February 6: Insight Post by Michael Thayer
Friday Insight Post
by Michael Thayer
My father helps lead a prison ministry in my hometown of Toledo. He told me that one day, one of the men who is an inmate participating in the ministry asked the group, “What is one thing God does not have enough of?” My father said he drew a blank, and then the man said “Praise!”
There is a lot we can learn from the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Having an example of how our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, taught his followers, or disciples, to pray is such a gift. For those closest to Jesus, having followed Him and listened and experienced Him, to have the humility to ask Him to show them how to pray – they must have known the importance of prayer in their relationship and being in conversation with God.
One of this week’s reflection questions is “How does beginning with praise shape the way you see your needs?” Praising God for who He is reminds me that He is all-powerful and all-knowing, evidenced in my beginning (more on that later). If I, reluctant as I am, ask for help or assistance when faced with a problem or need from anyone, it certainly makes sense that I would ask the one who has the power to make a change that is aligned with His own goodness and will. Change in me, change in my circumstances, and change in others.
Beginning prayer by praising God also reminds me of all the times He has been there for me, supporting me in times of need, and in ways that only He is able. For instance, I was born in a mid-sized town in Ohio in 1970 to my biological mother who was white, and who was not married to my biological father who was black. I know this because I recently requested and received my original birth certificate from the great state of Ohio’s government agency responsible for adoptions. The certificate lists my birth mother’s name and race, and my birth father only as “Negro Male.” My birth mother was young and living in a place and time where having a mixed-race child would have been socially very difficult. I easily might not have been born. But God had a plan.
When I have experienced difficulties and problems, I often think that God did not bring me this far to have me give up when facing a challenge. When I look back over my life, I see how He has carried me through, even at times when I have distanced myself from Him. Only an all-knowing, all-powerful, and loving God could have done for me, in me and through me what He has done and continues to do. Beginning prayer by praising and thanking Him for who He is and how He works reminds me to focus on all He has already done for me – and all He can do – if I will just turn to Him and ask, as Jesus so beautifully models for us in the Lord’s Prayer. I am thankful for a life that enabled me to experience the blessings of my wife and children, friends, and family, who all mean so much to me. I pray that I can honor God by passing those blessings on to others.
As you read the Bible Reading Plan and verses this week, I encourage you to use the reflection questions to think about how to apply Jesus’ example of prayer to your life, or how His words have already manifested in your walk with Him. And when you are able, share your story with others so that you can inspire and connect with them in their walk, or if they are not yet a follower of Christ, to move them to seek a relationship with Him.
Michael Thayer
Leadership Team Member
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org