What are you doing this Memorial Day?

Happy Monday to all. As I went for a morning run today, I had plenty of time to think about the significance of this specific Monday, Memorial Day. I pray that you are also thinking about this. I'm not talking about the great sales you can get on a new car, or that new riding mower, or stuff for the yard. I'm also not talking about the opening of the pool club, or the backyard barbecue that you might have plans to attend. No, I'm talking about the significance of all those brave men and women that have and continue to risk life and limb to protect our freedom, a freedom which some are determined to gradually whittle away.

Do you know someone who has served in our armed forces? Have they seen active duty during a war fought to protect our freedom? Thank them and pray for them.

Do you know someone who is or has a loved one currently serving in our armed forces. Thank them and pray for their continued safety.

On this significant day, take a few minutes throughout the day to pray for these brave individuals and their families. How difficult it must be as we all celebrate and go to cookouts and the pool club for families who have a mom or dad that are overseas fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. Pray for them to have comfort in knowing that God is watching over their loved ones.

My morning devotion asks the question "Are you are ready for Judgment Day?" I once heard a veteran of war say that he never met an atheist in a foxhole. These brave men and women go out each and everyday knowing that they have to be ready for Judgment Day. Pray for their safe return to their families.

God Bless you and God Bless America!

Oh, how excited was I when I opened up my devotion this morning and it was titled "Teach Us to Pray". If you are following me and my business, you know why I was so excited, for this is my passion now, to help others find their way to prayer. But there was also another reason for the excitement. You see, life as the owner of a start up business isn't always easy. I pray each and every day, morning and night, for God to continue to bless me with the gifts and talents that will enable me to touch more people with my words and products. I pray for God to lead me and I look for his answers as I go about my work.

I must confess that after going to a local seminar the other night, I became a little discouraged by the statistics being discussed. They were not being discussed to discourage business owners, but instead to make sure that we are focused and to make sure we are tapped into reality. 70% of small businesses fail within 5 years. Wow, that is quite a statistic.

But, the message was clear that the rate is higher among those that go into a business strictly to make money. You must have a passion for what you are doing in order to be successful. When my brother first introduced me to his concept of a prayer pod, a small device you could take with you to help with remember your prayer commitments, I was clearly sold on his idea. Now that I've taken his original idea and created PrayerSteward I am more passionate about prayer then ever before. I've found my own prayer life to be so much more rewarding. So much so, that my entire focus in my business is providing technology solutions to help people pray more often and with less stress. Why not use technology for something truly good.

So, getting back to my excitement. I admit that I woke up this morning with a small case of the blues. The devil must have been hard at work last night while I slept. I started thinking that I should give this up, give up my dream. I asked myself if this is just maybe a hobby and nothing more?

Then my son and I went to our Saturday morning Bible study. What a blessing those guys are, giving me tremendous words of encouragement for what I'm doing, helping me to see more clearly again my passion. Then, I came home, opened up the "Portals of Prayer" for my morning devotion, and Wham!, there was God speaking directly to me. "Teach Us to Pray" right there in black and white, so obvious. You see, life is difficult, a challenge, and prayer is hard to do. So hard in fact that the disciples asked Jesus to show them how to pray. They didn't ask him how to preach, or perform miracles, but they wanted to learn how to pray, for they saw Jesus continually praying to His Father. It is our privilege to be able to carry our worries and concerns to God. The instructions are very clear and can be found in the Bible. Don't let praying intimidate you, for God knows what is in your heart, and He wants you to bring it to Him in prayer.

I leave you on this Saturday morning with the words of our Savior, Jesus, found in Luke 11:9-10.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

May God Bless you this holiday weekend. And God Bless our veterans!!

I have always suffered from a case of foot-in-mouth disease. At times in my life it has been very bad, but in my later years I seem to be able to control much better. For this reason, there are many times that I have just stood or sat in the corner, not wanting to talk for fear of saying the wrong thing. My morning devotion today is titled "Hold Your Tongue". It is quite remarkable how different things are today then when I first stepped out into the working world in the Spring of 1983. Back then, you may have confided to your best friend or spouse, but you certainly did not put things out in the open for everyone to see.

