November 30, 2015 SHARE: Praying time: less than three minutes We truly are such beggars, aren’t we? What a generous, loving Father in heaven we have, who would never give us a snake when we ask for a fish! I pray for you every day, and I hope you will make this prayer your own. dz Great are You, Lord, and greatly to be praised! You alone are good, dear Father, and everything you make is good; very good. The whole of creation reflects the goodness of Your character. The heavens and the seas, the earth and the sky and all that dwell in them testify to Your beauty and perfection. What tragedy has been brought on this world by my own sin and the sins of others just like me. I can’t ignore the brokenness of this fallen world, Your perfect world, now smudged with my fingerprints. I see that brokenness staring at me in the mirror. For this I am truly sorry, Lord. You have created within me a yearning, a longing for the restoration of all things, and especially the restoration of my sinful nature. I want to be good, Lord, as You are perfect and good, and as my Lord has called me to be perfect. But there is no goodness in my nature. And so I rejoice in Your goodness, O God, that has been imparted to me by faith in my Lord Jesus, who lived a sinless life in my stead, and offered that life for my redemption. I rejoice that He has risen, the firstborn of a new creation, and that by water and the Word You have made me new again, forgiven, redeemed, holy to stand before You. Your work in me is not yet done, Father. In Your ongoing work of creating and re-creating, You continually take what is broken and useless, fractured and stained by sin, and You make it new, useful again. You make a withered hand whole, and darkened eyes bright again. You take those who the whole world calls unclean and declare them to be clean again, restored to communion with You. The fruit of Your Spirit is goodness. Lord, I believe You are at work again; at work in me. I thank You for the daily gift of Your transforming Word whereby You are at work in my life imparting the character of Jesus into my own. I rejoice in the baptismal waters that are still all these years later a life-giving water for me. I thank You for the body and blood of my Savior that offer me forgiveness, life and strength for the challenges of each new day. I am but clay, dear Lord, but You are the Potter. Mold me, shape me, fashion me into the image of my brother, Jesus, that day by day I might carry on His work in my life. When I open Your Word, when I remember my baptism, when I hold out my beggar’s hands to receive the Sacrament, meet me there, Father. Send me Your Holy Spirit, that by faith I might humbly receive Your good gifts and the gift of goodness that only You can offer one like me. And then, with Christ living in me, guide me in the way of goodness that You have laid out before me. And receive me back again, when I return. Empty. Tomorrow. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen. Thanks for praying with me. A Congregational Wellness Weekend is designed to help create a ministry environment at your church or school where professional church workers can thrive and serve joyfully in their calling at top capacity. Let’s start the conversation today! Find more information on our website or contact Program Director Darrell Zimmerman to learn more.