Bible Readings for March 18, 2026

Study, Learn and Grow: Bible Readings for March 18, 2026: Let's read the Bible together in the next year.  Today, our passages are  Numbers 26:52–28:15; Luke 3:1-22; Psalm 61:1-8; and Proverbs ...

Mission Yearbook: Young Adult Advocacy Conference participants are urged by Stated Clerk to act with compassion and love

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The Sligo Presbyterian Church Celebration Service - Sunday, March 15, 2026

During this season of Lent, we're moving through a sermon series entitled “Preparing for Easter.” In these five services, we're considering how we might get ourselves ready to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We’re focusing on the following:

• February 22 - Fasting
• March 1 - Forgiving
• March 8 - Repenting
• March 15 - Praying
• March 22 - Loving

On Sunday, we continued this series by looking at how we can prepare for Easter by praying. Below is a video of the service, a presentation of the sermon, and the program & bulletin for the service. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Sunday's Message - Preparing for Easter (Praying)

During this season of Lent, we're moving through a sermon series entitled “Preparing for Easter.” In these five services, we're considering how we might get ourselves ready to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We’re focusing on the following:

• February 22 - Fasting
• March 1 - Forgiving
• March 8 - Repenting
• March 15 - Praying
• March 22 - Loving

On Sunday, we continued this series by looking at how we can prepare for Easter by praying. Below is a presentation and the text of the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Although y’all may not realize it, a significant change happen in a couple of days over at the Rudiger place. Now as you may or may not know, we always have a little flag in front of the house. Generally, it’s dog-related, and Debbie loves for it to be seasonally appropriate. For example, over the last six months, we went from a ghost to pilgrims to a Christmas tree to a snowman. And a couple of weeks ago, we changed it to a Bichon, clearly of Irish descent. Of course, after the seventeenth, that will have to change, you know, maybe  to a dog with bunny ears or something like that, since St. Patrick’s Day 2026 will be over and Easter will be right around the corner.

And I’ll tell you, that’s also true of the sermon series we started about a month ago, the one entitled Preparing for Easter. You see, going into this season of Lent, the plan was to cover five things that we might do to sort of prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And, to this point, we’ve already talked about how we can fast and forgive. And last week, we focused on repentance, in other words, turning from some of the destructive activities we might have been doing in the past and turning to something that might better reflect our love for God and for one another. Now that’s what we’ve already done. And this morning, we’re going to take our next-to-last step and talk about how praying can be another part of our preparation.

And I’ll tell you, although I think I’m pretty safe in saying that we’re all “pro-prayer” around here, I also believe most of us probably would love to pray a little better than we do right now. And frankly, I don’t think we’re all that unique in wanting this kind of thing. You see, even though we’re not like a lot of folks in our world who mindlessly say “I’ll pray for you” or maybe “you’ll be in our prayers” whenever something bad happens (I mean, for us it’s not just a throwaway line; when we say it, we mean it), still I believe most Christians would like to have a stronger prayer life, you know, to receive a little more satisfaction from the prayers they make and to feel as though they’re actually doing something in line with what God wants them to do. 

And since this is something we can certainly work on during these last couple of weeks before Easter, we’re going to talk about prayer this morning. And as we’ve done with fasting and forgiving and repenting, we’re going to look at what prayer is all about according to the Bible. And then I’m going to suggest four ways we can strengthen our prayer lives as we prepare ourselves for Easter. 

And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think prayer is another one of those disciplines that’s really important in scripture. I mean, throw a dart at one of the big guns in the Bible, you’re probably going to hit someone who prayed a lot. But I’ve got to tell you, although praying sure seems to be par for the course, I’m not sure there’s a better explanation of what prayer is all about than what Jesus taught his disciples during the Sermon on the Mount. Just listen to what the Evangelist Matthew wrote:

When you pray, don’t be like those show-offs who love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward.

When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you.

When you pray, don’t talk on and on as people do who don’t know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need even before you ask.

You should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
help us to honor
    your name.
Come and set up
    your kingdom,
so that everyone on earth
    will obey you,
as you are obeyed
    in heaven.
Give us our food for today.
Forgive us for doing wrong,
    as we forgive others.
Keep us from being tempted
    and protect us from evil. [Matthew 6:5-13, CEV]

Now that’s what Jesus taught. 

