Daily Prayer

Praying Psalm 12

Save, O Lord, for the godly ones seem to be gone and the faithful appear to have vanished from among the children of man. It seems that everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

O Lord, cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

These words from your word give me so much strength Lord:

“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

Your words Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

You, O Lord, will keep us.. you will guard the poor; you will guard us from this generation forever.. even though wickedness seems to prowl all around us and vileness is exalted among the children of man.

Amen

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Prayer with Thanksgiving

Today's post comes to us complements of my friend Eileen..

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

I’ve been pondering the incident in Luke 17 when Jesus healed ten men with leprosy. Only one of the men came back and thanked him. If we can forget to give thanks for amazing good things, will we remember at all when we are in hard times? Paul makes it clear that we should be thanking God as often as we pray. Right now, let us give thanks…

Father, God, I thank you for senses to perceive all your good creation that provides such beauty, as well as provision for food, clothing, and shelter.

Thank you for today, for breath and life, and the privilege of knowing you.

Thank you for Jesus who came into this world, and suffered and died to deliver me from sin and give me eternal life.

Thank you for the privilege of talking to you, and the assurance that you are listening.

Thank you for loving me.

Amen

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The Radiant Face of God

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them." (Numbers 6:22-27 ESV)

Ever wonder what it means to have God's face shine upon you? Matthew Henry comments on this and likens God's face "to the shining of the sun upon the earth, to enlighten and comfort it, and to renew the face of it." I really like this picture of God's face shining down upon us.. warming our hearts.. helping our souls to grow.. and causing us to grow as His words light our paths.

Father, I am so thankful for the warmth of Your Spirit.. thank you for causing me to grow in Your grace.. and all praise be to you for the light of Jesus.. Your living Word.

Amen

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Keeper of My Soul

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them." (Numbers 6:22-27 ESV)

This morning I started praying and thanking the Lord for keeping my soul. I was overwhelmed thinking of all of the ways that the Shepherd of my soul has kept me. Like a keeper of sheep He feeds me, protects me and causes my soul to prosper. I am blessed in knowing that I can trust Him to keep me in all ways.

Thanks you Father for keeping me.. thank you Jesus for keeping.. thank you Holy Spirit for keeping me. All praise, honor and glory to your blessed name!

Amen

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The Fullness of God

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. (Colossians 2:9-10)

When we ask Jesus to come into our lives we are asking Him to fill us with the fullness of God. We need to ask for His filling each day because.. as the cliche goes.. we leak.

We ask You Holy Father to fill us afresh with your Holy Spirit.. we long to live lives filled with Your goodness, lover and compassion. Come Lord Jesus.. we surrender to You.

Amen

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Knowing the Love of Christ

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-18)

As Paul wraps up this prayer he speaks of knowing Christ's love. It makes me wonder if you can ever know the love of another if you do not know them personally. Many suffer in childhood with warped views of parental love because of what they know about the parenst. Paul describes this heavenly love as one that has breadth and length and height and depth. He describes it as love that surpasses knowledge.. in a sense Gods love can only be known by the heart.. it cannot truly be understood with the head. To know this love one must know Christ personally.

Heavenly Father, we come to you with open hearts.. we long to know You more.. and to know the love of Your Son. Lord have mercy on us.. draw our hearts to Your heart.

Amen

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Praying for Stength to Love

exischuō: to have full strength, that is, be entirely competent; be able.

I think that it takes spiritual strength to comprehend God's love. Sacrificial love simply does not make sense to our minds.. especially when the sacrifice is for the sake of an enemy. I think this is why we need spiritual strength to comprehend this kind of love.

Father we ask you to open our eyes to the pain of our enemies and give us strength to comprehend Your love for them. Give us hearts of compassion for them.

Amen

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Groundbreaking Love

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Inner Power

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (Ephesians 3:14-16)

Continuing my thoughts on this great scripture passage on prayer, I want to answer this question: What does it means to have power in your inner being?" Firstly, I think that it is good to realize that life is all about the battle of the inner and outer being.. the way we lead our life is dependent on which being is stronger. If the inner being is stronger then life will be lived from the inside out.. if not then our fleshly desires will exert it's strength and rule us. So when we pray to be strengthened with power in our inner being we are asking God for strength to live from the inside out.

God of all power we confess that we are weak apart from your presence in our lives. We ask you to strengthen our hearts.. come Holy Spirit and bring power to our inner being that we may follow you in the path that leads to life.

Amen

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Inexhaustible Grace

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (Ephesians 3:14-16)

Continuing my thoughts on this great scripture passage on prayer, I want to focus on "riches of his glory". Adam Clarke comments this way: "According to the measure of his own eternal fullness". Albert Barnes says this: "The word “riches,” so often used by Paul, denotes “abundance,” and the idea here is, that his grace was inexhaustible and ample for all their needs." It encourages me to know that there is no end to God's ability to help me.. to shower me with drenching grace.. to meet my every need.

We praise you Father! We acknowledge and are thankful for your inexhaustible and amazing grace. Cause us to be bearers of Your mercy and grace today as we interact with others. In your beautiful name we pray.

Amen

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Father of Fathers

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, (Ephesians 3:14-15)

Continuing my thoughts on this great scripture passage on prayer.. I came across this footnote:

Or fatherhood; the Greek word patria is closely related to the word for Father in verse 14

Paul seems to be speaking about God the Creator and Father of all things. A great thought when we approach prayer. Remembering that God is the Creator helps us to take the lid off our prayers.. He is a miracle working God.. nothing is too difficult for Him.. He fathered or created everything.

We confess You as Father today.. we acknowledge that You created all and by You all things exist. Open the eyes of hearts to see that all things are possible and nothing is too difficult for You.

Amen

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Kneeling Prayer

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, (Ephesians 3:14)

This is the beginning of a great scripture passage on prayer. It begins by speaking to the posture of prayer. Ever wonder where the tradition of kneeling in prayer comes from? Here is an explanation I like:

One thought about the origin of kneeling to pray comes from the practice of kneeling before a king in petition for a request. This tradition was a symbol of humbleness and honor when coming before a king or ruler. In recognition and honor to God, it may have been the appropriate position to come before Him.

The heart of kneeling prayer is not really the outer posture but the inner one. We bow our hearts in submission and humility when we pray.. as we speak to our King.

We bow our hearts to you today dear King.. we recognize that it is the will of our sovereign Lord that is all important.. we submit to your will and your plans for us. Have your way Father in our lives.

Amen

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Hallowed Be Your Name

This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, (Matthew 6:9)

I cannot hear the words "hallowed be your name" without flashing back to a worship song that I used to sing.. I guess worship is a great way.. maybe the only way.. to begin prayer. It reminds me of how the psalmist tells us to enter His courts with praise. It is necessary to have a worshipful heart when we pray. When we pray with a heart overflowing with praise our prayers often look very different. Let's take a cue from the Psalmist and pray this passage:

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
..with all my inmost being I praise Your holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
..I do not forget not all Your benefits-
..You forgive all my sins and heals all my diseases,
..You redeem my life from the pit
..You crown me with love and compassion,
..You satisfy my desires with good things
..so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Amen

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Wisdom for our New President

Today Barack Obama is sworn into the office of the president of the United States on the same bible that Abraham Lincoln used for that same purpose. Leaders of nations all have a beginning.. here is the way that King Solomon prayed at the beginning of his reign.

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him,

"Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

Solomon answered God,

"You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

Please join me in asking our Father to grant Barack Obama wisdom and knowledge that he may lead and govern our nation in a manner pleasing to God.

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