If you have spent any length of time in the Church or just happened to catch it on the given Sunday, you have probably heard a sermon about prayer. Too often, this sermon topic is presented/interpreted as emphasizing the need of prayer for others; a friend, a neighbor, a city, or a greater injustice or cause to be triumphed…that we should be less selfish and more kingdom-focused. While there is a degree of merit to this, an unchecked selflessness can derail even the best intentioned. Derailment stems from guilt—guilt from petitioning too frequently or about “needs” considered too frivolous. It derails us from that which God has called us to be; not only fishers of men, but also his children. Fishers of men. A royal priesthood. A chosen people. All pose a heavy burden of leadership, accountability, and service that demand strength, perseverance, and resolve—or at least the appearance of them. Children. ...
my soapbox: for rants, raves, and random thoughts