Notre Pain Quotidien - Entendre Dieu

par Amy Boucher Pye

Lisez : 1 Samuel 3.1‑10 | La Bible en un an : Jérémie 20 – 21 et 2 Timothée 4

Et Samuel répondit : Parle, car ton serviteur écoute. (1 Samuel 3.10)

J’avais l’impression d’être sous l’eau, car mon rhume et mes allergies étouffaient les sons. M’efforcer de bien entendre pendant des semaines m’a fait comprendre combien je tiens mon ouïe pour acquise.

Le jeune Samuel a dû se demander dans le Temple ce qu’il entendait, en sortant difficilement du sommeil au son de son nom (1 S 3.4). Trois fois, il s’est présenté devant le souverain sacrificateur Éli. Et ce n’est qu’à la troisième occasion qu’Éli a compris que c’était Dieu qui s’adressait à Samuel. La Parole du Seigneur se faisait rarement entendre à l’époque (V. 1) et le peuple n’avait pas pour habitude de lui tendre l’oreille. Reste qu’Éli a montré à Samuel comment répondre à Dieu (V. 9).

Le Seigneur parle beaucoup plus de nos jours que du temps de Samuel. L’épître aux Hébreux nous dit : « Après avoir autrefois, à plusieurs reprises et de plusieurs manières, parlé à nos pères par les prophètes, Dieu dans ces derniers temps, nous a parlé par le Fils » (1.1,2). Dans Actes 2, nous lisons au sujet de la venue du Saint‑Esprit à la Pentecôte (V. 1‑4) qu’il nous guide au fil des enseignements de Christ (JN 16.13). Nous devons toutefois apprendre à entendre sa voix et à lui obéir. Comme lorsque j’étais enrhumée, nous l’entendons peut‑être avec l’impression d’être sous l’eau. Il nous faut examiner tout ce que nous croyons recevoir de Dieu à la lumière de la Bible et des conseils de chrétiens mûrs. Par amour pour ses enfants, Dieu se plaît à insuffler la vie en eux.

Le Seigneur parle à ses enfants, mais ils doivent discerner sa voix.

© 2016 Ministères NPQ

Night Light for Couples - Johnny Lingo’s Eight-cow Wife

Night Light for Couples, the couples' devotional from Focus on the Family ministry founder Dr. James Dobson and his wife, Shirley, brings spouses together each evening, helping them stay connected with each other and their Lord.

by Patricia McGerr

When I visited the South Pacific islands, I took a notebook along. I had a three‐week leave between assignments in Japan, so I borrowed a boat and sailed to Kiniwata. The notebook was supposed to help me become a junior‐grade Maugham or Michener. But when I got back, among all my notes the only sentence that still interested me was the one that said, “Johnny Lingo gave eight cows to Sarita’s father.”

Johnny Lingo wasn’t exactly his name. But I wrote it down that way because I learned about the eight cows from Shenkin, the fat manager of the guest house at Kiniwata. He was from Chicago and had a habit of Americanizing the names of the islanders. He wasn’t the only one who talked about Johnny, though. His name came up with many people in many connections. If I wanted to spend a few days on the island of Nurabandi, a day’s sail away, Johnny Lingo could put me up, they told me, since he had built a five‐room house—unheard‐of luxury! If I wanted to fish, he could show me where the biting was best. If I wanted fresh vegetables, his garden was the greenest. If I sought pearls, his business savvy would bring me the best buys. Oh, the people of Kiniwata all spoke highly of Johnny Lingo. Yet when they spoke, they smiled, and the smiles were slightly mocking.

“Get Johnny Lingo to help you find what you want, and then let him do the bargaining,” advised Shenkin, as I sat on the veranda of his guest house wondering whether to visit Nurabandi. “He’ll earn his commission four times over. Johnny knows values and how to make a deal.”

“Johnny Lingo!” The chubby boy on the veranda steps hooted the name, then hugged his knees and rocked with shrill laughter.

“What goes on?” I asked. “Everybody around here tells me to get in touch with Johnny Lingo and then breaks up. Let me in on the joke.”

“They like to laugh,” Shenkin said. He shrugged his heavy shoulders.

“And Johnny’s the brightest, the quickest, the strongest young man in all this group of islands. So they like best to laugh at him.”

