St. Luke's Blogs

There is no one way to pray. Prayer is communication with God. We have so many wonderful ways to communicate our thoughts and feelings. We have so many ways to convey our worries and hope. When we pray, we invite God to intercede and make our world look like heaven. There are many styles of prayer. When we pray to God, we can simply talk. We can write our prayers. We can sing our prayers to God.

One such musical prayer is the hymn “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”  This hymn was written in 1955 by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller.  Jill and Sy, a wife and husband song-writing combination, wrote this beautiful song for the occasion of an international youth retreat that brought 180 students from around the world together. The youth represented different faith, political and social backgrounds. It was a beautiful song that became the prayer of that event…

When I was a little boy, I played a lot of games, as all little children should do.  I was blessed to have good friends who lived in my neighborhood and often we would spend day and night playing these games together. As I look back on those days, one game seems to stand out.  That game is the game of “hide-and-seek”.  I bet we played this game and its many variations at least a million times.  We played this game in houses, backyards, neighborhoods, and school playgrounds.  This was even a favorite game of my youth group during lock-ins at the church. I now enjoy watching my children play this game when they get together with their cousins or with our St. Luke’s youth.

Hide-and-seek is a great game! Usually, the games were over quickly…

Ken Davis recounts a story from the days when Mike Ditka was coaching the Chicago Bears football team. Davis writes: One day Ditka was about to deliver a locker room pep talk and he looked up and saw defensive tackle William “Refrigerator” Perry. Then again, how could he NOT see him? At 338 pounds, the Fridge stood out, even in a crowd of pro football players! Ditka gestured to the Fridge and said, “When I get finished, I’d like you to close with the Lord’s Prayer.” Then the coach began his talk.

Meanwhile, Jim McMahon, the brash and outspoken quarterback, punched John Cassis and whispered, “Look at Perry, he doesn’t know the Lord’s Prayer.” Sure enough, Perry sat with a look of panic on his face, his head in his hands, sweating profusely. Cassis replied, “Nah… sure he does! He’s just nervous. Everybody knows the Lord’s Prayer!” After a few minutes of watching the Refrigerator leak several gallons of sweat, McMahon nudged Cassis again and said, “I’ll bet you 50 bucks Fridge doesn’t know the Lord’s Prayer.” When Coach Ditka finished his pep talk, he asked all the men to remove their caps. Then he nodded at Perry and bowed his head. The room was quiet for a few moments before the Fridge began to speak in a shaky voice…

God speaks. This is the truth that is found throughout the Bible. God spoke through a burning bush. God spoke through angels. God spoke through the prophets. God spoke to people in dreams. The story of our faith tells us, over and over, that God does speak.

Perhaps my favorite story about God speaking is in the book of Jonah. This is a story about God interceding on behalf of two nations while speaking through one person. We often lose the plot of Jonah because Jonah runs from his calling and is swallowed by a large fish. It is an exciting and shocking story. It is no surprise that we teach this story so often in children’s Sunday School. There is just enough drama and excitement to make a great story and hold any reader’s attention.

The story is not really about Jonah and the big fish…

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”