August 30, 2024 

Today's Reading: Catechism: Daily Prayers: Asking a Blessing & Returning Thanks

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 12:20-13:5, 33-34; 1 Kings 14:1-16:28; 2 Corinthians 8:1-24

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever. [He] gives food to every creature...the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love. (SC Returning Thanks)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Prayer is faith talking. Faith can’t help but want to talk to God. It’s what faith does; it prays. Those of faith look to God, trusting who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do for us. Faith grabs a hold of God’s promises and speaks them right back to Him, believing He is making good on them. Prayer is a Gift from God himself. The faith to believe and the desire to call on Him are all Gifts from above. 

Faith does not come naturally to us, and neither does prayer. Faith must be gifted, and prayer must be taught, and both of these are accomplished by God’s Word and Holy Spirit. Martin Luther knew this, which is why he includes at the end of his Small Catechism prayers for the morning and evening as well as before and after meals. It is most appropriate that a book written to teach the Christian faith ends with teaching us how faith ought to pray. 

God is good and is a gracious giver of good Gifts. When we believe this, we can’t help but give thanks. God created me and still takes care of me, believing this we can’t help but recognize that every day is a Gift from God and declare with the Psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). We know by faith that each day we are faced with temptations to sin and are harassed by the world and the Devil himself, so we pray that God will keep us from sin and protect us from evil and the Evil One. In faith, we realize and confess that we daily sin, so we are bold to pray that our heavenly Father forgives us all our sins where we have wronged Him and others. By faith, we trust our Lord will provide all we need to get through the day, so in prayer, we look to him, knowing he graciously supplies with an open hand.  

Faith can’t help but give thanks for all the ways our good Father in heaven daily cares for us, especially when we have come to believe He does all this not because we have earned or deserve it but solely out of His goodness and merciful love for us. God’s goodness and mercy meet you every morning and follow you not only through your day but every day of your life. Indeed, the Lord delights in those who put their hope in His unfailing love. That’s what faith does. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

We thank You, Lord God, heavenly Father, for all Your benefits, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen

-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.