“But if he’s all you say, what is there to laugh about?”

“Only one thing. Five months ago, at fall festival time, Johnny came to Kiniwata and found himself a wife. He paid her father eight cows!”

He spoke the last words with great solemnity. I knew enough about island customs to be thoroughly impressed. Two or three cows would buy a fair‐to‐middling wife; four or five a highly satisfactory one.

“Eight cows!” I said. “She must be a beauty who takes your breath away.”

“The kindest could only call Sarita plain,” was Shenkin’s answer. “She was skinny. She walked with her shoulders hunched and her head ducked. She was scared of her own shadow.”

“Then how do you explain the eight cows?”

“We don’t,” he said. “And that’s why the villagers grin when they talk about Johnny. They get special satisfaction from the fact that Johnny, the sharpest trader in the islands, was bested by Sarita’s father, dull old Sam Karoo.”

“Eight cows,” I said unbelievingly. “I’d like to meet this Johnny Lingo.”

So the next afternoon I sailed a boat to Nurabandi and met Johnny at his home, where I asked about his eight‐cow purchase of Sarita. I assumed he had done it for his own vanity and reputation—at least until Sarita walked into the room. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The lift of her shoulders, the tilt of her chin, the sparkle of her eyes all spelled a pride to which no one could deny her the right.

I turned back to Johnny Lingo after she had left. “You admire her?” he asked. “She… she’s glorious,” I said. “But she’s not Sarita from Kiniwata.” “There’s only one Sarita.

Perhaps she does not look the way they say she looked in Kiniwata.” “She doesn’t.” The impact of the girl’s appearance made me forget tact. “I heard she was homely. They all make fun of you because you let yourself be cheated by Sam Karoo.”

“You think eight cows were too many?” A smile slid over his lips. “No. But how can she be so different?” “Do you ever think,” he asked, “what it must mean to a woman to know that her husband settled on the lowest price for which she can be bought? And then later, when the women talk, they boast of what their husbands paid for them. One says four cows; another maybe six. How does she feel, the woman who was sold for one or two? This could not happen to my Sarita.”

“Then you did this just to make her happy?” I asked.

“I wanted Sarita to be happy, yes. But I wanted more than that. You say she is different. This is true. Many things can change a woman. Things that happen inside; things that happen outside. But the thing that matters most is what she thinks about herself. In Kiniwata, Sarita believed she was worth nothing. Now she knows she is worth more than any other woman in the islands.”

“Then you wanted… ” “I wanted to marry Sarita. I loved her and no other woman.” “But… ” “But,” he finished softly, “I wanted an eight‐cow wife.”

Looking ahead…

Someone said, “We are not what we think we are. We are not even what others think we are. We are what we think others think we are.” In other words, our estimation of our value as human beings is greatly influenced by the way people respond to us and the respect or disdain they reveal day by day. Those interactions shape our self‐concepts and are translated into the nuances of our personalities.

Johnny Lingo was, indeed, a brilliant man. He was astute enough to know that his negotiations with Sarita’s father would seal forever the self‐concept of the woman he loved. That’s why Sarita revealed such confidence and beauty. Let me say to the husbands and wives reading this book: You have the power to elevate or debase each other’s self‐esteem. Rather than tear down, don’t miss a single opportunity to build up.

For the next few evenings, we’ll talk about how to do that.

- James C Dobson

• From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
  Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.
• “Johnny Lingo’s Eight‐Cow Wife” by Patricia McGerr. © 1965 by Patricia McGerr. First published in Woman’s Day. Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.

NIV Devotions for Couples - Giving With Grace

Deuteronomy 15:1–11

Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. Deuteronomy 15:10

Years ago I said something that still bothers me when I think about it. I had led a young couple to faith in Jesus. The husband earned a good living in his hairstyling salon. In the basement of their home he kept the barber’s chair that his deceased father had once used in a shop in another town.

His father’s chair was more than an item of nostalgia, however. My friend used the chair in his basement two evenings and part of Saturday each week to seat customers who couldn’t afford to see him in his shop. In this homey room my friend clipped and snipped the hair of the poor. Some, like me, he charged a nominal fee; others he waved out the door with a smile.

