Trying to make this Truth a Reality
From Reading the Psalms with Luther (St. Louis, MO: Concordia, 2007):
The 116th psalm is a psalm of thanks in which the psalmist is joyful and gives thanks that God has heard his prayer and has rescued him from the distress of death and the anguish of hell. Like several other psalms before it, it speaks of the deep spiritual affliction, of which few people know.
He laments in this psalm that things are so bad, yet he confesses his faith and the truth of God. He calls all human holiness, virtue, and confidence only falsehood and emptiness. This world will not and cannot hear nor tolerate. Thus it comes that the godly suffer, tremble, and fear all kinds of misfortune.
But despite all, he is comforted by this, that God’s Word is true and will only motivate us the more: “They give me to drink from the cup of their wrath. All right, then I will take the cup of grace and salvation and drink myself spiritually drunk (and through preaching) pour out from this cup on those who will drink with me and who draw their grace from the Word.” This is our cup, and with this cup we will worship God and praise His name. We will fulfill our vows, namely the First Commandment, that we receive Him as the one God and praise Him as the only God worthy to preach and to be called upon. You find here also that giving thanks, preaching, and confessing God’s name before all people is the true worship of God. (more…)
The Character and Motivation of a Man of God
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11)
Father in Heaven,
On this day that you have made, I bend my head and bow my heart in worship to you, for you good and your love endures forever. In your holiness, your perfect spotless righteousness, you are worthy to be praised, because you alone made all things. In you, I am held together, and apart from you, I would be subject to your holy wrath and judgment. Thank you again for the gift of your one and only begotten, Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior: for giving him freely to me as a gift to be received by faith, trusting in his atoning work on the cross in my place for my sins. His blood has washed away my sins, and for that, I am thankful everyday of my life.
Oh Lord and my God, I desire to be a man of God, just like your servant Timonthy. I desire to be faithful and strong in light of persecution and difficulty, a slave of one Master and a worshiper of one Lord. May I never selfishly desire renown of my own name or seek after earthly fame, but in all things and in every part of my life — personal and public, church and family — may I be known for what I flee from, who I follow after, what I fight for, and who I am faithful to. I know that perfection in obedience is impossible in this life where sin is still present in my body, and yet I am convinced that through the Scriptures divine submission may be produced within my heart. Though sin may still abound in my flesh, your grace shall abound in my life through Spirit-empowered repentance all the more.
O Great God of highest Heaven, let my outward behavior be continually righteous and honorable in your sight, that people around me would wonder what God I serve who has transformed my heart. Conform my heart and soul to the shape of Jesus’ cross, so that I would be more and more like Christ and less and less like those of this world. In reverence and in fear, may I come boldly into your presence, where angels even fear to tread, to ask that your kingdom would come and your will be done in my life and the life of my beloved.
In the name of Christ I pray,
Amen.
Praying, on the night Jesus was betrayed
Know the LORD
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight,’ declares the LORD.” -Jeremiah 9:23-34
• Take a moment to quiet your heart before God.
• Ask God to increase your love, fear, and awe of him.
Turn to the LORD
“If you return, O Israel, declares the LORD, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver… then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.” For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: ‘Break up your fallow ground…’” –Jeremiah 4:1-3
“Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you…. Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us.” –Jeremiah 14:7,9
• Ask the Lord to convict us of our stubbornness of heart and idolatrous desires.
• Pray that he would awaken us to the reality of God’s judgment against sin.
• Pray that the Lord would pour out a spirit of repentance on our church and that we would see and turn from our sin, trusting in the mercy of our King.
Celebrate Mercy
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah… I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. …they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” –Jeremiah 31: 31-34
• Thank God for fulfilling his promise and establishing a new covenant in Jesus Christ.
• Praise God for the glorious salvation he planned and accomplished through the death of Jesus upon the cross.
• Give thanks that through Christ our Mediator we may approach and know the Holy One of Israel, and are adopted as his sons and daughters.
• Give thanks for the Holy Spirit, through whom God writes his law on our hearts and helps apply it to our lives.
