Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.

In our Worldwide Prayer posts we will be featuring prayers from Christians around the world. As we pray these prayers together, let us remember the words of C.S. Lewis discussing “ready-made” prayers. — John

It does not matter very much who first put them together. If they are our own words they will soon, by unavoidable repetition, harden into a formula. If they are someone else’s, we shall continually pour into them our own meaning. — C.S. Lewis

Prayer from India :: Worldwide Prayers

Our loving Father,

Thank you for releasing us from the bondage of sin by the shedding of the blood of your Son, Jesus, on that rugged Cross of Calvary.

Thank you for choosing us; for allowing us to serve you; for the privilege of bearing a cross and following you.

Daily we face shame, pain, blame, loneliness, and even exhaustion. But we believe that always you are present sharing our load and helping us bear our cross. Even when life seems to be at its worst we never despair because we live for you and your Son died for us.

Your Word tells us that we may need to suffer trials of many kinds and we should be glad for this will prove our faith is genuine. Lord we are here for you. We will lay down our lives if this will glorify your Name.

Lord use your people to spread the joy of your Kingdom.

In Jesus’ precious name.

*Prayer from Hallowed be Your Name: A collection of prayers from around the world, Dr. Tony Cupit, Editor.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Grant me, O Lord, to trust in you with all my heart; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 8-9 (Listen – 4:51)
2 Corinthians 2 (Listen – 2:13)

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:10-11
On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.

Reflection: Lewis on Prayer Without Words
By C.S. Lewis

For many years after my conversion I never used any ready-made forms except the Lord’s Prayer. In fact I tried to pray without words at all—not to verbalise the mental acts. Even in praying for others I believe I tended to avoid their names and substituted mental images of them. I still think the prayer without words is the best—if one can really achieve it. But I now see that in trying to make it my daily bread I was counting on a greater mental and spiritual strength than I really have.

To pray successfully without words one needs to be “at the top of one’s form.” Otherwise the mental acts become merely imaginative or emotional acts—and a fabricated emotion is a miserable affair. When the golden moments come, when God enables one really to pray without words, who but a fool would reject the gift?

But He does not give it—anyway not to me—day in, day out. My mistake was what Pascal, if I remember rightly, calls “Error of Stoicism”: thinking we can do always what we can do sometimes.

And this, you see, makes the choice between ready-made prayers and one’s own words rather less important for me than it apparently is for you. For me words are in any case secondary. They are only as an anchor. Or, shall I say, they are the movements of a conductor’s baton: not the music. They serve to canalise the worship or penitence or petition which might without them—such are our minds—spread into wide and shallow puddles.

It does not matter very much who first put them together. If they are our own words they will soon, by unavoidable repetition, harden into a formula. If they are someone else’s, we shall continually pour into them our own meaning.

*Excerpt from Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, C.S. Lewis.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Grant me, O Lord, to trust in you with all my heart; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 7 (Listen – 4:26)
2 Corinthians 1 (Listen – 3:52)

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:14
Do everything in love.

Reflection: Treatment of Mercy
By John Tillman

Yesterday, September 10th, was World Suicide Prevention day. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Many churches in the United States observed a National Day of Prayer for Faith, Hope, and Life this past Sunday.

Just as we pray on behalf of those suffering from more traditionally understood forms of disease, such as cancer, diabetes, or heart disease, we pray on behalf of those suffering from the many different forms of debilitating mental illnesses.

As a reflection, we share a few quotes from articles promoting and supporting the day of observance.

Kay Warren
While mental illness is common, it is still an uncomfortable topic in most avenues of society. It is time for faith leaders to stand in the gap and speak up for people living with mental illness and suicidal thoughts.

As suicide loss survivors, Rick and I know firsthand the almost unbearable agony that accompanies the suicide of someone you love. We ache for those in our congregation — and in yours — who are experiencing despair. These friends — brothers and sisters in Christ — need to know that their church is a safe place to share the inward torment of their pain, and that their pain will be met with deep compassion and acceptance.

Ed Stetzer
It is common practice in churches, however, to treat mental illness differently. We immediately assume there is something else, some deeper spiritual struggle causing mental and emotional strain.

The fact is that mental illness and spiritual struggle can be (and are) related. We are not separate things, we are complex people – remarkably connected in spirit, soul, body, mind, etc.

But, let me be direct here: if we immediately dismiss the possibility of mental illness and automatically assume spiritual deficiency, our actions amount to spiritual abuse.