After one splendid haircut, I pulled out my wallet and handed him a note that was twice what he normally charged me. It was my smallest note, but he had no change. “Just keep it,” I said. “Next time I won’t have to pay anything.”

Indeed, as I stepped out of the chair after my next grooming session and reached for my wallet, my friend said, “Wait! You’ve already paid for this one!”

It was then that I said some horrible words: “If you had remembered that earlier,” I teased, “you wouldn’t have done such a good job, would you?”

A slight grimace furrowed my friend’s brow before he caught himself and laughed. He was a generous man, and I had treated his kindness flippantly by joking that mercenary demons drove his heart.

It seems like materialism is all around us, and it is not uncommon for people to be driven by need and greed. During the lean years that many of us experience, we can become selfish and cheap. Those attitudes can stick, even when resources grow and demands diminish.

God built safeguards into Israelite society so that debt wouldn’t dehumanize those who became trapped in it. But God also knew that some people would try to manipulate handouts and bailouts and other kinds of welfare for their own cunning ends. So he asked his people to be generous to the poor, even if the poor appeared to be abusing the gifts.

Generosity and graciousness are learned qualities. They must be caught from the example of bighearted souls. Like God. Like the widow who gave two very small copper coins—all she had to live on (see Mark 12:41–44). Like the disciples who shared their lunch with a crowd (see Matthew 15:32–39). Like my barber.

We must practice giving so that generosity becomes an essential part of who we are. And when we give, we’ll find that our generosity is rewarded by God, who will “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10).

Wayne Brouwer

Let’s Talk

• In what ways has God blessed us? In what ways are we tightfisted about sharing what we have? How can we make our spending and giving reflect our values?
• Who are some generous people who have helped us along the way? What have we learned from them? How are we becoming like them?
• What did we learn about money and generosity from our parents? Were these good or bad lessons? What will our children learn from us?

Standing Strong Through the Storm - WALKING BY FAITH

For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

Brother Wei from South-east Asia tells his story to a staff member of Open Doors. He is too shy to look at him directly. While he is speaking, he keeps his eyes lowered.

I'm forty-one years old and I'm a simple rice farmer. Twenty years ago, I became a Christian and in the past years, I've been in prison thirteen times because of my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The last time I was in a notorious prison, surrounded by a moat. In order to torment the prisoners, we were given rice mixed with sand. There were no toilets - we just had to find a spot somewhere.

I was arrested because I believed in Jesus and because I was active as a preacher. The punishment for this "crime" was two and a half years in prison, but I could be released sooner if I renounced my faith.

The guards constantly tried to force me to deny my faith. I was to sign a form which stated that I had "voluntarily renounced my faith" and that I would "no longer attend meetings." I was bound hand and foot and beaten, but I refused to deny my faith. My fellow prisoners mocked me and swore at me. They called me the "Jesus man." I wasn't allowed a Bible, and if I was caught praying, I was beaten.

After my release, as a result of the abuse I was no longer able to walk fast or to run. Sometimes I could no longer find the words to describe something.

Once I was back in our village, I heard that we had to leave because we hadn't been granted permission to go on living there. We were not allocated any land to work, the children were no longer allowed to go to school and the hospital was no longer willing to help us. Then we left and went to another district, where we had to start over again.

When the Open Doors worker asked him how he had been able to endure all this persecution, Brother Wei said, “I don't trust in what eyes can see, but I’ve put my trust in the Eternal, the Lord Jesus.”

RESPONSE: Today I will persevere through the challenges that come my way with faith in the Eternal God.

PRAYER: Pray that all Christians being persecuted today will respond with this strong faith!

Un Dia a la Vez - El amor hacia los enemigos

Amen a sus enemigos, hagan bien a quienes los odian, bendigan a quienes los maldicen, oren por quienes los maltratan. Lucas 6:27-28

El mandato de Dios de amar a los que nos han hecho daño y perdonar a los que nos ofenden, trae bendición a nuestra vida.

¿Te imaginas que aparte de perdonar debemos orar por ellos y bendecirlos? Ya sé lo que quizá estés pensando: «¿Pero cómo se le puede ocurrir a ella decir eso?». No te asombres, eso es lo que dejó estipulado el Señor Jesús. Así que, debes creerlo.

