Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Church devotion: Opening New Doors - 2 Corinthians 2:12

Today’s Readings:


2 Corinthians 2:12     Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me.

Quite frequently, I get asked to say prayers for church members, families, and friends when they are considering changing jobs, careers, or homes. It’s very humbling to be asked because it means that the person making the request trusts me to pray for what’s best in their situation. Usually, I take time out that day to say a short prayer and then on the day of an interview or a house viewing, I pray as close as possible to the time of the event itself.

Sometimes the person comes back to me with good news, so I can say a quiet ‘thank you, God’ prayer later on. At other times, I hear nothing else, so I keep praying for God to give guidance and open up the right door for the person.

I guess that most of us do the same, especially for our loved ones and dearest of friends. As we pray, we hope that God will indeed open doors and grant new opportunities for the person concerned. Prayer becomes a vehicle of God’s goodness, as well strengthening the bonds of faith and friendship between the one who prays and the other who is prayed for. It’s a remarkably effective and personal way to both practice and apply our faith on behalf of other people.

Questions for personal reflection

Has someone asked me to pray for them? Is there someone that I can be praying for today?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You taught us to pray and showed us the value of being a praying people of God. Help us to make time today to pray for others, especially those who are looking for new doors of opportunity to be opened for them. In Your Holy Name, we humbly and cheerfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask a question or make a comment about today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.


Today’s image is one of John’s lighthouse drawings called “Guiding Light.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6225/6290707518_a96fd3c801_b.jpg


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