Monday, Sept. 5

September 5, 2022September 5, 2022 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the daily prayer guide for the month of September! Today is Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5. If you need an explanation about how to use this guide, see the first post. It being a day off for many folks, the advice that came with Saturday’s prayer guide comes to mind. Let’s maintain an awareness of God in the midst of any recreation we might have planned.

Yesterday, I preached the first sermon at my church relating to this month-long series. It was about basic prayer patterns, rooted in Matthew 6:9-13.

A word about the Bible texts in these prayer guides: As I select them, I begin by checking the daily lectionary, a three-year cycle of readings. These are wonderful to incorporate into your times of prayer. Last week, all the Scripture aligned with the lectionary, but that may not be true throughout this month. Daily lectionary texts can be found here.

Morning

Let’s begin our prayer time by considering God’s holiness. By that, we mean that as creator, God defines what is right and wrong. Right is aligned with God’s will; wrong opposes God’s will. Be certain that as you pray, you recognize God as holy and come before Him humbly and reverently. Yes, the words “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” are true, but God is holy and worthy of awe, regardless of whether we approach Him as Father, Son or Holy Spirit.

Once in the right frame of mind, let’s think of those within our sphere of influence who are in need this day, the sick, the lonely, the anxious, the needy and the spiritually lost. Pray for them by name. How might our thoughts and prayers be translated into God-inspired action?

Take time to read these Bible verses in a contemplative and meaningful way: Psalm 2; Jeremiah 18:12-23; 1 Timothy 3:14-4:5. As we consider these, I will make one comment. It is important that we pray for the people we live among—in a larger sense, our nation. There are lessons in these texts to guide such prayers.

This also is a good time to pray for your church and its role in the world.

Give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Noon

Pray the Lord’s Prayer slowly, thinking about the pattern it establishes:

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” (Remember, God is holy!)

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (This is an act of submission.)

“Give us this day our daily bread.” (Ask God to help with immediate needs day after day, not for extravagant long-term provision up front. Feel free to bring those up now.)

“And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (The first part is rooted in what Christ has done for us on the cross; the second part may be harder, as we are called to forgive those who have wounded us physically, spiritually or emotionally in some way.)

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Don’t just avoid doing really bad stuff. Instead of settling for what society might call “good,” choose what is Best, the action most aligned with God’s will. Really challenge yourself as you make moral choices.)

Again, give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Night

As you review your day, pay attention to how conscious you were of God’s presence. Give particular thanks for any moments where God strengthened you to handle something difficult.

I hope you are continuing the meditative prayer time in the evening. Don’t be surprised if you have a breakthrough in this area this week.

May your prayers lead to a sleep that gives you much rest and peace. There’s nothing wrong with praying one of the first prayers you may have learned to pray. “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”

Sunday, Sept. 4

September 4, 2022September 1, 2022 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the daily prayer guide for the month of September! Today is Sunday, Sept. 4.

Today being Sunday, we will deviate from our pattern. Focus today on worshiping with others! If you engage earnestly in worship, you will experience all the elements of prayer we have explored so far.

By the way, engage with worship early. Start preparing yourself to encounter God in worship as you leave the house. Approach the place of worship prayerfully and joyfully, rejoicing in the sight of your fellow believers. And as you worship, remember throughout who your audience is:

God.

Saturday, Sept. 3

September 3, 2022September 1, 2022 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the daily prayer guide for the month of September! Today is Saturday, Sept. 3. If you need an explanation about how to use this guide, see the first post.

Morning

For people with traditional work schedules, Saturday’s schedule can be gobbled up by recreation as quickly as the weekdays can be consumed with work. But we still want to begin our day centered! This morning, ask yourself how you can recognize God’s presence in the midst of all you do, be it work or play. See if you’re comfortable praying words along these lines:

“Lord, I invite you to keep me aware of you all day, wherever I may be. I know you are everywhere. Help me to sense this truth. Amen.” Let’s also remember to praise God for who He is. He made us. He saves us from sin. He dwells among us now as the Holy Spirit.

Take a moment to lift up the names of all around you who are tired, anxious, sick or lonely. Ask God to be with them; listen intently whether God is telling you to adjust your schedule to spend some time with them.

Take time to read the following Scriptures in your preferred translation: Deuteronomy 29:2-20; Matthew 10:34-42. Slow down enough to meditate on each one. Read what comes before and after if more context is necessary.

Pray these words out loud: “Lord, I surrender this day to you. Let my plans be your plans, let my encounters with others be holy, and may your kingdom grow just a little today because I am in this world. Amen.”

Give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Noon

Pray the Lord’s Prayer (See if someone might join you):

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Again, give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Night

As you review your day, pay attention to how closely you came to praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). By this, Paul meant being aware of God’s presence throughout the day.

I hope the meditative prayer time in the evening is becoming comfortable and rewarding. It’s a little like exercise; stick with it, and you will experience surprising growth. If the visualization aspect is proving difficult, simply focus on breathing and listening for the ever-present God.

And again, if you have questions or comments about the experience, it’s also okay to use the comments section of this page to start a conversation with others. May your dreams include visions of the kingdom to come.