Cuando entramos en ese plan de obedecer a Dios, comienzas a recibir un cambio en tu ser, pues el odio y la falta de perdón crean raíces de amargura que hasta nos enferman. Es más, esto es lo que el rencor trae como resultado en el ser humano. Por eso Dios nos da la oportunidad de que conozcamos la verdad y luego nos hace libres.

Amar a los amigos es muy fácil, pero Dios quiere que apliquemos lo más difícil: Amar a los enemigos. De esta manera honraremos a Dios.

Verse of the Day - October 29, 2016

Romans 12:1 (NIV) [ A Living Sacrifice ] Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Read all of Romans 12

The Daily Readings for October 29, 2016

Ecclesiasticus 35:1-17
The one who keeps the law makes many offerings; one who heeds the commandments makes an offering of well-being. The one who returns a kindness offers choice flour, and one who gives alms sacrifices a thank offering. To keep from wickedness is pleasing to the Lord, and to forsake unrighteousness is an atonement. Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed, for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the commandment. The offering of the righteous enriches the altar, and its pleasing odor rises before the Most High. The sacrifice of the righteous is acceptable, and it will never be forgotten. Be generous when you worship the Lord, and do not stint the first fruits of your hands. With every gift show a cheerful face, and dedicate your tithe with gladness. Give to the Most High as he has given to you, and as generously as you can afford. For the Lord is the one who repays, and he will repay you sevenfold. Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it; and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice; for the Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality. He will not show partiality to the poor; but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged. He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan, or the widow when she pours out her complaint.

Revelation 13:11-18
Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived; and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.

Luke 12:32-48
"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?" And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Morning Psalms

Psalm 55 Exaudi, Deus
1   Hear my prayer, O God; do not hide yourself from my petition.
2   Listen to me and answer me; I have no peace, because of my cares.
3   I am shaken by the noise of the enemy and by the pressure of the wicked;
4   For they have cast an evil spell upon me and are set against me in fury.
5   My heart quakes within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
6   Fear and trembling have come over me, and horror overwhelms me.
7   And I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
8   I would flee to a far-off place and make my lodging in the wilderness.
9   I would hasten to escape from the stormy wind and tempest."
10   Swallow them up, O Lord; confound their speech; for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
11   Day and night the watchmen make their rounds upon her walls, but trouble and misery are in the midst of her.
12   There is corruption at her heart; her streets are never free of oppression and deceit.
13   For had it been an adversary who taunted me, then I could have borne it; or had it been an enemy who vaunted himself against me, then I could have hidden from him.
14   But it was you, a man after my own heart, my companion, my own familiar friend.
15   We took sweet counsel together, and walked with the throng in the house of God.
16   Let death come upon them suddenly; let them go down alive to the grave; for wickedness is in their dwellings, in their very midst.
17   But I will call upon God, and the LORD will deliver me.
18   In the evening, in the morning, and at noonday, I will complain and lament, and he will hear my voice.
19   He will bring me safely back from the battle waged against me; for there are many who fight me.
20   God, who is enthroned of old, will hear me and bring them down; they never change; they do not fear God.
21   My companion stretched forth his hand against his comrade; he has broken his covenant.
22   His speech is softer than butter, but war is in his heart.
23   His words are smoother than oil, but they are drawn swords.
24   Cast your burden upon the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous stumble.
25   For you will bring the bloodthirsty and deceitful down to the pit of destruction, O God.
26   They shall not live out half their days, but I will put my trust in you.

Evening Psalms

Psalm 138 Confitebor tibi
1   I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing your praise.
2   I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your Name, because of your love and faithfulness;
3   For you have glorified your Name and your word above all things.
4   When I called, you answered me; you increased my strength within me.
5   All the kings of the earth will praise you, O LORD, when they have heard the words of your mouth.
6   They will sing of the ways of the LORD, that great is the glory of the LORD.
7   Though the LORD be high, he cares for the lowly; he perceives the haughty from afar.
8   Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall save me.
9   The LORD will make good his purpose for me; O LORD, your love endures for ever; do not abandon the works of your hands.

