Sustained in Battle, Lifted by the Lord’s Prayer

By Dr. Robert H. Schuller

During the first World War, German armies swept over Belgium, destroying many of its cities. One day after the war was over, a Catholic nun with a group of young students paused at a small Catholic shrine at the edge of a Belgian village. They knelt and began to repeat the Lord's Prayer. But they couldn't utter one phrase.

Around them were the rubble, the ruin, the resentment, and the hurt of the war years. The small group started again, "Forgive us our trespasses as we..." They could go no further—until from behind them came a strong man's voice: "…forgive those who trespass against us." They looked around to see their own King Albert! With a great spirit of forgiveness, he led the way.

Christ, our King, shows us how to conquer resentment and hurt. It was our King who cried from the cross, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." Perhaps you need to forgive someone. God can help you be a forgiving person. He will replace your bitterness with love and kindness.

-Excerpted from 365 Power Thoughts: Hope for Today and Tomorrow

Living the Lord's Prayer

Sustained through praise, permission, petition, pardon, and protection!

By Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman

It seems that everywhere I go these days I hear the word "sustainability." This new go-green word means "continued, ongoing growth." Though used most frequently as an eco-friendly adjective, isn't sustainability even more important as it applies to our walk with God? Don't we want our spiritual journey to be sustainable, ongoing, continually growing?

The secret to spiritual sustainability is found in the Lord's Prayer. Jesus taught us only one way to pray in His "model prayer," the Lord's Prayer. Two years ago, I began to model my own daily prayers on the Lord's Prayer. It transformed my prayer life! I found myself praying it throughout the day until I realized I was not just praying the Lord's Prayer, I was living the Lord's Prayer. It transformed my whole life!

The principles found in the Lord's prayer are the secret to Spiritual Sustainability! Here is how it works: (I encourage you to cut this out and tape it where you can see it until it becomes part of your soul.)

"Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name." Heaven is where God is! Where God is-is heaven! I ask God to be present in my life so I may experience heaven on earth. I begin with praise and continue to praise all day long. Even if things go horribly wrong, I say, "Hallelujah, anyway!"

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." THY will-is MY will. When my will is His will and His will is my will, then I discover God's purpose for my life-one I can live for, a self I can live with, and a faith I can live by!

"Give us this day our daily bread." God, the Great Provider, always provides for His beloved children-sometimes it's abundance and sometimes it's barely-to teach me the thrill of living on the edge, relying on Him and Him alone!

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." I am loved and forgiven-by God Almighty! All He asks in return is for me to love and forgive others-even those who have hurt me. For what do I need to ask forgiveness? Whom do I need to forgive?

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." It's tempting to limit my dreams by my ability, instead of believing in His-ability. I pray for the courage to dream big enough for God to fit in!

That's it! Practice these five principles, which I will expand on each Sunday in August on the Hour of Power. As mine was, I know your life will be forever transformed!

Because of you, they are hearing the message, "Yes! God is there! Yes! God cares! God loves you and so do we!" Thank you for being there for us so we can let the world know that God is there for them!

Give Your Spiritual Sustainability A Lift!

"Those who wait upon the Lord
Shall renew their strength,
They shall mount up on wings as eagles
They shall run and not be weary
They shall walk and not faint!"

Known as the "Eagle Verse," only God knows how many times these powerful, life-affirming words from Isaiah 40:31 have been referenced in human history to lift and encourage the soul of a depressed or discouraged person. This is one of many places in the Bible where God concentrates profound and positive spiritual truths within a relatively short grouping of words.

Another spiritually concentrated Bible verse is the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Starting July 25th and four consecutive weekends, Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman will delve into Jesus' "model prayer" during her new Hour of Power message series, "Spiritual Sustainability: Living the Lord's Prayer." As does the "Eagle Verse," this important scripture lifts your spirit. And this message series promises to lift your prayer life, as well, as each prayer phrase takes your spiritual experience to increasingly higher levels—helping you to see your relationship with God from an entirely new and exciting vantage point.

Unfold your understanding of "The Lord’s Prayer" every day in 2010.

English author and poet, Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) wrote a delightful tale titled Five Children and It. The story begins when a family of children discovers an ancient sand-fairy who agrees to grant them one wish each day. However, not foreseeing that bad as well as good can happen when we get our way, the children experience more trouble than happiness with each wish.

Some think prayer is telling our wishes to God, hoping to get our way when he grants them. However, it is much more. To teach his disciples and all of us how to pray, Jesus gave us a model prayer, "The Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 8:9-13), which is more about growing a trusting relationship with our heavenly Father than getting what we want from him. As we grow in faith, our prayers become less a wish list and more an intimate conversation with God.

YOU can unfold your understanding of "The Lord's Prayer" every day in 2010 with the help of the Hour of Power 40th Anniversary Lord's Prayer Wall Calendar for Possibility Thinkers.

Through the calendar pages, you will grow your personal prayer life daily as "The Lord's Prayer" guides you to... ... God, ... give God to be the Lord of your life,... God to meet your needs, ...ask God's , and ...feel the embrace of his . This calendar may also serve as your 2010 appointment calendar. Each day's square is large enough for you to...jot down appointments...add birthday and anniversary reminders...or note other dates you need to remember.

Included with the calendar is a sheet of stickers that you may apply to your calendar whenever you want to PRAISE God, give him PERMISSION to act, PETITION him, experience his PARDON, or feel his PROTECTION. By the end of 2010, you'll look back through this unique calendar and be reminded in so many ways of how, throughout the year, you have powerfully and profoundly interacted with the living God!

This special 40th anniversary edition calendar is also our way of celebrating the miraculous way God has moved in the hearts of people all across America and around the world to keep his word alive and on the air through the Hour of Power. And that forty-year history of positive ministry can be extended another forty years and beyond only with YOUR help. There is no other way. YOUR financial gifts are what make the Hour of Power possible.

Thank you for being part of God's positive answer to our prayers today as you send your gift with your request for your own 2010 Lord's Prayer Calendar!