(This prayer was taken from Trevin Wax Kingdom People blog.)
Good morning heavenly Father,
good morning Lord Jesus,
good morning Holy Spirit.
Heavenly Father, I worship you as the creator and sustainer of the universe.
Lord Jesus, I worship you, Savior and Lord of the world.
Holy Spirit, I worship you, sanctifier of the people of God.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence
and please you more and more.
Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.
Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons in one God,
have mercy upon me. Amen.
- John Stott, quoted in Basic Christian: The Inside Story of John Stott
5/07/2010
5/01/2010
Kingdom - Centered Prayer
(This article was taken from the Redeemer Presbyterian Church website.) www.redeemer.com
People are used to thinking about prayer as a means to get their personal needs met. However we should understand prayer as a means to praise and adore God, to know Him, to come into his presence and be changed by Him. We need to better learn how to pray, repent and petition God as a people.
Biblically and historically, the one non-negotiable, universal ingredient in times of spiritual renewal is corporate, prevailing, intensive and kingdom-centered prayer. What is that?
1.It is focused on God's presence and kingdom.
Jack Miller talks about the difference between "maintenance prayer" and "frontline" prayer meetings. Maintenance prayer meetings are short, mechanical, and totally focused on physical needs inside the church. But frontline prayer has three basic traits:
a.a request for grace to confess sins and humble ourselves
b.a compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church
c.a yearning to know God, to see his face, to see his glory.
It is most interesting to study Biblical prayer for revival, such as in Acts 4 or Exodus 33 or Nehemiah 1, where these three elements are easy to see. Notice in Acts 4, for example, that the disciples, whose lives had been threatened, did not ask for protection for themselves and their families, but only boldness to keep preaching!
2.It is bold and specific.
The characteristics of this kind of prayer include:
a.Pacesetters in prayer spend time in self-examination. Without a strong understanding of grace, this can be morbid and depressing. But in the context of the gospel, it is purifying and strengthening. They "take off their ornaments" (Exod. 33:1-6). They examine selves for idols and set them aside.
b.They then begin to make the big request–a sight of the glory of God. That includes asking: 1) for a personal experience of the glory/presence of God ("that I may know you" – Exod. 33:13); 2) for the people's experience of the glory of God (v. 15); and 3) that the world might see the glory of God through his people (v. 16). Moses asks that God's presence would be obvious to all: "What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" This is a prayer that the world be awed and amazed by a show of God's power and radiance in the church, that it would become truly the new humanity that is a sign of the future kingdom.
3.It is prevailing, corporate.
By this we mean simply that prayer should be constant, not sporadic and brief. Why? Are we to think that God wants to see us grovel? Why do we not simply put our request in and wait? But sporadic, brief prayer shows a lack of dependence, a self-sufficiency, and thus we have not built an altar that God can honor with his fire. We must pray without ceasing, pray long, pray hard, and we will find that the very process is bringing about that which we are asking for – to have our hard hearts melted, to tear down barriers, to have the glory of God break through.
People are used to thinking about prayer as a means to get their personal needs met. However we should understand prayer as a means to praise and adore God, to know Him, to come into his presence and be changed by Him. We need to better learn how to pray, repent and petition God as a people.
Biblically and historically, the one non-negotiable, universal ingredient in times of spiritual renewal is corporate, prevailing, intensive and kingdom-centered prayer. What is that?
1.It is focused on God's presence and kingdom.
Jack Miller talks about the difference between "maintenance prayer" and "frontline" prayer meetings. Maintenance prayer meetings are short, mechanical, and totally focused on physical needs inside the church. But frontline prayer has three basic traits:
a.a request for grace to confess sins and humble ourselves
b.a compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church
c.a yearning to know God, to see his face, to see his glory.
It is most interesting to study Biblical prayer for revival, such as in Acts 4 or Exodus 33 or Nehemiah 1, where these three elements are easy to see. Notice in Acts 4, for example, that the disciples, whose lives had been threatened, did not ask for protection for themselves and their families, but only boldness to keep preaching!
2.It is bold and specific.
