A Prayer For Comfort and Strength

O God, the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
Do not leave us comfortless,
but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us,
and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, in glory everlasting.
Amen.

- The Book of Common Prayer

No Other King But Christ: A Prayer of Bernard of Clairvaux

O Lord,
Come quickly and reign on Your throne,
for now often something rises up within me,
and tries to take possession of Your throne;
pride, covetousness, uncleanness, and sloth
want to be my kings;
and then evil-speaking, anger, hatred,
and the whole train of vices join with me
in warring against myself,
and try to reign over me.

I resist them,
I cry out against them,
“I have no other king than Christ!”

O King of Peace,
come and reign in me,
for I will have no king but You!

- Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153

Biblical Meditation

Benefits of Biblical Meditation

Psalm 1 shows a way to seek God for the prayers on His heart.

Psalm 1 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;” This is a clear warning of what not to do. If you do not walk with God, where will you get your counsel? If you do not stand for God, who and what will you stand for? If you sit in the seat of the scornful, you will become a scoffer and soon youwill walk, stand and sit with those who oppose God. Invitation: walk, stand and sit with God. What is your response?

WALK: Seek to walk in God’s counsel for the prayer time by meditating in the Word first as the source of your prayers. “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” Amos 3:3 Respond to what you receive during the quiet time of meditation in the Word.
Come into some kind of honest agreement with God about what you receive. How could you pray for someone else what you are unwilling to do yourself? Agreement with God’s will suggests answered prayer. (1 John 5:14,15)

STAND: You stand for and with God protected, equipped in the armor of God. (Ephesians 6:10-18) You stand for the things God stands for – For example, His Word, His commands as sanctity of life, His words on marriage. You stand with God and pray for those who practice alternate life become your concerns; His prayers, your prayers.

SIT: You sit with the Lord at His table to receive the Word, then sit with Him at the place of prayerin submitted authority as the Word goes forth.As you sit on a regular basis, the Word becomes the bread of life to you. You learn to recognizeGod’s voice through the Word and sense the direction the Holy Spirit gives as Teacher. The table of the Lord is where your soul is restored and your spirit strengthened; it is a place of counsel, dialogue, fellowship, a place of delight.

Psalm 1:2
“But his delight is in the law (Word) of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.”

To meditate day and night requires a conscious choice to keep God’s Word before your face, and in your heart. Choose to delight yourself in God’s Word. This is not impossible as you meditate negatively day and night without realizing it when you worry or complain. How much more will the Holy Spirit help you meditate on the Word if you ask?

Benefit: v3 “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” Whatever
this meditator does shall prosper because He is in fellowship and agreement with God. He walks, stands and sits in alignment with God, therefore what he does will prosper. Prosper here means a breaking forth. This means you will find the breakthroughs you need. The intercessor who becomes rooted and grounded in the Word has a constant source of spiritual water from the washing of the Word, and draws strength from the wells of salvation within each believer. (Ephesians 5:26, Isaiah 12:1)

The prayer time prospers because it is supernaturally sourced and directed. There is fruit from the prayer meeting that endures. 
The intercessor is refreshed and strengthened from the Word; their leaf does not wither. This is a classic meditation scripture, perfect for a prayer meeting or as a private devotionalwith prayer. The context of the final three verses contrast the lack of blessing for the unsaved and can touch your heart to pray for the lost. There is a separate Psalm 1 meditation for this.

Application: 

Meditate to hear from God, go back through Scripture and reread it. This can be as simple as your attention being drawn to a word, a phrase. Let God peak to you through your thoughts and impressions
Receive and Respond personally to what God is saying to you through the Word. He knows your every thought. Be honest; He will meet you where you are.

Share: If in a group, share briefly just to get the full prayer picture and so others can pray with you and you with them. Pray out simply what you receive, pray with others about what they received. Pray for the Church, the Body of Christ and you will touch believers around the world and be blessed yourself.  http://www.asknetwork.net/teaching_resources.html 

A Prayer of Blaise Pascal

O Lord, let me not henceforth desire health or life
…..except to spend them for thee and with thee.
Thou alone knowest what is good for me;
…..do therefore what seemeth thee best.

Give to me or take from me;
conform my will to thine;
and grant that, with humble and perfect submission,
…..and in holy confidence,
…..I may receive the orders of thine eternal providence;
and may equally adore all that comes to me from thee,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

- Blase Pascal

Prayer of Intention by John Coe

Ways to Pray without Ceasing 1 Thess. 5:17

Dr. John H. Coe

Director, Institute for Spiritual Formation, Talbot School of Theology

© Copyright 2010 John H. Coe. All rights reserved.

To protect the heart from moralism and the flesh

To protect the heart from under-effort and the flesh

To open to the filling of the Spirit in all things and no longer be alone

1. Prayer of Presenting Oneself as a Sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2): the spiritual discipline of presenting oneself to God as a living sacrifice, open to Him and His will in all things.

Prayer of Intention: “Lord, I am here, I present myself to you. Here I am.”

This protects the will from becoming asleep to the will and Person of God.

2. Prayer of Recollection (Phil. 3:7-9): the spiritual discipline of reminding the self of its true identity in Christ (full pardon, full acceptance) and “Christ in me” (that I am not alone).

