Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts

Friday, December 25, 2020

Christmas 2020 Prayer

 


Father in Heaven 

Hope was born a long time ago, too long sometimes it seems

and we have forgotten the promise was made to us.

We are challenged by the darkness and chaos that confronts us on a daily basis and sometimes we forget that all we see is not all that that there is.

We have a promise and hope.

The promise and the hope that you sent to us on that first Christmas.

We have never needed hope more than right now. We are living in a world reeling from pandemic, fraught with discord, suspicion and hatred. Our world has become much like what your Son found at his birth in the lowly stable so long ago.

Yet, we have hope. We believe your promises. We sing Joy to the World and know that despite what we see, there is a joy that we can believe. 

Protect and guard our military men and women on station around the world and all those who stand watch to protect us from the forces of darkness.

Be with and inspire the first responders and the medical professionals who are on the front lines waging war against the ravages of the pandemic.

On this Christmas Day 2020, thank you for our many blessings and for the peace and hope you have given to us in the middle of a chaotic world.  

Amen 



Thursday, November 26, 2020

Thanksgiving 2020

 

The holiday that kicks-off the Holiday Season has arrived!
Elmer, my Turkey
Ready for the Holiday

Thanksgiving is here. The Day of the Turkey! The time to give thanks for our blessings. 

Living under the pandemic has changed our holiday celebration. We will adhere to the advice of the doctors and scientists by celebrating the holiday with family via the best electronics available. I expect to Zoom most of the day. 

This will not be out first solitary Thanksgiving, while I was serving in the Air Force we celebrated many Thanksgivings separated from extended family. I remember many decades ago Chris and I even celebrated Thanksgiving in a restaurant somewhere in the midsection of the country as we were driving from Denver to Upstate New York. And so this will not even be the first Thanksgiving where it is just the two of us. 

We are resilient. The sense of loss of traditions and the change that we are experiencing will not overshadow the holiday or prevent us from remembering the blessings that have been bestowed upon us, even during this pandemic. 

I searched for an appropriate Thanksgiving prayer and discovered the following. It is not an actual prayer that Abraham Lincoln spoke; however, as I understand, it is constructed based upon his thoughts and ideals and written by a Lincoln scholar. Nonetheless, it speaks to what is in my heart as I write this morning.


PRAYER FROM LINCOLN
AT THANKSGIVING

SO, we must think anew,
And act anew.
We must disenthrall ourselves.
We are not enemies,
But friends.
We must not be enemies.
We cannot separate.
There is no line, straight or crooked,
Upon which to divide.
We cannot escape history.
No personal significance, or insignificance,
Can spare one or another of us.

The mystic chords of memory
Will yet swell the chorus of union
To every living heart
And hearthstone,
And again touch
The better angels of our nature.

  Read the Spirit - Prayer from Abraham Lincoln at Thanksgiving

May you find peace on this holiday. 


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Christmas Eve 2019


It has arrived--the day before the day!

I remember that when I was a kid, Christmas Eve was the longest day of the year. It would drag on forever and I would look forward to church and the candle light service because I knew that after church it was time for bed and then the BIG day would arrive. 

In retrospect, Christmas Eve is an important day. It is the epitome of preparation. 

Today we will gather the family for a brunch to start what has become a two-day holiday. And this year, thanks to an Executive Order for the President, federal workers have an official two-day holiday, so I did not have to take leave, as I usually do, to enjoy the holiday. 

And so, on the Christmas Eve, let me offer a prayer to all. It is not of my own writing, but I found it on Crosswalk and it spoke to me. 

Lord, in a season when every heart should be happy and light, many of us are struggling with the heaviness of life—burdens that steal the joy right out of our Christmas stockings. Crazy weather disasters strike at unsuspecting areas, ravaging peaceful homes and interrupting the lives of unsuspecting residents. Tragedy arrives as innocent victims suffer, and an inner voice whispers, “Be afraid!” We need your peace, Jesus.
Lord, we still carol the wonderful message, huddled beneath winter caps on snow-covered porches, or from churches, led by enthusiastic musicians or choir members. Yet we confess that our hearts are too often filled with wonder of a different kind: wondering when the bills will be paid, when the terror will stop, when rest will come. Will it ever? Is the message still true?
In a world where worry, not peace, prevails, stir up that good news again. This Christmas, make it real in our hearts. Never have we needed Your joy and peace more than now. Thank You for the gift of Jesus, our Immanuel, the Word made flesh. Forgive us for forgetting—that Your love never changes, never fades, and that You never abandon the purpose for which You came: to save us from our sinful condition, and to give us life eternal, the joy of relationship with a holy God. Your birth—and Your death—sealed Your promise to us forever. Amen.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas 2012 Prayer

