Interludes: Prayers and Reflections of a Servant's Heart
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Interludes - Michael J. Easley
Interludes…
PRAYERS AND REFLECTIONS OF A SERVANT’S HEART
Interludes…
PRAYERS AND REFLECTIONS OF A SERVANT’S HEART
MICHAEL J. EASLEY
MOODY PUBLISHERS
CHICAGO
© 2005 by MICHAEL J. EASLEY
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
ISBN: 0-8024-4708-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-8024-4708-1
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
For Cindy
an excellent wife
THE LONELY PLACE
Again
Everyday
Those Who Followed
You/We
THE I LOVE ME
WALL
Because
The Problem with Self
The Distracted Traveler
INCHING TOWARD PEACE
Living Dead
Idols for Destruction
A Theologue’s Prayer
WHAT IS PRAYER?
A Parent’s Plea
A Preacher’s Petition
Protect Us
HOW TO BE LIKE CLARENCE THOMAS
We Are Only
Silence
A FEW BOOKS THAT HELP ME PRAY
Praise God Because of His Works
MANIFOLD!
Compassionate Counselor
O Faithful Lord
For the Fidgety Soul
WHAT’S IT WORTH TO YOU?
How Can I Be
Your Rest
Before Sin
THERE’S ALWAYS ONE
Paul on Prayer
Your Church, Your People
A Preacher’s Prayer
A Prayer for My Firstborn
A Leader Asks
JUST PLAIN STUPID
Fools
Sovereign Father
A Non-Anxious Presence
PRAYER TERMS … ATTITUDE … POSTURE
Passion & Anger
O Great Physician
EYE ON THE BALL
Remind Me
Like a Dead Man
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TALK?
Hating Sin, Loving Him
Strong God
Creator’s Art
Earth’s Threshold
Acknowledgments
About the Author
The Lonely Place
BUT JESUS OFTEN WITHDREW TO LONELY PLACES AND PRAYED.
—LUKE 5:16
Perhaps nothing is more difficult than prayer.
For followers of Jesus, we describe efforts to pray with phrases like
I wrestle with prayer
I struggle to pray
My prayer life is weak
All my prayers sound the same
I know I should pray more
I don’t pray enough
I don’t know how to pray
I fall asleep when I pray
Praying is boring
I tried but I just can’t pray
I used to pray, but it did not work
Dr. Howard G. Hendricks, distinguished professor for over fifty years, editorialized, Hold a conference on prophecy and people come out by droves. Hold a conference on prayer and people stay away by the thousands.
On another occasion, Dr. Hendricks queried, "Did it ever occur to you that there is only one thing the gospels record, when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them something? They asked Jesus to teach them to pray. What does this reveal of the disciples’ struggle?"
Over the years, many have tried to help us, teach us, and encourage us to pray. Devotionals, daily readings, prayer books, journals, entries from saints of other generations, mystical intrigue, and studies have been produced to cheer us on to pray. Call it a discipline, devotion, duty, or even religion—it seems that only silver-haired widows know the richness and joy of prayer.
My journey with prayer may be like yours. On rare occasions, I think I am praying well. Most of the time, I know I do not have a clue about prayer. I can quickly feel guilty about not praying. I can muster up a good habit for a while, but praying for lists of sick people does not keep me motivated. This may say more about my personal issues, but I find many believers pale to prayer. So, perhaps like you, I have read books on prayer, kept prayer lists, studied prayer in the Bible, and kept prayer journals. (The quirkiest attempt was to record prayer requests and answers in an unused checkbook register, dating the request and answer like a deposit and withdrawal.)
So maybe we visit a prayer meeting or a prayer service. As a pastor, it is a horrible admission to make, but I hate prayer meetings. Think about the last prayer meeting you attended:
We spend more time talking about requests than praying
We share concerns (code language for gossip
and worry
)
We pray about generic items: