Bonus Day: "It is Finished" ...and a look back at our six-week prayer program (MK)
Well, you may have noticed, that our 40-Days of Praying Together had more than 40 days. Excluding the first and last Sunday, there were 41 days in between those two Sundays. But "40-Days" has a much nicer sound to it, so I am considering this final post to be a "bonus day." It is also an opportunity to start looking back at the past six weeks and consider what we have learned. To begin with, we will look back at a Scripture reading associated with Good Friday. John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. These closing words of Jesus draw the passion narrative to a close. The proclamation, "It is finished", applies most directly to the crucifixion. The ordeal that Jesus had foreseen and dreaded has come to a close. On the cross, he bore our sin, took our shame, and endured the wrath of God in our place. And now that agony was coming to a close. Death would have been a welcome mercy. But there are other senses in which he could have said, "It is finished." The entirety of his life was part of the work of salvation. Jesus humbled himself in taking on human flesh (Phil 2.) The whole of his life is considered to be a journey of "humiliation." Furthermore, the entire plan of salvation that started to unfold in Genesis chapter 3, had reached its climax. This salvation would still need to be applied, down through the centuries, and to the ends of the earth. But the work of salvation was accomplished. The atonement which had been prefigured in signs and symbols in the Old Testament had now been fully realized. Finally, the ongoing tension between the reality of human sin and God's intention to dwell with his people had now been resolved. Because sin is paid for on the cross, it can be removed and no longer needs to be a barrier to our relationship with God. And because we are shielded in the righteousness of Christ, we can come into the presence of God without fearing our destruction. For this reason, the veil in the temple was torn in two (Matt 27:51), and we can confidently "enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus" (Heb 10:19.) Known as "Silent Saturday", the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is a good day for reflection. It is a day to remember the cost of our salvation and the completed nature of our salvation. In spite of your (and my) ongoing sin, we can boldly come to the throne of grace. Our weakness, and residual sin does not create a barrier to God in prayer. We can pray confidently in spite of our weakness. And we know that God is working through our prayers to establish his kingdom and make his name hallowed to the ends of the earth. Today, is also a good day to reflect back on the last six-weeks. Have you developed new patterns which have been life giving and beneficial. Have you seen answers to prayer? Have you learned new things about God or about being a disciple? Take some time to consider these things. Then, I invite you to share. 1.) Tell people around you about what you are thinking. (Family, small group, etc.) 2.) You are welcome to comment on this blog post. (Normally, posts are turned off, because I don't have an ongoing plan to monitor this part of the blog, but for this post it will be turned "on.") 3.) I will be spending the week after Easter listening to our congregation and reflecting on what I have learned. If you would like to share with me directly (please do), you can reach me at [email protected]. I will be looking for ways to incorporate the observations of our entire congregation into the worship service on Sunday, April 7. Finally, I look forward to seeing many of you on Easter Sunday! Thanks for joining us on this exiting prayer journey and I look forward to hearing the ways that God has been at work! -Matt Koerber
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Tomorrow will be our final post in the prayer series. Remember to join us for the Good Friday Service, 7:00 PM at First Baptist Church in Oakland, 159 North Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. (MK)
Day #40: "Jesus Prays in Gethsemane" (Ben Chidester) Mark 14:32-36 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Is it sinful to ask God to remove us from trials? To cry out to Him for relief when they seem too heavy to bear? As the hour of his crucifixion drew near and the weight of the task bore down on him, Jesus for a time became exceedingly sorrowful. So much so, that he prayed for his Father to remove him from this trial. At first glance, that might seem scandalous. How can any trial be too great for God? How can any trial cause God to feel sorrow and anguish? But we forget that Jesus is not only fully God, but he is also fully man. And as a man, he experienced the psychological anguish of the task before him: bearing the punishment of the sins of the world. There are times when our sins are brought before us and we sense acutely their deserved guilt. But can we even imagine facing the punishment of our sins and others? Thanks be to God that we never need face that – not even the punishment due our own sins. But thanks also that our God is a compassionate, heavenly Father who understands our frail human frame. We can tell him when we are sinking beneath the weight of trials, and we can even be so bold, as Jesus was, to pray that God would remove the trial from us. Ultimately, we must be willing to obey God in all things, as Jesus was, and we must not resist what he has clearly revealed. But to bring before him our frailty and our sorrow and to ask him to make another way if possible... is no sin at all – it is our acknowledgment that we are human. Are you walking through a trial right now that feels too great for you? To follow in the steps of Jesus through trials is to express to God the sorrow you may be feeling and even to be so bold as to ask God if another means of accomplishing his will through you might be possible. But ultimately, we must be willing to follow the Lord wherever he would call. When that seems too difficult, remember that the Lord has walked those steps before you. He knows our frame; he remembers that we are but dust. He has even taken our frail, dusty frame upon himself to journey to the Cross. Thanks to him, we never have to endure the burden of the guilt and punishment our sins deserve. Let us follow in his steps, sacrificially laying down our own will, and praying to God: “not my will, but yours be done.” Day #39: "Jesus Prays for Us... and for the Watching World"- John 17 Part 3 (MK)
Following up on Luke's reflections on John 17, I thought that we could squeeze one more reflection out of this important passage. Known as the "High Priestly Prayer", this prayer from the night of Christ's betrayal extends throughout an entire chapter. After looking at the themes of "glory" and "prayer in the name of Jesus", there is one more theme to examine in this passage. That is the theme of "witness." John 17:20-26 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” The first thing that I notice in the passage is that Jesus is praying for us. After praying for the disciples that were gathered with them, Jesus turns his attention to future disciples. He prays, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word (v.20.)" Now, we can certainly extrapolate prayers for the disciples and apply them to all Christians. That is legitimate, given their representative role. So, the things Jesus had been praying for throughout the beginning of the passage do apply to us. But here, Jesus makes a point of extending his prayer to "all those who will believe." That includes Christians down through the ages, and it includes the church today. Isn't it cool to know that on his last night before the cross... Jesus was thinking of you? The second thing that I notice is what Jesus prays for. He prays for the unity of his Church, "that they may be one even as we are one (v.22.)" Now, there is a lot to be desired when we think about Church unity.* The Christian church is separated by divisions and many local congregations are stratified by sociological markers. Even our existing congregations fall short of ideal unity. But it really is a glass-half-full kind of situation. On one hand, we have a long way to go to display the kind of unity that is prayed for here. On the other hand, there are many visible displays of unity which we can celebrate. Our congregations do include people who would otherwise have very little in common. The churches in our denomination are connected in meaningful ways across our region and our country. We regularly pray for and connect with Christians doing ministry across the world. (We will hear some of those stories at our Easter Sunday breakfast.) Finally, we see regular connections that transcend denominational ties. On Good Friday we will gather with Christians from over a half-dozen churches to remember the sacrifice of Jesus. It is appropriate for us to long for a greater Christian unity, but we don't want to miss celebrating the ways this prayer is already being answered in the course of our ongoing ministry. Given what we know about human nature, it is clearly a mark of God's redeeming grace when we see the (limited) unity that we do have. Third, I notice the intended result of this prayer. The unity of the Church will be something that Jesus uses for a purpose. He prays that, "they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me (v.22b.)" The love that Christians have for one another becomes part of our witness to the mission and message of Jesus.** I think that is an important consideration for this Easter season. The three services that we will hold (Good Friday, Sunrise Service, and Easter Sunday) will be some of our highest attendance events of the year. They are opportunities for visitors to hear the message of the Gospel and see God's people gathering for worship. Good Friday, in particular, will be a display of Christian unity that transcends our denominational boundaries. Jesus prayed that our witness would cause the world to know Him. As our season of intentional prayer draws to a close, let's pause to pray for our friends and neighbors who are not (yet) disciples. Let's prayerfully consider who we might invite to join with us in this season of Gospel celebration. And let's pray that through this witness the world may know that Jesus was sent for salvation. * Editor's Note: I realized this morning while looking over my own post, that I had failed to mention a very obvious and important connection. The Thursday before Easter is historically called "Maundy Thursday." The word Maundy comes from the Latin word "mandate" and refers to the New Commandments (or "mandate") that Jesus gave to his disciples. This commandment was to love one another. It is not completely new information - the OT included ideas about love for neighbors and for others in the family of God - but it places a new emphasis on this important command. Furthermore, this prayer for unity is a natural extension of Christ's concern for our expression of mutual love. Unity is bound up with our calling to love one another. ** There is a theological connection between Christian unity and the Trinity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct "persons" within the one substance of God. Within God, there is both unity and distinction. In a similar way, Christians are wonderfully distinct from one another. We have different genders, ages, ethnic backgrounds, life situations, and gifts. (To name a few differences...) And yet, we are all sons of God through faith and we are all part of the one bride of Christ. So, when we are able to maintain relationships across our differences, we become mirrors of the unity and diversity that are within the Triune God. I think that this is why Jesus connects the unity of the church to the revelation of the Father sending the Son (v.22.) Just as the one God contains both a sender and one who was sent, and just as the one God includes God's triune work of salvation (Father plans, Son accomplishes, Spirit applies redemption), so to the Church contains a diversity of people who are united in their common salvation and common purpose. Day #38: God’s Name – John 17 Part 2 (Luke Kephart)
In the Toy Story movies, a prominent theme revolves around the idea that the toys belong to Andy. Even as Buzz Lightyear, convinced he's a real space ranger, proudly shares, “Say there, Lizard and Stretchy Dog, let me show you something. It looks as though I've been accepted into your culture. Your chief, Andy, inscribed his name on me” (The name "ANDY" is written on his boot). Both respond, “Wow! Rex adds, “With permanent ink too!” Having Andy’s name means that they know who they belong to, and that being one of Andy’s toys is somehow special. Using permanent ink implies that this will never change. We also bear God’s name, and today we are going to look at how that happens and what it means. John 17:1–26 (ESV): 17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Earlier in our 40 days of prayer, Joe Stehle explored Jesus’ role as our high priest mediating for us, and that he also offers himself as the sacrifice for us, and in so doing reconciles us to God. In the wilderness, Aaron, as the high priest, was given this familiar form to bless the people of God: "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" (Numbers 6:24-26, ESV). In my former church as an elder I often gave the benediction, and this passage was a favorite. Then one day when preparing, I took particular note of the next verse, 27, which says, “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” Wow! I wasn’t exactly sure what this meant, but somehow this blessing associated the people of God with His Name. I began including it when I used this as a benediction. Praying that God would put His name on us as His people. When I read John 17 in order to write these blogs, I recognized the same name concept is also here in Jesus’ words, He:
Now read vs 27 this way. “So shall [my Son] put my name upon [my people], and I will bless them.” God’s name is on us! But, who are "my people"? Looking again at John 17, we can see the answer. “The people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.” (vs 6-8) That’s us. So, what does having God’s name on us mean? In many ways it is like the idea from Toy Story. As with the toys, the name means that we know who we belong to, and we are set apart as children of God. But the analogy only goes so far. Unlike with the toys, our acceptance is truly permanent. Our God never forgets or neglects us, in fact, He has had a plan for us since the beginning and He has given us to Jesus to do everything necessary to bring about the blessings that He has promised. In yesterday’s post we saw what Jesus has done and is doing on our behalf. One of those things is praying for us. What is He asking for?:
As I wrote and re-wrote the posts for yesterday and today, I realized that Jesus sums up His whole ministry in this prayer.
As you go to prayer consider especially what Jesus asks for us (in bold above), and think about how we participate in them. Day #37: "God’s Glory - John 17 Part 1" (Luke Kephart)
As Jesus approaches the crucifixion, His prayers give us unique insights into His mindset, offering a window into the thoughts that consumed Him as He prepared to fulfill the mission entrusted to Him. John 17 captures this pivotal moment, occurring at the conclusion of the Passover meal, just after Jesus forewarns His disciples of the challenging times ahead. Chapter 16 ends with “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” The prayer in John 17 that follows is intentionally shared with the disciples, and with us. “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. (John 17:13) Let’s take a look. John 17:1–26 (ESV): 17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” A central theme in this profound prayer is God's glory. As Jesus prays, He begins as He taught His people to pray giving glory to God (Matt 6:9). The term "Hallowed" in the ESV, related to "Holy," emphasizes the separateness and set-apart nature of God. Jesus claims this glory as His own (vs 1), grounded in:
Jesus then goes on to pray for “the people whom you gave me out of the world” (vs 6). “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (vs 9) He prays for:
As we reflect on the prayer in John 17 and the theme of God's glory, it is important to consider specific facets that resonate with our understanding of the Father, the Son, and ourselves. One aspect of the Father's uniqueness lies in His boundless love for us, a love identical to the affection He has for the Son, as highlighted in verse 23: "...so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me." This profound love is manifested in the Father sending His Son to make it possible for us to be given eternal life (vs 3). Jesus' prayer in John 17 exudes confidence in the completion of His divine work, assuring us that God's plan will undoubtedly unfold. Consider these statements of Jesus regarding what he has done and is doing:
Following this prayer, as Jesus enters the garden, the other gospels present a different view, where Jesus, expressing His humanity, faces the trials to come. In that moment, He confirms His obedience to the Father. That obedience was already assured and is reflected in this earlier prayer. and Jesus not only displays obedience but also makes a conscious choice to save us, declaring in verse 19, "And for their sake, I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." As we engage in prayer today, think about these truths:
As we enter the final week of our reading/prayer program, we will turn our attention to the prayers of Jesus which were made at the end of his life. We know from the Gospel's that Jesus was frequently praying and many of his prayers were recorded. The ones that are associated with the last stage of his life are particularly noteworthy.
Day #36: Jesus Laments Over Jerusalem (MK) The Scripture that we read below occurs during the final week of his life, when Jesus was in Jerusalem. After his triumphal entry, Jesus shook things up in the temple. He kicked out the money changers and disrupted the vital center of religious and economic activity. As you can imagine this really got the attention of the religious leaders! The chief priests, the Sadducees, the Pharisees and the "elders of the people" all took turns trying to challenge him in public arguments, but with no success. Jesus responds with a host of denunciations for them, and then this lament. Matthew 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Now, I have to admit that it is not absolutely clear that this is a prayer. It is not certain that Jesus was saying this to God. However, it has a great deal in common with Old Testament prayers of lament. In fact, most Bibles title this section, "Lament Over Jerusalem." Earlier in our series we discussed many of the types of prayers that are found in the Bible, especially in the Psalms. We discussed prayers of praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition, and even imprecation. Another type of prayer that we did not discuss is the lament. Many of the Psalms are described as Psalms of Lament. In fact, an entire book of the Bible, reflecting on the fall of Jerusalem is called, Lamentations. For modern people, this is one of our least common forms of prayer. Perhaps this is because we are good at shielding ourselves from pain, or at least good at creating the illusions of control. A prayer of lament expresses our sorrow to God and puts it in his presence. Often, we may move on to ask God to do something about the problem. Again, as modern people we tend to skip ahead to this part and just start asking for help. But lament is a significant part of our human experience and an important part of our connection to God. If the main point of prayer, is about deepening our relational connection to God, then lament is an important part of that process. In lament, we connect our pain to God. We acknowledge our disappointment and sorrow and we place these things before our Heavenly Father. We do this knowing that he can work right now to fix our problems. We do this knowing that he will one day fix our whole broken world and renew our broken lives. But we also do this knowing that we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weakness (Heb 4.) Jesus knows what it is like to face disappointment and frustration. In this prayer he acknowledges that he "longed to gather" his people into his care, like a mother hen with her chickens. And yet he knows, that this desire will be left unanswered. He has been shown the path and he knows that it will lead to his rejection and crucifixion and that one day judgment will once again fall on Jerusalem. I have two thoughts about this. First, I am struck by the sorrow that Jesus shows for his enemies. The people who have rejected him and the work of God's Messiah are the very people that Jesus laments. We might have expected him to lash out in anger. Instead, he expresses sorrow for their woeful choice. Are there ways in which it would be helpful for us to lament the enemies of God that we find threatening to the church? Second, I am considering the alternatives that we use in place of lamenting. In other words, what do you do when you fail to lament something that is sorrowful. Do you burry it in a mountain of distractions? Do you lash out in anger? Do you retreat in silent despair? Do you grasp after some way to get even or settle the score of strike back at your enemies? In the shadow of the cross, facing the rejection of his own people, Jesus chose to lament and express sorrow over their disastrous choices. What are the things in your life that you need to bring before God in lament? Day #35: Prayer for Abundant Love
This Sunday we will be looking at Paul's prayer for the Philippian church in which he asks God to cause their love to abound. Have you ever prayed that you would love people more? Or do our prayers to often stop at the edge of our felt needs. To take it a step further, have you prayed that someone else would be a more loving person? In my experience, God seems to act quickly to answer such prayers, even though we don't often think to pray this way. Praying for love can seem a little vague. Thankfully, Paul fleshes out the concept of "love" and also demonstrates what it looks like as he cares for the Philippian church. The worship service is livestreamed on our YouTube channel and is saved afterward: 2024/03/24 CRPC Palm Sunday Worship Service Livestream (youtube.com) Here is the sermon text: Philippians 1:3-11 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. This is our final post in Daniel's series on historic practices of prayer. Next week we will be reading and reflecting on prayers that Jesus said during the last week of his life. On Saturday we will have our final post, which looks back on our prayer program together. (MK)
Day #34: "Singing as Prayer" (Daniel Snoke) The church has been singing since it began. There are many places we could point to biblically and historically about the connection between prayer and singing, but St. Augustine summarized this well when he said, "he who sings prays twice". By this he meant that singing is not just an intellectual ascent to God, but an embodied participation in his grace. Below is an excerpt from my essay on why Christians sing, which will help us understand how singing deepens our prayers. In Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis talks about how the expression of an emotion is the completion of that emotion. As we experience the emotion of joy when we look at a sunset, our natural response is to turn to our friends and invite them to express with us how beautiful it is, “Wow! Isn't that a great sky!” Lewis argues that until we give voice to our experiences and