And I’ll tell you, I think it says a lot about what’s going on when we pray. You see, according to this and other passages in the Bible, prayer is our direct communication with the Lord. In other words, it’s not just meditation, but something that’s actually addressed to God, and it really doesn’t matter whether it’s silent or audible, formal or relaxed, written or ad lib. You see, prayer is connecting with God on a personal level whether we’re using it to seek his will or to ask for his help or to express our gratitude. I’m telling you, regardless of the form it takes, prayer is really a heartfelt conversation with God, sort of like what a child might have with a parent. And through it, we, the children, can express our emotions and offer our thanks and make our requests to our Heavenly Father. 

And you know, since it can be made in various forms and deal with a variety of feelings, well, that probably explains all the different ways prayer is described in the Bible. For example, when the Priest Eli questioned Hannah, the mother of Samuel, about what she was doing, she said, “Sir, please don’t think I’m no good!...I’m not drunk, and I haven’t been drinking. But I do feel miserable and terribly upset. I’ve been praying all this time, telling the Lord about my problems.” [1 Samuel 1:15-16, CEV] And according to Second Chronicles, “Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz begged the Lord for help.” [2 Chronicles 32:20, CEV] While he was wandering around in the Wilderness, “Moses tried to get the Lord God to change his mind,” [Exodus 32-11a, CEV] and the Psalmist said that “it is good for me to be near you.” [Psalm 27:8, CEV] And the Apostle Paul told the Philippians to not “...worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God” [Philippians 4:6, CEV] and to the Ephesians, he said, “I kneel in prayer to the Father.” [Ephesians 3:14, CEV] Now those are all examples of people approaching their Lord. But you know, regardless of the how or the why, the what is exactly the same. According to the Bible, prayer is the way we communicate with God. 

And I’ll tell you, right here and now, I think we can decide to be more effective in doing it. You see, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate Easter, I believe we can improve our own prayer lives by doing these four things, and let me briefly share with you what they are.

You see, first, we can decide to pray with faith. In other words, we can approach God with genuine trust, confident that he not only hears us but that he has the power to act and the love to care. Now that’s what I mean by praying with faith. And I’ll tell you, it’s something that Christ challenged his followers to have when “Jesus told his disciples:

Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.

Whenever you stand up to pray, you must forgive what others have done to you. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins." [Mark 11:22-26, CEV]

You see, we can pray with faith, an assurance that we might just be able to strengthen if we take the time to find promises in scripture that kind of correspond to our needs. I’m telling you, that’s going to strengthen our faith. And I’ll tell you something else we can do. We can decide to let go of some of the grudges we often carry around. We can forgive, so that our trust isn’t distracted by other stuff. As a matter of fact, we can even come together as a community and pray with our brothers and sisters so our own confidence might be reinforced and strengthened by others. You see, if we’re serious about improving our prayer lives, we can decide to pray with faith. Now that’s the first thing we can do.

And second, we can also decide to pray with understanding. In other words, when we approach God, we can intentionally engage our minds and our emotions and our wills so that not only are we crystal clear about what prayer is all about, but that the words we actually speak are clear and direct. When I was younger, I remember a guy at my church saying that there was about eighteen inches between the heart and the head, and those eighteen inches make all the difference. Well, when you’re talking about prayer, I think both heart and head are important. We really need to understand what prayer means and how to do it. But don’t take my word for it. Just listen to what Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

When we speak languages that others don’t know, we should pray for the power to explain what we mean. For example, if I use an unknown language in my prayers, my spirit prays but my mind is useless. Then what should I do? There are times when I should pray with my spirit, and times when I should pray with my mind. Sometimes I should sing with my spirit, and at other times I should sing with my mind. [1 Corinthians 14:13-15, CEV]

Trust me, understanding is pretty important as it’s related to prayer. For example, I think we need to be clear about what prayer is and what it isn’t. You see, effective prayer isn’t passing our wish list over to God like he’s some kind of magic genie or divine Santa Claus. And it’s not a way to pry blessings out of God’s fist or to somehow change God’s mind. And it sure isn’t the means to tell God something he doesn’t already know. That’s not prayer. As Jesus said to his disciples, “Your Father knows what you need even before you ask.” [Matthew 6:8b, CEV] Instead, like we’ve already said, prayer is communication. It’s taking who we are, and I’m talking about our joys and our delights, our fears and our frustrations, our hopes and our dreams, even our anger and our doubts, it’s taking all those things and sharing them with the one who couldn’t love us more than he does right now. I’m telling you, we pray not to convey information, rather, to strengthen relationship. You see, if we’re serious about improving our prayer lives, we can decide to pray with understanding. Now that’s the second thing we can do.

And third, we can pray with focus. In other words, instead of approaching God all confused and cluttered, man, we can be like laser beams, clear and direct in what we say and how we choose to say it. Put another way, rather than sort of surrendering to all the mental and emotional distractions that seem to surround us all the time, we can intentionally focus on the connection that prayer provides. As a matter of fact, it’s doing the same kind of thing we can read about in the Letter to the Hebrews. Just listen:

Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne! So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up. [Hebrews 12:1-3, CEV]

Prayer can be focused.

Of course, I recognize that this kind of thing might not be automatic or even come naturally. I mean, if you’re like me and easily distracted by “squirrel,” well, I think there are some things we can do to enhance our focus. For example, we might want to pray out loud. I’ll tell you, that might be one of the most effective ways to keep our minds from drifting. You see, speaking your prayers audibly engages both our mouths and our ears, creating a feedback loop that grounds our minds. And we can use scripture as a guide. I mean, instead of just praying aimlessly, we can read a verse or a Psalm and turn it into a personal prayer. This just might give our minds a solid anchor and a specific course to follow. As a matter of fact, we could even write our prayers down, you know, in a journal, something that just might reduce the distractions. Or we can find a quiet place to pray or focus on some kind of visual aid like a cross or candle, you know, to enhance our concentration. And these are just a few ideas. I guess the bottom line is this: if we’re serious about improving our prayer lives, we can decide to pray with focus. Now that’s the third thing we can do.

And last but certainly not least, we can also decide to pray with expectation. Of course, what we expect is going to be based on our faith and understanding. Still, I think it’s important for us to anticipate that every encounter with God changes s in some way. You see, prayer isn’t like throwing spaghetti against a wall, hoping that some of it sticks. Rather, it’s establishing a special connection with God. It reflects a relationship that’s both intimate and mutual. I’ll tell you, by just saying the words, it brings us into God’s presence, enabling us to appreciate his freedom and to feel his love. As a matter of fact, it’s approaching God in the same way expressed by the Psalmist when he wrote:

Listen, Lord, as I pray!
    Pay attention when I groan.
You are my King and my God.
Answer my cry for help
    because I pray to you.
Each morning you listen
    to my prayer,
as I bring my requests to you
    and wait for your reply. [Psalm 5:1-3, CEV]

You see, as he offered his prayer, the Psalmist expected a response. And I’ll tell you, so can we. You see, even though we understand that prayer isn’t our way to change God’s mind or to get something out of him that he doesn’t want to give, we can still expect to be changed. I mean, we can choose to view prayer as our conversation with our All-Powerful Lord and our All-Loving Father. And we can remember all those times when God certainly did answer. You see, we have good reason to approach God with confidence and hope, so long as we also remain both open and patient. Let me explain. I think sometimes we’re so specific in our prayers that anything outside of precisely what we want or think is disappointing. But if our expectations are open to possibilities that are beyond the limits that we impose, then we’ll be in a position to see God working in new and exciting ways. But for that to happen, we’ve got to be open. Just like we’ve also got to be patient. I mean, we’re finite; therefore, everything is immediate and important right now. But God is eternal and so is his will and his love. And because of that, I think it just makes sense to recognize that, even though his timing may be different from ours, as Paul reminded the Romans, God’s will ultimately and eternally reflects mercy and compassion. [Romans 9:15, NRSVUE] I’ll tell you, if we’re serious about improving our prayer lives, we can decide to pray with expectation. Now, in my opinion, that’s the fourth thing we can do.

Of course, I can tell you, one of the first things Debbie and I are going to do on Wednesday, or maybe Thursday, is to change the flag in front of our house. And even though I have no idea what’s going to be out there, blowing in the breeze through Easter morning, don’t be surprised if it’s a Bichon with bunny ears, surrounded with flowers and eggs. That’s just how the Rudigers roll. 

And for us, as we leave here this morning, we can also roll by strengthening our connection with God. I mean, because we believe communicating with our heavenly Father is important, we can decide to approach him with faith and understanding along with focus and expectation. And I’ll tell you, if we choose to do that starting today, we’ll be preparing for Easter by praying.

Bible Readings for March 17, 2026

Study, Learn and Grow: Bible Readings for March 17, 2026: Let's read the Bible together in the next year.  Today, our passages are  Numbers 26:1-51; Luke 2:36-52; Psalm 60:1-12; and Proverbs 11...

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