Father in heaven
I come to you with joy in my heart
rediscovering the gift of salvation
through your Son's birth
There is hope in His coming,
Hope for a broken world
where our children are senselessly killed
And wars continue in so many places.
A world where people live in oppression
under the rule of dictators, without hope
Your Son is hope
for a world that needs to hear songs of rejoicing
instead of mourning
A world that needs peace, instead of war
where there are rumors of terrible weapons being used
against innocent people
The world needs hope that only He can provide in His birth and life.
Ours is not so different from the world that your Son was born into
with oppression from foreign powers and atrocities
and murder and sacrifice, and hate, and unrest.
I look forward to the promise of deliverance
and salvation, and peace.
The promise of Christmas--hope
Hope for the people, the oppressed, the prisoners
The carols, the songs, the lights the preparation
The advent of His coming long ago, and again
instills hope in me by
reminding me that I am part of the plan
which began so long ago
in a town that no one cared about
on the outskirts of the empire.
Rekindle hope in me to make a difference
Father--I thank you for the blessings you have provided me
and my family
I ask that you be with the families who mourn this Christmas
the wounds are real and hard--give them peace
Be with our military and their families--let them know
that they are loved and appreciated.
Be with the leaders of our country--
help them to find compromise and compassion.
Thank you for the first gift of Christmas
that was told to the shepherds in their fields
and sung by angels.
To proclaim His coming.
Help me to remember your gift to em every day during the year ahead.
Thank you


--Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Intolerance--A response

An article in the new yesterday about a 12 year old girl in Pakistan with some burned pages in a bag whose neighbors are calling for execution under the local blasphemy laws highlights one outcome of intolerance. The article, Pakistan girl jailed, accused of blasphemy, highlights the intolerance potentially associated with fundamentalist religious beliefs.

I believe this article also points out the widespread anti-Christian situation of many places on the planet. If not open persecution, very nearly so.

And, I also note that the situation in which this girl and her family find themselves is the end result of the intolerance of one belief system towards another. Special interest groups seek to impose their narrowly focused beliefs upon the larger majority, in even our own country. Unchecked, they are a threat not only to our way of life, but to the Constitution as well. They do this by seeking to implement laws and regulations designed to deny other portions of the population rights that seemingly are protected by the Constitution. It can be insidious at first--just a small loss of rights here and there--but where do there infringements end?

The article about the Pakistani girl contains some very concerning allegations:


Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad or defiling the holy book, or Quran, can face life in prison or even execution. Critics say the laws are often misused to harass non-Muslims or target individuals.
Police put the girl in jail for 14 days on Thursday after neighbors said they believed a Christian girl had burned pages of a Quran, gathering outside her house in a poor outlying district of Islamabad, said police officer Zabi Ullah. He suggested she was being held for her protection.
"About 500 to 600 people had gathered outside her house in Islamabad and they were very emotional, angry and they might have harmed her if we had not quickly reacted," Ullah said.
Almost everyone in the girl's neighborhood insisted she had burned the Quran's pages, even though police said they had found no evidence of it. One police official, Qasim Niazi, said when the girl was brought to the police station, she had a shopping bag that contained various religious and Arabic-language papers that had been partly burned, but there was no Quran.


I highlighted an important phrase. Potentially false accusations directed at someone to deny them of rights or life.

We must be on guard for similar behavior in our own society and country. I fear that we are becoming increasingly intolerant and allowing extreme special interest groups increasingly more access and power. The situation a few weeks ago revolving around the statements made by the owner of Chick-fil A is a good example of the depth to which some intolerant special interest groups have seized political power in our country. I wrote about this in my blog.

What can we do?

Pray. Really!

Pray for the girl in Pakistan and her family and her Christian community (which is apparently being persecuted) and pray for the persecutors that they would find enlightenment and tolerance, and pray that the local officials would seek truth amid inflammatory accusations.

