PASTOR'S PEN
Give us this day . . .

Father Al Leveridge is vicar at Trinity by-the-Sea Episcopal Church.

Jesus taught to pray in this way, and He seemed to place great significance on the importance of the here and now in our lives. He continually warns us that the Kingdom of God is near, that we should be alert and expectant of its benefits.

We find it hard to hear God's invitation given us through our experience of the risen Christ. It is as if His words bounce off us as if we were blind and deaf to our spiritual nature. We long to become comfortable with this part of our being, yet our stubborn self-centeredness prevents us from realizing our need to allow faith to be a guiding force in our journey through life.

Even when we are dull or dead to Christ's message, God waits to become an active part in our lives. Paul reminds us that we have little time to procrastinate, when he says, "Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand" (Rom. 13:11-12).

Don't we know, or are we aware of the fact that God has been as active in our lives beyond what we could imagined? Our humanity fuels our need to be alive and awake to the daily challenges we face. We know we have been asleep at the wheel far too long. God is ready to undo any death or wrong we are experiencing and has no wish for us to be sleepwalkers, but desires our freely choosing a new life. As hard as life may shake us, we must daily wake up to respond to God' presence on our own. Lord, help us to be aware of your daily presence in all we do.