The characteristics of this kind of prayer include:
a.Pacesetters in prayer spend time in self-examination. Without a strong understanding of grace, this can be morbid and depressing. But in the context of the gospel, it is purifying and strengthening. They "take off their ornaments" (Exod. 33:1-6). They examine selves for idols and set them aside.
b.They then begin to make the big request–a sight of the glory of God. That includes asking: 1) for a personal experience of the glory/presence of God ("that I may know you" – Exod. 33:13); 2) for the people's experience of the glory of God (v. 15); and 3) that the world might see the glory of God through his people (v. 16). Moses asks that God's presence would be obvious to all: "What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" This is a prayer that the world be awed and amazed by a show of God's power and radiance in the church, that it would become truly the new humanity that is a sign of the future kingdom.
3.It is prevailing, corporate.
By this we mean simply that prayer should be constant, not sporadic and brief. Why? Are we to think that God wants to see us grovel? Why do we not simply put our request in and wait? But sporadic, brief prayer shows a lack of dependence, a self-sufficiency, and thus we have not built an altar that God can honor with his fire. We must pray without ceasing, pray long, pray hard, and we will find that the very process is bringing about that which we are asking for – to have our hard hearts melted, to tear down barriers, to have the glory of God break through.
4/22/2010
Conquering Prayerlessness by Andrew Murray
"This article was taken from the Redeemer Presbyterian Church website.) www.redeemer.com
The greatest stumbling block in the way of victory over prayerlessness is the secret feeling that we shall
never obtain the blessing of being delivered from it. Often have we put forth effort in this direction, but in
vain. Old habit, and the power of the flesh, our surroundings with their attractions, have been too strong for
us. What good is it to attempt that which our heart assures us is out of our reach?
The change needed in the entire life is too great and difficult. If the question is put: “Is a change possible?
Our sighing heart says: “Alas, for me it is entirely impossible!” Do you know why that reply comes? It is
simply because you have received the call to prayer as the voice of Moses and as a command of the law.
Moses and his law have never yet given any one the power to obey.
Do you really long for the courage to believe that deliverance from a prayerless life is possible for you, and
may become a reality? Then you must learn the great lesson that such a deliverance is included in the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, that it is one of the blessings of the New Covenant which God Himself
will impart to you through Christ Jesus.
As you begin to understand this, you will find that the exhortation, “Pray without ceasing,” conveys a new
meaning. Hope begins to spring up in your heart, that the Spirit – who has been bestowed on you, to cry
constantly, “Abba, Father” – will make a true life of prayer possible for you. Then you will hearken, not in
the spirit of discouragement, but in the gladness of hope, to the voice that calls you to repentance.
Many a one has turned to his Inner Chamber, under bitter self-accusation that he has prayed so little, and
has resolved for the future to live in a different manner. Yet no blessing has come – there was not the
strength to continue faithful, and the call to repentance had no power, because his eyes had not been fixed
on the Lord Jesus. If he had only understood, he would have said, “Lord, Thou seest how cold and dark my
heart is. I know that I must pray, but I feel I cannot do so, I lack the urgency and desire to pray.”
He did not know that at that moment the Lord Jesus in His tender love was looking down upon Him and
saying “You cannot pray; you feel that all is cold and dark; why not give yourself over into My hands?
Only believe that I am ready to help you in prayer; I long greatly to shed abroad My love in your heart, so
that you, in the consciousness of weakness, may confidently rely on Me to bestow the grace of prayer: Just
as I will cleanse you from all other sins, so also will I deliver from the sin of prayerlessness – only do not
seek the victory in your own strength. Bow before Me as one who expects everything from his Saviour.
Let your soul keep silence before Me, however sad you feel your state to be. Be assured of this – I will
teach you how to pray.”
Many a one will acknowledge: “I see my mistake; I had not thought that the Lord Jesus must deliver and
cleanse me from this sin also. I had not understood that He was with me every day in the Inner Chamber,
in His great love ready to keep and bless me, however sinful and guilty I felt myself to be. I had not
supposed that just as He will give all other grace in answer to prayer, so, above all and before all, He will
bestow the grace of a praying heart.
