Several decades ago, a song appeared on some of the country music charts that was titled, “Who Will Pray for Me When Mama’s Gone?” In the song, the narrator regrets the life that he has lived and confesses that he does not feel worthy enough to get down on his knees to speak to God.

No one, we believe, is so far away from God that he or she cannot call upon God and be redeemed. But we can certainly understand that lost feeling. In this instance, the narrator’s hope is that someone else — in this case his mother — can pray effectively for him. But what if his mother is no longer with us?

The song’s narrator fears that no one will take him up in their prayers.

In the passage of scripture that we just read, the writer of the epistle makes the point that prayer should be more than just individuals in communication with God. Prayer should be a communal effort. For that to happen, those who enter into prayer should, if possible, do so as members of a community of faith. We should pray for one another. We should share each other‘s joys, concerns, and sorrows. Again and again, while he was on earth, Jesus prayed for other people. His example is one that we are admonished to follow.

I confess that I do not know how prayer works. What I do know is when I pray for others, the burdens that I carry seem to be lighter and more bearable. This passage of scripture and the old country song raise the questions: who is praying for us, and who are we praying for?

Dear Lord, we come to you today with thankful hearts that just as we pray for others, there are people in our lives who are praying for us. May our prayers join with those of our family and friends to keep us close to your kingdom. Amen.

This devotional was written and recorded by Jim Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

Most of us pray for peace at some point in our lives. The prayer for “peace on earth“ is one that we echo from what the angels sang at the birth of Christ. We wish the tribes and nations, including our own, would be more peaceful. We wish that armies would stop fighting each other.

In our political and social lives, most of us crave peace. We wish to see an end to the bickering, the backbiting, the fighting, and the constant divisions with which the news media bombard to us every day.

In our personal lives, we wish that family members, again, including ourselves, could just learn to get along. Family gatherings of any type should be a time of peace. All too often they are a time of conflict.

Jesus, in this verse, has promised his peace, and we want to cash in on that promise. We are likely to skip over the part where he says “my peace“ is what he is giving us. We tend not to think very deeply about the words “I do not give to you as the world gives.“

So what is it that Jesus is offering us? It certainly is not the peace of our definition, the “peace on earth“ that we so desperately seek at all levels. The peace of Jesus is something different, something else, something very special.

It is the peace of the Kingdom of Heaven, which Christ came to declare in his ministry on earth. It is the peace of knowing that whatever wars and conflicts are occurring around us, we can have the peace of Jesus with us to calm the storms, not on the outside of our lives, but those storms that are in our hearts.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Mentioned in this episode:

This month on Grace for All, we are replaying some of our most listened to episodes. If you are enjoying these devotions and would like to have them in written form, our first six months of content is now available in print. You can find it by searching Grace for All, a book of daily devotions, by Jim Stovall on Amazon. As always, thank you for joining us, and we pray that you will be blessed.

Jesus said, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Have you ever crossed the street to avoid someone? Or ducked into another aisle in the grocery store, hoping they didn’t see you? Maybe it was someone you knew but felt you didn’t have the time or energy to face. Or maybe it was someone you didn’t know, but you made a judgement based on their behavior or appearance.

Regardless, something about that person made you uncomfortable, so you looked away, or moved in another direction.

What about the opposite? Has anyone ever crossed the street or looked the other way to avoid you?

We tend to avoid engaging with people who might pull us out of our comfort zone.

In the parable, Jesus tells to demonstrate what he means when he says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He chooses to identify the protagonist as a person who was used to being avoided.

As a Samaritan living on the fringes, he had likely watched people cross the street to avoid him on many occasions. And now, here was his chance to do the same. After all, even the religious leaders crossed over and walked on by. This robbed, beaten and injured man was not their problem. It was a reasonable thing to do.

Who would have blamed the Samaritan if he had crossed the street and kept on walking too?

What would it take to stop and offer help to someone knowing that if another the situation were reversed, they would have crossed the street to avoid you?

This is the grace Jesus offers each of us, and it is the grace he calls us to offer our neighbors.

It is what he means when he says, “Go and do likewise.”

Brother Jesus, teach us how to be good neighbors, that the deep woundedness of this world might be healed. In Your Holy name we pray. Amen.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Mentioned in this episode:

Thank you for joining us for Grace for All. This month, we are repeating some of our most loved episodes. We hope they will inspire and encourage you on your faith journey. Welcome.