With the rise of social networking and dare I say blogs, things are different now. My foot-in-mouth usually only served to embarrass me, hence why I went through years of just shutting down in fear. But God commands us in the 8th commandment "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." Think about what this really means. Was God talking about the folks living next door? No, your neighbor is everyone. Martin Luther defines what the 8th commandment means in his Small Catechism. "We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything." Whether you are Lutheran, Catholic or any another denomination, this definition rings true.

In this world of social networking and open public dialogue, let us all remember one thing. When it was spoken words, it was much easier to correct our errors. When it is written on the Internet it is there to stay (even if you delete it, it most likely still exists somewhere). Is it something you would stand up in front of a large gathering and broadcast? Is it hurtful to yourself or someone else? If you answered no to the first question and yes to the second, please think twice about hitting submit, publish or share.

Pray continually for the strength to reject the temptation to break the 8th commandment. We see everyday in the media how gossip is rampant. Pray that you do not get caught up in the gossip. Just as important, make sure you do not get caught up in the gossip amongst your own circle of family and friends. It can be just as damaging.

Folks, have a great Friday.

Can't Buy Me Love

The Beatles penned these words in the second verse of the song "Can't Buy Me Love":
"I'll give you all I got to give if you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love"

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

It is true, money can't buy you love. Some say it can buy temporary happiness, but not true happiness. Without love, we are poor no matter how much money or things of value we have. But it also points to how desperate we are for love.

My Bible has a side note discussing 1 Corinthians 13 and is titled strengthening relationships. If you look at verses 4-7 and replace the word love with your name, how true does the passage now read? In all of our relationships, we need to focus on these three verses and try to the best of our ability to have it ring true. Doesn't this also make you think about the true motives behind what you do for others? Is it out of love or for some other reason?

It may be worthwhile to copy these verses and keep them close to you at all times. When you find yourself interacting with others, refer back to them. Isn't this how you want to be treated by others?

Have a blessed Thursday.

Will you follow the flock or listen to the Shepherd

My morning devotion had an interesting story from a small town in Turkey. It described one sheep from a huge flock suddenly running away and jumping off a cliff. What followed were 1500 more sheep jumping off that same cliff, with a good number jumping to their deaths. It reminded me of that famous parental question we have all heard as we tried to convince our parents they should let us do something because everyone else was going to do it. "Well if all your friends were jumping off a bridge would you do that?" I got a nice morning chuckle out of this.

But in all seriousness, this is where our society seems to be moving with many more people (and dare I say parents) following secular trends and moving away from what is important. Just look at the rec fields on Sunday mornings. Look at how television has changed over the years, gradually slipping in more and more risque content that when I was a kid was unheard. Thankfully, you still can't say any of the 7 words George Carlin made famous in 1972 (unless of course your on a live awards show with someone incompetent on the delay switch). But are we far from hearing those words?

God's Word in the Bible is clear on what is right and wrong. We need to make sure our kids are hearing this message, but not just in church. Children need these lessons at home, not just by your words, but also by your actions. Teach them to pray for guidance as they grow and mature. Teach them to lift their troubles, concerns and questions to God.

So will you look to the flock or to the Shepherd for guidance? It is a very important question to contemplate. As Christians we must keep our faith and continually ask for guidance from the right source.

Take a few minutes today, sit down and read Psalm 23. What an encouraging passage. As the world changes around us, let us keep our focus on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. He died for you and me. Who else do you know that would do that for you?

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11

My God Bless your Wednesday.

-- Do you know someone with an iPhone or iPod Touch that could benefit from a mobile prayer commitment app? You can now give the PrayerSteward app as a gift to someone you love. See the PrayerSteward website to find out more.

A quick post to update everyone on my mom

Thanks to everyone who has inquired about my mom. I wanted to put a quick post out to let everyone know that it was not a heart attack, or even an angina attack. Her stress tests showed no blockage. They are attributing the arm pain to muscle pulls.
God Bless.

Is Intercessory Prayer For You?

So I got one of those calls yesterday afternoon late that no one wants to get. My mom had been taken to the hospital with a suspected heart attack. You are going through your routines of the day when all of a sudden everything changes. Nothing else matters except what is happening right then and now. I stopped, said a quick silent prayer, then gathered my wife and kids for a group prayer before heading off to the hospital. Some history, my mom had bypass surgery in November of 1993. Since then, while having a few minor incidents, she has been healthy without many problems, at least not with her heart. She exercises, eats well, and for the most part does what the doctor says (except for the part about don't shovel snow and don't move heavy furniture).

As I drive to the hospital, I make and receive a few phone calls from my siblings. In between I continue to talk to God, asking mostly for the ability to stay strong when I see my mom. I don't want her to worry more about how I'm doing, I want her to focus on doing what the doctor says. If you'll remember back a few posts I talked about worry being my problem spot and the fact that it was in our genes. Well, my mom is the champion of worry, so I don't want her to see that I'm stressed about the situation.

When I get to the hospital, my mom is there with my sister. My dad has taken a quick break to run home and get his phone which has more battery power then mom's. Mom doesn't look bad, but what a deja vu from 17 years ago. I get the opportunity to have some 1:1 time with mom as dad and my sister grab a bite to eat. I am blessed to have had that half hour to spend with my mom, getting an opportunity to both witness and discuss our faith.

That's when I thought about the question I pose above. When I was talking to mom at the hospital, when we called last night before going to bed, when the kids talked to her and told her they were praying for her. Her consistent response was to say thank you and to tell us that is exactly what she needs right now. When we pray for others, we must remember it should not be a selfish act. We aren't praying to make ourselves feel better (that's a petition), but we are praying for the well being of the other individual. We are also giving that person great comfort knowing that someone else is praying for them. We must always remember this.

I must say that as I entered the prayer commitment into PrayerSteward, I thought to myself that I would never forget to pray for my mom. I almost didn't enter the prayer commitment into PrayerSteward. And while it may be true, having that commitment right in front of me at prayer time assures me that I will not let my mom down on my commitment to prayer for her. With PrayerSteward, I can also provide this same assurance to others that I'll keep my commitment. While family members concerns are always at the forefront, lets remember that every life we touch is just as important as the others. And when we commit to someone something as important as talking to God and asking for His will to be done for that person, we cannot let one soul down in that promise.


I leave you with this passage from 1 Timothy 2:1-2:
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."

May God Bless your day!

How will you wear your Baptism?

Well, it's the start of another week and the question I pose today is how will you wear your Baptism? Our world has come to the point where we are pitted against each other, right or wrong, for our beliefs. Not just our religious beliefs, but political and social as well. One disturbing trend seems to be that if you are on the morally conservative side, you should be perfect - no blemishes, no mistakes. Well to date, there has only been one perfect man to walk this earth.

The problem is that there are too many that claim to be righteous, speaking out and judging others for their actions, especially in the political arena. They claim to be the "better" person -  morally, socially - I'm sure you've heard these folks. You may ask, what is wrong with this practice, especially now when it is so important to distinguish your differences from the other candidate? Well the problem is that none of us are perfect, we are sinful by nature. But it doesn't stop there. The true root of the problem is that we have far too many leaders that spout righteous rhetoric, but their actions don't live up to their words.

My devotion yesterday morning had the title Faith Works! True faith shows itself in good works (not the other way around). Today's leaders, both political and corporate, are constantly living by the "do as I say, not as I do" rule.

How will you wear your Baptism? Its something I think about each morning and include in my daily prayer. It stems from hearing how Martin Luther would always pray to God to help him wear his Baptism. To me, it means praying for the strength to treat others as they deserve to be treated, remembering that we were all created equal, none better then the other. I pray that as situations come up with my wife, my kids, my family and friends, as well as complete strangers, that I will see that person as another child of God, worthy of just treatment. And I especially pray that the other person will know my faith, that I am a Christian, by the actions I take.