What folly to think that all other blessings must come from Him, but that prayer whereon everything else
depends, must be obtained by personal effort! Thank God I begin to comprehend – the Lord Jesus is
Himself in the Inner Chamber watching over me, and holding Himself responsible to teach me how to
approach the Father. This only He demands – that I, with child-like confidence, wait upon Him and glorify
Him.”
If fear and hesitation still remain, I pray you by the mercies of God in Jesus Christ, and by the unspeakable
faithfulness of His tender love, dare to cast yourselves at His feet. Only believe with your whole heart –
there is deliverance from the sin of prayerlessness. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). In His blood and grace there
is complete deliverance from all unrighteousness, and from all prayerlessness. Praised be His Name
forever! Rev. Andrew Murray, in The Prayer-Life (1920
The greatest stumbling block in the way of victory over prayerlessness is the secret feeling that we shall
never obtain the blessing of being delivered from it. Often have we put forth effort in this direction, but in
vain. Old habit, and the power of the flesh, our surroundings with their attractions, have been too strong for
us. What good is it to attempt that which our heart assures us is out of our reach?
The change needed in the entire life is too great and difficult. If the question is put: “Is a change possible?
Our sighing heart says: “Alas, for me it is entirely impossible!” Do you know why that reply comes? It is
simply because you have received the call to prayer as the voice of Moses and as a command of the law.
Moses and his law have never yet given any one the power to obey.
Do you really long for the courage to believe that deliverance from a prayerless life is possible for you, and
may become a reality? Then you must learn the great lesson that such a deliverance is included in the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, that it is one of the blessings of the New Covenant which God Himself
will impart to you through Christ Jesus.
As you begin to understand this, you will find that the exhortation, “Pray without ceasing,” conveys a new
meaning. Hope begins to spring up in your heart, that the Spirit – who has been bestowed on you, to cry
constantly, “Abba, Father” – will make a true life of prayer possible for you. Then you will hearken, not in
the spirit of discouragement, but in the gladness of hope, to the voice that calls you to repentance.
Many a one has turned to his Inner Chamber, under bitter self-accusation that he has prayed so little, and
has resolved for the future to live in a different manner. Yet no blessing has come – there was not the
strength to continue faithful, and the call to repentance had no power, because his eyes had not been fixed
on the Lord Jesus. If he had only understood, he would have said, “Lord, Thou seest how cold and dark my
heart is. I know that I must pray, but I feel I cannot do so, I lack the urgency and desire to pray.”
He did not know that at that moment the Lord Jesus in His tender love was looking down upon Him and
saying “You cannot pray; you feel that all is cold and dark; why not give yourself over into My hands?
Only believe that I am ready to help you in prayer; I long greatly to shed abroad My love in your heart, so
that you, in the consciousness of weakness, may confidently rely on Me to bestow the grace of prayer: Just
as I will cleanse you from all other sins, so also will I deliver from the sin of prayerlessness – only do not
seek the victory in your own strength. Bow before Me as one who expects everything from his Saviour.
Let your soul keep silence before Me, however sad you feel your state to be. Be assured of this – I will
teach you how to pray.”
Many a one will acknowledge: “I see my mistake; I had not thought that the Lord Jesus must deliver and
cleanse me from this sin also. I had not understood that He was with me every day in the Inner Chamber,
in His great love ready to keep and bless me, however sinful and guilty I felt myself to be. I had not
supposed that just as He will give all other grace in answer to prayer, so, above all and before all, He will
bestow the grace of a praying heart.
What folly to think that all other blessings must come from Him, but that prayer whereon everything else
depends, must be obtained by personal effort! Thank God I begin to comprehend – the Lord Jesus is
Himself in the Inner Chamber watching over me, and holding Himself responsible to teach me how to
approach the Father. This only He demands – that I, with child-like confidence, wait upon Him and glorify
Him.”
If fear and hesitation still remain, I pray you by the mercies of God in Jesus Christ, and by the unspeakable
faithfulness of His tender love, dare to cast yourselves at His feet. Only believe with your whole heart –
there is deliverance from the sin of prayerlessness. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). In His blood and grace there
is complete deliverance from all unrighteousness, and from all prayerlessness. Praised be His Name
forever! Rev. Andrew Murray, in The Prayer-Life (1920
4/21/2010
Praying The Psalms
(This article was taken from the Redeemer Presbyterian Church website.)
