All of us need inspiration to get us through the challenges of this life and to know that God is the wellspring that refreshes our spirits, gives us courage, and guides our footsteps.

Each week the Globe publishes a “Prayer for Willie” taken from a collection by Dr. Hamilton T. Boswell, to remind each of us of the presence of God in our lives, no matter what faith, denomination or interpretation we choose for ourselves.

Gracious God, never far from any one of us,
Yet often unrecognized by us in the haste and business of our ordered lives, be near to us.
Speak to us this morning through some worthy purpose. S
ave us from the fruitlessness of misguided goals and the futility of looking back.
Let our minds pursue some noble purpose far above the climate of fear.
Disturb us with the sounds of grief and hurt so loud about us.
Help us to hear echoes and signs of all who look in vain for housing, health and work.
O God, show us the way to open channels, to make glad the hurting people of this world.
Guide our hands as we bend to fulfilling and forging the common life of health, home and peace for us all.
Amen

For information regarding Prayers For Willie, Pathways for Daily Living, please e-mail Eleanor Boswell-Raine at eleanor@theglobenewspapers.com or telephone her at 510-222-5656.

Submitting to our elders

As a child we are taught to al- J. Wooling ways respect those who are older than we are. We are not allowed to call adults by their first name.
    The scriptures give us an admonition that suggests we are to treat our elders the same way in church. “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble,” (1 Pet. 5:5).
    The apostle Peter is saying that the younger people in the church are to submit to their elders. This same principle is suggested in Phil. 2:3, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” The emphasis on avoiding strife and vainglory would go a long way toward preventing the anguish and confusion that accompany young people who rebel against and ridicule their elders. The apostle Peter goes on to say we should be subject to one another and surround ourselves with humility to serve one another. God does not respond to those who are lifted up in pride, but He gives grace to those who display humility.
    Remember Solomon’s warning in Prov. 16:18-19, “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.”
    Let us learn to give our elders the respect God commands us to render to them.