Delight in His Word
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” –Jeremiah 15:16
• Ask God to deepen your love and reverence for his words.
• As one who is called by his name, pray for your own times of meeting with God, that you may encounter him daily through his words.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to open Scripture to you–to help you apply and be changed by it.
Community
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” –Jeremiah 29:7
• Ask God to give you a deeper compassion and desire to minister to the needs of the poor and hurting in our community.
• Pray for boldness to share the truth of the gospel with friends and family who don’t know him.
• Pray that members of our church–in their jobs, their schools, and their neighborhoods–would be a blessing to our community and represent the gospel.
World
“At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.” –Jeremiah 3:17
• Pray that God would cause the gospel to go forward throughout the earth, and that those who have not yet heard the gospel would hear.
• Pray for the 3 billion throughout the earth with no viable church. Pray for the 1.2 billion Muslims in the “10/40 window,” most of whom have no access to the gospel.
• Pray for believers around the world who are persecuted for their faith. Ask God to protect them, give them boldness in the face of opposition, and make them powerful witnesses of the gospel.
(HT: Josh Harris)
Great Love, because of the Greatest Love
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13
On this day when many of us are occupied with chocolate, candy, and all things red and pink, I would like to share with you some prayer requests from a fellow member of my church who is serving with the U.S. Marines in Iraq. His name is Gary, and I found his prayer card at church:
- That God will use whatever instrument, my unit included, as a means to restrain the lawless deeds of lawless men and then providentially open a door for others to bring the Gospel to the people in the area
- That I may lead my Marines and obey my commanders well so that in every case I may honor the Lord through my service and earn the right to speak of Him to others
- That if I must fire my weapon, it will never be in anger or out of hatred for my enemy. And also, that if I must fire my weapon, that I will shoot straight and hit every target center mass.
- That if I die, my parents may find comfort in the Scriptures and the saints so that they might not grumble against the Lord.
- That if I do not die, but am physically maimed, that I will find comfort in the Scripture and the saints so that I might not grumble against the Lord.
- That God will grant our nation repentance. For if we are to be an instrument to judge another nation, we must all the more be a just people ourselves unless we desire the justice of God against us.
- That I do not cease to pray for the saints at Immanuel Baptist Church.
- Pray also for Gary and his unit’s safe return.
May we pray for Gary and all the other men and women who are serving in dangerous places for our freedom and that of the oppressed. Their love for country and God is an example to us all.
How Long, O LORD?
The 13th psalm is a psalm of prayer against the sorrow or sadness of the spirit that comes at times from the devil himself, or at times from those who act against us with spite and evil tricks. As a result, we are cast down and grieve when we see such evil aligned against us. But prayer is stronger than all misfortune. This psalm gives us an example by which we certainly may be comforted and learn in every kind of calamity not to become anxious or downcast, nor let these troubles eat at our hearts. Instead, we learn to turn to prayer, crying to God about all of these things. We know that we will be heard and finally be delivered, as James 5:13 also says: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” This psalm belongs in the Second Commandment and the First and Last Petitions, that we may be delivered from evil.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Lord Jesus,
who by Your incarnation was a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, graciously remember us who are yet walking in this vale of tears and who must enter Your kingdom through many tribulations.
As You have promised to be with Your own and to support them to the end, grant us Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of joy and of peace, to comfort our hearts and the hearts of all Your afflicted Christians with Your everlasting comfort.
Amen.
(Source: Reading the Psalms with Luther. St. Louis, IL: Concordia, 2006.)
Coming to the Table
We do not presume
to come to this your table, merciful Lord,
trusting in our own righteousness,
but in your abundant and great mercies.
We are not worthy even to gather up the crumbs under your table.
But you are the same Lord who delights in showing mercy.
Grant us therefore, gracious, Lord,
so to eat this bread and drink this wine
that our bodies and souls
may be made clean by Christ’s body and blood
and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us.
Amen.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Confession
Almighty God,
Our heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past;
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life,
to the glory of your name.
