A Prayer about the Gift of Prayer

by | Jan 25, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Prayer

A Prayer about the Gift of Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you for the gift of prayer:

Not only have you invited us to share our innermost thoughts with you—

the sins and sorrows we don’t want to share with anyone else, 

but you have also invited us to share our prayer needs 

with other praying believers. 

You designed the body of Christ 

to pray for all sorts of things: 

for church growth and unity, 

for families and marriages, 

for work and play, 

for health and healing, 

for equality and justice.

Not only that, but you gave us your Spirit, 

who groans for us when we cannot find words 

to pray for ourselves or others (Romans 8:26). 

Not only that, but you gave us your Son 

to intercede on our behalf, 

to come as our Advocate, 

pleading your mercy upon us (Romans 8:24; Hebrews 7:25).

Father, may we understand this command 

to “pray without ceasing” as the gift it is; 

may we enjoy your surpassing kindness 

in calling us to pray, 

the most important work we will do this week. 

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Romans 8:24-26; Hebrews 7:25.

A Prayer about Our Inescapable God

by | Jan 23, 2021 | Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Our Inescapable God

All-seeing, All-knowing God,

I admit, there have been times in my life, when it both frightened and irritated me that I could not escape from your presence. 

Thankfully, I know now that you pursue us in our sin, 

seek us out in our hiding, to draw us back to you. 

You love us and you have redeemed us through 

the life, death, and resurrection 

of your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Today, let us sing with gratitude these words:

“You have searched me and known me!” 

And “You hem me in, behind and before, 

and lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:1, 5).

Thank you for searching us in order to save us. 

Indeed, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for [us]” (Psalm 139:6).

In the name of Christ our Savior. Amen.

Read Psalm 139:1-12.

A Prayer about Giving Thanks When It’s Hard

by | Jan 22, 2021 | Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Giving Thanks When It’s Hard

Good Father,

We confess that sometimes this command seems impossible to obey.

How do we give thanks 

when we feel immersed in the fallenness of this broken world, 

in our own sin, 

in the harm caused by others’ sin, 

in the pain and suffering of racism, unemployment, betrayal, mental illness, sickness, death…?

It helps to remember that the apostle Paul, 

by whose hand you scrawled these words, 

knew suffering: 

imprisonments, shipwreck, beatings, betrayal, poverty, mockery, and other miseries (2 Corinthians 11:24-29).

And yet, he was able to write these words:

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; 

perplexed, but not driven to despair; 

persecuted, but not forsaken; 

struck down, but not destroyed…” (2 Corinthians 4:8).

What did Paul see that we need to see? 

He saw that as he suffered, 

more people saw the grace of Jesus Christ and more people saw your dazzling glory:

“For it is all for your sake, 

so that as grace extends to more and more people 

it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15).

Whether we are in a season of joy or affliction, 

may we give thanks with Paul—

your grace and glory are growing, 

in our lives, and in the lives of others.

In Jesus’ gracious name. Amen. 

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

A Prayer for Inauguration Day

by | Jan 20, 2021 | Daily Prayer

A prayer for Inauguration Day:

Almighty and Everlasting King,

We humbly bow before you today,

honoring you as the one true king

of the only kingdom that has already begun

and will last eternally.

Until the day comes when we live with our king

in the new heavens and the new earth

you have set us here as citizens of different countries of this earth

and you have clearly directed us to pray for our human leaders and authorities.

Oh how we long to live in a country with harmony and kindness,

where tranquillity reigns in “all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:2).

As we in America inaugurate a new president today,

may we obey your command and pray for this man,

President Joe Biden, whether we voted for him or for someone else,

or whether we didn’t vote at all.

And may we continue to pray for all of our human authorities,

even as we long for the day when Christ our King

will return and establish his peaceful reign on this earth

forever and ever.

In the name of our one true King. Amen.

Read 2 Timothy 2:1-2; Revelation 20:1-5; Psalm 45:6; Psalm 145:13

Christ’s Power for Our Weakness

by | Jan 19, 2021 | Suffering, Weekly Gospel Meditation

Christ’s Power for Our Weakness

Dear Friends, as we continue to consider goals and planning, it’s also good to recognize the frustrations we may experience in our weakness and how God may be working to restore us. Enjoy this meditation from From Recovery to Restoration: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace & Hope in Crisis. 

 Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV

The twenty-something athlete next to me at PT grunted and groaned as she struggled to lift the five-pound weight with her legs. I glanced at her. Her upper body displayed the strength she had gained as a college tennis player. Her left leg was still striped with strong musculature. But her right leg, which had been braced for two months after surgery for an Achilles tendon rupture, was scrawny and weak. Like the college tennis player, we will experience previously unimagined degrees of weakness when we are recovering from a crisis. The good news of the gospel is that in our weakness we discover our greatest strength: Christ’s power and grace are sufficient for all of our needs.

To demonstrate this counterintuitive principle, Paul shares how he was met by God in his weakness. First, he explains, “For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8). In that place of weakness, he learned the strength of relying not on himself but on the “God who raises the dead,” the God who “delivered us from such a deadly peril” and who, Paul knew, would continue to deliver him (2 Corinthians 1:8-10).

Later in the letter, Paul shares how Jesus joined him in his weakness. Paul suffered from an unspecified ailment, which he describes as a “thorn in the flesh,” “a messenger of Satan to harass me” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul asked Jesus repeatedly to remove it, but Jesus denied him, saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). And that is why Paul boasts of his weakness.

Paul returns to the theme one more time before closing his letter to the Corinthians. This time, he connects knowledge of weakness with restoration: “For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for” (2 Corinthians 13:9). Here, the word “restoration” means being built up inwardly, becoming more mature. Paul understood that as we embrace our weakness, we become more fully who God designed us to be. As we discover God’s bountiful provision for our weakness, our faith grows strong, and the body of Christ is built up. This is what it means to “aim for restoration” (2 Corinthians 13:11).

Crisis and recovery offer us the opportunity to experience God’s surpassing strength for our profound weakness. Let’s embrace our weakness, for through it, Christ’s image is being restored in us.

 Prayer

Lord,

We confess, we’re not crazy about being weak. Most people brag about their strength. Help us to boast in our weakness, realizing it leads us to rely on you, the God who raises the dead. Even as we face our fragility, grow our desire for Christ’s strength in us. Amen.

Further Encouragement

Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-10; 2 Corinthians 13:9-11.

Listen to “How Firm a Foundation” by Wendell Kimbrough.

For Reflection

What weakness are you struggling with? How is your weakness leading you to rely on God? How are you discovering Christ’s grace to be sufficient for this season?

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