(The LORD said) "Call to Me and I will answer you ...." Jeremiah 33:3a

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.

In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour



Some friends and I went fishing at a river.

After we had gathered to begin our trip, one of my friends requested that one of our party, a pastor friend, invoke the Name of the Lord. He requested we call upon the Lord to ask His protection for our trip.

With the respectful silence of everybody, the pastor did as he had been asked. We all wanted to get to fishing, but we felt it more important to ask God to be our unseen Friend, Guardian and Leader on the trip.

To invoke the holy Name of God is to pray, praise and thank Him in all situations. It is a joyful task Christians are encouraged and should be glad to do.

Of course, there are those of us who say we simply don't have the time to do as the Lord has asked.

The truth is if we are too busy to pray, we are too busy.

Now if you are saying, "Pastors don't have a clue as to the number of things we have to fit into our days, the ever-growing number of things which demand our attention."

Well, yes, a goodly share of clergy do understand.

Because we understand I'm providing a number of suggestions.

• First, organize your schedule. And when you do, make sure you include some set-aside time for prayer.

• Next, organize your priorities by keeping a written list of prayer commitments. Do your best to put your prayer life in a position where it's not always going to be a fund of minutes from which you can borrow to do other less important and less-pressing matters.

Now we're most certainly not saying that God's people need to be tied to a specific format. The Scriptural command "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is the directive that urges us on and the goal to which we aspire.

Even so, the above thoughts will be of help in making sure our prayers don't get caught in an avalanche of stuff, which makes the dubious claim, "I simply have to be done." The reality is this: the one thing that needs to be done is God's grateful people need to speak faithfully and regularly to their gracious Lord.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, for the love of Jesus and the sacrifice He made so we might be saved, remain with us. Allow us to see Your blessings and give thanks. This I ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Biography of Author: Today's international devotion was written by Pastor Egon M. Seibert, who has been faithful in the work done by Lutheran Hour Ministries in Paraguay. Established in Asuncion in 1999, LHM-Paraguay operates as Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones in this South American country of 6.5 million people. It is active in door-to-door ministry, radio programming, small-group ministry, Project JOEL, Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC), and Equipping the Saints (ETS) training.


To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhmint.org.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 149-150    1 Corinthians 5

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