Friday, Sept. 2

September 2, 2022September 1, 2022 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the daily prayer guide for the month of September! Today is Friday, Sept. 2. If you need an explanation about how to use this guide, see yesterday’s post.

Morning

Let your early thoughts in the day connect you to God. This morning, think about how God first delivered to you the message of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As you give thanks for the gift of salvation, consider how your experience might be beneficial to others.

Like yesterday, think about the people you know who may face a challenging day, and pray that God’s Spirit surrounds and supports them. You can continue to lift up this prayer throughout the day as other people continue to come to mind.

Take time to read the following Scriptures in your preferred translation: Psalm 1; Deuteronomy 7:12-26. Slow down enough to meditate on each one. Read what comes before and after if more context is necessary.

Give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Noon

Pray the Lord’s Prayer:

Again, give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Night

Begin by making a brief mental review of your day. When were you walking with God? When were you walking on your own? This isn’t a time to beat yourself up. It’s simply spiritually healthy to assess how you’re doing in relation to what God wants from you.

If you started this prayer series yesterday, you may have found the meditative prayer time challenging. That’s okay; this is an important time of spiritual growth. If this is your first attempt, take some time to read “Life and Breath” and “Under Water.”

If you have questions or comments about the experience, it’s also okay to use the comments section of this page to start a conversation with others. And again, sleep well.

Thursday, Sept. 1

September 1, 2022February 24, 2025 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ 5 Comments

Welcome to the daily prayer guide for the month of September! Today is Thursday, Sept. 1.

As this is the first posting, a quick explanation is in order. This guide is designed to lead you through three prayer opportunities during the day. Ideally, at each opportunity you will find a quiet place to spend some time with God. Some of the prayer activities will appear repeatedly throughout the month so you can grow in your understanding. The pattern is Morning, Noon and Night. It’s up to you to find the time that works best for you in each of these parts of the day. Even “Noon” doesn’t have to be precisely at noon, but simply somewhere in the middle part of the day.

Those of you who use computer calendars might want to set reminders on them for each prayer moment. That would be diligent planning, but at the same time, if a crisis or some other event interferes with your prayer time, simply get back on track at the next opportunity. God is always there for you.

Morning

Let your early thoughts in the day connect you to God. Give thanks for how God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Consider the people you know who may face a challenging day, and pray that God’s Spirit surrounds and supports them. (You can continue to lift up this prayer throughout the day as other people continue to come to mind.)

Take time to read the following Scriptures in your preferred translation: Psalm 139; Philippians 2:25-30. Slow down enough to meditate on each one. Read what comes before and after if more context is necessary.

Give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Noon

Pray the Lord’s Prayer:

Again, give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Night

The remainder of the evening prayer time is more of a meditative experience. To better understand what is being recommended, take some time to read “Life and Breath” and “Under Water.” Perhaps you will be seeking peace, forgiveness or healing of some sort. Know that God meets you in these moments, and that grace is always available to you.

Sleep well.

Too Much to Comprehend

June 2, 2022June 1, 2022 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ Leave a comment

By Chuck Griffin

Today’s psalter reading is Psalm 104:24-35b. Every now and then, it is good to stop and meditate on the greatness of God, a spiritual exercise that should be humbling, if nothing else.

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
    In wisdom you have made them all.
    The earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
    teeming with life of every kind,
    both large and small.
See the ships sailing along,
    and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea.

Our increased ability to study creation deep beneath the sea and across vast expanses of sky should leave us not smugly astonished at our own abilities, but instead even more dumbfounded by what God has wrought. The more we see, the more we grow puzzled, with an always deepening set of mysteries before us.

The ocean in places remains unfathomably deep, and if the human mind were for a second to truly comprehend the vastness of the universe, it might not survive the experience. The scale of it all is far beyond what we can grasp with our senses, and yet, we know it is all within the grasp of God.

They all depend on you
    to give them food as they need it.
When you supply it, they gather it.
    You open your hand to feed them,
    and they are richly satisfied.
But if you turn away from them, they panic.
    When you take away their breath,
    they die and turn again to dust.
When you give them your breath, life is created,
    and you renew the face of the earth.

What’s truly remarkable is that a God so great would care for the minuscule components of what He has created. We are told that He takes note of every sparrow that falls. We begin to at least glimpse the power of an eternal being, one who can take as long as He wants to contemplate every conscious experience made possible by the creative act.

And in having made us, God loves us, so much so that He granted us freedom to choose and then rescued us when we did not choose well.

May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
    The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!
The earth trembles at his glance;
    the mountains smoke at his touch.

The relationship between creation and Creator brings joy to all involved! Of course, the created, properly understanding our place, also must carry within a deep sense of humility, the first step toward proper worship of the one who has made all things.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
    I will praise my God to my last breath!
May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.

True worship fully incorporates body and mind, requiring the assistance of the one who is worshiped. We cannot achieve such worship on our own. Remember this as we move toward Pentecost Sunday; the Creator’s Spirit must be within us and among us if we are to worship Him well.

Lord, grant us what we need so that our worship of you may be full and complete. Amen.