invite others into them, our emotions are incomplete. In the same way, we might understand thankfulness on an intellectual level, but until we express it to others, our thankfulness is incomplete. In Ephesians 5, when Paul commands us to “be filled with the Spirit” and the actions that accompany it, he is not giving us an impossible task. Rather, he is showing us how to embrace our union with Christ through the actions of worship. When he tells the church to sing, he wants us to not just comprehend God, but to receive his grace and presence through the means of singing. God wants us to express and complete our thoughts and emotions through singing, so much so that there are more than 50 direct commandments to sing in the Bible, and even more discussion of songs. So what is “singing,” and how do we do it? Colossians 3:16 is another famous passage that commands Christians to sing, and it will help us answer these questions. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” First, singing involves our minds. When Paul exhorts us as believers to let Christ’s word dwell in us, he connects teaching to singing. Our songs have lyrics, and they do not just exist to complement the melody, but they guide our thoughts to God’s truth. Some scholars think “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” is referencing different sections of the Psalter, while most interpret it more broadly. Either way, it is clear that our singing is supposed to form our minds and highlight God’s word. Many of us can quote scripture or understand theology because we have learned songs that teach us and help us memorize content. Christianity is a faith built upon evidence and facts, so our singing requires our understanding. Christ is the Word Made Flesh, and so our minds are required when we unite ourselves to him. In Colossians, Paul wants our singing to be specific and to engage the details of our thoughts and beliefs. I know a lot of people who feel manipulated when they are asked to sing in worship. Sometimes it is because of their own hard hearts, but often it is because our songs lack the intellectual depth to give them a reason to sing. We would never ask someone to buy a used car before they knew what kind of car it was and what its history was. We need knowledge before we commit, and the same is true for singing. We cannot ask christians to emotionally commit to a vague idea of religion. Instead, our singing should play a part in telling the story of redemption. This does not mean we can never sing a simple song, but it does mean that the context and content of a song matters. Our worship is not just an attitude or general feeling; it is an expression of specific emotions that are driven by particular truths. Second, singing involves your body. It might seem obvious, but you cannot sing without your body. Your head vibrates, your core muscles tense and relax, your mouth moves, and your limbs keep rhythmic time. Paul wants us to not just understand Christ’s word, but to embody it, letting it “dwell in” us. Songs that stick with you have a special power because when you sing, the words become yours, not just ideas you receive. In Genesis, God made mankind in his image, including the ability to embody ideas and creatively express them. To sing something, you need a rhythm and a melody. This requires you to comprehend lyrics not just on a philosophical level, but in an artistic and interpretive way as well. You are required to ask what “grace” might feel or sound like physically, not just what it means. As the second person of the Trinity, Christ has a physical body, which means he has a literal human voice. As we worship with him, our physical voices echo his. When we worship together as a church, our individual bodies are joined into a corporate body. Earlier in Colossians chapter 1, Paul talks about how we are the body of Christ. This is not just a metaphysical reality, but a tangible, physical one as well. This is perhaps best realized when the church sings. When a multitude of people join their voices together, individual physical sound waves unite and become one. Harmony of music is a physical manifestation of many becoming one. When churches do not sing, or sing songs that are hard for the average person to perform, or create an atmosphere where the corporate voice is diminished, the physical reality of our worship is lost. It is easy to use music to over spiritualize or intellectualize worship in an effort to achieve a sense of personal intimacy with Jesus, but when we do, we lose the manifestation of Christ himself here and now in the presence of his gathered people. Paul wants our singing to embrace the physical reality of the church, both individually and corporately. Third, singing involves your spirit. Paul says our hearts should be engaged in singing, not just our intellects and bodies. It is not enough to make noise and understand ideas, we are also supposed to sing from our hearts. Singing often leads our hearts away from selfish emotions and into ones that we ought to feel instead. This is what Paul is getting at in Colossians when he commands us to have thankful hearts while we sing. We often think or act like we have no control over what we feel, but Paul wants us to be able to choose what we cultivate in our hearts. Singing lets us express and choose the emotion we embody through song. Mr. Fred Rodgers understood this when he wrote the children’s song, What Do You Do With The Mad That You Feel: “[...]It's great to be able to stop When you've planned a thing that's wrong, And be able to do something else instead And think this song: I can stop when I want to Can stop when I wish I can stop, stop, stop any time. And what a good feeling to feel like this And know that the feeling is really mine. Know that there's something deep inside[...]” What Fred Rodgers is getting at is the fact that we can own our emotions through our actions. We do not need to be a slave to