Direction and Counsel
Gene Allen Groner of Independence, MO, USA
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. -Ephesians 1:3
Many years ago, I wondered what I should do in life. A friend suggested I ask for an evangelist blessing, a special prayer of blessing that gives insight and direction for a person’s journey in life. So I called an evangelist named Harold Velt, who gave me some scriptures to read in preparation. Two weeks later, he and his wife met me at church one evening. While he placed his hands on my head and prayed for the Lord’s guidance, his wife recorded the prayer.
When he started to pray, I felt the warm, comforting presence of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit remained with me throughout the prayer.
I received a printed copy of the prayer in the mail. That’s been over 40 years ago, and I still have it in my library at home. That same Spirit is still present with me whenever I read it. Because it has helped me so much in my life, let me share part of it with you.
“Gene, the Lord is aware of the difficulties and concerns in your past, but you have done well to ask for his counsel at this time. You have been blessed with certain gifts, which God would have you use in his service. So, in your planning for the future, seek not so much for personal gain, but prepare yourself in your studies and in your work to be of service to others. For when you are in the service of others, you are in the service of your God.”
In college, I selected counseling psychology as my major. God helped me find a 30-year career as a financial advisor-to “be of service to others.”
I thank God for his direction and counsel early in my life. The words of the evangelist blessing have continued to help me in my second career, as an author of Christian books and articles-one of the “certain gifts” mentioned in my blessing. Thanks be to God.
For more information on the sacrament of evangelist blessing, go to https://www.CofChrist.org/personal-blessing
Prayer Phrase
God, help me seek peace for me, peace for us, peace for everyone, and peace for our planet. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
The International Community
Find (or imagine) a globe or map of the world. Look at all the nations and find a country other than your own. Notice the geographic distance between your homeland and this one. Picture a person living there. Pray for this person. Sense God’s love connecting you just as the oceans connect the continents. Thank God for the spiritual connection you have with all of God’s people around the globe. Ask a blessing on the church as a community sharing Christ’s peace, drawing all into the family of God.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