1."The Psalms teach us to pray through imitation and response...Real prayer is always an answer to God's revelation. The Psalms are BOTH prayer and revelations about God�the perfect ideal soil for learning prayer.
2.The Psalms take us deep into our own hearts 1000 times faster than we would ever go if left to ourselves...Religious/moral people tend to want to deny the rawness and reality of their own feelings, especially the darkness of them...The secular world has almost made an idol of emotional self-expression...But the Psalmists neither 'stuff' their feelings nor 'ventilate' them. They pray them–they take them into the presence of God until they change or understand them.
3.Most importantly, the Psalms force us to deal with God as He is, not as we wish he was. 'Left to ourselves, we will pray to some god who speaks what we like hearing, or to the part of God we manage to understand. But what is critical is that we speak to the God who speaks to us, and to everything He speaks to us...the Psalms train us in that conversation." (quote from Eugene Peterson's Answering God)' "
Additional Note: The Imprecatory Psalms can be confusing with their cries for vengeance upon Israel's or the psalmist's enemies. "Basically, realize that calls for justice are absolutely right, and remind us how important God's holiness and justice are. But secondly, recognize that the Psalmists did not have the justice of God completely satisfied in Christ. Thus we pray for our enemies, not wish them ill. Yet we as Christians can pray these Psalms as longings for social justice and hatred against the 'power and principalities' behind the world." Quotes from Dr Tim Keller's January 2006 MCM teaching notes, c2006, used with permission.
Suggestions:
1.Try to understand a psalm before praying it. A commentary is particularly helpful to understand the context of the Psalm. What was the Psalmist going through when he wrote this particular Psalm? The Psalms also point to Christ. Where might this psalm fit into His life? (see example on p 2)
2.Linger over a Psalm. Is there a particular verse that is particularly relevant to your life right now? Chew on it. Read it aloud over and over, with a different emphasis on each word. Why is this word chosen or important here? What difference would this make in my life if I believed this with all my heart? If I applied this to my life? Pray for yourself and others from it.
3.Use the Psalms to praise God for different aspects of His character.
4.Use an order to guide you: chronological; Book of Common Prayer schedule (see p 2)
Trying it out:
Try out the above suggestions. (If you want to experiment, Psalm 131 is short, yet speaks richly to New Yorkers today. Commentary notes for this psalm are on the back). Take small steps. 15-20 minutes a day would be a great starting point. Don't rush. Don't worry about doing this perfectly, just start! Invite the Holy Spirit into these times and let His grace and truth shape your prayer and heart. Stay at it for three weeks - research shows that it takes about 3 weeks to build a habit. Be alert to what differences might be happening in your relationship with the Lord and your life as a result. (If helpful, go for a leisurely block of time on a Sunday! Or discuss/pray a Psalm in community.)
Psalm 131
My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.Commentary #1: New Bible Commentary, 21st edition, p 575.
Psalm 131. Rest In Psalm 130 the exhortation to hope arose from what is true of the Lord; in 131:3 it arises from what the psalmist has found to be personally true. He has taken a lowly place (1); his inner being (2) is at rest - like a child grown past the instinctive demands and fretfulness of infancy and now content, as a toddler, simply to be with mother. What kind of an original journey out of self-confident pride into humility and rest first prompted this beautiful psalm? We do not know, but its call to hope in the Lord links it with 130 and makes it the testimony of a sinner forgiven: humbled by the mercy of God, at peace within because at peace above.
Commentary #2: Notes on the Psalms, G Campbell Morgan, p 260.
