PRAYING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

 ANOTHER GENERATION GREW UP, WHO KNEW NEITHER THE LORD NOR WHAT HE HAD DONE FOR ISRAEL 

JUDGES 2:10

Judges 2:10 reads like an epitaph on the graves of those who should have been teaching the next generation about the Lord. And it puts a chill in the heart of all parents and grandparents who love their children. What if those who come after us don’t know the goodness of God?

This passage is a call to pray for generations that will come after us. What could be more important than to pray that those who follow us will follow the Lord, too – only with more passion and fervor? What greater tragedy, even indictment, is there than that those who know us best, our families and children, know the Lord least? Psalm 78 is a call to arms and to prayer for the next generation: 

"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born and they, in turn, would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands"(verses 4-7)

The ministry Moms in Touch has seen God quietly change school campuses and students’ lives as it has summoned moms’ to "pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children" (Lamentations 2:19). Who is more passionate for the faith of children than mothers? History abounds with the stories of women like Susanna Wesley (the mother of John and Charles Westly) and Monica (the mother of Augustine) who prevailed in prayer for their children. And history is different because of their commitment.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

CREED AND PRAYER

 DEUTERONOMY 26:1-11

26:5 THEN YOU SHALL DECLARE BEFORE THE LORD YOUR GOD…

Martin Luther’s morning and evening prayers typically included saying the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, followed by a prayer of thanksgiving.  For many of us, the Lord’s Prayer and the thanksgiving make perfect sense-but the Creed? It’s a nice thing to do, but is it necessary to do it daily? Luther’s sequence was thoroughly and anciently Biblical, and it followed the pattern of the liturgy in this text: Confess our faith and pray: pray and confess your faith.

Moses is giving instructions for when the Israelites take possession of the promised land. After the people are settled in the land, each family leader is to take some of the first produce to offer to the Lord. When bringing the offering to the priest, the worshiper is first to confess his faith and say this creed: "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt…But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer...So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm" (26:5-6,8). Then the person was to place the offering before the Lord and bow in prayer to "rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household" (verse11).

Prayer is coupled with creed because prayer is a relationship, not a technique. Techniques are about what we can do in and through ourselves. Prayer is about who we are in God and who he is to us-and that is what creed s are about, like the one in this text and the great creeds of Christian history.  In retelling and summarizing the story of our redemption, they describe the terms of the engagement we call Prayer. They help us talk to the true and living God, not just to ourselves.

Creeds have great power to enrich our prayer lives. Take the first line of the Apostles' Creed and think of what it can mean for the enjoyment of prayer: "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth." This first line expresses the belief that the God we address as Father is the very one who spoke the universe into existence and continues to sustain it by His Word. He is more than able to care for us because he is almighty. He is more than willing because he is our Father!

Learn a creed like the Apostles' Creed; it will help you enter the relationship of prayer more thoughtfully and joyfully.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org