Psalm 139 Domine, probasti
1   LORD, you have searched me out and known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
2   You trace my journeys and my resting-places and are acquainted with all my ways.
3   Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, but you, O LORD, know it altogether.
4   You press upon me behind and before and lay your hand upon me.
5   Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain to it.
6   Where can I go then from your Spirit? where can I flee from your presence?
7   If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
8   If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
9   Even there your hand will lead me and your right hand hold me fast.
10   If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night, "
11   Darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike.
12   For you yourself created my inmost parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
13   I will thank you because I am marvelously made; your works are wonderful, and I know it well.
14   My body was not hidden from you, while I was being made in secret and woven in the depths of the earth.
15   Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb; all of them were written in your book; they were fashioned day by day, when as yet there was none of them.
16   How deep I find your thoughts, O God! how great is the sum of them!
17   If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand; to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.
18   Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God! You that thirst for blood, depart from me.
19   They speak despitefully against you; your enemies take your Name in vain.
20   Do I not hate those, O LORD, who hate you? and do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
21   I hate them with a perfect hatred; they have become my own enemies.
22   Search me out, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my restless thoughts.
23   Look well whether there be any wickedness in me and lead me in the way that is everlasting.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.

The Daily Meditation for October 29, 2016

From Forward Day By Day
Written by Scott B. Hayashi

Luke 12:33b (NRSV) Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Most people would say that their possessions—house, car, money, or home furnishings—help them to feel secure and rooted in the world. The odd thing is that having more stuff increases the fear and threat of theft, and we end up feeling less secure.

Jesus sends his disciples out with only the sandals on their feet and the clothes on their back as possessions and protection. Having so little means the disciples do not have much worth taking, insofar as the greedy world is concerned. As odd as this asceticism seems, the disciples are safer and more secure precisely because they have next to nothing to tempt robbers.

While most of us would say that this kind of a radical, stuff-free lifestyle is impractical, irresponsible, and impossible, we might look at the things we have, all we carry that may distract us from sharing the gospel wholeheartedly, and ask: “Do I really need all this? What can I do without? How can I live with my hands and heart open to preaching the good news?”

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Our Daily Bread - The Praying Patient

By David McCasland

Read: John 17:6–19 | Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 18–19; 2 Timothy 3

Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. John 17:11

The obituary for Alan Nanninga, a man in my city, identified him as “foremost, a dedicated witness for Christ.” After a description of his family life and career, the article mentioned nearly a decade of declining health. It concluded by saying, “His hospital stays . . . earned him the honorary title of ‘The Praying Patient’” because of his ministry to other patients. Here was a man who, in his times of distress, reached out to pray for and with the people in need around him.

Hours before Judas betrayed Him, Jesus prayed for His disciples. “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:11). Knowing what was about to happen, Jesus looked beyond Himself to focus on His followers and friends.

During our times of illness and distress, we long for and need the prayers of others. How those prayers help and encourage us! But may we also, like our Lord, lift our eyes to pray for those around us who are in great need.

Lord, even in our difficult times, may we honor You and encourage others by praying for those who are suffering today.

Our troubles can fill our prayers with love and empathy for others.

© 2016 Our Daily Bread Ministries

Unser Täglich Brot - Der Patient, der betet

Von David McCasland

Lesen: Johannes 17,6-19 | Die Bibel In Einem Jahr: Jeremia 18–19; 2.Timotheus 3

Heiliger Vater, erhalte sie in deinem Namen, den du mir gegeben hast, dass sie eins seien wie wir. (Johannes 17,11)

Im Nachruf auf Alan Nanninga, einem Mann aus meiner Stadt, hieß es, er sei „vor allem ein eifriger Zeuge für Jesus“ gewesen. Der Artikel berichtet über sein Familien- und Berufsleben und erwähnt, dass sein Gesundheitszustand sich in den letzten zehn Jahren immer weiter verschlechtert habe. Er schließt mit den Worten: „Seine Krankenhausaufenthalte haben ihm den Ehrentitel, ‚der Patient, der betet‘, eingetragen. In Zeiten, wo es ihm selbst nicht gut ging, hat er für und mit anderen Patienten und vielen anderen gebetet, die Gebete brauchten.“

Nur wenige Stunden, bevor Judas ihn verriet, betete Jesus für seine Jünger: „Ich bin nicht mehr in der Welt; sie aber sind in der Welt, und ich komme zu dir. Heiliger Vater, erhalte sie in deinem Namen, den du mir gegeben hast, dass sie eins seien wie wir“ (Joh. 17,11). Jesus wusste, was ihm bevorstand, aber er sah von sich selbst weg auf seine Nachfolger und Freunde.

