Faith

Eternal God, our Father, your people come now to join our hearts in prayer before Thee. How mysterious and how wonderful is the thought of our coming to Thee! We cannot see Thee with our physical eye, yet nothing that we can see is more real or more enduring than God is. The beauties of this springtime call us to know that the grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever. These bodies we love so dearly are but the earthly house we live in, and they will be destroyed; but we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Our men fly through illimitable space, and we marvel at the wonders of the universe; but Thou art the Creator of all, and the whole creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

O Lord, we call upon all that is within us to glorify Thy holy name. How strange it is, but we know it is true: When we most defend ourselves, we are exposed and defenseless. When we try to save our lives, we lose life. When we are cool and calculating in the way we give of ourselves, life is given back to us in small measure, and we are unhappy and dissatisfied. When we pity ourselves and call attention to the more we give than others, we lose the blessing of the gift and become poor witnesses to Him who gave His all without counting the cost.

We thank Thee that Thou will come to us where we are and speak the word of deliverance to our special need: If we are crippled like the man by the pool of Bethesda; or sick like the epileptic boy; or concerned for our children like the parents of the man born blind; or living in immorality like the woman at the well; or selfish and grasping like Zaccheus; or wealthy and personable, but lost, like the rich young ruler; or learned but unaware of the world of the Spirit like Nicodemus--whatever our need , Thou dost come to us once more with the good news of a new life in a new world and in a kingdom which cannot be shaken. May all of us be open then to the message the Holy Spirit is ready to speak to our hearts. All this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen