Great is, O King, our happiness
in thy kingdom, thou, our King.

We dance before thee, Our King,
By the strength of thy kingdom.

May our feet be made strong;
Let us dance before thee eternal.

Give you praise, all angels,
To him above who is worthy of praise.

Prayer in sacred dance of the Zulu Nazerite Church

1 A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah. His foundation is in the holy
mountains.
2 The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of
Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me:
behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
5 And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and
the highest himself shall establish her.
6 The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man
was born there. Selah.
7 As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all
my springs are in thee.

Psalm 87 KJV

God, who created me
Nimble and light of limb,
In three elements free,
To run, to ride, to swim;
Not when the sense is dim,
But now from the heart of joy,
I would remember him:
Take the thanks of a boy.

H. C. Beaching 1859-1919

1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied,
there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because
their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and
said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve
tables.
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest
report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint
over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry
of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose
Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and
Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a
proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they
laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples
multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests
were obedient to the faith.

Luke Ch 6 KJV

Focus

Therefore I bid you put away anxious thoughts about food and
drink .... and clothes.... Surely life is more than food, the body more than
clothes .... Birds of the air, they do not sow and reap and store in barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them. !s there a man among you who by
anxious thought can add a foot to his height. .... Consider how the lilies
grow...., they do not work, they do not spin, and yet.... Solomon in all his
splendor was not attired like one of these. But if that is how God clothes
the grass in the fields.... Will He not all the more cloth you.... Do not ask
anxiously `what are we to eat, what are we to drink, what shall we
wear?'... All these are not for you, because your heavenly Father knows
that you need them all....

'So do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will look after
itself. Each day has troubles enough of its own'.
- Matthew Ch.6 v25-34.

The world is changing so fast these days, it seems that life and its
expectations are moving more towards life and its necessities.

Our pursuit of happiness seems to be changing into a drive to suc-
ceed, and along the way we are collecting a lot of unwanted unease which
directly affects the quality of our lives.

It is becoming more and more difficult to try and look at things in
isolation, because with the passage of time, there seems to be
interconnecting elements. They cannot be ignored and they intrude into
the way we think and act.

The more we try to accommodate these, the more anxious we are
likely to become, especially when problems and situations become more
personal, and the future looks uncertain.

Whatever the problems may be, Jesus is telling us to see them
through His eyes and to focus on the Father's needs for us. `Set your
mind on God's kingdom and His justice before everything else'. He is
saying, `and all the rest will come to you as well'. One day at a time.

Troubles

'Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give
you rest'.
`Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls'.
`For my yoke is easy, and my load is light'.
-Matthew Ch. l 1 v28-30.

Can there be any more uplifting words for the burdened traveler?
When anxiety becomes a burden, we want to relieve ourselves of the
weight that we carry, and cast around for answers to what we alone can
do to resolve it. Times takes toll Sometimes we are successful, but there
are times when this does not happen, and time takes its toll in personal
hardship and the vision of an empty future.

Once more Jesus is reaching out to us, and inviting us to place our
burdens on His shoulders, so that He is able to give us the answers to all
that we are unable to cope with, and to show us the way ahead.
He wants us to lean on Him and learn, and by accepting His offer,
we will become stronger, for as Paul said in hardship and frustration,

'For when I am weak, then I am strong

Prayer

'But when you pray, go into a room by yourself, shut the door, and
pray to your Father who is there in the secret place, and your Father who
sees what is secret will reward you'.
-Matthew Ch. 6 v6.

'Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door
will he opened to you'.
- Matthew Ch.7 v7

'And whatever you pray for in faith you will receiveí.
- Matthew Ch. 27 v22.

Jesus opened the avenue of prayer for us, and showed us
through His relationship with the Father, how accessible God is to us,
and how close we can be to Him by making prayer an important part
and place in our lives.

Prayer is communication Prayer is our only way of communication
with the Father and through our faith and His grace we can be sure that
as with Jesus, our prayers will be answered.

Jesus prayed for us too while He was among us (John Ch. 17
v20-23), and it is comforting to know that even though He is with the
Father, His spirit is among us continuing the work He started.
The message that He has given us is one of hope, and that through
prayer we can take all the anxiety and trouble that a world full of turmoil
is able to throw at us, and place them in the hands of a loving Father and
Son

What else do we need, where else should we go?

Roger Harris

This is so neat.  I had never heard this before.  This is beautiful - and it is surely worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives.

1. Your thumb is nearest you.  So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you.  They are the easiest to remember.  To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a 'sweet duty.'

2. The next finger is the pointing finger.  Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal.  This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers.  They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction.  Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger.  It reminds us of our leaders.  Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators.  These people shape our nation and guide public opinion.  They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger.  Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify.  It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain.  They need your prayers day and night.  You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others.  As the Bible says, 'The least shall be the greatest among you.'  Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself.  By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

If you decide to send this to a friend, you might brighten someone's day!  Pass this on to someone special... I did.

Bernadette Njegovan
Children's Ministry Coordinator

Canadian Bishops and Diocesan Representatives