Christ: Our Friend in Prayer

Oftentimes I very strongly and urgently desire to talk to someone.  Whatever my burdens are, I am seeking godly, Biblical counsel from someone I can trust who will be able to understand what I'm trying to communicate even if my language is deficient.  This person must be trustworthy because many times my burdens involve individuals whom I do not wish to defame, myself included.  I'm looking for someone who understands me without rushing to judgements or incomplete conclusions who will empathize, offer solutions, and intercession to God on my behalf.  But I feel like I don't know such a person.

Perhaps it is because I'm an only child that I have always felt like I've never had a best friend, someone who fits this description.  My entire life, I've been looking for someone who could meet these requirements, for whom I could reciprocate this same level of trusted friendship.  But I still feel alienated and alone.  I scan through the list of names in my Contacts list on my phone and there is no one on whom I feel comfortable unloading the weight of my burdens.

But there is always Christ.  He meets all of these requirements, just as the Scriptures testify.  No matter what our burdens are, or whom they involve, no matter how deficient our ability to communicate the problem, Christ is there.  He understands our burdens and intercedes for us.  We can go to Him as often as we need and not burden Him with our constant requests.  It doesn't matter where we are or whether our phones are charged, He is always there.  Christ desires that we go to Him first and that we listen to the counsel He gives us in His sufficient Word. 

"For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:15

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:31-39 

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6-7

This past week as my children's health began to decline, I prayed earnestly for three specific things while I laid in my bed one sleepless night.  Moriah and Joseph had been vomiting with a loss of appetite, lethargy and fever, Joseph was also congested, all the children were coughing and sneezing and I was becoming suspiciously anxious that they might have walking pneumonia.  I had to wait until morning before I could take them to the doctor's office.  Several times that night I brought my anxiety to the Lord.  Specifically I prayed that God would grant the children grace to survive the night without dying.  I prayed that all of the children could be seen by the doctor, as their usual policy only allows me to bring two of my children at a time.  I prayed that I could get at least a little sleep to be alert enough to handle the busyness of the next day.  The Lord graciously granted all three requests.  Sometimes when we pray general prayers, it is difficult to see how and when God answers them.  But, as He has reminded me in this case, as I pray for specific things, I can see how He answers them specifically.

So, let us all be encouraged to pray to God for all things, no matter how big or how small.  Let's pray generally and specifically, taking our burdens to Him first and seeking His counsel from His Word knowing that we can trust Him with anything and everything.  To God be the glory.

40 Days for Life

Last Tuesday, we attended the kick off rally for the 40 Days for Life Campaign hosted by GA Right to Life, Silent No More Awareness and other pro-life organizations in Gwinnett County & Lawrenceville. This is a time to pray for the closing of abortion clinics in Lawrenceville & Gwinnett County and to pray that this holocaust would come to an end in the United States. The rally began at 6:30 p.m. with prayer, singing hymns, a testimony and a talk/speech/sermon about the evil of abortion. Then it concluded with another hymn and prayer. The woman who gave her testimony had aborted two of her children and spoke of how she could only find hope, forgiveness and peace through Christ. Many of the women who abort their children are crushed under intense guilt, depression & despair. They start taking drugs, begin drinking heavily or attempt suicide.

This issue of abortion, pro-choice vs. pro-life, is not just a political debate, it is a moral injustice in our nation. In the Constitution our fore fathers recognized that people are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Since 1973 in the US, the right to life for unborn babies has been unprotected and ruled by the liberal mob. Some parents and the legal system have become bullies, throwing around their larger size, physical strength, and medical technology to deny this right to children who are fully persons, created by God in His image for His glory.

Let us pray for the end of this evil, wicked, horrific and bloody massacre of the next generation of human beings. And don't just pray, do what you can to fight it.

Fight by:

• having children
• loving & disciplining your children
• teaching them the doctrines of God
• teaching them that we are created in God's image
• teaching them that babies are just as much human as the rest of us
• teaching them that babies are fully formed in the womb by 7 weeks gestation
• showing them ultrasound pictures
• teaching them the truth about Creation and the deception of evolution
• giving money to pro-life organizations and crisis pregnancy centers
• voting pro-life
• volunteering time to counsel
• going door-to-door with pamphlets
• standing outside clinics with signs
• articulating an educated pro-life position with those who oppose
• write about it on your blog, facebook or twitter

God will not bless the United States if we forsake His laws. I'm not endorsing that we become a theocracy - we should not. But if we don't acknowledge our Creator in repenting of our sin and seeking His will in every area of our lives (I'm specifically speaking to the Church) then we cannot expect this nation to recover economically, morally, civilly, spiritually, etc.