our feelings, but through our expression, we can lead our hearts. As we choose to express thankfulness while we sing, we may not always feel very authentic, but we are training our hearts to make room for thankfulness and we grow our capacity for its reality within us. Christ himself sang the Psalms and expressed a wide range of emotion through them. On the cross, he sang Psalm 22, crying out in anguish on our behalf. When Paul says to sing the Psalms, he meant all the Psalms, including the ones Christ sang in agony and despair. The Psalms deeply express a very wide range of emotion, not just joy and thankfulness. They are full of lament, anger, sorrow, despair, pain, joy, love, peace... For our worship to truly involve our spirits and not just our minds and bodies, we must include the full range of emotion in our singing. If Christians only sang happy or victorious songs, we would live skewed emotional lives. I have talked to many Christians who struggle to understand God in the midst of pain and sorrow. In part, this is because they have only sung songs about his glory or majesty. They need songs to sing that also include God’s sorrow over pain and his anger towards injustice. Singing has an amazing way of engaging every aspect of our beings; mind, body, and spirit. It is no wonder then, that both scripture and church tradition have highlighted it as an important means of uniting ourselves to Christ in worship. Day #33: The Sermon on the Mount Part 3: Prayer and the Sovereignty of God (Dave Snoke)
Matthew 6:8 “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” It’s possible to get tied in knots about cause and effect when we think of prayer. If God knows what we need before we ask, why ask? For that matter, if God ordains all things that come to pass (e.g., Romans 11:36), what role can prayer have in anything? We don’t seem to have the same philosophical problems in thinking about other things we do. We cook food for ourselves, and don’t say, “If God ordained for me to have food, it would just appear, and I wouldn’t need to cook!” We put on clothes, and don’t say, “If God ordained for me to not be naked, clothes would just appear on me!” No, we understand that both can be true, that God can ordain something to come about, and also that my actions can be the means that God uses to bring that about. My actions don’t always bring about what I intend, and sometimes things happen without me doing anything, but often and normally, God works through our actions. Prayer is no different. One can say that “Things happen when we pray that don’t happen when we don’t pray.” God is pleased to use our prayers as one of the means of having his goals come about. This doesn’t mean that our prayers work by changing God’s mind, making him do something he didn’t want to do. As C.S. Lewis wrote in The Magician’s Nephew, “Wouldn't he know without being asked?' said Polly. 'I've no doubt he would,' said the Horse... 'But I've a sort of an idea he likes to be asked.” God is very often in the Bible depicted as responding to our prayers. He may wait until we ask before acting. That is not because he does something he doesn’t want to do, but because he is pleased to used our prayers as part of the process. When you pray, ask and call out for what you believe is good, having faith that God can do it, and knowing that he loves to bless and give good things. Don’t view your prayers as just a religious duty or one that makes you more spiritual, but as something that can actually change the course of human history (for example, think of the Israelites calling out to God, and God answering by freeing their whole nation; see Exodus 2:23-25), and as something that can change the lives of the people around you. Day #32: "Sermon on the Mount Part 2: How to Ask" (Dave Snoke)
Matthew 6:5-7 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.…And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words." (also) James 1:6-8 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (and) James 4:3-4 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” Yesterday, we discussed how we shouldn’t think that we need to use a special formula to get God to answer our prayers. But the Bible also tells us that certain ways of approaching God can hinder our prayers being answered. That is, God may deem some prayers, even of his children, as unacceptable. The verses above, and others, tell us that the following can hinder our prayers:
This doesn’t mean that we have to be sinless to pray to God! But it does mean that we need to re-orient ourselves toward God when we pray. This is one reason why the Lord’s Prayer taught by Jesus includes confession of sin. After a short foray into the prayers of OT saints, we move on to the prayers of Jesus. After a short (3 part) series on the teaching of prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, we will close the series next week by looking at the prayers of Jesus during the final week of his life. (MK)
Day #31: "Sermon on the Mount Part 1: Ask Your Father" (Dave Snoke) 1 John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” The New Testament has many verses like these, that tell us to ask God expectantly, with the attitude that he loves to give his people good gifts. Sometimes Christians get discouraged, however, in having the experience of asking God for something that he does not give. That might lead some people to not ask boldly: “Whatever you want to do, God, just go ahead and do it!” I remember a fellow telling me years ago that he had a Presbyterian friend who came to visit him in the hospital, and prayed, “God, if it is your will, heal him, but if not, let him die.” Then a Baptist friend came and prayed, “God, we call out as your children, please heal him!” My friend said, “I felt better after the Baptist prayer!” We do have to be careful not to think that if we ask something in the proper way, it will force God to do it, like a cosmic machine with a