iDigress

Musings of an antipodean contrarian

Archive for the category “prayer”

29 Jan 2013

Happy New Year!

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 6 Jan 2013.

Happy New Year to all our listeners!  On this first Sunday of 2013, here’s a prayer from one of the world’s great Christian leaders, the Reverend Billy Graham, published in The Saturday Evening Post:

Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.

We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges…

May we never presume on Your past goodness or forget all Your mercies to us, but may they instead lead us to repentance, and to a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives this year. Amen.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.

Posted in Evangelicalism, prayer | Leave a Comment
25 Feb 2012

A perspective on political leadership

Back in 2009, when Kevin Rudd was Australia’s Prime Minister, my friend Matt Prater interviewed him about his Christian faith and the challenges facing Australia.

At the end of the interview, Matt asked Mr Rudd to share a favourite passage of Scripture, and Mr Rudd quoted the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John, chapter 15 and verse 5: “I am the Vine, you are the branches.”  This was Mr Rudd’s mother’s favourite verse, and it’s inscribed on her headstone.

“That verse works on multiple levels,” he said.  “It applies when you are running out of energy, enthusiasm, and ability to do anything in life or in politics – just pause and recognise that you are only a branch and that our Creator, God, is the vine.”

It’s my prayer that Kevin Rudd will find fresh strength in those words of Jesus in the days ahead, and that his rival, Julia Gillard, will come to understand the significance of a personal faith in God.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 26 Feb 2012.

Posted in politics and faith, prayer, virtue | Leave a Comment
17 Feb 2012

President Obama on prayer and guidance

Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington last week, President Barack Obama said his policies were grounded in his Christian beliefs, and his push for a more equitable economy was consistent with the teachings of Jesus.

He said the Bible teaches us to “be doers of the word and not merely hearers.”  We should each have a living, breathing, active faith; and then give of ourselves for the betterment of others.

President Obama also told how he and veteran evangelist, the Reverend Billy Graham had met and prayed for each other.

He said, “I have fallen on my knees with great regularity since that moment, asking God for guidance not just in my personal life and my Christian walk, but in the life of this nation and in the values that hold us together and keep us strong.”

Perhaps we should arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and  Billy Graham.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 12 Feb 2012.

Posted in guidance, politics and faith, prayer | Leave a Comment
04 Nov 2011

Hope for Creation

Christians around the world are gathering today (Sunday 6 November), under the banner of Hope for Creation, to pray about the growing negative impact of climate change in our world.

It’s an opportunity to engage in a public conversation that has for too long been dominated by science and politics.  Through prayer, Christians are seeking God’s help to better understand the issue, and to pray for political leaders, for the future of our children who will inherit the world we leave behind, and for the world’s poor who are hit first and hardest by climate change.

World Vision Chief Executive Tim Costello said, “Hope for Creation goes to the biblical mandate of creation care.  All of creation carries the imprint of its Maker.  Through [World Vision’s] work with the world’s poorest people, we are already seeing the dramatic impact of climate change, so this initiative calls us to speak boldly and live faithfully, to honour our call to follow Jesus.”

Hope for Creation spokesperson Cath James said, “When we give in to denial, it ensures that things will not change.  But to dare to hope that we can change the world sets us on a path of making sure it will happen.”

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 6 November 2011.

Posted in creation, ecology, environment, prayer | Leave a Comment
29 Jul 2011

National Day of Prayer 2011

After months of prayer and planning, next Sunday, July 24, has been designated a National Day of Prayer and Fasting by a coalition of Christian leaders associated with Pentecostal and evangelical churches and parachurch ministries.

The event, to be held in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra, from 10am to 4pm, will focus on prayer for marriage and family life, and to urge Australia to turn back to God. Organisers have asked all churches in Australia to send representatives to Canberra to pray on their behalf. Those who can’t make it can pray at home, or in church, or in a public place.

The main target of the National Day of Prayer and Fasting is the current push by the Australian Greens and others to enact same sex marriage legislation, and what organisers describe as “the effects of [Australia’s] rampant immorality and easy divorce culture.”

Time will tell if enough Christians heed the call, and take up the challenge, and receive an answer to their prayers.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, Sunday 17 July 2011.

Posted in marriage, morality, prayer | Leave a Comment

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