Mommy-couragement

Last week Jeramy and I heard a sermon that really encouraged us from Mark 6:31-44. (The sermon is not yet uploaded on the website, but check back HERE to listen to this great message from God's Word.)

What I noticed in this passage is that Christ recognized their need for rest. Notice that they could not even eat in peace and they were constantly on the go. They were so physically and emotionally drained that they were crying out for rest and Christ recognized that. He even commanded that they go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to rest. But instead of getting a much needed rest, they were met (or bombarded) with a great group of people. Instead of getting angry or bitter, it says that Christ had compassion on them!

When I need a break from the demands, whining and complaining of raising my children, finding compassion for them when my own physical needs are being neglected is difficult. (And I know that I'm not being pushed nearly as much as they probably were.) But the Holy Spirit encouraged me this afternoon with this passage from John chapter 14:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

Because Christ has regenerated my heart and allowed me to have faith in Him, I am able to have compassion in those really tired draining moments. And I will be able to do works "even greater than these"!

Oh Lord, give me grace so that I may obey Your word and glorify Your name.

Freedom

Galatians 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

If you continue to read, Paul is referring to the keeping of the Mosaic Law, in this context. If you have read his other epistles, it also refers to the bondage of our sin, leading to death (Romans 7).

O Lord God, You are holy and righteous.

There is no truth apart from You.

There is no freedom apart from that purchased

by Your Son Jesus Christ,

who shed His blood so that we might be free

to do that for which You created us -

to worship You in Spirit and in Truth

by living a holy life in service to others,

proclaiming the greatness of Your name to all nations.

May Your name be praised! Amen.

A Quick Devotional

An M. Div student at Southern Seminary sent out invitations to write a women's annual devotional. I accepted the invitation and was assigned October 29 to write about Psalm 119:113-120 in the Holman Christian Standard Version. The following is my submission. We were limited to 250 words total. I hope you enjoy. Please don't hesitate to tell me what you think.

Background passage: Psalm 119:113-120

Focal Verse: “I hate the double-minded but I love Your instruction” (Psalm 119:113).

At first glance it might be easy to consider that it may not even apply to us. Immediately we think the double minded are non-believers – worldly persons who use an inconsistent worldview in order to justify their actions when their own conscience bears witness against them just as Paul wrote in Romans chapter one.

But upon further meditation and in the context of the remainder of the passage we begin to understand that we ourselves are double-minded at times. What does it say in James? We should be “doers of the Word and not hearers only” and to ask from God without doubt lest we too become double-minded and unstable in our ways. How many times on a daily basis do we fail to act with faith and obedience and fall back into walking in our dead sin nature?

Here is the beauty of the perfect righteousness of Christ! In all His earthly life He never did anything apart from faith filled obedience and a single-minded determined holy will of God. And He has redeemed us from the power of sin!

Gracious Lord Jesus, forgive us for our pride and faithlessness. Cause us to remember that salvation is a gift of Your grace alone and to depend on Your grace to walk obediently in the pure narrow path of Your Word. Amen.

Meggan Anderson

MM Solo Performance in the Church Graduate

Thanks for letting me know about the formatting. I hope no one is left in the dark now. :-) Sorry about that.

A Life of Transparency

Is anyone among you suffering?

Then he must pray.

Is anyone cheerful?

He is to sing praises.

Is anyone among you sick?

Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James 5:13-20

It is for this reason that I'm not afraid to 'let it all hang out'. Neither am I very good at wearing a mask.

For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

Luke 8:17

The fellowship of believers is enriched and reveals true biblical love when we are transparent with each other about our sins and when we actually do commit to pray for each other as our minds are renewed by the letter and attitude of the Word of God. And we know that we can reveal our deepest sins to each other because we all have sinned and not one of us has failed to commit an offense that we consider especially heinous against our God that we think is too shameful to admit. Sometimes this can be a test to know who really loves us in the Biblical sense (when used with discretion). The blood of Christ covers all sins, no matter what they are, when confessed before God with an obedient turn of repentance away from it.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:1-2

I used to think that if I shared my most shameful sin to another believer in confidence that they would then hate me and think less of me, judging me, accusing me like Satan does. But I've seen that this is just another lie from the devil and the opposite has been true.

One thing I will note though, it is easy to be transparent about the sins the Spirit has convicted me of but sometimes it is not so easy to admit the sins that others bring to my attention. But don't let that stop you from telling me sinful things you see. :-)

Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.