special unlock code. That is a type of “shamanism”—trying to use a magic formula to get what we want. God is a Person, and as such, has his own free will and cannot be forced to do our will. But that doesn’t mean we should view his actions as random! Like a good father, he delights to give us good things, and to do things that bless his church collectively. For a small child, it may seem that the parents’ actions are random— “sometimes I get what I ask for, and sometimes not!” —but a good parent actually has a plan for good, including often giving children what they like. There is an analogy with evangelism. We cannot say that if we do evangelism just right, we will force people to become Christians. Only God can change a heart. But God tells us that if we talk openly of the Gospel, he will bless it, and hearts will be changed. “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” (John 4:35) Like a farmer, we plant seeds, but God gives the growth. We don’t know that every seed will grow, but we know that sowing seeds leads to harvest. In the same way, we know that sowing prayers leads to God’s blessing both for us and for his church. God is not committed to always giving us health and wealth, but he does love to do what leads to blessing among his people. In both evangelism and prayer, God involves us in the process of his blessings. Day #30: Hannah's Prayer (Ben Chidester)
In the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, we read of a story of a man with two wives: one who had borne him many children and another, Hannah, who had borne none. You can imagine the sadness that Hannah felt. For many of us, the longing for children is deep and strong; to be deprived of that blessing and joy is a hard calling to bear. Struggles with infertility can be deeply painful and personal in our day as well. (See note below.) And as if that reality were not hard enough, the other wife made it worse by boasting of her many children and taunting and provoking Hannah. On top of the emotional pain, Hannah experienced shame. As we read the story, we wonder “will God not vindicate Hannah? Will He not lift her up and humble her rival?” Hannah’s plight parallels that of Christians in this world. Evil and sin often seem to be more fruitful than righteousness. Sometimes, it seems like the wicked are blessed more than the upright. And evil is often provoking and taunting us. The devil strives to cast doubt upon the fruitfulness of the ministry of the Gospel. He brings our sin to mind and points out the lack of fruit in our lives. Hannah’s character in the midst of her trial is an example to us. She does not allow the boasts of her rival to get to her. Instead, she commits herself to prayer and her plight to the Lord. In His timing, the Lord answers her prayer and gives her a son, Samuel, and in response, she prays the following prayer of praise: (1 Samuel 2:1-10) And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world. “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” Hannah’s prayer is an encouragement to us to keep walking in the way of the Lord, in spite of opposition. It is also an example of how to pray in the face of the oppression of the evil one. Her prayer is directed to God, but it is also a proclamation to the worldly powers that God is good and He is sovereign. When the devil boasts and seeks to discourage us, we can defy him by proclaiming, like Hannah, what God is like and reminding him that God will have, and indeed already has, the victory. Several hundred years after Hannah, Jesus’ mother Mary prayed a prayer very similar to Hannah’s, in which she too praises the Lord’s righteousness and faithfulness. It was also a response to the Lord’s blessing of a long-awaited child, but this child was much greater than Hannah’s son Samuel. This child would be the one to ultimately vindicate God’s ways and to bring down the powers of evil. It is because of Him, that we can pray confidently like Hannah and Mary and proclaim to our adversary that he shall be “broken to pieces” and “brought low” and that the Lord and His Anointed will be exalted. Editor's Note: For couples struggling with infertility, the many Biblical stories about miraculous conceptions can feel like salt being rubbed in a wound. Sometimes, well-meaning Christians can further grind in the salt with careless words of encouragement and false promises. We should be careful to understand what is (and what is not) being promised in regard to our desire for children. There are many Biblical stories about people struggling with fertility and then getting pregnant. Abraham and Sarah, are another example. For some people that sort of experience matches their own. They struggled with infertility and then, God answers their prayers and they have a kid. But for other Christians, the story does not end that way. When the waiting of prayers extends beyond a certain period of time and life stage, it can become clear that procreation is not happening. These sorts of stories can become particularly painful when it seems like God does not answer our prayer. How do we read this story in a way that makes sense of those realities? First of all, we have to recognize that the Bible does not promise that every Christian will be able to have children, even if they want them. For some of us, marriage does not become an option. For others, the struggle with infertility does not culminate in conception. This is not the result of someone lacking faith or failing in any way. We live in a fallen world with broken bodies and sometimes our natural longings are met with frustration. Secondly, it is helpful to remember the way some of these stories relate to the unfolding of God's Old Testament promises. The center of the story about Abraham and Sarah is God's promise to bless the world through Abraham's offspring (Gen 12:1-4.) When Sarah remained childless, it is not just a personal disappointment, but it calls God's plan of