unleashing the power of God through prayer

ἀλλὰ λήμψεσθε δύναμιν ἐπελθόντος τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς, 

καὶ ἔσεσθέ μου μάρτυρες ἔν τε Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ καὶ Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς.

These are the words Jesus gave to a bunch of guys who had locked themselves in a dark room, bolted  the windows and were shaking in fear...

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—

in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Acts 1:8 (New Living Translation)

God has a habit of using choosing the weak things to display his glory (Judges 7:2,1 Cor. 1:27).   Those whom he chooses he empowers. My children's bible states it this way;

Because God sees not just who you are-

but who he is going to make you. 

If you are a lover of Christ and have laid down your life for him as he has for you than you are δύναμιν in his hands. This word translates "power", specifically The Holy Spirit.  It to weak, nor subtle. 

 Unfortunately  have bought the lies that the Deceiver has whispered (or shouted) into our ears that the Holy Spirit has truncated sporadic power in our lives. Was Jesus wrong? No. 

So are the lives of most followers of Christ so different from the twelve frightened,  hiding men? 

Perhaps it is because we forget to ask for the the power to live. Here is the prayer I pray with and over my family at the door before we head to work, kindergarten, and daycare. 

"Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us into safety to this new day: preserves us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all that we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

This short prayer found on page 137 of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer holds all the pieces; submission to God as Lord, acknowledging his provision of life and control of our bodies while we sleep, asks to be sustained throughout the day spiritually and physically (for without him we die both ways), begs help to not sin admitting we are powerless, and calls us to die to ourselves and agendas and to replace it with His. 

Pray it with your family for 30 days...if cannot because you are too scattered in the morning do whatever you need to do to stop that and focus. It seems as if you are more concerned with your agenda...

i have beautiful words in my head daddy

I have two amazing kids. Sure, there are days when they drive me as crazy as any six and 3 year old can. Sometimes they refuse to eat, talk back, don't clean up...you know the drill.

But they are a-mazing, especially when they speak of love, compassion and God.

"daddy, I have beautiful words in my head" my little three year old blurted out a few months back and trust me, she does.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, as most of those words in her head came from us but there seems to be a special power when the promises of God are spoken in a little three year old girls voice;


"We will only be dead for a little while, then we will be with Jesus forever"
"Some people don't love Jesus, but he still loves them"
"God can heal you daddy"

These truths are from God. They are not mere sentimentality.  I find myself challenged (in a very good way) when I catechize my children...do I really believe what I teach about the Trinity, or do I take it as good advice?

To aid in my trusting of God I plant flowers. Yes, they have great curb appeal but that is not why God invented so many colors, sizes, shapes and smells. He made the flowers to teach us how to trust in his abundant provision friends.  These beautiful words in my daughters head inspire me to trust, trust, trust.

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

                                        Matthew 6:25-34 The Message

trusting in the chaos

All the Lord's promises prove true
                             Psalm 18:30
I grew up going to Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut,  a reproduction/restoration of a historic shipbuilding and whaling town.  The sights, sounds and smells held my boyhood imagination captive. Creaking wood, smokey coal fires and old canvas transported me far, far away.

I heard sea-shanties sung by weather-grizzled men that spun tales of heroic fishermen who would spend up to a year living on board ship chasing wales, risking their lives for the oil in the beasts head that would make them rich.

Bards bragged of the moment when after harpooning a massive whale the hunters became corks as they held on for what was referred to as  a "Nantucket Sleigh Ride".


The rope trailing from the harpooned whale was lashed to the small harpoon boats bow.
Either they or the fish would die.

Oh how I wanted to be a whaler. 

However romantic whaling seemed to be it was not whales that kept people alive then, it was Cod. Cod  were caught by the thousands using the mundane technique of long-lining by hand. Men would be dropped off the main ship in a John Boat and they would set out long thin ropes with hundreds of hooks and then pull them back in.

No sleigh-ride, no beast. Just Cod.

I am slowly coming to understand that God has made most of us Cod fisherman in his restoration plan. It is the slow, meticulous, steady work of trolling the unfathomable depths of God day in and day out that sustains us.

...give us this day our daily bread

It is here were our faith is proven and tried.

"I will give you manna for the day" The Father tells us.
"I will be with you always" Jesus told his followers.

Trusting  God and his promises is the greatest act of defiance 

we can show the world in these troubled times.

This past Monday while my family was on vacation our world was once again rocked my deep evil. It was very personal for our family as we had a number of dear friends (who live only a few feet away from us) running  in the Boston Marathon. They had been within a mile of the bombs. All of our hearts stopped then pounded. We wept, prayed, and screamed. When we finally learned they were safe we began to breath again.

The next day on Tuesday morning my wife and I had to take our 3 and five year old daughters out for breakfast. It seemed almost irreverent but they had to eat.  While we waited for their pancakes and our omelets we did what we do every morning.

We thanked God for keeping us safe last night.
 We praised him for the morning.
We read his word and talked about his love and his promises.

The Beast had tried its beast to pull us under. By God's grace we went fishing for Cod, reminding ourselves of the one sure thing in the world:
...All of the Lord's promises are true.

NB. God desires none of his beloved creatures to be lost. Period. My family is broken for those who were killed and injured. As a dad who has buried a son I grieve deeply, and grieve well. May God have mercy on us all.