Surely, Surely

December 9, 2021December 8, 2021 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ Leave a comment

Isaiah 12:2 (NRSV)
Surely God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
    he has become my salvation.

By Chuck Griffin

I often default toward using longer texts in these devotions, especially if I can chase meaning in a well-developed Bible story. But sometimes a single verse offers us so much, drawing us into a more meditative place.

The first word is enough to dwell on for a while. “Surely.” Other translations go with “behold,” as if the certainty of the salvation being declared is visibly before the prophet, or another positive affirmation like “indeed.” Did Isaiah have a full vision of Jesus Christ?

How powerfully can I affirm that salvation is mine? Does my conviction rise and fall with my circumstances? Do I stand like an oak or bend like a reed?

How often does fear creep in?

Our faith is strongest, of course, when a being untainted by sin places it in us. The power to do anything, even believe, flows first from God. Faith should never involve a struggle; instead, it is an ongoing surrender.

Take time today to settle into this one verse, and see what it says to you.

Lord, wash over us so our faith never fails. Amen.

God in Art

September 15, 2021September 14, 2021 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ Leave a comment

Today, LifeTalk introduces a new feature. Occasionally, rather than a written devotion, you will receive a work of art depicting a story from the Bible or some other aspect of our relationship with God.

If you’ve ever read Henri J.M. Nouwen’s “Return of the Prodigal Son,” a meditation on Rembrandt’s depiction of the moment of reunion, you will understand how to approach this opportunity. In fact, we will begin with that same work of art, based on the story found in Luke 15:11-32. Starting here seems appropriate on the heels of ‘Debo Onabanjo’s recent efforts to explore this parable.

The art you receive will be in the public domain or used with the permission of the artist. Submissions of original art are welcome, by the way. Send them in a large format to chuck@methodist.life.

Lord, reveal new truths to us as your holy word inspires the artists around us. Amen.

Open Up!

September 3, 2021September 1, 2021 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ Leave a comment

This Sunday’s sermon at Holston View UMC in Weber City, Va., will be “Demons and Deafness.” It will be based on Mark 7:24-37. If you want to view the sermon but cannot be present, the entire worship service will be available through Holston View UMC’s web page.

Today’s preparatory text: Mark 7:32-35 (NRSV)

A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!

By Chuck Griffin

You’re most likely reading this on the internet in some fashion, through Facebook, email or directly on the Methodist Life site. If you’re like me, this is not always the most conducive environment for slowing down and spending time with God.

A computer or smartphone can buzz with activity. Other windows, apps or browser tabs may be open, streaming music or television. Little pop-ups may be appearing and disappearing, telling you “important email” or alerting you to an incoming text or instant message.

Try something before you read any further. What you’ll experience is really important as we look at today’s text. Find a way to sit in silence, even if just briefly—say, five minutes. It helps to take some deep breaths.

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

My premise today is a simple one. We are like the deaf man in our story in Mark. We’re just deaf for a different reason. He had a physical problem. We have an environmental problem that causes spiritual deafness.

Something had stopped up his ears. Perhaps it was a disease. Perhaps it was a head injury. He began to speak as soon as he was healed, so he apparently remembered sound and speech. But at some point in his life, the sound had no longer come in and intelligible words had stopped coming out.

The cure was not a simple one, not even for Jesus the miracle worker. This was no time for a spectacle. Jesus pulled the man aside to a private place. (It strikes me that the deaf man must have had little understanding of what was going on; he had to trust Jesus.)

Put your pandemic-induced anxieties aside for a moment and imagine what it would feel like to have Jesus stick his fingers in your ears. Imagine what it would be like to have him take his spit and put it on your tongue.

Imagine what it would be like to have Jesus pray for you in the common Aramaic his very common followers spoke, a prayer so deep that it comes out in a groaning command: Ephphatha. Open up!

When it comes to hearing Jesus, to really hearing what God has to say to us, we’re stopped up, too. The world is in our ears. We’re clogged with work, sport and school schedules, with plans, with worries, with diversions like television and video games. We’re so stopped up that we’re in danger of remaining deaf to God’s continuing call on our lives until the day we die.

This deafness also makes us spiritually mute. How can we declare what we have not recently heard?

May we go to private places with Jesus long enough that our ears be unstopped. May we hear his message well. And may we declare the message of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior with great excitement.

Dear Lord, give us the same healing command: Ephphatha!

Living Stones

March 4, 2021March 3, 2021 ~ Chuck Griffin ~ 1 Comment

1 Peter 2:4-5 (NRSV): Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

These two verses serve as a meditation point regarding our role in Christ’s church. I’m going to raise some questions, and we can each seek our own answers.

What does it mean to be a “living stone”?

What sort of usefulness do I provide to Christ’s spiritual house?

How do living stones work together, and how well am I working with the ones around me to support and build the house?

What does it mean to think of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone? How does that truth define my role?

The metaphor shifts to that of “priesthood.” What does it take for a group of people to act as priests to the world, and how does that concept tie to the “spiritual house”?

What spiritual sacrifices have we made, and must we still make?

Lord, may the answers we find today move us toward holy action. Amen.