This week a number of churches in our community are joining together for a Week of Prayer. The theme this year is “Excellence in Prayer.” We drew names for dates to speak, and I drew the first night. That was last night.
The reason we’re focusing on excellence is because of a devotion I gave at one of our pastoral meetings. In the devotion I briefly explain how we came to our theme, and then explain three keys to striving for excellence in prayer, or any other part of your life.
“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a bowl or hids it under a bed. Instead, the person puts it on a lampstand so those who come in will see the light” (Luke 8:16 NCV).
Many of us have heard these words of Jesus from our youth. We have sang, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” It has been paired with the thoughts of being the salt and light of the world, and to be a light unto dark places.
But this verse is one slice of a greater message. While these are true statements and are implied and connected to these words from our Savior, they are part of something different.
If you’ve been following through our Exploring Hope posts, you might be glad to hear that this will be our last one. Some might have felt like we were going through a course to learn Klingon (a comment I received when preaching this sermon a few weeks ago). But these are the words from the Hebrew that we translate to “hope” in the Old Testament. Here is one last word that delivers an intense picture of our hope.
We’re nearing the end of our journey through the Hebrew words that we translate as “hope” in the Old Testament. Our next word, kesel, will at first sound like it is totally unrelated to hope. Maybe a reference to a popular television show will help us unravel it so we can understand the concept better.
Have you noticed that there is a lot to unpack when it comes to hope? It is more than just a dream or desire, and we can make a deeper part of our lives. Having looked at expectation, patient longing and corded/attached hope, we talk about miqveh hope.
We’re continuing our journey through the Hebrew words that we translate into English as “hope.” We talked first about expectation. Then we talked about yâchal, a painful longing that actually proves our faith in God. Take a look at this next word.
Chris MacKinnon 