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Romans 1:16a – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. (NKJV)
During the summer of 1951, I worked on a road construction project. An out-of-town company was paving a long stretch of highway and several other roads in that area. I helped the operator who ran the machine that actually laid the pavement. There was quite a group of us, and at noon, the job would shut down for a half-hour lunch break. All of us brought our own food and drink, and we sat down on the side of the road to consume our lunch. I usually sat with an older person who went to the same church as I did, and we always said a quiet grace before we ate. One of our co-workers saw us and said, "What are you guys doing?" The gentleman with me told him that we gave thanks for our meal. He had never heard of such a thing! As a young lad, I was rather shy about praying in a public place with people who did not. Thinking back, I probably went along with it because there was an older church member there.
When I was president of a local housing and seniors' apartment complex, I always said a word of prayer before the dinners, barbecues, and potluck suppers that we had together. Some of the board members were Christians, but there were some who were not church people. Over the 35 years, there may have been a few who wondered why we prayed, but we always did.
My wife and I watch baseball on television quite often, and there are some players who remove their caps and say a prayer before they take a place on the field. Obviously, even in front of thousands of people, they are not ashamed of the gospel or their Christian faith.
As I was moved to write these words, I wondered about praying in public. After all, there are number of passages in the Bible which tell us that we should pray in private. But there are many indications that people also prayed in public.
Acts 16:13 – And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. (NKJV)
I can picture that riverside in my mind, a group of women joined by Paul and Silas, talking about their new-found faith and taking time to pray together. There were probably other people walking along the riverbank, looking at them and wondering what they were doing and talking about. I would not be surprised if some joined them.
We may wonder at times if it is really necessary to pray in public when others may wonder or even be offended. But if we are not ashamed of the gospel, let us boldly bear witness to our faith by blessing our meals in restaurants or in other public situations.
Prayer: Our Father in heaven, if we have the opportunity to witness to others about our faith or through the spoken word or prayer, we ask that You will give us the strength to do so. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Good advice, Joel.
Great post and advice, Joel. God bless!
Thank you, Joel.
(ON)
Amen Joel. A good reminder.
Blessings.
Thank-you Joel,
I needed to read that today.
Thank-you.
Dear Joel
Thank you for inviting us to remember a time when thanking God for his daily blessings was as natural as breathing!
Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us. Saying grace before eating has always been a common practice in our family – a practice continued to the day. Blessings.
Thanks for this devotional.
You have experienced a lot in life, and I am sure you have been a great witness for Christ throughout your years.
Wishing God’s blessings to you and your wife.
Dear Joel,
Many thanks for another of your informative and very mindful devotionals. Our Lord is very deserving of our reverence for the loving care He gives us in our daily lives. Blessings for these special writings you do.
Thank you for your testimony about being faithful in prayer. You have followed the instructions of the greatest prayer book, the Bible. The prayers of the righteous has great effect and avails much. We need to know and remember testimonies like yours to keep on praying and following the instructions in His Word.
Joel, this devotional is such an encouragement.
In the past, sometimes I had just silently offered thanks while looking at my restaurant meal before consuming. Was I afraid I might offend? I know I wasn’t ashamed.
I well remember being encouraged as I observed a young family join in prayer before eating at a local restaurant a few years ago. As I was about to leave, I went to their table and thanked them for taking time for grace and how it blessed me to see them. One never knows who might be uplifted! Nowadays, I gladly bow my head and briefly give thanks.
Morning Joel,
Thanks for writing today about an interesting subject. In the rural area in which we live it is not uncommon for people to pray in public. When we lived in the city, that was not the case. I came to Texas over 20 years ago telling my husband I would try it for six months. All our children and grandchildren were in the area so I was not in a hurry to leave there.
I am, of course, still here and am grateful to be so. The additional fact is that our children and grandchildren like to come. Our daughter and some college friends will be here this weekend… and we will pray!
Good morning, Joel,
Thank you for the good reminder of not being ashamed to show others that we pray and to share our faith when we have the chance.
Your examples of when you have prayed, help others to understand that it is important. Asking God to help us with these little steps is wise and works.
A good hymn to put with your message – “Lord Speak to Me”. We are blessed with the Holy Spirit to encourage us when we are timid to show our faith.
Thanks for sharing your experience to help us all see that we can witness in small ways. Blessings.
Hello Joel,
Thank you for today’s devotional online.
Your thoughts today remind me of a saying of John Stott’s to the effect that we should ‘hide when tempted to show, and show when tempted to hide.’ He was referring to the text about not letting the right hand know what the left is doing when it comes to giving.
May the Lord encourage you in these challenging times.
(ON)
Thanks Joel, do take care. Blessings.
Yes, Joel! Thanks for sharing your faith and hope today. Blessings on your continued testimony!