Lord, you are all glorious, and the light of your presence pierces the deepest darkness of sin, sorrow, evil, despair. There is no darkness so thick, so impenetrable, so oily that the Light, Life, Love of your Being cannot invade and evaporate it. That is the truth of who you are. And so I ask … Continue reading Prayer Note #52 — To the God of Light
Tag: prayer
Prayer Note #51 — A Prayer of Longing for a Spiritual Springtime
Lord of Life, you are turning the ground green around me. The warming sun and the nourishing rain are renewing the life of the soil. The birds of the warm months are all returning -- the alien starlings in their noisy multitudes, the fierce-eyed, raucous grackles, too. Even the nighthawks, the dark-sky hunters are in … Continue reading Prayer Note #51 — A Prayer of Longing for a Spiritual Springtime
Prayer Note #50 — Wandering
O my Lord and Father, I long for you. Year after year I have wandered after other food for my soul. But it was no food. It was poison. I could see that very clearly. I could see how it always diminished me. I withered. Yet, I persisted. But so did you. You persisted with … Continue reading Prayer Note #50 — Wandering
Pastor Note #60 — One Church, One Pastor, and a Festival of Evangelism
I had lunch with Franklin Graham a few weeks ago. . . . All right, there were about 500 other people at the lunch. . . . Okay, yes, Franklin was sitting at a table on the other side of the room from me. . . .No, it’s true I couldn’t actually see him, so … Continue reading Pastor Note #60 — One Church, One Pastor, and a Festival of Evangelism
Pastor Note #58 — One Pastor’s Annual Report to his Congregation in Pursuit of God’s Presence
WHO ARE WE? As I mentioned in a recent sermon, I have been listening to a recording of a series of lectures given by one of my former seminary professors, Dr. Gordon Fee, who has written a great number of wonderfully helpful and insightful books and articles, especially on the New Testament. In one of … Continue reading Pastor Note #58 — One Pastor’s Annual Report to his Congregation in Pursuit of God’s Presence
Prayer Note #48 — A Preachers Prayer to Be Used Rightly by the Word of God
[Yes, that's what I meant to say: "to be used rightly by the word of God."] Your word, Lord, is alive and powerful in the ears of faith. Grant me believing ears, so that I will hear your word clearly and welcome your word warmly into my mind, my heart, and my life. My calling … Continue reading Prayer Note #48 — A Preachers Prayer to Be Used Rightly by the Word of God
Prayer Note #47–A Prayer for Pure Pleasure
Lord, my Shepherd, shepherd my wayward will. Keep prodding me back onto the right path. You see my mind -- how it wanders after pretty, poisonous pleasures. I beg your help. Keep me from pursuing those enticing, envenomed enchantments Capture my heart with visions of your true joy, the powerfully pure pleasures of your kingdom. … Continue reading Prayer Note #47–A Prayer for Pure Pleasure
Prayer Note #46 — A Channel of Blessing: a Pastor’s Prayer
[Although I have called this a "Pastor's Prayer," with a slight adjustment of the language, this prayer might well work as a prayer for any Christian who wants to be a channel of blessing to the people in their lives. And what Christian wouldn't want to be a channel of God's blessing in the lives … Continue reading Prayer Note #46 — A Channel of Blessing: a Pastor’s Prayer
Pastor Note #51 — Here’s How I Do It: The Devotional Life of One Christian
Every so often people ask me about my devotional practices. I don’t think I’ve ever written about that before, but it strikes me a something that some folks might find helpful. I don’t share what follows as if to say that everyone should pattern their devotions after me. In fact, my own pattern of devotional … Continue reading Pastor Note #51 — Here’s How I Do It: The Devotional Life of One Christian
Prayer Note #45 — The Arithmetic of God
Where do I find hope, except in you, Good Father? Yet, I continue to look in other places. I continue to behave as if I expect to find something better, more pleasing than you. Of course, I never find anything remotely approaching you. Everything I find is cotton candy, sugar water, candy corn. You … Continue reading Prayer Note #45 — The Arithmetic of God
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 