• Life's Journey
  • Emotions
    • Avoid It Like Poison
    • How To Fail Successfully
    • Dealing With Our History
    • Do You Like Yourself
    • Hurt People Hurt People
    • The Gift of Pain
  • Family
    • On Being A Father
    • Growing Old With Enthusiasm
    • The Drama of Letting Go
    • The Map and the Compass
    • The Subtle Process of Erosion
    • Is The Womb A Safe Place?
    • The Greatest Gift For Your Children
    • Spare the Rod
  • Justice
    • The Senate Prayer
    • It Takes a Village to Kill a Child
    • Abortion: A Life and Death Decision
    • Bitten By The Gambling Bug
    • Euthanasia: Abortion at Life's End
    • A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
    • Find the Cause: Find the Solution
    • A Sign Of The Times
    • What You Sow Is What You Get!
    • The Blame Game
    • The Freedom Of Responsibility
  • Bereavement
    • The Final Farewell
    • The Death Of A Child
    • The Death We Never Talk About
    • The Birth We Call Death
    • The Death We Never Talk About (2)
    • To Speak Or Not To Speak
    • Ken died last week
  • Priorities
    • Apathy: The Silent Enemy
    • Chasing The Wind
    • Dangerous Appetites
    • Becoming Bitter or Better
    • I Must Be Getting Old
    • An Epiphany On A Train
    • One Death Per Person
    • Keep It Balanced!
  • Faith
    • Blind Faith
    • May The Force Be With You
    • The Occult Octopus
    • Good News of a Fresh Start
    • Asking God One Question
    • How Good Is Good Enough?
    • Weaving A Web
    • Creating God In Our Image
    • Not Good Enough For Church
    • The Trouble With Religion
    • A Strange Funeral Request
    • A God-forsaken Country
    • Please Don't Tell Me The Score!
    • A Favourite Bible Verse
    • Elijah Was An Atheist
    • Trust Your Instruments!
    • The Case Of The Cautious Atheist
    • Did God Allow This Tragedy?
  • Values
    • The Power of Illusion
    • A Frightening Realism
    • Life's Early Lessons
    • Holding Back The Tide
    • A Titanic Lesson
    • You Had Better Be Right!
    • When The Law Is A Nuisance
    • Is Tolerance Always A Virtue
    • Capital Punishment; Yes or No?
    • Is Discrimination Always Wrong?
    • Sincerity Does Not Make Wrong Right
    • Homosexuality: The Debate Continues
    • Our Upside Down Values
    • Can We Solve The Drug Tsunami
    • Is the Church Out Of Step
    • Living In Disneyland
    • The Mighty Dollar God
    • A False God Is Exposed
    • Abstinence is a Dirty Word
    • Morality In Crisis
    • The Media: Shaping Or Reflecting Culture?
    • So What's In A Date?
  • Relationships
    • It's Time To Bite The Bullett
    • Roll the Credits
    • How Is Your Attitude?
    • Bamboo, Roots & Resentment
    • Building A Strong Marriage
    • Living In Sin
    • The Chain or the Circle
    • There's Always Tomorrow
    • Sticks and Stones
    • Conspiracy Theory or Conspiracy Fact

THE SENATE PRAYER

by Mike Robinson

When Pastor Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas (USA) Senate, everyone present was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

" Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know that the Bible says "Woe on those who call evil good," but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it alternate lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today. Cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the centre of Your will. I ask this in the name of Your Son, the living Saviour, Jesus Christ."

Well, as you probably guessed, the response was immediate. Six senators walked out during the prayer in protest. Yet, within a few weeks, Central Christian Church, where Pastor Wright is the minister, logged more than 5,000 phone calls and only 47 of those calls were negative.

Whether or not you agree with the contents of Pastor Wright's prayer, it took courage to pray for those political decision makers in such clear & direct terms.

What encourages me is that many of the usual "silent majority" picked up the 'phone and expressed their thanks and support that someone was willing to take the risk "to tell it like it is".

Pastor Wright, may your tribe increase! And to those who rose to support him, may your tribe increase also!!