The Prayers of St. Paul – Part 2

Christmas Eve.

In my last post I noted that St. Augustine called the problem of our sin “Incurvatus in se,” which basically translates as curved in on ourselves. We live for ourselves, our lives are curved inward as opposed to the life God intended for us, which is life lived with an outward focus.

I thought about that today as I was reflecting on our Christmas Eve Candle Light Service. Our Choir Anthem is “Do You Hear What I Hear?” The truth is 99% of the people in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago did not notice anything unusual. Foreigners noticed the Star in the sky, but the people of God, for whom the Star was a sign of the coming of their Messiah, did not notice. Some of the shepherds out in the fields noticed and went into town to see what was happening. Others didn’t notice anything. People from outside of Bethlehem noticed and came to town. Those in Bethlehem apparently didn’t notice anything unusual. They were too preoccupied with self to notice and offer assistance.

In this series we are looking at the prayers of St. Paul to guide us into a better understanding of our own prayer life. Do our prayers curve in to ourselves, or out to others.

The second of Paul’s prayer we’ll look at is in 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 (NLT)

^“3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. ⁴ He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

Are we looking to God as our comfort? When we received His comfort, are we seeking out others with whom we can share God’s comfort? This thought reminds me of a line in a benediction I like to use at weddings. As I pray a blessing over the newlyweds I say, “Bear witness to the love of God in this world so that those to whom God is a stranger will find in you generous friends.”

Live outwardly.

Selah,

Alex