A short meditation written yesterday morning as I pondered all that is going on around us: in our homes, in our nation, and in the world…
Can we pray “Our God” if our faith has no room for others and their needs?
Can we pray “in Heaven” if our interests and pursuits are in earthly things?
Can we truly honor your name if we do not strive to be holy ourselves?
Can we pray “Your Kingdom come” if we are unwilling to accept it into our own lives?
Can we pray “on earth as it is in heaven” if we do not diligently work to make God’s Kingdom a reality here and now?
Can we pray “give us this day our daily bread” when we withhold God’s gifts from our neighbors?
Can we pray “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” when we harbor grudges against others?
Can we pray “lead us not into temptation” when we invite it into our lives?
Can we pray “deliver us from evil” when we are unwilling to confront the injustice being inflicted upon others?
Can we pray “Your Kingdom” when we do not acknowledge that this is God’s Creation, not ours?
Can we pray “Your power and the glory” when we are concerned mainly with our own?
Can we pray “forever and ever” if our minds are only upon our desires, needs, and challenges of the moment?
And, can we pray “Amen” when we live an outward faith with no inward reality?
Peace.
Copyright (c) 2016, Allen Vander Meulen III, all rights reserved. I’m happy to share my writings with you, as long as proper credit for my authorship is given. (e.g., via a credit that gives my full name and/or provides a link back to this site – or just email me and ask!)
The Here and the Hereafter 