September 29, 2014
Prayers of the Saints
An insert in a church
bulletin listed special prayer requests for individuals, the country, and our
military personnel. The list also included the amount of their last month’s
offering, along with the budgeted amount needed. In this particular case the offerings
exceeded the budget, so I mentally categorized it as a praise, rather than a
prayer request. However, I’m conflicted when the church budget is listed as a special
prayer need. It leaves me wondering if the prayer is directed to God, or the
membership. Jesus said we should pray to
the Father, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matt 6:11 NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----I think this is called “ulterior motive”. Everyone is supposed to know that where there is a special prayer need there is a particular problem. The prayer request as presented to the same that is the source of the problem’s solution is obvious an outright hint, or more. And the cunning of dressing a budget overage as a special need is dysfunctional in another way, too. This situation should not be a time of pleading for more. It should be, in part, a time for thanksgiving, as you noted, and in part a time for reflection. Their budget overage might have been due to the generosity of the congregation. It also might have been due to a shortfall in the church‘s planned work. If that were the case, Jesus might be knocking at their door through the budget overage, and they would never hear through all the cries for more money. Always make sure your motivation matches the need presented by the situation, not the one presented by your desires.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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