A few years back (quite a few as a matter of fact) a colleague I was working with told me he knew I was a Christian by the way I handled myself in the workplace. That really made me feel good, but it also has kept me on my guard, constantly evaluating my actions to make sure they continue to convey that same message. Sadly I am not always successful. However I know that by God's grace I am saved and forgiven, I just need to prayer for forgiveness knowing that it is already granted.

May God grant you peace and joy as you start your week.

As a side note, a new release of PrayerSteward will be out within the next few days. Keep checking the website for updates on the availability. New features include marking individual prayers confidential by assigning a password, inspirational Bible passages that relate God's instructions to us on prayer, contact pictures now show in the commitment detail screen and some enhancements to the look and feel of the User Interface.

What's your weakness?

My devotion this morning was titled "Dealing with Your Weakness".  The apostle John tells us in 1 John 1:9-10 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives".

What's your weakness? That's the question asked in the devotion. Mine is definitely worry. I constantly worry. I think it's somehow a family gene because I have some close relatives that are also great worriers. But it's interesting to really think about our sin and how we ask for forgiveness. Do we confess all of our sin, or is there a small percentage that we are really ashamed of and think people will think less of us? God knows all of our sin, we must remember this, and He wants us to confess and accept the forgiveness that He has already granted to us all through His Son on the cross.

If you think about it, if you look in the mirror and see this small percentage of what you think are horrible sins, don't you think that everyone is doing the same? We are because we are sinful by nature. It is only through His love that we are forgiven, and we must remember in our prayer routine to ask for this forgiveness that we've already been granted to show Him that we do believe in His grace.

I am hoping to have a new release of PrayerSteward out on the iPhone sometime this week (Apple willing). Yes, I've been secretly working on this based on suggestions from friends, family members and my pastor. Look for some preview screen shots coming shortly to the PrayerSteward website.

May God bless your weekend.

Don't give up on God

Well I'm back from NY and wow, what a day I had. An awesome experience. While the day was focused on the things necessary to get others, particularly venture capitalist excited enough about your business to want to invest in it, for me it was an awesome opportunity to network with a broader group of people. But more importantly, it was a test to see how strong I was in my faith in the midst of a group of complete strangers. As I shared my product and my ideas for future products, it was very interesting to watch the reactions. What a wonderful feeling it was to get some pretty positive feedback on my thoughts and ideas.

It was interesting as I listened and watched David Crowley, co-founder of foursquare, and others discuss how their products address the social and secular needs of the community. The passion which these leaders show about what they create and who they create for is second to none. And as I sat there watching I thought about how cool it was that while the focus was on getting funding and the ultimate goal, and test, for a company's success is the amount of revenue it can generate. But you listen and you hear all of these entrepreneurs as they look to use their technical and entrepreneurial skill sets to create a unique and helpful experience for their customers.

One particular statement that really hit me was from Nick Denton, founder of Gawker Media. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that he did not want to hear stats about how many downloads an app has, but more about how many times an app is being reused. This struck a nerve, as when I set out on my journey I saw so many apps in the app store that in my opinion are useless. I wanted to create something useful, easy to use, and with the ability to really help an individual be more productive with their prayer life. It's important to note here that productive does not mean giving counts of the number of times God answers our prayers (that is not needed as we are told in the Bible that God hears and answers all prayers offered in His will so we can be assured we are getting an answer but it just may not be what we want or expect), but productive means helping people pray regularly. Prayer can be a daunting task with so much else rolling around in our brains from the normal stress of our lives. As with anything, being a little organized can go a long way in helping us accomplish anything, and that is the same with prayer.

This morning's devotion focused on not giving up on God to help us look for solutions. How important that thought is. It is so easy in these times we live in to look to other avenues to help solve our problems. While these may give us short term relief in our current situation, when we give up on God to help us, we are rejecting the greatest gift that we've been given.

