God never ceases to speak to us, but the noise of the world without and the tumult of our passions within bewilder us and prevent us from listening to him. (Francois Fenelon)
This Week’s Scripture · Isaiah 11:1-10 · Psalm 72:1-19 · Romans 15:4-13 · Matthew 3:1-12 Adoration Psalm 72:18-19 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. 19 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen! For the Beauty of the Earth (verse 1) For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies; Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. (Folliot S. Pierpoint) Take time now to offer God your praise and worship. Confession Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:8-10) O holy and merciful God, we confess that we have not always taken upon ourselves the yoke of obedience, nor been willing to seek and to do your perfect will. We have not loved you with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, neither have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. You have called to us in the need of our sisters and brothers, and we have passed unheeding on our way. For all of this, we ask you to forgive us of our sins. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. (United Methodist Book of Worship) As David did in Psalm 139, ask the Lord to search you and know you through and through. Confess the sins God brings to mind, knowing you are forgiven and that He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Thanksgiving God of endurance and encouragement, we thank you for your Word made flesh as well as your written Word. We know that what was written long ago was written for our instruction, so that through our endurance and the encouragement we receive from the Scriptures, we may have hope. We praise you for not leaving us in the dark, groping for something to grasp. Instead, you have given us a lamp for our feet and a light for our path, that we might follow our Lord through this shadowy world. Almighty God, use this hope we have as followers of your Son to enable us live in harmony with fellow Christians so we may raise our voices together to bring you the glory and honor due your name. And we pray that when the rest of the world sees such worship, they too will turn to you and give you praise. For it is in the name of Christ we pray. Amen. (from Romans 15:4-7) Spend some time reflecting on the prayer of thanksgiving above and then thank God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life. Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself) · My personal mission field Ø Help me to identify those people who make up my personal mission field. Ø Enable me to begin sharing the gospel with those who do not yet know you. Ø Empower me to disciple those who are young in their faith. Ø Allow me to encourage those who are struggling in their faith. Ø Please give me perseverance in all areas of ministry. · Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned · Other needs Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others) · My family · For missionaries throughout the world · For those seeking to faithfully minister to loved ones at home · For those who share the gospel in the inner city · For those who bear witness to Christ in places of power · Other needs Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)
0 Comments
God is perfect love and perfect wisdom. We do not pray in order to change his will, but to bring our wills into harmony with his. (Sir William Temple)
This Week’s Scripture · Isaiah 2:1-5 · Psalm 122 · Romans 13:11-14 · Matthew 24:36-44 Adoration Psalm 122:6-9 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you! 7 Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” 8 For my brothers and companions' sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” 9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (verse 1) Joyful, joyful, we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love; hearts unfold like flowers before thee, opening to the sun above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away. Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day! (Henry Van Dyke) Take time now to offer God your praise and worship. Confession The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:12-14) Forgive me my sins, O Lord – the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body, the sins which I have done to please myself and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my casual sins and my deliberate sins and those which I have labored so to hide. Forgive me them, O Lord, forgive them all; for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen. (Thomas Wilson) As David did in Psalm 139, ask the Lord to search you and know you through and through. Confess the sins God brings to mind, knowing you are forgiven and that He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Thanksgiving Heavenly Father, we thank you for all your promises in Holy Scripture. Your promises give us hope, assurance, and confidence in the midst of grief, fear, uncertainty, and doubt. We thank you that you so lovingly provide these promises to us and for us. We humbly ask you to give us the faith to believe them and live our lives as though they have already come to pass, because, in a manner of speaking, they have. For the fulfillment of your promises is certain and we can rest our hearts, minds, and souls upon them. You promise us that your children will one day all worship you together. You promise to teach us your ways so that we may walk in your paths. You promise to judge between the nations and to turn swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks so that, one day, we will know war no more. We pray for these things, even as we rest upon these promises. Come Lord Jesus. Amen. (from Isaiah 2:1-5) Spend some time reflecting on the prayer of thanksgiving above and then thank God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life. Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself) · Lord, help me to faithfully participate in the life of my congregation and for the sake of my community… Ø By my prayers Ø By my presence Ø By my gifts Ø By my service Ø By my witness · Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned · Other needs Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others) · My family · For those who serve in government, at the national, state, and local levels · For those who serve in law-enforcement · For those who serve in fire and rescue · For those who serve in our nation’s military · Other needs All thy works shall give thanks to thee, O Lord, and all thy saints shall bless thee! They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power. (Psalm 145:10-11) Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees. (Corrie Ten Boom)