Pray for our country. Our leaders--even if you don't like them, they are all we have. Pray for the person on the highway who just cut you off. Pray that intolerance can be defeated and that the enlightenment and hope upon which this country was founded can be restored.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD




Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Prayer 2010

Father in Heaven

The world moves too fast and I let it rob me of time to spend with you. Help me to see the glory of your coming to earth as you promised to provide a way back to intimacy with you. Intimacy that I don't appreciate, for I use my time to do other things and to satisfy other pursuits. But I need to spend more time with you.

If I start by changing one heart, mine, perhaps another will change and then one-by-one the world will change. I don't appreciate your miracles anymore: that the sun rises each day and that after a night of sleep I wake up to a day filled with opportunities and hope and promise. I know in my head that I am blessed, but I really don't in my heart appreciate that I live in the the greatest country in the world, and in one of the richest counties in that great country. You have blessed me and my family beyond my expectations. And I fail to take time to say thank-you at the beginning and ending of each day. Forgive me for not giving the glory of my world to you.

Where would I rather be? I spend a lot of time thinking about that question. I would rather be right here doing the work that you have given to me to do. I must stop being so selfish and day dreaming about a beach somewhere with warm sand on my toes. You have put me here for a reason and I need to step up and do the tasks you have set before me--with joy in my heart rather than the sadness I pick up to carry when I get into one of those "o woe is me" times in my life. Forgive me for wanting to show everyone the cross I think I'm carrying.

Let me find the joy that You send into my life every day. Let me appreciate the sunrises and the sunsets. Let me give you thanks for every meal and the the heat in my house, the car that I drive, the clothes that I wear, and the family that loves me even when I am a grouch. Remind me that the sand on the beach, the water and the fishes in the ocean, the air I breathe, and the stars I long to travel among are all yours and that you graciously allow me to enjoy them.

Father--this Christmas, make me not ashamed at the tear that wants to roll down my cheek as I sing Hark the Herald Angels and allow my mind to pause for a moment and think about how great you are that you came to this planet and want to have a personal relationship with us, including me. And as the Gloria of Angels We Have Heard on High rolls off the tounge, make my heart joyous and imagine what it will be like someday to sing with the throngs of angels standing in the light of your presence.

Finally, Father, send your holy angels to protect the service men and women and civilians on duty around the world this night. The forces of evil are gathering and your guidance and protection is needed to guard and protect them. Be with the leaders of our country, may they turn to you for guidance and wisdom. Be with the homeless, that they may find shelter; the hungry, let them be fed; the grieving, that they may find peace; be with the children that they may have hope.

The magic of Christmas is that I pause and turn my thoughts to you. Restore the magic of your gift in my heart and help me to be giving to others during the year ahead.

Thank you for Christmas and reminding me that we need to reconnect. Forgive me for drifting away. Help me to do better.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

You Never Let Go




I listened to a song on the plane the other day which made me stop. I listened to it many times and really had a Jesus moment right there in the middle of a 747 at 38,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean some 15 hours from home.

The song is: You Never Let Go by David Crowder Band. The lyrics were written by Mike Hogan, David Crowder, and Mike Dodson. According to GodTube.com "this song was written when the United States and world were watching the news after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, LA on August 29, 2005. In response to seeing those images and in prayer of thanks to God, David wrote these words because 'Ever faithful, ever true... in joy and pain, in sun and rain, [God's] the same. Oh, [He] never let[s] go.'"

I've added a You Tube clip so you can listen to the lyrics--but they really hit me square between the eyes as I was winging above the earth.

When clouds veil sun
And disaster comes
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
When waters rise
And hope takes flight
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul

Ever faithful
Ever true
You I know
You never let go
You never let go
You never let go
You never let go


And I realized that even though these words were written about a natural disaster they also applied to the disasters in my life. I was comforted and humbled realizing that no matter how hard I may try to let go of Christ and to hide in something else, or blame someone else for whatever is happening, that Jesus never lets me go. His grip on me is tighter than I ever could imagine. He knows my weakness and even before I start to release my grip on Him, He is tightening His hold on me. So that I will not fall.

When I rebel--Jesus never lets go. And despite my rebellion, when I try to separate myself from Him, when I try to hide or drown in the rising waters--He never lets me go. Nothing can make Him let go of me--no matter how hard I try.

The words of Paul written to the Romans comes to mind:

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NET Bible)

And so, as the song ends--it remains and so does His love for me.