May God bless your Friday.

Startup 2010 - NYU

Ah, the wonders of modern technology. As you read this, I'm in NY taking part in Startup 2010, a conference geared towards startup tech firms with this year's focus on mobile technology and it's impact. I'm very excited to be taking part in this conference and am grateful to the Business Insider for the complimentary ticket.

Needless to say I had quite a bit of time on the bus ride up from Baltimore overnight to think and pray about how my day will go. I am very excited about the prospects of meeting some people that might be interested in what I'm trying to accomplish, maybe even enough to help with the financial aspects of what I need to do. I'm not worried (see yesterday's posting) because I know that I'm working towards His will being done, not mine.

Happy Thursday. My regular posts will be back tomorrow. In the meantime, feel free to visit my site and take the online survey on prayer chains. Whether you are part of a prayer group, administer one, or have been the benefactor (you probably have even if you didn't know it). You can find it here.

Don't be anxious

As I write this, I'm preparing for a quick trip to NYC tomorrow for a one day technology conference at NYU. It's a conference geared towards technology start-ups, of which I fit in nicely. I'm a little anxious, as I'm hoping to meet some folks that could possibly help me in my long term business goals, but mostly because it's a day that I will not be able working getting the new BlackBerry version of PrayerSteward up and running.

But then I read my daily devotion (for those interested I use Portals of Prayer from Concordia Publishing House) and there it was, in black and white - God's words in the Bible - "[cast] all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). I need not be anxious about my trip because God cares for me and He constantly tells me this in the Bible. How sad for those that don't take the opportunity to read the Bible and see what a great gift we have been given. There is no need to worry or be anxious.

My mom has told me numerous times about a quote my grandmother always used to tell her. She used to say "God only gives you what you can handle". How true this is, even if at the time we don't think that we can handle it. If we put our faith in Him, we see that we can handle what is thrown at us daily. My wife and I have a small dry erase board inside our medicine cabinet and we exchange little inspirational messages back and forth. Recently she wrote that exact quote to me. Immediately I felt a sense of calm (I had been very stressed) and got a smile on my face as I pictured my grandmother in my head.

If we just take a minute or two each day, we all can have this sense of calm and maybe, just maybe, with that release of anxiety, the world may become a more peaceful place.

God Bless. I hope to post early tomorrow, but please excuse me if I don't due to my travels.

When do you pray?

Does your prayer routine change as your life situation changes? I think most people would answer yes to this question. When things are going well, we tend to let down on our prayer ritual. When we find ourselves in crisis, that's when we really kick the prayer engine into gear. But in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 we read the word of God "...pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). So, if we read this the way God intended, it is clear that we should not just prayer during times of trouble, but we must pray continually.

We must constantly reject our thoughts that when things are good, we are in control. That can change so fast, as we saw with the financial collapse, the 9/11 attacks. Especially after 9/11 there was a tremendous increase in church attendance and I'm sure prayer frequency. But as time passes and we forget how vulnerable we are to both attack and sin, we stray away. We must be strong in our faith and thank God when things are good, for He is the reason we succeed. Through Him we can do anything. We must also remember that even when things seem bad, or we are down God still continues to bless us and we should continually thank Him for those blessings.

My devotion this morning was titled "Stop Running Scared". An interesting topic for an entrepreneur, for failure always threatens to rear it's ugly head. There is always rejection involved, whether from customers, colleagues, banks, but Proverbs 29:25 gives us strength to persevere "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.".

Remember as you go through your daily routines, Thy will be done, not my will be done.

God Bless.

Are you discouraged?

Happy Monday to all. It's funny how God places things in front of you when you need them most. It's easy to get discouraged and it happens to all of us. Something just didn't go, or isn't going, as planned. You didn't get that raise or promotion, you're not healing as quickly as you want, revenues are down for your business in these tough economic times.