Amen
A Prayer of Blessing for this Christmas
“For unto us a child is born…”
Father we thank you for this Advent season…
…this time when even the secular seems to have touches of the Sacred.
As we rush to prepare for services celebrating the birth of your Son,
let us not forget to take time ourselves to consider the meaning of it all.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
Let that truth pierce our hearts this week… as though we just heard it for the first time.
Out of His great love for us, the Infinite God squeezed himself into our tiny little finite existence!
Fill us with wonder anew that it may drip out onto those around us…
…so that we won’t be just leading services this week, we’ll be experiencing them.
Bring those who need to hear the Good News of Great Joy.
Help us to proclaim it with love and grace.
Fill us all with the Peace that passes all understanding as we gather once more around the manger.
Just as the shepherds did so long ago…
…to bow in worship before the King of all Creation.
To Him be the Glory and Honor and Praise forever and ever.
Amen.
Glad tidings of great joy,
Alex S. Leung
Bless me, bless me, bless me
Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!
Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!
Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!
Most of All
I said a prayer for you today,
and knew God must have heard.
I felt the answer in my heart,
although He spoke no words.
I didn’t ask for wealth or fame,
I knew you wouldn’t mind.
I asked Him for treasures
of a far more lasting kind.
I asked that He’d be near you,
in all things great and small;
but it was for His loving care
I prayed for most of all.
The Lord is at Hand
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Yes and amen.
Soul Awaiting in Silence
A prayer and reflection on Psalm 62
LORD my Lord,
You are my rock and my salvation, the God in whom I trust, my help in times of need. Though the world around me should shake and crumble, you are my fortress and my dwelling place! My body and my soul shall not be shaken, for I take refuge in you my Lord and Savior.
My heart and my soul waits for you in silence, and in you alone I wait for an answer — for a sign, a signal — for your hand to work wonders in my life. I trust you, Lord, with my life: my studies and my devotions, my career and my ministry, my health and my finances, my friendships and relationships. There is nothing in this world that I don’t have faith in you for, because I know that you have the whole world in your hands; you have my life planned to the utmost abundance of goodness!
(more…)
The Voice of the LORD
A prayer and reflection on Psalm 29
Father in Heaven,
I bring praise and glory to your name, for you have spoken over the waters and the seas, the glory from your voice — full of majesty — shakes the earth! My heart rejoices because though you speak, I am alive to hear your voice! I am unworthy to hear you speak, undeserving of your self-revelation.
For I am a sinner, a son who has sinned against his Father — even though I have been commanded innumerable times to be obedient. So thank you Lord for your mercy. While flames of fire come forth from your mouth and makes the ground tremble, I do not fear, for the fire of your Spirit gives me life. Through your Son’s atoning sacrifice I am made righteous before you. Now a sinner called a saint, you remember not my inequities.
(more…)
Search me, Know me
A prayer and reflection on Psalm 139
Father Almighty,
You have searched me, and you know me. You know everything about me. Everything that I think about: all my dreams, hopes, and ambitions; all of my sins, failures and weaknesses. You know it all. And in all this, you know even my hidden intentions, including the worthless affections and vain desires that I hold in secret. Wherever I go, whatever I do, you know my heart—you know every reason, motive, and purpose behind it. Even before I think it, want it, feel it or do it, you knew every detail about it. Before I even confess anything to you, before I open my mouth—my words are intimately known by you.
For you are God. I cannot lie to you. Even if I speak untruths, you know already what is truly on my mind.
I could run, I could hide, but I can never escape your presence. You are here, there, you are everywhere. I dare not even try to flee from you, for such would be a waste of my energy—you would be there before I move one step. Therefore, I come to you; I run to you and hide myself in you and in your Son, Jesus the Christ. For from you, in you, and through you alone I live, move, and breathe.
(more…)
I am poor and needy
A prayer and reflection on Psalm 40
O Lord my God, I am poor and needy. Remember me and forget not my needs, my desires, for they are aspirations that are all for you and for your body, for your glory and your people’s good. You are my only true help and deliverer. In you alone I trust! Upon you I wait for my deliverance; O Lord, do not delay!