This Week’s Scripture · Haggai 1:15 – 2:9 · Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21 · 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 · Luke 20:27-38 Adoration Psalm 145:1-3 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (verse 1) Holy God, we praise thy name; Lord of all, we bow before thee; all on earth thy scepter claim; all in heaven above adore thee. Infinite thy vast domain; everlasting is thy reign. (Ignaz Franz) Take time now to offer God your praise and worship. Confession The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145:18-19) O Lord, open thou our eyes, that we may see ourselves as thou seest us; in thy mercy show us the evil that is in us, and cleanse us by thy mighty power. From irresolute purpose, from unchastened desires, and from a weak and wavering will, good Lord deliver us. Amen. (The Book of Worship for Church and Home) As David did in Psalm 139, ask the Lord to search you and know you through and through. Confess the sins God brings to mind, knowing you are forgiven and that He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Thanksgiving Good and gracious Lord, we give you thanks for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are loved and chosen by you. You saved them through the sanctifying power of your Holy Spirit and thus enabled them to believe in your truth. You called them, and us, through your gospel of grace so that we all may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, Father, fill us now with that same Holy Spirit, so we may stand firm to the end and faithfully hold to the teachings of your Word made flesh and inscripturated. We thank and praise you for your love, eternal comfort, and good hope through your grace. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. (from 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17) Spend some time reflecting on the prayer of thanksgiving above and then thank God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life. Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself) · Help me to grow in wisdom and become who you created and redeemed me to be. · Renew my mind and enable me to cultivate a godly perspective and attitude regarding the various spheres and circumstances of my life. · Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned · Other needs Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others) · My family, immediate and extended · Those struggling with sin, illness, or relational difficulties · Other needs Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1) Beware of placing the emphasis on what prayer costs us; it cost God everything to make it possible for us to pray. (Oswald Chambers)
This Week’s Scripture
Adoration Psalm 119:97-98 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. Glory Be to the Father Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen. (Lesser Doxology) Take time now to offer God your praise and worship. Confession 31 “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, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: 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. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for 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) Blessed Lord Jesus… Take me to the cross to seek glory from its infamy; Strip me of every pleasing pretence of righteousness by my own doings. O gracious Redeemer, I have neglected thee too long, often crucified thee, crucified thee afresh by my impenitence, put thee to open shame. I thank thee for the patience that has borne with me so long, and for the grace that now makes me willing to be thine. O unite me to thyself with inseparable bonds, that nothing may ever draw me back from thee, my Lord, my Savior. (The Valley of Vision) As David did in Psalm 139, ask the Lord to search you and know you through and through. Confess the sins God brings to mind, knowing you are forgiven and that He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Thanksgiving Loving and self-revealing God, I thank you for those who have gone before me in the faith and who faithfully passed along the Gospel over the many centuries, so that I now might also partake of it. For your inspired Word, which is able to make me wise for salvation through faith in my Lord Jesus Christ, I give you thanks. Gracious Lord, Please keep your Word alive in me so I may continually be trained in righteousness and equipped for every good work you set before me. In Christ I pray, Amen. (based on 2 Timothy 3:14-17) Spend some time reflecting on the prayer of thanksgiving above and then thank God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life. Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself)
Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others)
Choose this day whom you will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Amen. (Joshua 24:15) Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what he can do. (Andrew Murray)
This Week’s Scripture
Adoration Psalm 66:1-4 Shout for joy to God, all the earth; 2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! 3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. 4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (verse 1) Praise, my soul, the King of heaven, to the throne by tribute bring; ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, ever more God’s praises sing. Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise the everlasting King. (Henry F. Lyte) Take time now to offer God your praise and worship. Confession Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:8-13) Have mercy upon us, O God, according to your lovingkindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquities, and cleanse us from our sins. For we acknowledge our transgressions, and our sin is ever before us. Create in us clean hearts, O God, and renew a right spirit within us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (W.E. Orchard. The United Methodist Book of Worship) As David did in Psalm 139, ask the Lord to search you and know you through and through. Confess the sins God brings to mind, knowing you are forgiven and that He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Thanksgiving Mighty God of mercy, we thank you for the resurrection dawn bringing the glory of our risen Lord who makes every day new. Especially we thank you for the beauty of your creation, the new creation in Christ and all gifts of healing and forgiveness, the sustaining love of family and friends, and the fellowship of faith in your church. In Christ we pray, Amen. (from Daily Prayer) Spend some time reflecting on the prayer of thanksgiving above and then thank God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life. Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself)
Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others)
Send me now, my God, to accomplish all you have assigned to me. Let me live and work without fear and timidity. Amen. (Reuben Job) At the profoundest depths in life, men talk not about God but with him. (D. Elton Trueblood)
This Week’s Scripture · Lamentations 1:1-6 · Psalm 137 · 2 Timothy 1:1-14 · Luke 17:5-10 Adoration Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty (verse 1) Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee. Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity! (Take time now to offer God your praise and worship.) Confession Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. (2 Timothy 1:8-12) (Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness. Ken Boa) Thanksgiving Accept, O Lord God, our Father, the sacrifices of our thanksgiving; this, of praise, for Thy greater mercies already afforded to us; and this, of prayer, for the continuance and enlargement of them; this, of penitence, for such only recompense as our sinful nature can endeavor; and this, of the love of our hearts, as the only gift Thou dos ask or desire; and all these, through the all-holy and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ Thy Son our Savior. (John Donne) (Ask the Spirit to search your heart and mind and then spend some time thanking God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life.) Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself) · Relationships with Others o Greater love and compassion for others o Loved ones o Those who do not know Christ o Those in need · My activities for this day · Special Concerns (From Ken Boa’s Handbook to Prayer) Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others) · My family · Evangelism o Friends o Relatives o Neighbors o Coworkers o Special Opportunities · Special Concerns (From Ken Boa’s Handbook to Prayer) Almighty God, give us grace, that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life, (in which thy son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility;) that in the last day when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the holy ghost now and ever. Amen. (Thomas Cranmer) |
Devotions, Prayers,
|