Prayer of Intention: “God, whatever I do today, I want to do this in you. I don’t want to do this alone, in my own power or as a way to hide and cover. I don’t want to find my identity in anything but Christ. I am in Christ and that is my true identity.” (Confess any idolatry)

This protects the life from idolatry, false identities and moralism or making decisions from false guilt, shame in life in the power of the self.

3. Prayer of Honesty (Ps. 15:1-2, Ps. 139:23-24): the spiritual discipline whereby we open to God and ourselves in what is truly going on in our heart in order for truth-telling to take place in our relationships and life in general.

Prayer of Intention: “Lord, what is going on in my heart right now with You, with others, with my life, my situations? Search me, O God, and know my heart. Open my heart to you today in truth, lest I deceive myself.” (Confess any idolatry)

This protects us from superficial obedience, from presenting ourselves in arrogance, closed heartedness, dullness of heart, etc. Let the heart be a mirror to the truth and open to God.

4. Prayer of Discernment (Eccles. 7:13-14): the spiritual discipline whereby we learn to watch what the Spirit is doing in us and not merely our work, to “consider the work of God,” what His will is in all things versus ours or the devil’s so that we can bettercooperate with the Spirit. Here we seek wisdom on how to respond to His work that is ongoing within us.

Prayer of Intention: “Lord, what are you doing and what is it that you want me to become and do if I am to do your will?”

This protects us from responding to false calls of guilt of what to do in our life, to fantasy, to the demonic, to our grandiosity, to working alone. Here we learn to wait on God and watch His work more than our own.

5. In receptivity to the Spirit, hear the Word of God (Lectio Divina [Heb. 4:12])

(Jn. 15:5) “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Prayer of Recollection by John H. Coe

To rouse our soul and prepare us to meet with God in truth (Ps.15:1-2).

To put away all falsehood and awaken to our true identity in union with Christ by the Spirit (Col. 3:1-4).

1. Present and open your heart to the Lord and intend to learn from Him.

Prayer of Presenting: Lord, I am here; I present myself to you. Open my heart to the truth of what is
going on in my life. (Rom. 12:1-2)

2. Open to the truth that in Christ and by means of Christ in you that you have already died with Christ to the old Adamic nature that used to live apart from God. Remind yourself in prayer that by the Spirit, who is your new existence at the core of your personality, you have already (indicative) put off and put to death the old nature’s habits such as excess anger, wrath, malice, excess fear, worry, pride, arrogance, selfishness, impatience, unkindness and all the deeds of the flesh. Open to the truth of these matters and talk to the Lord about this, whether you still struggle with these matters of the flesh (Col 3:9).

Prayer of Detachment: At the core of my spirit, I am no longer an angry person, a fearful person, a worrier, arrogant, prideful, envious, distrustful, unkind, impatient, jealous, full of malice, wrath. At the core, my identity is not longer being a sinner, wicked, rebellious and unloving. I am not a . (Confess any sins of the heart that are brought to consciousness by the Spirit)

3. Affirm to your soul and the Lord your true identity in Christ and as Christ in you, so that being in union with Christ, you are no longer condemned but accepted in Him, your debt of sin being cancelled. And open to your true self by the Spirit, that you have already (indicative) put on compassion, kindness, humility, patience, trust, love, self-control, peace, goodness and all the fruits of the Spirit. Be open to the truth of this, whether this is truly
what you experience or not and talk with the Lord about this (Col. 3:10).

Prayer of Attachment: I am now clothed with Christ's righteousness, with full pardon from guilt and full acceptance from God. I am precious in God's eyes. God calls me His beloved. And by the Spirit, at the core of my personality, I have put on His fruits of love, compassion, humility, kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, patience, self-control, peace and goodness. That is who I truly am. (Confess any unbelief.)

4. Resolve in your heart and in prayer to obey the Lord, to put off the old and put on the new (the biblical imperatives) by setting your mind continually on Christ, who is your life, and as the appropriate moments arise, to let go of any sin or “old self” residue and to live out who you are from the heart (Col. 3:1-4, 8, 12).

Prayer of Obedience: Lord, may my mind and heart all day open to Christ, who is my life. And may I have the wisdom when the time is right to lay aside the old person residue and its ways and to simply
put on Christ, to obey you in all things and to reaffirm who I really am in Christ. Lord, have mercy.

5. Hear the Word of God Col. 3:14 Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

PRAYER OF RECOLLECTION IN COLOSSIANS Dr. John H. Coe Director, Institute for Spiritual Formation, Talbot School of Theology © Copyright 2012 John H. Coe. All rights reserved.

I Believe So That I May Understand by Anselm of Canterbury

Jul 27, 2014 | Trevin Wax

I confess, Lord, with thanksgiving,
that You have made me in Your image,
so that I can remember You,
think of You,
and love You.

But that image is so worn and blotted out by faults,
and darkened by the smoke of sin,
that it cannot do that for which it was made,
unless You renew and refashion it.

Lord, I am not trying to make my way to Your height,
for my understanding is in no way equal to that,
but I do desire to understand a little of Your truth
which my heart already believes and loves.

I do not seek to understand so that I can believe,
but I believe so that I may understand;
and what is more,
I believe that unless I do believe,
I shall not understand.

- Anselm of Canterbury