Ensign: Two Anniversaries
AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 8 May 2015
And neither of them are mine ... in a way. Not my wedding anniversary (that's July 12) or my accepting Jesus as my Savior and Lord (that's in June), but I say "in a way" these two are also my anniversaries because I highly likely would neither be here nor be the person I am today without these two events tangentially impacting my life, and continuing to do so.
Yesterday in the United States we celebrated the first Thursday of May as the National Day of Prayer. While it itself is not a law -- contrary to what I think some people seem to want, you can't put people in jail for not praying -- it is a day of observance designated by Congress in the early 1950s and signed off on annually by the President to encourage us TO pray. And really, who would not welcome our intercession with God?
Per Wikipedia's entry, paragraph two:
The modern law formalizing its annual observance was enacted in 1952, although earlier days of fasting and prayer had been established by the Second Continental Congress from 1775 until 1783, and by President John Adams in 1798 and 1799. Most presidents have issued annual or special occasion proclamations for a national day of prayer, with the notable exceptions of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson.
But if you really need a law to pray to encourage you to do so, I am sorry for you. Still, the National Day of Prayer doesn't get mentioned in as many histories as a difference-making event as the other anniversary does. Today is the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, also known as V-E (Victory in Europe, specifically over Germany) Day.
I would remind you that there's still a minor skirmish here in the Pacific. (Doc, from the play Mister Roberts -- I just love this line!)
Tragically, as the number of veterans and civilians who fought and suffered in that great war are getting fewer and fewer, it's easy for such an event to fade from our minds. We have people who would LOVE it to go away because it reminds them of too many horrible things or they believe that the past is the past and that we as human beings are that far removed from perfection when we acknowledge that we've failed.
But when we pray, when we truly pray and seek God's guidance in our lives and His will to be done, is that not what we're doing? Admitting that we have failed -- in Biblical context, that we have "sinned [acted in a way that displeases God] and fallen short of the glory of God" -- is the first step to being able to succeed. The first step to overcoming a problem is to admit you have one.
Mountains of books have been written on prayer, but the simplest formula (if you can call it that) comes in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. In itself that's three chapters (Matthew 5-7), but His especial teaching on prayer in 7:7-15 focuses not on what to SAY (what to pray) so much as what to DO. To paraphrase Thoreau, what we are thunders so loudly others cannot hear what we say.
I encourage you to read that passage for yourselves -- it boils down to not praying for show but one-on-one with God, not saying what you think God wants to hear (He knows what you really think of Him and what He's doing), and not having this laundry list of stuff you'd like done. AND there's "The Lord's Prayer" of adoration and petition. Plug in as you need and try not to sound too pious. And FORGIVE, as you want God to forgive you.
This was true seventy years ago, 7000 years ago, and's true forevermore. Amen.
David
P. S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with you, and I hope it encourages you too. If I'm not or you want me to get lost, please let me know -- thank you!
Thank You, Lord, that we can come to You in praise and prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even the ones we don't know we have! Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.
Thank You, Lord, for all of us in leadership and service here and abroad, as well as for opportunities we have and the promise of new life! I pray we all seek and have a blessed week. Amen.
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