This fall, you and I are invited to consider God's "Infinite Possibilities."  Marian Parsons' column on St. Francis of Assisi and his definition of stewardship is excellent, and I commend it to you for what possibilities it might open up for you as you think about integrating "stewardship thinking" further into your own life.

But what about "stewardship praying," too?  As a congregation, we've been bold for decades about what God calls us to DO to care for the hungry, the  homeless, the excluded in our society, and for the earth and all that's in it.  But, as I've wrestled recently in my own prayer life with what "new thing" God is inviting me to ask God to DO in my life, I've discovered exactly how timid my prayers have been.

I've come to the conclusion that God wants us to match our boldness in DOING with boldness in our PRAYING.

What areas of your own life might God be inviting YOU to consider for God's work of transformation?

It might be a relationship with a family member or coworker that's troubling you.  Have you asked God for guidance about what to DO to repair or restore that relationship?

Or it may be a habit or addiction, long hidden from others, for which God is offering healing and wholeness.  Have you considered "turning it over" to God, and then following the Spirit's leading about what to do?

Perhaps it's a matter of finances, money, and possessions: Are the symptoms of "affluenza" getting the best of you, and do you want OUT?  What might happen if you tried an "experiment of faith" and trusted even one matter in this area to God for six weeks?

What might CHANGE in each of our lives if you and I were to ASK, and then do the footwork required for God to begin this "new thing," this work of transformation?

You can see, it's not that DOING becomes irrelevant if we become bolder in our praying.  When the Choir sang "Order My Steps" in its annual Gospel Sunday service in May, the song's lyrics ask God for changes in behavior, actions, words and deeds.  We might correctly re-title the song, "Order My Action Steps"-although the extra syllables make it hard to sing!

Here's the thing: Our action steps, our doing, are SO important that we cannot entrust them ONLY to our own thinking, feeling, and intuitions: You and I need the guidance and power of our God to bring about real transformation-personally, congregationally, and socially!  I believe that if we are bold in our asking (asking for specific things to happen, but also asking for what God's will is for us and for society), God will lead us to focus increasingly on the things that matter most, and grant us the energy to partner with God in bearing this fruit-the fruit of our doing.

So I invite you to think, ask, pray: Which of the "Infinite Possibilities" is God calling YOU to risk trusting God with?