Tag Archives: grace

A Prayer for Nurses and Other Essential Workers

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Michael Summers

Emily Milburn, a traveling nurse from the Kansas City area who often works in the aftermath of disasters, recently volunteered to work at a hospital in New York City to take care of COVID-19 patients. You can read a report … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged chaplains, COVID-19, Doctors, Essential Workers, grace, gratitude, grief, Nurses, pandemic, Prayer | Leave a comment

Praying with Desperate Repentance

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Michael Summers

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!” (Psalm 130:1-2) That prayer of desperation begins a song sung by pilgrims … Continue reading →

Posted in Prayers from Psalms, Uncategorized | Tagged Abraham, desperation, Exodus 34:6, fear, forgiveness, grace, hesed, John Donne, love, mercy, poetry, Prayer, Psalm 130, Psalms, Psalms of Ascent, religion, repentance, reverence, Spiritual Formation, spiritual security, spirituality, steadfast love | Leave a comment

Prayer to the God who Reverses and Redefines

Posted on April 24, 2019 by Michael Summers

Psalm 129 laments persecution and calls down judgment on those who hate the place where God’s people worship. A song sung on the way to worship by Israelite worshipers, the psalm’s words speak of painful assault experienced by the worshiper. … Continue reading →

Posted in Prayers from Psalms, Uncategorized | Tagged Call for Fire Seminar, christianity, Easter bombings, forgiveness, grace, imprecatory prayer, Lament, Matthew 19:26, Matthew 26:26, Prayer, precentor, Psalm 129, Psalm126, religion, renewal, reversal, spirituality, Sri Lanka, terrorism | Leave a comment

A Prayer When Afraid

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Michael Summers

Did you ever notice that the words “Don’t be afraid” are spoken when you are most afraid? In Mark 4, a storm arises while Jesus and his disciples are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. His disciples are … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged despair, dread, faith, fear, forgiveness, grace, grief, Jeremiah, Jesus, Lament, Lamentations, loss, Mark 4, peace, Prayer, redemption, Spiritual Formation, spirituality, unemployment | Leave a comment

Our Dance with God

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Michael Summers

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25 ESV). Prayer is our dance with God. We converse, and as we do, at times in harmony, at times in dissonance, we reveal … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged christianity, dance with God, faith, Galatians 5:25, grace, Holy Spirit, life, Prayer, reflection, religion, spirituality | 2 Comments

Thanking God for His Wonderful Deeds

Posted on November 21, 2017 by Michael Summers

The Thanksgiving holiday season has arrived in the United States, preceded ironically by shootings in churches as well as a concert venue and numerous accusations of sexual harassment or assault against well-known entertainers or politicians. The possibility of nuclear war … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged christianity, covenant, faith, fear, glorifying God, God, God who sees, good news, grace, gratitude, hope, joy, Prayer, Psalm 9, Thanksgiving | Leave a comment

Prayer When We Overcommit

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Michael Summers

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged christianity, glorifying God, grace, hope, omnipresence of God, overcommitted, overwhelmed, peace, Personality types, Prayer, Revelation | Leave a comment

God’s Response to a Cry for Help

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Michael Summers

“7 When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged christianity, faithfulness, forgiveness, Gideon, grace, gratitude, hope, Prayer | 1 Comment

A Prayer of Thanks for Partnership

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Michael Summers

As citizens in the United States prepare to celebrate the giving of thanks, I note a biblical passage in which the Apostle Paul gave thanks for a group of disciples of Jesus, “the saints in Christ Jesus who [were] in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Christian unity, christianity, discipleship, faithfulness, forgiveness, glorifying God, grace, humility, Jesus, love, Paul, Philippians, Prayer | 1 Comment