Psalm 131: Jehovah the Satisfaction of the Pilgrim This is a brief psalm, but it very full of beauty, as it sets forth the contentment of a restless soul in the will of God. It follows the last as an advance of experience, and as a sequence. Its peculiar note is not that of a natural contentment, but of a satisfaction won in spite of all contrary tendencies. The thought of weaning is the dominant one. That for which a child craves it at last becomes content without. So the soul of the singer, which once was ambitious and restlessly attempted to walk in ways for which it was not fitted, is with Him in quietness and contentment. The secret of victory over feverish ambition is divulged in the psalmist's appeal to Israel to hope in the Lord. That, interpreted in the light of the previous psalm, means that in the gracious sense of His forgiving love is the secret of a content which puts an end to all false ambition. Redemption truly apprehended, is more than forgiveness. It is restoration to the quiet peace of being in harmony with all the forces of nature, because governed by the will of God.
From The Book of Common Prayer, 1662: Read 1 or more psalms selected by the schedule.
Day AM PM Day AM PM Day AM PM Day AM PM
1. 1-5 6-8 8.38-40 41-43 15. 75-77 78 22. 107 108-109
2. 9-11 12-13 9. 44-46 47-49 16. 79-81 82-85 23. 110-113 114-115
3. 14-17 18 10. 50-52 53-55 17. 86-88 89 24. 116-118 119:1-32
4. 19-21 22-23 11. 56-58 59-61 18. 90-92 93-94 25. 119:33-72 119:73-104
5. 24-26 27-29 12. 62-64 65-67 19. 95-97 98-101 26. 119:105-144 119:145ff
6. 30-31 32-34 13. 68 69-70 20. 102-103 104 27. 120-125 126-131
7. 35-36 37 14. 71-72 73-74 21. 105 106 28. 132-135 136-138
29. 139-140 141-143
30. 144-146 147-150
1."The Psalms teach us to pray through imitation and response...Real prayer is always an answer to God's revelation. The Psalms are BOTH prayer and revelations about God�the perfect ideal soil for learning prayer.
2.The Psalms take us deep into our own hearts 1000 times faster than we would ever go if left to ourselves...Religious/moral people tend to want to deny the rawness and reality of their own feelings, especially the darkness of them...The secular world has almost made an idol of emotional self-expression...But the Psalmists neither 'stuff' their feelings nor 'ventilate' them. They pray them–they take them into the presence of God until they change or understand them.
3.Most importantly, the Psalms force us to deal with God as He is, not as we wish he was. 'Left to ourselves, we will pray to some god who speaks what we like hearing, or to the part of God we manage to understand. But what is critical is that we speak to the God who speaks to us, and to everything He speaks to us...the Psalms train us in that conversation." (quote from Eugene Peterson's Answering God)' "
Additional Note: The Imprecatory Psalms can be confusing with their cries for vengeance upon Israel's or the psalmist's enemies. "Basically, realize that calls for justice are absolutely right, and remind us how important God's holiness and justice are. But secondly, recognize that the Psalmists did not have the justice of God completely satisfied in Christ. Thus we pray for our enemies, not wish them ill. Yet we as Christians can pray these Psalms as longings for social justice and hatred against the 'power and principalities' behind the world." Quotes from Dr Tim Keller's January 2006 MCM teaching notes, c2006, used with permission.
Suggestions:
1.Try to understand a psalm before praying it. A commentary is particularly helpful to understand the context of the Psalm. What was the Psalmist going through when he wrote this particular Psalm? The Psalms also point to Christ. Where might this psalm fit into His life? (see example on p 2)
2.Linger over a Psalm. Is there a particular verse that is particularly relevant to your life right now? Chew on it. Read it aloud over and over, with a different emphasis on each word. Why is this word chosen or important here? What difference would this make in my life if I believed this with all my heart? If I applied this to my life? Pray for yourself and others from it.
3.Use the Psalms to praise God for different aspects of His character.
4.Use an order to guide you: chronological; Book of Common Prayer schedule (see p 2)
Trying it out:
Try out the above suggestions. (If you want to experiment, Psalm 131 is short, yet speaks richly to New Yorkers today. Commentary notes for this psalm are on the back). Take small steps. 15-20 minutes a day would be a great starting point. Don't rush. Don't worry about doing this perfectly, just start! Invite the Holy Spirit into these times and let His grace and truth shape your prayer and heart. Stay at it for three weeks - research shows that it takes about 3 weeks to build a habit. Be alert to what differences might be happening in your relationship with the Lord and your life as a result. (If helpful, go for a leisurely block of time on a Sunday! Or discuss/pray a Psalm in community.)
