Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s Prayers for the Week post!  This week we are focusing on the Wedding parable that Jesus told, and at the same time, giving praise to God for the wedding of Matt and Leslie, who were wed on Valentine’s Day!  It was a wonderful ceremony and a magical moment for those two people, their families, and all the guests assembled there to celebrate their life together.  In many ways it reminds me of Jesus parable of the Wedding Feast, because there were people at the wedding from all walks of life.  I thought I would share Jesus’ parable and how it applies in our lives to this day:

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ But they paid no attention and went off–one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.“

In many ways, you may wonder what the parable of the Wedding Feast has to do with Matt and Leslie’s wedding, but I think it is appropriate for a couple of reasons.  The parable of the Wedding Feast teaches me the following things about God and His invitation to us:

1. God has invited us to enjoy a truly wonderful feast that He has setup for His Son, Jesus.  We should not be so rude as to ignore that invitation, or worse, to bring harm to those that deliver the message to us.
2. While we have been invited, it is up to us to choose to follow the right path that actually leads to where the Wedding Feast is being held.  For us, that wedding feast is being held in Heaven, but the road that leads there is a narrow road.
3. Lastly, can you imagine?  The feast that Matt and Leslie had was great, and full of wonderful food.  Can you imagine what the feast will be like when we get to Heaven, my friends?

I hope that this makes sense to you as it does to me — or rather, that I am able to put into words what I am trying to express here.  Thank you for praying for these prayers and lifting up these praises, please feel free to add yours in the comments below.  Thanks for following each and every week!

Prayer Requests…and Praises!

• Prayers please for my friend Sherry and her Mom, who was admitted to the hospital with chest pains.  Sherry has had a lot on her plate, so please lift them all up.  Thanks everyone!
• My friend Theresa left this comment:
  Mike, as always, first a thank you for reminding us all that God and Jesus are the beginning and the end. Through them all our graces are received. I would share the same concerns that you have regarding requests for money as well as specifically asking the congregation for money. I agree that once prayed on, we need to look to God to help us (leave it with God). I think I was especially taken aback by the communion envelops. (In a Catholic church, there is always a collection but it is not “collected” during communion; rather at a different point in the service).Also, congratulations Sophie! You must be a proud papa and it’s wonderful to see a young woman put herself “out there”. Clearly she is being raised by loving and supportive parents which gives her the courage to make these attempts. Wonderful to hear all around.
• My reply back to Theresa:
  • Thank you Theresa!  I totally understand the need to raise funds to support a church and it’s ministries, so I prayed very hard for God to lead me in how I should write this post today.  It was a hard decision, but I feel right about writing about it.  I have also determined that should the necessary funds be raised for their projects that I will support it 100% because that would indicate that God’s Will was what won the day.  Thank you also for your comments about Sophie — she is a great girl and I am very proud of her putting herself out there in front of her peers — it takes courage to do that!
• Dustin, a young man who has been suffering from ailments and has been featured in our prayers for the week posts in the past, is heading to Michigan for treatments — a week early.  Please lift him up, as well as all his family!
• My friend Lori left this comment:
  Praying with you. We had a building campaign last year and we very prayerfully approached it as a moment to step forward with what God called us to do. I pray that God’s will be done in your church as well!
• My friend Jodi left this comment:
  We’ve run into that very same issue at a church we used to attend, except it was during the month of December and they were telling people to give year end donations so they could meet budget. It was sickening. Joining you in prayer over this and the other requests listed!
• My friend Torri asks for prayers for her Grandma. Here is what she wrote on Facebook:Please send up a little prayer for my sweet little grandma. Having a Cardioversion today to shock her heart back into Rhythm. She has had a tough week, and I am sure she is ready to just feel better!!Please pray for her Grandma’s healing, peace, comfort and strength, as well as that for the entire family. Thanks!
• I finish up with the words my sister Robin left:
  I am constantly uplifted by the spirit you show and the discernment you show when you post on this blog. Money unfortunately is a very necessary part of the church, but the way in which it is asked for and handled needs to be done correctly. During the Lords Supper is not one of them, nor is the end of the year to meet budget. One shows a total disregard of the sacrifice of Christ, and the latter shows a total disregard of faith. Of course, this is my opinion. I think that the way you and your small group have handled it with prayer, asking forgiveness and petitioning God in the manner you did is wonderful, and He will bless that. Just as you have blessed me! See you later this week, I cannot wait!

My friends, I hope that you are as blessed when reading these posts as I am when I write them.  Please please please add your prayers and praises to our list so that our post can grow exponentially!  God is great, and He is hearing all of these prayers lifted up by us!  Now, to close, let’s recite the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father, who Art in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom Come, thy Will be done,
On earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our Daily Bread,
and forgive us our Trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
For Thine is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory,
Forever and Ever, Amen.