A Meditation on Romans 15: 30

Kevin J Youngblood
 

“I beg you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord, Jesus the Messiah, and through the love of the Spirit, to strive hard with me in your prayers to God on my behalf . . .” (Romans 15:30)

When I was a boy, I remember we often sang the hymn “There is a Balm in Gilead.” A line from that hymn has stuck with me through the years and I have often thought about it. The line is “If you cannot preach like Peter, if you cannot pray like Paul . . .” As a boy, I always wondered why Paul was singled out for his prayer life. Now, as an adult, having read all of Paul’s writings, I think I understand why. Paul had a most remarkable theology of prayer – the kind of theology that can only emerge from experience, from the determined and ceaseless practice of prayer.

This is not only evident in the obvious places, the places where Paul writes down his prayers at the beginning of his letters, or the places where Paul is explicitly teaching on prayer. It is also evident in the unexpected places, the places where Paul’s profundity catches us of guard and by surprise, such as in his laundry lists of pedestrian commands and instructions at the close of his letters. Read more…



A Meditation on Romans 15: 30

Kevin J Youngblood
 

“I beg you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord, Jesus the Messiah, and through the love of the Spirit, to strive hard with me in your prayers to God on my behalf . . .” (Romans 15:30)

When I was a boy, I remember we often sang the hymn “There is a Balm in Gilead.” A line from that hymn has stuck with me through the years and I have often thought about it. The line is “If you cannot preach like Peter, if you cannot pray like Paul . . .” As a boy, I always wondered why Paul was singled out for his prayer life. Now, as an adult, having read all of Paul’s writings, I think I understand why. Paul had a most remarkable theology of prayer – the kind of theology that can only emerge from experience, from the determined and ceaseless practice of prayer.

This is not only evident in the obvious places, the places where Paul writes down his prayers at the beginning of his letters, or the places where Paul is explicitly teaching on prayer. It is also evident in the unexpected places, the places where Paul’s profundity catches us of guard and by surprise, such as in his laundry lists of pedestrian commands and instructions at the close of his letters. Read more…



A Meditation on Psalm 55

Kevin J Youngblood
 

My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Fear and trembling come upon me,

and horror overwhelms me.

And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest;

yes, I would wander far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

I would hurry to find a shelter

from the raging wind and tempest.”

(Psalm 55:4-6)

It is a great comfort to me to find so many of my own emotional and spiritual struggles reflected back to me in the pages of Scripture in words far richer, more descriptive, and accurate than my own. I immediately recognize myself in the psalmist’s words here. Fear is a constant, though unwanted, companion on my faith pilgrimage. Read more…


A Meditation on Psalm 40

Kevin J Youngblood
 
You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.
As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

A new thought occurred to me this morning as I read, reflected on, and prayed Psalm 40. I have often noted the prevalence of the theme of meditation in the psalms, but had always thought of it exclusively in human terms. That is to say that I considered meditation to be only a human activity.
 

This morning, however, I was struck by the psalmist’s recognition of YHWH’s thoughtful preoccupation with us, God’s human creatures. Read more…



A Meditation on Psalm 26

Kevin J Youngblood
 

I do not sit with men of falsehood,

nor do I consort with hypocrites.

I hate the assembly of evildoers,

and I will not sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence

and go around your altar, O Lord,

proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,

and telling all your wondrous deeds.
(Psalm 26:4-7)

 

In the middle of Psalm 26 stands an altar, an altar that the psalmist circumambulates as he gives testimony to God’s goodness. I have been thinking a lot about altars lately. They have such significance in the Bible, yet I feel like I grew up without one. My tradition never talked about altars, never called us to the altar. We had a table and a pulpit and pews, but no altar. Where is the altar for Christians? It seems like this is an important thing to know. Read more…



A Meditation on Joshua 2 : 15

Kevin J Youngblood
 

She let them down by a rope through her window for her was in the wall, the city wall, she lived in the city wall.

(Joshua 2:15)

The older I get, the more amazed I become at how much of the biblical story I have completely missed. Details that used to seem insignificant, that faded into the background of the narrative like stage props, now reach out and grab my attention. This again happened as I was reading the story of Rahab and the two Israelite spies. Read more…



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