Proverbs 27:5

Contentment

HEAVENLY FATHER,

If I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty,

make my heart prize thy love,

know it, be constrained by it,

though I be denied all blessings.

It is thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants,

for by these trials I see my sins,

and desire severance from them.

Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations,

if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil,

and be delivered from it with gratitude to thee,

acknowledging this as the highest testimony of thy love.

When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul

instead of sin, he became more dear to me

than sin had formerly been;

his kindly rule replaced sin's tyranny.

Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued

I must not only labour to overcome it,

but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it,

and he must become to me more than vile lust had been;

that his sweetness, power, life may be there.

Thus I must seek a grace from him contrary to sin,

but must not claim it apart from himself.

When I am afraid of evils to come,

comfort me by showing me

that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch,

but in Christ I am reconciled and live;

that in my self I find insufficiency and no rest,

but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace;

that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good,

but in Christ I have ability to do all things.

Though now I have his graces in part,

I shall shortly have them perfectly

in that state where thou wilt show thyself fully reconciled,

and alone sufficient, efficient,

loving me completely,

with sin abolished.

O Lord, hasten that day.

[Amen!]

(The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975. pp 294-295.)

Anti-Anxiety Fix

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:4-8

This is an excellent passage to commit to memory and I commend it to you as well. I have considered this passage in the brief series of prayer in the Scripture because there is often that saints have brought their petitions to our Lord Jesus Christ and have done so while remaining reverent in an attitude of worship and submission. Thankfully they are recorded for us.

Abraham prayed for healing and conception, likewise Isaac for his wife to conceive and Hannah also. Jacob and David prayed for deliverance from their enemies and King Hezekiah from threatening nations. Moses prayed for the wrath of God to relent and for forgiveness. Solomon prayed to dedicate the Temple.

Of course this list is anything but exhaustive, but praise God that there are many saintly petitioning prayers recorded for us that we can come before God reverently and humbly to ask Him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,

Your consolations delight my soul.

Psalm 94:19

In Wrath Remember Mercy

Lord, I have heard of the report about You and I fear.

O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years,

In the midst of the years make it known;

In wrath remember mercy.

God comes from Teman,

and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah.

His splendor covers the heavens,

and the earth is full of His praise.

His radiance is like the sunlight;

He has rays flashing from His hand,

and there is the hiding of His power.

Before Him goes pestilence,

and plague comes after Him.

He stood and surveyed the earth;

He looked and startled the nations.

Yes, the perpetual mountains where shattered,

the ancient hills collapsed.

His ways are everlasting.

I saw the tents of Cushan under distress,

the tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.

Did the Lord rage against the rivers,

or was Your anger against the rivers,

Or was Your wrath against the sea,

that You rode on Your horses,

on Your chariots of salvation?

Your bow was made bare,

the rods of chastisement were sworn. Selah.

You cleaved the earth with rivers.

The mountains saw You and quaked;

the downpour of waters swept by.

The deep uttered forth its voice,

it lifted high its hands.

Sun and moon stood in their places;

they went away at the light of Your arrows,

at the radiance of Your gleaming spear.

In indignation You marched through the earth;

in anger You trampled the nations.

You went forth for the salvation of Your people,

for the salvation of Your anointed.

You struck the head of the house of the evil

to lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah.

You pierced with his own spears

The head of his throngs.

They stormed in to scatter us;

Their exultation was like those

Who devour the oppressed in secret.

You trampled on the sea with Your horses,

On the surge of many waters.

I heard and my inward parts trembled,

At the sound my lips quivered.

Decay enters my bones,

And in my place I tremble.

Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,

For the people to arise who will invade us.

Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength,

And He has made my feet like hinds' feet,

And makes me walk on my high places.

Habakkuk 3:2-19

Open The Eyes of My Heart, Lord

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope of His calling,

what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints

and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

Ephesians 1:15-19

In this prayer Paul gives thanks to God for the faith of other believers and prays for God to continue to reveal Himself and His wisdom to them in Christ.

I consider that the hope of God's calling is that, as He has chosen us, we will not be abandoned to death and everlasting hell, that Christ will never leave us or forsake us and that He will accomplish all that concerns us for His glory and our good.

The riches of the glory of His inheritance have its roots in the promise God made to Abraham, that He would show him a land for his posterity. But in Christ, our inheritance is in heaven, a little section designated just for us. See 1 Peter 1.

The surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe is explained in the verses that follow. Only by the omnipotence of God can He raise a Man from the dead and place that Man at the top of the spiritual chain of command. And not only this but continues to do this - to give life to dead people and place them in a state of spiritual authority - when He regenerates a heart that was once at enmity against Him and now worships Him joyfully! Just think of what we once were without Christ and where we might be now had God not changed our hearts!

"Show Me Your Glory!"

Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people!' But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, 'I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.'

"Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people."

And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest."

Then he said to Him, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?"

The LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name."

Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!"

And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion." But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."

The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."

Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.

Exodus 33:12-23 & 34:5-8

This is one of my most favorite passages! Moses, the only man who "talked with God as man to man" prays to God, wanting more of Him, "Show me Your glory!" It is awesome! God passes by in front of Him and proclaims His own name! You can also see here that God declares that it is He who has prerogative over His creation - His sovereign right to choose and it is not just a knowledge of fore seen faith.

Hallelujah! Amen!

A Lot More Than Just a Vending Machine

Sometimes when I'm in a group and we pray, it seems like we're just bringing a shopping list of requests to our Father - things we want Him to do for us to make our lives and those we love better. "God, I know that You have blessed me with so many things, but could You take care of these other things too? Oh, that would be great!"

Personally, until very recently, I have been discouraged from personal prayer because I didn't want to come to God with just a shopping list of requests. I didn't know how to start. There are so many needs, how could I pray for them and keep God's name holy without treating Him like a cosmic vending machine? Since I had forgotten about the Lord's Model Prayer, I went for a time without much prayer at all. I wanted to pray. I knew that I needed to pray, that I should pray, but I just didn't.

So, how was this overcome? I'm still coming out of it. Having a grateful heart is definitely a great place to start. Acknowledging the character and attributes of our God while in prayer to Him helps direct us toward a humble, worshipful attitude. That's when it becomes easier to have an eternal perspective while taking requests to Him. Having reverence for God's holy presence takes the focus off of all the "make my life better" needs and then we can pray for what God told us to pray for: evangelism and conversion, wisdom and grace to endure our difficulties.

These have been my prayers of late, asking God for grace when I'm physically tired, when my children disobey, when my husband complains and when things don't go as I planned. And God has answered those prayers. When I had run out of patience, God gave me grace and strength to act with patience. When my husband complained, God gave me grace and I kept a positive attitude. When my plans must be changed or abandoned, God gave me grace to be flexible and submissive.

God really does answer prayer. Are we praying for what He wants or what we want?

New Beginning

INCOMPREHENSIBLE, GREAT, AND GLORIOUS GOD,

I adore thee and abase myself.

I approach thee mindful that I am less than nothing,

a creature worse than nothing.

My thoughts are not screened from thy gaze.

My secret sins blaze in the light of thy countenance.

Enable me to remember that blood which cleanseth all sin,

to believe in that grace which subdues all iniquities,

to resign myself to that agency which can deliver me from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

Thou hast begun a good work in me

and canst alone continue and complete it.

Give me an increasing conviction of my tendency to err,

and of my exposure to sin.

Help me to feel more of the purifying, softening, influence of religion,

its compassion, love, pity, courtesy,

and employ me as thy instrument in blessing others.

Give me to distinguish

between the mere form of godliness and its power,

between life and a name to live,

between guile and truth,

between hypocrisy and a religion that will bear thy eye.

If I am not right, set me right, keep me right;

And may I at last come to thy house in peace.

See Romans 6

(The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975. pp 174-175.)

A Woman's Work Is Never Done

There's always more laundry that needs to be sorted, washed, folded, put away. There's always some dish that needs to be cleaned. There's always a dirty bathroom, dirty floor, mail, bills, meals, diapers, dust and more and more laundry. All of these things strike me as vain. Just as soon as I've finished the laundry for this week, I have to start again. Just as soon as I've finished cleaning the kitchen or vacuuming the floor, it gets dirty again. I feel like I'm going to spend the next several years just cleaning over and over and over again. Am I going to clean my life away and miss what I'm staying home for?

She looks well to the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Give her the product of her hands,

And let her works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31:27 & 31

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 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."

John 15:4-5

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."

1 Corinthians 12:9

In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will . . . a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.

Ephesians 1:8-10

HEAVENLY FATHER,

Thou hast placed me in the church

which thy Son purchased by his own blood.

Add grace to grace that I may live worthy of my vocation.

I am a voyager across life's ocean;

Safe in heaven's ark, may I pass through a troubled world into the harbour of eternal rest.