May we accept into our fellowship not only the exuberant, undignified dancing of David, but also the sorrowful, undignified weeping of Hannah.

May we embrace and treat with mercy and understanding those who struggle with mental illness. May we seek to treat them medically, spiritually, and relationally, as we support them within our communities as treasured ones, loved by Christ.

Resources
Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
Suicide Prevention Resource Center
Mental Health Grace Alliance
Not A Day Promised Resource Page

The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Grant me, O Lord, to trust in you with all my heart; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 6 (Listen – 3:34)
1 Corinthians 16 (Listen – 2:54)

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Reflection: Regaining Love’s Highest Meaning
By Jada Swanson

Love is one of the most overused words in the English language, and for many it is hard to define. Perhaps this is because of its overuse. In the literature, music, and advertising of pop culture, the word is used to mean just about everything except what the Bible intends for it to mean. Sadly, even Christians are easily misled into thinking love is primarily a feeling. Yet, it is so much more.

Love is not only an essential attribute for Christ-Followers to cultivate in one’s life, but it is an action for us to generously express to all. It should govern all of our relationships, especially those with whom we strongly disagree. In this current season, the need for genuine, Christ-like love is critical.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul is using the Greek word Agape. Although it was rarely used in ancient manuscripts, Agape was used by the early Christians to refer to the self-sacrificing love of God for humanity. They were committed to reciprocating and practicing this love towards God and among one another, not only inside of the church, but in every aspect of their lives.

Agape is the best because it is the kind [of love] God has for us and is good in all circumstances. — C.S. Lewis, Letters of C.S. Lewis

In the Corinthian church of Paul’s day, and our churches today, strong polarization exists between people of different denominations and tribes, as well as Christians of varying political persuasions and beliefs. Still, we are called to live and love as Jesus did.

Jesus expressed this type of love to humanity when He sacrificially gave his life, so that we might have the gift of eternal life. As God’s children, this Jesus-kind of love should season all that we do. In its absence, all people hear is an irritating sound, instead of the heart of our message.

Today, my prayer is that we may we express this love everywhere we find ourselves and to all with whom we come in contact. No strings attached. No conditions. No preconceived notions. Rather, generously lavishing Agape upon each person within our unique spheres of influence, so all might catch a glimpse of this Jesus for whom we live, love, and serve.

*We are thankful to have Jada as a new board member and a contributing author. Follow her on Twitter: @jadabswanson. — John

The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in my heart the love of your Name; increase in me true religion; nourish me with all goodness; and bring forth in me the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 2 (Listen – 5:07)
1 Corinthians 13 (Listen – 2:23)

This Weekend’s Readings
2 Samuel 3 (Listen – 6:35) 1 Corinthians 14 (Listen – 5:40)
2 Samuel 4-5 (Listen – 6:10) 1 Corinthians 15 (Listen – 8:06)

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:24-25
God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

Reflection: Lewis on Liturgiology — Part 2
By C.S. Lewis

As long as you notice, and have to count, the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance. A good shoe is a shoe you don’t notice. Good reading becomes possible when you need not consciously think about eyes, or light, or print, or spelling. The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.

But every novelty prevents this. It fixes our attention on the service itself; and thinking about worship is a different thing from worshipping. The important question about the Grail was “for what does it serve:” “‘Tis mad idolatry that makes the service greater than the god.”

A still worse thing may happen. Novelty may fix our attention not even on the service but on the celebrant. You know what I mean. Try as one may to exclude it, the question “What on earth is he up to now?” will intrude. It lays one’s devotion waste. There is really some excuse for the man who said, “I wish they’d remember that the charge to Peter was Feed my sheep; not Try experiments on my rats, or even, Teach my performing dogs new tricks.”

Thus my whole liturgiological position really boils down to an entreaty for permanence and uniformity. I can make do with almost any kind of service whatever, if only it will stay put. But if each form is snatched away just when I am beginning to feel at home in it, then I can never make any progress in the art of worship.

And that brings me back to my starting point. The business of us laymen is simply to endure and make the best of it. Any tendency to a passionate preference for one type of service must be regarded simply as a temptation. Partisan “churchmanships” are my bête noire.

*Excerpt from Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, C.S. Lewis.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in my heart the love of your Name; increase in me true religion; nourish me with all goodness; and bring forth in me the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
2 Samuel 1 (Listen – 3:54)
1 Corinthians 12 (Listen – 4:25)