September 16, 2026 – Daily Devotional
This week, St. Luke’s began a new sermon series titled “Three Simple Rules.” These rules are based on the General Rules John Wesley provided for the early Methodists. These three simple rules are: Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay In Love With God. As a part of this series, Dr. Long has invited our congregation to pray three times a day. The prayers have been provided for us and are found in this email and on our webpage.
Prayer is one of the most significant ways God will communicate with us and transform us. To become a people who do no harm and do good in this world, we must connect with the One who loves us and created us to share hope and love with the world.
One of the great teachers of prayer is Richard J. Foster. In his book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Richard Foster teaches that prayer is a way in which we connect with God and God’s great love for us. Foster writes that in prayer, “we allow ourselves to be gathered up into the arms of the Father and let him sing his love song over us.”
I truly love this beautiful imagery. We live in a world where we so often encounter negative and harsh words. It drains our souls to be awash in such callous and gloomy points of view. If we are honest, we often share this negativity ourselves. This is not the life God desires for us. God created us in love and, through grace, offers us a life greater than the gloom we so often experience.
To pray is to move into a space where the struggles of this world are overwhelmed by the beauty of God’s reality. When we connect with God, we begin to see a world shaped by hope, peace, and joy. Prayer transforms our actions and our outlook.
God waits to greet each of us in prayer. It is our holy privilege. Take time today and pray.
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past; (Charles Wesley, Hymn Jesus, Lover of My Soul)
-Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
