that it required. I kept knocking at that door and in time I was ready to walk through. The door was opened each time I knocked, but I was reluctant to enter in. Today having entered in I find more doors to knock on. Different phases of my recovery seem to open to new levels of service and serenity. May I never be afraid to ask, seek and knock. God always will do for me what I cannot do for myself if I ask and it is in His will ..JRE