When clouds brought rain
And disaster came
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
When waters rose
And hope had flown
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul

Oh, my soul
Overflows
Oh, what love, oh, what love
Oh, my soul
Fills hope
Perfect love that never lets go

Oh, what love, oh, what love
Oh, what love, oh, what love
In joy and pain
In sun and rain
You're the same
Oh, You never let go

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Jax at home


Jax had a great first day at home adjusting to life as a "little" brother and being cared for in a quieter environment. His mom is thrilled to have him home and life is rapidly turning into the new normal of having a new infant and a three year old in the same house. Jax us very alert and you can see in his eyes a desire to explore and be part of the life going on around him.

Ethan loves Jax and very matter-of-factly responds to questions about Jax. He did want Mommy, Jax, and Gamma to rescue him from daycare yesterday--which they did.

Jax is recovering nicely. We thank all of you for your prayers and support. Keep Jax in your prayers as he continues to recover and grow.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Jax goes home!

I'm sorry I don't have a picture of Jax's triumphal entry into his home for the first time yesterday, but you know it was a celebration. At 12 days old, weighing in at a little less than when he was born, Jackson Gray arrived home. I'm not sure how he felt--he is only 12 days old--but I know that his parents, grandparents, extended family of uncles, aunts, cousins, great-grandparents and a host of friends and prayer warriors were excited and clearly saw an answer to prayer.

I am still amazed at the little guy. Major surgery just a week ago today and home yesterday! Wow. His eyes are so bright and I just marvel at the world he is chomping at the bit to become part of and which he is already part of. I thank God for the miracles He worked through and in Jackson. The response to prayer, the healing, and the bringing together of a community of friends and believers around on little boy. Thank you all and keep praying for this little guy--he is really special and I hope he gets to thank each one of you for how you supported him.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Hey Gamma--it's me, Jackson


What a great day yesterday was for little Jax. Mid-day he had his nasal cannula removed and when we left the hospital last night about 10:30 pm he was still doing great. They actually took the tubes off him last evening while Chris and I were on hospital duty and so this is one of the first pictures little Jax as he begins to explore his world and be welcomed into the family unencumbered by breathing tubes and contraptions. He is still being monitored for heart rate and such, but those are much less invasive. He was alert for a long time last evening and he ate like a trooper--twice and he impressed his nurse with the amount he ate.

It is really a miracle how quickly Jax is recovering and every day is bringing more excitement about how well he is progressing. We thank God for his recovery and the prayers and support of everyone. Thanks. Today there is even a possibility that he may get to go home.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Jax--Recovering and Getting Stronger

This is the tough little guy a day after surgery. He has his eyes open and is becoming aware of how much love and how many prayers have been sent his way. God is truly smiling in Jax and the whole family. In this picture he has the nasal cannula still in place and the great news of today is that it was removed and he is doing good without it.

He is eating better and he continues to get stronger. His kidneys continue to function with assistance of diuretics, and it appears he will be going home on diuretics.

We continue to thank God for all of you and your prayers. We continue to see the miracles that God is working in and through little Jax and we thank God for them. BTW, Jax is really cute and I got to hold him yesterday, for the first time since his surgery . He really is one tough little guy!

Please continue to pray for Jax's continued recovery and for strength for Nicole and Mike as they as shuttle between home and the hospital.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Jackson - Better by the Day


This is Jax with Mike before surgery. He is so cute. And his recovery continues to be simply a miracle thanks to God's mercy and all of the prayers of the faithful who continue to lift him up. There is a good chance he will leave the ICU tomorrow for a normal ward bed. Mike and Nicole got to hold him today after he was unhooked from all of the wires and leads and drains that he had been hooked to.

I am amazed at the outpouring of love and support from everyone. Thank you and please keep praying for a speedy recovery and a normal, healthy childhood. This is one special little boy.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Jax - 12 March 2008

Jax continues to improve after his surgery yesterday. He was stable overnight and is doing pretty well. There were concerns about his kidneys during the day, but within hours of putting the request for prayer over his kidneys out on the prayer chains, God performed a miracle and the kidneys turned on. Now there is concern about circulation in his extremities--and we are requesting specific prayer for improved circulation and warm toes. Nicole continues to be strong and is finally getting some rest that she needs.

The care at Hopkins continues to be awesome. Everyone is so caring and forthcoming with information. A true example of transparency in medicine.

And this just in--the kidneys continue to function and are doing great. He is expected to be weaned from the ventilator tonight and everything is looking good. So keep Jackson in your prayers for a speedy and complete recovery. We're going to start calling him our little miracle baby.
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