Psalm 131
My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.Commentary #1: New Bible Commentary, 21st edition, p 575.
Psalm 131. Rest In Psalm 130 the exhortation to hope arose from what is true of the Lord; in 131:3 it arises from what the psalmist has found to be personally true. He has taken a lowly place (1); his inner being (2) is at rest - like a child grown past the instinctive demands and fretfulness of infancy and now content, as a toddler, simply to be with mother. What kind of an original journey out of self-confident pride into humility and rest first prompted this beautiful psalm? We do not know, but its call to hope in the Lord links it with 130 and makes it the testimony of a sinner forgiven: humbled by the mercy of God, at peace within because at peace above.
Commentary #2: Notes on the Psalms, G Campbell Morgan, p 260.
Psalm 131: Jehovah the Satisfaction of the Pilgrim This is a brief psalm, but it very full of beauty, as it sets forth the contentment of a restless soul in the will of God. It follows the last as an advance of experience, and as a sequence. Its peculiar note is not that of a natural contentment, but of a satisfaction won in spite of all contrary tendencies. The thought of weaning is the dominant one. That for which a child craves it at last becomes content without. So the soul of the singer, which once was ambitious and restlessly attempted to walk in ways for which it was not fitted, is with Him in quietness and contentment. The secret of victory over feverish ambition is divulged in the psalmist's appeal to Israel to hope in the Lord. That, interpreted in the light of the previous psalm, means that in the gracious sense of His forgiving love is the secret of a content which puts an end to all false ambition. Redemption truly apprehended, is more than forgiveness. It is restoration to the quiet peace of being in harmony with all the forces of nature, because governed by the will of God.
From The Book of Common Prayer, 1662: Read 1 or more psalms selected by the schedule.
Day AM PM Day AM PM Day AM PM Day AM PM
1. 1-5 6-8 8.38-40 41-43 15. 75-77 78 22. 107 108-109
2. 9-11 12-13 9. 44-46 47-49 16. 79-81 82-85 23. 110-113 114-115
3. 14-17 18 10. 50-52 53-55 17. 86-88 89 24. 116-118 119:1-32
4. 19-21 22-23 11. 56-58 59-61 18. 90-92 93-94 25. 119:33-72 119:73-104
5. 24-26 27-29 12. 62-64 65-67 19. 95-97 98-101 26. 119:105-144 119:145ff
6. 30-31 32-34 13. 68 69-70 20. 102-103 104 27. 120-125 126-131
7. 35-36 37 14. 71-72 73-74 21. 105 106 28. 132-135 136-138
29. 139-140 141-143
30. 144-146 147-150
3/12/2010
Pray For God's Grace To Fortify You Against Everything Evil: Matthew Henry
I must pray for the grace of God, and all the kind and powerful influences and operations of that grace.
I draw near to the throne of grace, that I may receive not only mercy to pardon, but grace to help in every time of need: Hebrews 4:16(ESV) grace for seasonable help.
From the fullness that is in Jesus Christ (in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell), Colossians 1:19(ESV) let me receive, grace upon grace. John 1:16(ESV)
4.1
I must pray for grace to fortify myself against every evil thought, word, and work. Having been earnest for the removing of the guilt of sin, that I may not die for it as a crime, I must be no less earnest for the breaking of the power of sin, that I may not die by it as a disease, but that it may be mortified in me.
O let no sin have dominion over me, because I am not under law but under grace. Romans 6:14(ESV)
Let the flesh be crucified in me, with its passions and desires; Galatians 5:24(ESV) that walking in the Spirit, I may not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16(ESV)
Let my old self be crucified with Christ that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that I may no longer be enslaved to sin. Romans 6:6(ESV) And let not sin reign in my mortal body (in my immortal soul), to make me obey its passions, Romans 6:12(ESV) but having been set free from sin, let me become a slave of righteousness. Romans 6:18(ESV)
Let the law of the Spirit of life set me free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2(ESV)
Give me grace to put off my old self, which is corrupt through deceitful desires, Ephesians 4:22(ESV) and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24(ESV)
Let the world be crucified to me, and I to the world, by the cross of Christ. Galatians 6:14(ESV)
I draw near to the throne of grace, that I may receive not only mercy to pardon, but grace to help in every time of need: Hebrews 4:16(ESV) grace for seasonable help.
