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God’s saving acts allow me to pray and praise

 

It is because of what God has done in my life already that I can pray today, no matter what my circumstances, knowing that He will once again bring a change for good in my life.

To you alone, O Lord, to you alone,
    and not to us, must glory be given
    because of your constant love and faithfulness. – Psalm 115:1 GNT

This prayer from Isaiah has this kind of motivation behind it.

Wake up, Lord, and help us!
Use your power and save us;
    use it as you did in ancient times.
It was you that cut the sea monster Rahab[a] to pieces.
It was you also who dried up the sea
    and made a path through the water,
    so that those you were saving could cross.
Those whom you have rescued
    will reach Jerusalem with gladness,
    singing and shouting for joy.
They will be happy forever,
    for

The Lord says,

“I am the one who strengthens you.
    Why should you fear mortals,
    who are no more enduring than grass?
Have you forgotten the Lord who made you,
    who stretched out the heavens
    and laid the earth’s foundations?
Why should you live in constant fear
    of the fury of those who oppress you,
    of those who are ready to destroy you?
Their fury can no longer touch you.
Those who are prisoners will soon be set free;
    they will live a long life“

I am the Lord your God;

“I am the Lord your God;
    I stir up the sea
    and make its waves roar.
My name is the Lord Almighty!
I stretched out[b] the heavens
    and laid the earth’s foundations;
I say to Jerusalem, ‘You are my people!
    I have given you my teaching,
    and I protect you with my hand.’” – Isaiah 51:9-16  GNT

 

Here is a prayer that would invite God to become involved in my life. He is wide awake when it comes to engaging with me as I pray.

I am encouraged to plead with Him as I recall precedents, and experiences of those who had already experienced God in their lives. I am encouraged to recall as many experiences as necessary for they build up my faith and my hope as I continue in prayer.

I love God’s answer. The prayer was for God to act and He shares with me His grace – therein lies His power.

It is no surprise when reading about the new creation in Revelation 21 that God will make us all pure.

I posted the video above – it is a song that Charles Wesley wrote that parallel’s this chapter in Revelation. Here is the verse that catches my ear and my eye.

Come, Almighty to deliver, Let us all Thy life receive; Suddenly return and never, Never more Thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, Serve Thee as Thy hosts above, Pray and praise Thee without ceasing, Glory in Thy perfect love.

The spiritual intense fixation of the mind, by contemplation on God in
Christ, until the soul be as it were swallowed up in admiration and
delight, and being brought unto an utter loss, through the infiniteness of
those excellencies which it doth admire and adore, it returns again to its
own abasements, out of a sense of its infinite distance from what it would
absolutely and eternally embrace, and withal, the inexpressible rest and
satisfaction which the will and affections receive in their approaches
unto the eternal Fountain of goodness, are things to be aimed at in
prayer, and which, through the riches of divine condescension, are
frequently enjoyed. The soul is hereby raised and ravished, not into
ecstacies or unaccountable raptures, not acted into motions above the
power of its own understanding and will; but in all the faculties and
affections of it, through the effectual workings of the Spirit of grace and
the lively impressions of divine love, with intimations of the relations and
kindness of God, is filled with rest, in JOY unspeakable and full of
glory. – John Owen

 

 

 

Distracted or selfless in prayer

Distracted or selfless in prayer

The bronze altar, from the days of the Tabernacle, represented judgment. Sin offerings were sacrificed there so it was not located in the Holy Place, but rather in the outer court where everyone could see as they entered. In fact, it would be the first thing one would see as they entered.

When I think about my own time with God I have to ask myself – what is my priority, my focal point, when I enter into my time of worship? Am I thinking about yesterday or the worries of tomorrow? Is my mind a million miles away when I take time to read His Word? Is my heart just not in it today? Are my eyes fixed on the Sacrifice?

For burning offerings, he made an altar out of acacia wood. It was square, 7½ feet long and 7½ feet wide, and it was 4½ feet high. He made the projections at the top of the four corners, so that they formed one piece with the altar. He covered it all with bronze. He also made all the equipment for the altar: the pans, the shovels, the bowls, the hooks, and the fire pans. All this equipment was made of bronze. He made a bronze grating and put it under the rim of the altar, so that it reached halfway up the altar. He made four carrying rings and put them on the four corners. He made carrying poles of acacia wood, covered them with bronze, and put them in the rings on each side of the altar. The altar was made of boards and was hollow. – Exodus 38:1-7 GNT

When I eavesdrop on one of Jesus’ prayers in John chapter seventeen, moments before He will be betrayed, beaten and crucified, Jesus takes time to pray on behalf of His disciples. And then another step…

“I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” – John 17:20-21 GNT 

When prayer rises above myself, somehow there is more focus to my time with God. This kind of prayer is reflected in Paul’s life too. He opens his letter to the church of Philippi with a prayer.

I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgment, so that you will be able to choose what is best. Then you will be free from all impurity and blame on the Day of Christ. Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God. – Philippians 1:9-11 GNT

Paul also models what selfless prayer looks like. The end game for both Paul and Jesus were similar – spiritual growth, live up to their full potential and be ready to stand before God and to be found to have lived a life pleasing to Him.

I am challenged to pray selflessly, even in difficult circumstances.

“Let this be the second rule: that in our petitions we ever sense our own insufficiency, and earnestly pondering how we need all that we seek, join with this prayer an earnest—nay, burning desire to attain it.” – Calvin