I am a tree of the vineyard thou hast planted.

Grant me not to be barren, with worthless leaves and wild grapes;

Prune me of useless branches;

Water me with dews of blessing.

I am part of the Lamb's bride, the church.

Help me to be true, faithful, chaste, loving, pure, devoted;

Let no strong affection wantonly dally with the world.

May I live high above a love of things temporal,

sanctified, cleansed, unblemished, hallowed by grace,

thy love my fullness,

thy glory my joy,

thy precepts my pathway,

thy cross my resting place.

My heart is not always a flame of adoring love,

But, resting in thy Son's redemption,

I look forward to the days of heaven,

where no langour shall oppress,

no iniquities chill,

no mists of unbelief dim the eye,

no zeal ever tires.

Father, these thoughts are the stay, prop, and comfort of my soul.

(The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975. pp 306-307.)

Independence Day, 2009

Two Scriptures in particular have been on my mind all day, in reference to our nation:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1

"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:13-14

America is not a Christian nation though it was founded upon a Judeo-Christian ethic that recognized the authority of Scripture in regards to our Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe and Confusion that occur in the first 11 chapters of Genesis (and all that follow for that matter). The founding fathers recognized the sinful nature and proposed the laws and system of government as a way to deal with it - to keep lawlessness and those individuals in power, in check. The further away our varying governing authorities get from the authority of God's Word, the more arbitrary they deem the law, the more corrupt our society will become. America will soon collapse if we continue on this slippery slope.

Confession & Petition

Holy Lord,

I have sinned times without number,

and been guilty of pride and unbelief,

of failure to find thy mind in thy Word,

of neglect to seek thee in my daily life.

My transgressions and short-comings

present me with a list of accusations,

But I bless thee that they will not stand against me,

for all have been laid on Christ;

Go on to subdue my corruptions,

and grant me grace to live above them.

Let not the passions of the flesh nor lustings

of the mind bring my spirit into subjection,

but do thou rule over me in liberty and power.

I thank thee that many of my prayers

have been refused-

I have asked amiss and do not have,

I have prayed from lusts and been rejected,

I have longed for Egypt and been given a

wilderness.

Go on with thy patient work,

answering 'no' to my wrongful prayers,

and fitting me to accept it.

Purge me from every false desire,

every base aspiration,

everything contrary to thy rule.

I thank thee for thy wisdom and thy love,

for all the acts of discipline to which I am subject,

for sometimes putting me into the furnace

to refine my gold and remove my dross.

No trial is so hard to bear as a sense of sin.

If thou shouldst give me choice to live

in pleasure and keep my sins,

or to have them burnt away with trial,

give me sanctified affliction.

Deliver me from every evil habit,

every accretion of former sins,

everything that dims the brightness

of thy grace in me,

everything that prevents me taking delight

in thee.

Then I shall bless thee, God of Jeshurun,

for helping me to be upright.

[Amen.]

(The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975. pp 138-139.)

Jeshurun: Deuteronomy 32-33 and Isaiah 44:2

A Psalm & A Prayer

Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.

I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

I have no good besides You."

As for the saints who are in the earth,

They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.

The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;

I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,

Nor will I take their names upon my lips.

The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

You support my lot.

The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

I will bless the LORD who has counseled me;

Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.

I have set the LORD continually before me;

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will dwell securely.

For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 16

THE GREAT GOD

O Fountain of All Good,

Destroy in me every lofty thought,

Break pride to pieces sand scatter it to the winds,

Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,

Implant in me true lowliness of spirit,

Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,

Open in me a fount of penitential tears,

Break me, then bind me up;

Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;

Then can the Father take up his abode in me,

Then can the blessed Jesus come with healing in his touch,

Then can the Holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;

O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God,

inhabit me, a temple consecrated to thy glory.

When thou are present, evil cannot abide;

In thy fellowship is fullness of joy,

Beneath thy smile is peace of conscience,

By thy side no fears disturb,

no apprehensions banish rest of mind,

With thee my heart shall bloom with fragrance;

Make me meet, through repentance,

for thine indwelling.

Nothing exceeds thy power,

Nothing is too great for thee to do,

Nothing too good for thee to give.

Infinite is thy might, boundless thy love,

limitless thy grace, glorious thy saving name.

Let angels sing for

sinners repenting,

prodigals restored,

backsliders reclaimed,

Satan's captives released,

blind eyes opened,

broken hearts bound up,

the despondent cheered,

the self-righteous stripped,

the formalist driven from a refuge of lies,

the ignorant enlightened,

and saints built up in their holy faith.

