Praying powerful prayers over people

The prayers of Paul are a great model of how to pray over people:

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,  10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:9-14, NIV)

 

The Surrendered Life

20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Phil. 1:20-21)

To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. (Oswald Chambers)

Do Black Lives Matter?

You know… it’s almost exactly a year since I wrote this. We still lament. And I still ask this question.

Apprentice 2 Jesus

I woke up this morning to THIS NEWS. The New York Times. Headline. About my city.

That, on the heels of the Alton Sterling shooting.

A few months ago I attended a forum held at the college where I teach. Students and faculty and university staff got together to talk about the Jamar Clark shooting and the decision not to prosecute the police officers involved. With great compassion, there was a discussion where feelings were aired. In one powerful exchange, someone very thoughtfully asked, “What is the meaning of using #BlackLivesMatter? Don’t all lives matter? Can you please help me understand?”

With great care and compassion an African American student answered that of course all lives matter, but when there is a particular issue comes up that highlights a particular problem, there is a need to emphasize that particular problem, along with the pain involved. “It’s like going…

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Philando Castile and the Miscarriage of Justice

There are signs of actual hope in the case of Philando Castile’s death. In the few days since the acquittal of Jeronimo Yanez in the shooting of Philando Castile: 1) Protests here in the Cities have been vocal and noticed, but no “huge” incidents to get white people upset too quickly, and 2) I have run into 3 places on the web calling the case a miscarriage of justice that surprise me.  Continue reading “Philando Castile and the Miscarriage of Justice” →