In Zeiten von Krankheit und Not brauchen und wünschen wir uns, dass andere für uns beten. Was sind solche Gebete doch für eine Hilfe und Ermutigung! Aber sehen wir doch auch, wie unser Herr, von uns weg und beten für andere, die unser Gebet brauchen.

Herr, lass uns dir auch in schweren Zeiten Ehre machen und andere ermutigen, indem wir für die beten, die heute leiden.

Unsere Nöte können uns helfen, für die zu beten, die Ähnliches durchmachen.

© 2016 Unser Täglich Brot

Хлеб наш насущный - Пациент-молитвенник

автор: Дэвид Маккасланд

Читать сейчас: Иоанна 17:6-19 | Библия за год: Иеремия 18-19; Филиппийцам 4

«Отче Святой! Соблюди их во имя Твое, тех, которых Ты Мне дал, чтобы они были едины, как и Мы». — Иоанна 17:11

В некрологе Алану Наннингу говорилось, что это был человек, «посвященный свидетельству Христову». После рассказа о семье и карьере покойного в статье сообщалось о десяти годах его угасающего здоровья. В конце говорилось: «Медперсонал больницы дал ему почетный титул “Пациент-молитвенник”. Так он служил другим больным. В трудное для себя время он молился за окружающих и поддерживал их».

Перед тем как быть преданным Иудой, Христос молился за учеников. «Я уже не в мире, но они в мире, а Я к Тебе иду. Отче Святой! Соблюди их во имя Твое, тех, которых Ты Мне дал, чтобы они были едины, как и Мы» (Ин. 17:11). Зная, что должно произойти, Спаситель думал не о Себе, а об учениках.

Во времена болезней и невзгод мы нуждаемся в молитвах братьев и сестер по вере. Как важны и дороги эти молитвы! Однако будем также по примеру Господа возводить глаза в молитве и за других, нуждающихся в духовной поддержке.

Господи, даже в трудностях помоги нам чтить Тебя и молитвенно поддерживать других скорбящих.

Личные переживания могут наполнить молитвы за других любовью и сочувствием.

© 2016 Хлеб Наш Насущный

Notre Pain Quotidien - Le patient qui prie

par David McCasland

Lisez : Jean 17.6‑19 | La Bible en un an : Jérémie 18 – 19 et 2 Timothée 3

Père saint, garde‑les en ton nom que tu m’as donné, afin qu’ils soient un comme nous. (Jean 17.11)

La notice nécrologique d’Alan Nanninga, un homme de ma ville, le disait être, « avant tout, un témoin de Christ dévoué ». Après avoir décrit sa vie familiale et professionnelle, elle mentionnait le déclin de sa santé sur près d’une décennie. La notice se terminait ainsi : « Ses hospitalisations […] lui ont valu le titre honorifique “Le patient qui prie” », en raison du ministère qu’il exerçait auprès des autres patients. Voilà un homme qui, dans ses périodes éprouvantes, se faisait un devoir de prier pour et avec ceux de son entourage.

Quelques heures avant que Judas le trahisse, Jésus a prié pour ses disciples : « Je ne suis plus dans le monde, et ils sont dans le monde, et je vais à toi. Père saint, garde‑les en ton nom que tu m’as donné, afin qu’ils soient un comme nous » (JN 17.11). Sachant ce qui était sur le point de se produire, Jésus a fait abstraction de ses propres besoins pour se concentrer sur ses disciples et ses amis.

Lorsque nous traversons une période des plus éprouvantes, nous désirons ardemment bénéficier des prières d’autrui. Combien ces prières nous sont nécessaires et nous encouragent ! Puissions‑nous néanmoins, comme l’a fait notre Seigneur, lever les yeux vers Dieu afin de prier pour ceux de notre entourage dont les besoins sont criants.

Nos ennuis peuvent remplir nos prières d’amour et d’empathie.

© 2016 Ministères NPQ