From the fullness that is in Jesus Christ (in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell), Colossians 1:19(ESV) let me receive, grace upon grace. John 1:16(ESV)
4.1
I must pray for grace to fortify myself against every evil thought, word, and work. Having been earnest for the removing of the guilt of sin, that I may not die for it as a crime, I must be no less earnest for the breaking of the power of sin, that I may not die by it as a disease, but that it may be mortified in me.
O let no sin have dominion over me, because I am not under law but under grace. Romans 6:14(ESV)
Let the flesh be crucified in me, with its passions and desires; Galatians 5:24(ESV) that walking in the Spirit, I may not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16(ESV)
Let my old self be crucified with Christ that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that I may no longer be enslaved to sin. Romans 6:6(ESV) And let not sin reign in my mortal body (in my immortal soul), to make me obey its passions, Romans 6:12(ESV) but having been set free from sin, let me become a slave of righteousness. Romans 6:18(ESV)
Let the law of the Spirit of life set me free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2(ESV)
Give me grace to put off my old self, which is corrupt through deceitful desires, Ephesians 4:22(ESV) and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24(ESV)
Let the world be crucified to me, and I to the world, by the cross of Christ. Galatians 6:14(ESV)
3/08/2010
Charles Spurgeon On The Lord's Prayer
"After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, etc."
Matthew 6:9
This prayer begins where all true prayer must commence, with the spirit of adoption, "Our Father." There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, "I will arise, and go unto my Father."
This child-like spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father "in heaven," and ascends to devout adoration, "Hallowed be thy name." The child lisping, "Abba, Father," grows into the cherub crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy."
There is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration—"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Next follows the heartfelt expression of dependence upon God—"Give us this day our daily bread."
Being further illuminated by the Spirit, he discovers that he is not only dependent, but sinful, hence he entreats for mercy, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors:" and being pardoned, having the righteousness of Christ imputed, and knowing his acceptance with God, he humbly supplicates for holy perseverance, "Lead us not into temptation." The man who is really forgiven, is anxious not to offend again; the possession of justification leads to an anxious desire for sanctification. "Forgive us our debts," that is justification; "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," that is sanctification in its negative and positive forms.
As the result of all this, there follows a triumphant ascription of praise, "Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen." We rejoice that our King reigns in providence and shall reign in grace, from the river even to the ends of the earth, and of his dominion there shall be no end.
Thus from a sense of adoption, up to fellowship with our reigning Lord, this short model of prayer conducts the soul. Lord, teach us thus to pray.
—From Spurgeon's Morning and Evening
Our Father which art in heaven, etc."
Matthew 6:9
This prayer begins where all true prayer must commence, with the spirit of adoption, "Our Father." There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, "I will arise, and go unto my Father."
This child-like spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father "in heaven," and ascends to devout adoration, "Hallowed be thy name." The child lisping, "Abba, Father," grows into the cherub crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy."
There is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration—"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Next follows the heartfelt expression of dependence upon God—"Give us this day our daily bread."
Being further illuminated by the Spirit, he discovers that he is not only dependent, but sinful, hence he entreats for mercy, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors:" and being pardoned, having the righteousness of Christ imputed, and knowing his acceptance with God, he humbly supplicates for holy perseverance, "Lead us not into temptation." The man who is really forgiven, is anxious not to offend again; the possession of justification leads to an anxious desire for sanctification. "Forgive us our debts," that is justification; "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," that is sanctification in its negative and positive forms.
As the result of all this, there follows a triumphant ascription of praise, "Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen." We rejoice that our King reigns in providence and shall reign in grace, from the river even to the ends of the earth, and of his dominion there shall be no end.
Thus from a sense of adoption, up to fellowship with our reigning Lord, this short model of prayer conducts the soul. Lord, teach us thus to pray.
—From Spurgeon's Morning and Evening
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