Resources for your time with God
Introduced during a time of COVID-related church closures and restrictions, our devotional pages under the Church@home banner have been very popular with many readers. But spending time with God throughout the week isn’t only a blessing when we can’t get to church on a Sunday. It’s an important boost for our faith every week. Therefore, you’ll continue to find support for your devotional life on these pages – and the LCANZ has plenty of other resources which we’ll highlight for your information, too.
– Lisa
DEVOTIONS
Are you listening God? by Colleen Fitzpatrick
Answer me quickly, for I am in trouble (Psalm 69:17b).
Read Psalm 69:7–10, (11–15)16–18.
In 1963, Jimmy Little recorded a song called ‘The Royal Telephone’. The words of the chorus are:
‘Telephone to glory, oh, what joy divine!
I can feel the current moving on the line.
Made by God the Father for his very own,
You may talk to Jesus on this royal telephone.’*
It’s a nice image, isn’t it? I remember back then picturing Jesus at the ready, waiting for that royal telephone to ring so he could pick it up, listen to whatever I had to say, and then he’d get busy fixing whatever was bothering me at the time.
How blessed we are to be able to talk to God any time, any day, anywhere, in any language or in no language. We don’t even have to formulate words.
I love to pray. It’s so good to be able to share whatever is on my heart and know that my heartaches and joys are shared – that someone cares about what is happening to me and that someone is bigger than me or anything that can happen to me.
How do we know our prayers have been answered? It’s not as if God sends an answer via a messenger angel. Sometimes, prayers are answered in an obvious manner – the cure of a disease or the easing of a situation. Sometimes, the answer comes from friends or strangers reaching out with words of comfort or wisdom. At other times, it may be a sense of inner peace, comfort and strength that enables us to keep going, knowing that we are not alone.
We have a prayer group at my church – actually, it is two: an online group and an in-person group. Prayer requests are shared, and it is wonderful to know that we’re not alone in taking these requests to our gracious, generous, attentive God. I also like that I can ask people if it’s okay for my prayer group to pray for them. No-one has said no to that request. It’s easy to say, ‘I’m off to my prayer group. Do you have any requests?’ And often, they do.
And back to that royal telephone. Maybe, it is an even better metaphor for our prayers now, given the constant presence of our phones, the information they contain, and the control they have over our lives. May your prayers provide the comfort and strength you need today and every day – you can pray even when you’ve left your phone at home!
Patient God, thank you for always hearing and answering our prayers. Thank you for the surprises you provide. Help us to be patient when things don’t turn out as we hope and plan and trust that all things will work together for our good – no matter what happens. Amen.
*Frederick M Lehmann (1868–1953), ‘The Royal Telephone’ (public domain), made popular in Australia by Jimmy Little
Full attention by Tom Brennen
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42).
Read Acts 2:36–42.
A note in my study Bible on this passage reminds us that to be devoted is to give rapt attention to that particular thing. So the early Christians gave rapt attention to teaching, being a community and sharing the sacrament of communion and prayer.
When was the last time you could honestly say your church had your rapt attention? More importantly, when was the last time that God had your rapt attention?
Sometimes members of younger generations are tagged as selfish. These younger generations are also generalised as always being on their phones and technology. As a teacher, I see my students struggle to manage technology use.
But they are not alone. Just last week, outside my school, I saw two of my students on their phones, joined by their parents and one of their grandparents. All five of them were sitting there on a glorious late spring day, heads down, consuming whatever was on their screen. The screens had their rapt attention.
I don’t believe that technology is more evil than good. Having a myriad of resources at my fingertips helped me write this series of devotions! But we must be careful.
We must be careful not just with technology but with all of our endeavours. Perhaps our work has more attention than our relationship with God? Maybe our hobbies have more attention than our involvement with our church community?
As Matthew 6:21 reminds us, ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’.
The early church grew off the back of rapt attention to worshipping in word and sacrament, being a Christian community and prayer. What might your life look like if this area of your life had your full attention? What changes do you need to make so that it is?
Start small. Maybe you’ve fallen out of the habit of weekly worship or daily prayer? Perhaps you’ve not connected with a fellow congregation member for some time? Perhaps your Bible has gathered a bit of dust? Pick one area and work on that.
You – and your community – will be blessed, I’m sure.
Lord, forgive us when we give you and your church less than our full attention. Guide us as we seek to live lives that are full and bless others. Amen.
To receive the LCA daily devotion each morning in your inbox, go to www.lca.org.au/communications/enews and select Daily Devotions from the Churchwide list after entering your email address. These can also be printed off from the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion
LECTIONARY READINGS
| Week | Sunday readings | |||
| 6–12 AUG | Genesis 32:22–31 | Psalm 17:1–7,15 | Romans 9:1–5 | Matthew 14:13–21 |
| 13–19 AUG | Genesis 37:1–4, 12–28 | Psalm 105:1–6, 16–22, 45b | Romans 10:5–15 | Matthew 14:22–33 |
| 20–26 AUG | Genesis 45:1–15 | Psalm 133 | Romans 11:1, 2a, 29–32 | Matthew 15:(10–20) 21–28 |
| 27 AUG–2 SEPT | Exodus 1:8– 2:10 | Psalm 124 | Romans 12:1–8 | Matthew 16:13–20 |
| 3–9 SEPT | Exodus 3:1–15 | Psalm 105:1–6, 23–26, 45c | Romans 12:9–21 | Matthew 16:21–28 |
| 10–16 SEPT | Exodus 12:1–14 | Psalm 149 | Romans 13:8–14 | Matthew 18:15–20 |
| 17–23 SEPT | Exodus 14:19–31 | Psalm 114 | Romans 14:1–12 | Matthew 18:21–35 |
| 24–30 SEPT | Exodus 16:2–15 | Psalm 105:1–6, 37–45 | Philippians 1:21–30 | Matthew 20:1–16 |
For more prayer and devotional resources, including a listing of daily Bible readings for each day of the church year, go to www.lca.org.au/wpp/prayers-devotions
Lutheran Tract Mission also provides the readings in a booklet, which can be accessed electronically at www.ltm.org.au/tract/view/70579-daily-bible-readings-for-2023 or as a printed booklet through the LTM office (phone 08 8360 7222) for a donation of 20c per copy.
PRAYER POINTS
6–12 Aug: First Nations people around the globe on the United Nations’ International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 Aug)
13–19 Aug: Peace among nations at war on the anniversary of the end to WWII hostilities in the Pacific (15 Aug)
20–26 Aug: Communities scarred by slavery, on the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition (23 Aug)
27 Aug–2 Sept: Those who care for God’s creation, as the Season of Creation – a worldwide ecumenical movement focused on prayer and creation care – begins on 1 Sept
3–9 Sept: All fathers, those who are missing their dads and those who have longed to be fathers, as we mark Father’s Day (3 Sept)
10–16 Sept: That God will raise up workers for the harvest of souls, as the church celebrates the Season of Prayer for mission (10–24 Sept)
17–23 Sept: An end to discrimination preventing universal suffrage on the anniversary of NZ’s 1893 Electoral Act, which gave women the vote (19 Sept)
24–30 Sept: Pastor Andrew Brook, as he begins his service as bishop of the SA – NT District of the LCANZ
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