I ask great things of a great God.

(The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975. pp 8-9.)

A Simple Prayer

"Lord, give what Thou commandest

and command what Thou wilt."

St. Augustine of Hippo

Comforts

Giver of all good,

Streams upon streams of love overflow my path.

Thou hast made me out of nothing,

hast recalled me from a far country,

hast translated me from ignorance to knowledge,

from darkness to light,

from death to life,

from misery to peace,

from folly to wisdom,

from error to truth,

from sin to victory.

Thanks be to thee for my high and holy calling.

I bless thee for ministering angels,

for the comfort of thy Word,

for the ordinances of thy church,

for the teaching of thy Spirit,

for thy holy sacraments,

for the communion of saints,

for Christian fellowship,

for the recorded annals of holy lives,

for examples sweet to allure,

for beacons sad to deter.

Thy will is in all thy provisions

to enable me to grow in grace,

and to be meet for thy eternal presence.

My heaven-born faith gives promise of eternal sight,

my new birth a pledge of never-ending life.

I draw near to thee, knowing thou wilt draw near

to me.

I ask of thee, believing thou hast already given.

I entrust myself to thee, for thou hast redeemed me.

I bless and adore thee, the eternal God,

for the comfort of these thoughts, 

the joy of these hopes.

[Hallelujah!  Amen.]

(The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett.  Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975.  pp 300-301.)

God, The Source of All Good

O Lord God, who inhabitest eternity,

The heavens declare thy glory,

The earth thy riches,

The universe is thy temple;

Thy presence fills immensity,

Yet thou hast of thy pleasure created life,

and communicated happiness;

Thou hast made me what I am, and given me

what I have;

In thee I live and move and have my being;

Thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation,

and wisely administers all my affairs.

I thank thee for thy riches to me in Jesus,

for the unclouded revelation of him in thy Word,

where I behold his Person, character, grace, glory,

humiliation, sufferings, death, and resurrection;

Give me to feel a need of his continual saviourhood,

and cry with Job, 'I am vile',

with Peter, 'I perish', 

with the publican, 'Be merciful to me, a sinner'.

Subdue in me the love of sin,

Let me know the need of renovation as well as 

of forgiveness,

in order to serve and enjoy thee for ever.

I come to thee in the all-prevailing name of Jesus,

with nothing of my own to plead,

no works, no worthiness, no promises.

I am often straying,

often knowingly opposing thy authority,

often abusing thy goodness;

Much of my guilt arises from my religious privileges,

my low estimation of them,

my failure to use them to my advantage,

But I am not careless of thy favour or regardless of thy glory;

Impress me deeply with a sense of thine

omnipresence, that thou art about my path,

my ways, my lying down, my end.

[AMEN!]

(The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett.  Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975.  pp 6-7.)

The Mover

O Supreme Moving Cause,

May I always be subordinate to thee,

be dependent upon thee, 

be found in the path where thou dost walk,

and where thy Spirit moves,

take heed of estrangement from thee,

of becoming insensible to thy love.

Thou dost not move men like stones,

but dost endue them with life,

not to enable them to move without thee,

but in submission to thee, the first mover.

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference

between my receivings and my deservings,

between the state I am now in and my past

gracelessness,

between the heaven I am bound for and

the hell I merit.

Who made me to differ, but thee?

for I was no more ready to receive Christ 

than were others;

I could not have begun to love thee hadst thou not

first loved me,

or been willing unless thou hadst first made me so.

O that such a crown should fit the head of such

a sinner!

such high advancement be for an unfruitful

person!

such joys for so vile a rebel!

Infinite wisdom cast the design of salvation

into the mould of purchase and freedom;

Let wrath deserved be written on the door of hell,

But the free gift of grace on the gate of heaven.

I know that my sufferings are the result of my

sinning,

but in heaven both shall cease;

Grant me to attain this haven and be done

with sailing,

and may the gales of thy mercy blow me safely

into harbour.

Let thy love draw me nearer to thyself,

wean me from sin, mortify me to this world,

and make me ready for my departure hence.

Secure me by thy grace as I sail across this 

stormy sea.

[Amen!]

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

Sing the glory of His name;

Make His praise glorious.

Say to God, "How awesome are Your works!

Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.

All the earth will worship You,

And will sing praises to You;

They will sing praises to your name."

Psalm 66:2-4

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

John 1:1-3

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Sprit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

Romans 8:6-8

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10

(The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett.  Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975.  pp 12-13.)