My morning devotion was focused on what we do when we are discouraged. What do our friends and family do or not do, when they see us discouraged or depressed. We are not immune to it, nor should we feel that something is wrong with us because we are discouraged or depressed. Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents in the US, fought clinical depression his entire life. When I say we are not alone in this struggle, I'm not just talking about he others that are suffering as well, but I'm talking about God's promise to be there for us when we experience discouragement. In Matthew 11:28, we hear Jesus say "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest".

God does not want us to struggle with this alone. He is there for us with open arms, waiting to take that burden from our shoulders as long as we ask.

Pray often and don't your burdens weigh you down. Lift them up to Him and rest assured that if we ask anything according to His will hear us.

God Bless your Monday.

www.promise2pray.com

A short post for Saturday

Whew, this Saturday morning has been quite busy. Men's Bible study, then take my son to a choir event, then off to pick up a prescription for my wife. All this before 10AM.

Saturday morning Bible studies with the men are great. An opportunity to fellowship with a specific goal in mind: to become better husbands, fathers, and Christians. We do it early on Saturdays so that the rest of the day is free for activities with the family.

For those interested, the BlackBerry version of PrayerSteward is close to it's first QA cycle. I'm pleased with how things are progressing. My prayer is that the app can help Christians become better prayer warriors, and that I might impact some non-Christians to think more about God's promises through His Son Jesus Christ.

Have a great day!

We are not in control, and prayer helps remind us of that fact.

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

It is clear from this passage in 1 Timothy what God wants from us in terms of prayer. We should lift everything up to Him. As I went through my morning devotion, the message was clear that as time passes and so much changes here on this earth, there is one thing that never changes. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

As we do our time here on earth, things change. Technology has changed our lives forever in allowing us to work longer, harder and wherever we may be at a given time. We no longer have to wait for news, we have it 24/7 (is this a good thing or bad??). There are so many changes in technology that allow us to do things our ancestors never imagined possible. With this though comes more arrogance on our part, as we start to believe that we are in control.

Prayer helps us to remember how we got our blessings and talents. It humbles us as we reflect on what God has given us as well as how much truly is out of our control. We ask God to help heal the sick, get people through troubled times and provide the necessities for our families. For we know that ultimately, God is in control. When we truly realize this, we can be at peace. When we make decisions after praying for guidance according to His will, we can rest assured that God has our best interest in mind as he answers yes, no, maybe or not yet.

May God bless your day.

Welcome!

Welcome to post #1.

In this blog you'll hopefully find some daily inspiration to keep you praying. I'll share my thoughts and experiences with you. For more information on me an my company, go to www.safe-t-technologies.com. To learn about my product, PrayerSteward, which is currently available on the iPhone and iPod Touch devices and soon to be on BlackBerry devices, go to www.prayersteward.com.

This week has been interesting for me. Selling mobile apps can be very frustrating, especially those on the Apple devices. Considering there are over 160,000 apps currently available, both free and paid, it's a little hard to get noticed. Last week I put out a press release through eReleases.com and was very excited to get inquiries from The Christian Herald (a Canadian Christian newspaper) and Rome Reports TV News Agency. I pray that some additional exposure will help boast interest.

Sunday our pastor was out of town and left his sermon in the hands of a very capable presenter. The content of the sermon really hit home. It was all about prayer and God's command to us about prayer. That in combination with my morning devotions Monday and Tuesday have me once again inspired that what I do is important and helping others become more productive in their prayer lives is my mission.

In today's devotion, the message is how Love is an action word. An interesting statement, but if you dive deeper you realize that what God wants from us is for our faith to parlay into love for our neighbors. We can't just pray that God will solve the problems of the world, but instead we need to pray for the strength to make a difference.

One last quote to leave you with. This hit me this morning as another motivator to keep moving forward. In my devotion, it says there "are times in our lives when our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ calls us to speak up and act decisively. True love in the Bible is always an action word".

Well, friends, I am speaking up and acting decisively. Please support my efforts. Visit my websites at www.safe-t-technologies.com and www.prayersteward.com.

God Bless.

* Quote from Portals of Prayer, Concordia Publishing House