"First of all, every time you begin a good work, you must pray to him most earnestly to bring it to perfection." - Prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict
Most of us want to do good things. A lot of us even try to do them. But I bet the vast majority of us, including me, forget to begin good works with prayer. When you think about that, it really seems amazing that we forget to pray like we do. Unfortunately I find lack of prayer in many churches. I have even chaired church boards who will debate the very future of their congregations willingly but who will object strenuously at the idea of bringing prayer into their deliberations. Note to members of my current congregation, I am not talking about you.
When I look inside myself, I have to admit I am equally guilty. All of this afternoon I have been working on my sermon for tomorrow. But I did not, until I began writing this blog entry, remember to stop and pray for God's guidance on the words I am writing. But I have stopped writing now to pray for our time of worship.
Being a Benedictine sure does not mean one is perfect. Being a Christian does not mean perfection either. There is only One who is perfect. From now on I will earnestly endeavor to pray for at the start of any work for God's people. I pray you will too.
Most of us want to do good things. A lot of us even try to do them. But I bet the vast majority of us, including me, forget to begin good works with prayer. When you think about that, it really seems amazing that we forget to pray like we do. Unfortunately I find lack of prayer in many churches. I have even chaired church boards who will debate the very future of their congregations willingly but who will object strenuously at the idea of bringing prayer into their deliberations. Note to members of my current congregation, I am not talking about you.
When I look inside myself, I have to admit I am equally guilty. All of this afternoon I have been working on my sermon for tomorrow. But I did not, until I began writing this blog entry, remember to stop and pray for God's guidance on the words I am writing. But I have stopped writing now to pray for our time of worship.
Being a Benedictine sure does not mean one is perfect. Being a Christian does not mean perfection either. There is only One who is perfect. From now on I will earnestly endeavor to pray for at the start of any work for God's people. I pray you will too.