I seek you in thy Word, Father, and not in the vain pleasures of the world. Vanity is deceiving, but I know that you search my inner most being. You search my heart and my soul, and may you find within only an earnest zeal for knowing you. May I find joy and happiness in your person; may you give freely the person of your Son. For He alone has paid the price for which I could not pay, for the sins and transgressions of my hands, that I may be counted righteous in your sight. I rejoice because I can call you “Father”, and you call me “Beloved, my son”. But if it was not for your one and only begotten Son, such would not be possible.
(more…)
The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious
This morning at the beginning of Dr. Moore’s Systematic Theology I class, many classmates shared prayer requests for various bad things that were happening to them or their family; much personal calamity and hardship being suffered. So in light of that and just hearing of some recent news, I have a prayer request:
Pray for my close friend back home in Toronto. She got hit between the eyes with a softball on Saturday; there’s a swelling under her eyes, possibility of a broken nose and internal bleeding. She can see, but she’s in pain (though mostly emotional)… and would welcome the prayers of seminarians and saints who read this blog. May the Lord bring healing upon her, to give her strength and peace, to see Christ’s hand at work in her time of suffering.
We read the following passage this morning in class. It was related to our call to Christo-centric study of theology, but it was heart-wretchingly appropriate in these times…
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Phriday Photos
E. M. Bounds once said, “There is no arriving at a high state of grace without much praying, and no staying in those high altitudes without great praying.”
There’s a part of my life I was reminded of earlier tonight that I really need to pray about. Theology is as serious as anything else in life, but this, makes life even more serious than I think it needs to be. However, there is a gravity to this that last a lifetime, so I suppose the seriousness of this matter is appropriate. Nevertheless, I need to pray more — a lot more. Especially for grace, that high state of grace; the undeserved favor from the Lord kind. The God’s-riches-at-Christ’s-expense kind.
On that note, I leave you with some photos from Southern Seminary here in Louisville, Kentucky:
The Goal of Prayer
I found the following as today’s entry on my desktop calendar of quotes:
“The goal of prayer is the ear of God. The living child of God never offers a prayer which pleases himself; he wonders that God listens to him, and he accounts it a wonderful instance of condescending mercy that such poor prayers as his should ever reach the ears of the Lord God of Sabbath.”
C. H. Spurgeon
Lord, teach us how to pray aright
Lord, teach us how to pray aright,
With reverence and with fear;
Though dust and ashes in Thy sight,
We may, we must draw near.
We perish if we cease from prayer;
O grant us power to pray;
And when to meet Thee we prepare,
Lord, meet us by the way.
(more…)
Heal Our Blindness
Gracious Father of light, give us eyes to see Your worth.
Heal our blindness. Save us from the deadly disease of seeing the world as worth more than its Maker. Restore the capacity of our hearts to cherish infinite beauty and savor infinite sweetness.
Deliver us from the deadening effects of thinking this short life is the main thing.
In Jesus’ name, we pray,
Amen.
(From Ch.3 of John Piper’s “Life Is Vapor”)
Prayer to our Father
Our Father in Heaven,
We thank You for the wonderful privilege that is ours, that we are able to call you Father. Thank You that You have by Your grace brought us into Your family by the work of Christ. We thank You that because of Him and His shed blood and what He has done for us we can approach Your throne with boldness and without fear. We also thank You that You are God who has demonstrated throughout history that You care for Your own.
Though You are high and lifted up You see fit to stretch down and look upon the affairs, needs, and cares of men, and even to enter into our history — not only in Christ but also before Him in ways that foreshadowed and testified to His coming. May the words that we say to each other and the way we treat one another be out of our love and devotion to You our LORD. For that is what Your mercy and grace compels us to do, to love each other as You loved your Son, and to be united in the perfect fellowship of the Spirit, just as You are united in the perfection of your Triune person.
In Christ’s name we pray,
Amen
Pray for Mark
Please pray for Mark Driscoll. Whether you like him or not, he is a servant of God’s word in the Lord’s mission who needs our prayer in his suffering of exhaustion and sleeplessness.