redemption into question. Interestingly, the conception of Jesus is, to my knowledge, the last miraculous conception recorded in the Bible. Of course, God continues to answer prayers. Sometimes he does provide miraculous healing and sometimes miraculous conceptions. (Only Jesus was a sinless and virginal miraculous conception.) But sometimes God does not heal us and sometimes our disappointments continue. This is a hard reality we wrestle with. But in terms of the Biblical story, Jesus concludes the promise to Abraham to bless the world through a lineage of offspring. Jesus is the chosen "seed of Abraham" and after his resurrection, the Biblical interest in genealogies and conceptions seems to fade into the background. Third, while God does not promise to heal every disease in this life or overcome every struggle with infertility, he does promise to work redemptively in our disappointments. For some couples, their struggle with infertility moves toward the beautiful resolution of adoption. Far from being second-best, adoption brings redemptive transformation into hard experiences. This is not surprising given that God uses the language of adoption to describe his relationship to the church (Gal 4:4-7.) For this reason, theologian J.I Packer argues that the theological concept of spiritual adoption (by God) is the highest Christian teaching. Human adoption reflects this beautiful truth and shares some of the same redemptive beauty. Personally, my life has been richly blessed by family members and church members that I have gained through adoption. For others, the disappointments of family may culminate in our church relationships. The church is called the family of God (Eph 2:20-22.) When Jesus called people to follow him, he warned that it would be costly. Sometimes it would mean the loss of family relationships. For some people, following Jesus means saying "no" to an ungodly romantic relationship or introducing tension into a family relationship. But, in the immediate context of this warning, Jesus promises that through his church we will receive 100-fold family connections in this life and into eternity. The promise is so good it is worth reading in its entirety (below.) None of these struggles are easy and nothing I am saying here makes the pain entirely go away. But I encourage you to follow Hannah in pouring your heart out to God, and to lean into your spiritual family in pouring out your disappointments to your church and friends. (MK) Mark 10:29-30 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Sorry for the slight delaying getting this up, I made a mistake about the scheduling of this post. (MK)
Day #29: Daniel's Prayer of Confession (David Bacon) Daniel 9:1-5, 11-12, 18-19 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules... 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem... 18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” Daniel’s prayer of confession from Daniel, chapter 9, is my favorite prayer that I have studied in the past five years. From the prior chapters in the book of Daniel, we have seen him act righteously before Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius. Each account shows that he is faithfully obedient to God in the face of danger. Now we get this account where Daniel not only has kept in mind God’s promise from 70 years prior but uses this awareness to come before God in an amazingly humble confession of sin! Why is HE confessing? When I have to discipline my kids, they are usually only ready to come forward with an apology after the punishment is over and they feel restored to my good graces. Even then, 8 times out of 10 they’re only sorry because they got caught and punished for the infraction, not for the actual sin itself. This is very different from Daniel’s prayer of confession. He is aware of the reasons behind Judah’s punishment and the current exilic state that has been brought upon them. That’s a major component of confessional prayers: acknowledging our true state. In this chapter, Daniel acknowledged the sin of his people (vs. 8,10,11a). He uses the phrase “we have sinned” 4 times in verses 5-15. He used first person plural language by saying “we,” not third person language by saying “they.” This is an acknowledgement of corporate sins as a nation. Daniel was pretty young when he was taken in exile to Babylon, yet he is still identifying with the sins of Judah because he is a part of that nation. We too should acknowledge how we have sinned not just individually but corporately. This is why when we confess our sins each Sunday we break it up into the verbal corporate confession of sins and then the private silent confession. We acknowledge that our sins are both corporate - as a nation, as a commonwealth, as a church - and our sins are personal. Daniel also acknowledges that this punishment was prophesied from the time of Moses (vs. 11b-14). In Deuteronomy, we get a number of passages where Moses is leaving parting words for the nation of Israel as his death approaches. Deuteronomy 28:15-68 describes what God will do to Israel if they disobey his commands. There are some particularly gruesome descriptions of how foreign nations will besiege a disobedient Israel and the horrors of what the Israelites would do during this besiegement. Daniel is knowledgeable of these curses. He knows that the exile is a direct result of Judah’s disobedience. We also should acknowledge what the just punishment is for our sin. I am not saying that all sorrow and calamity that may befall you is directly due to your sin. That was the error that Job’s friends made. Just as Jesus told his disciples that the blind man was not born blind because of his family’s sin (John 9:3), we cannot peg a curse or punishment to a particular sin unless it is specified in the bible. This is hard to do since there are no prophecies about the people of America in the 21st century. However, we can acknowledge that all have sinned and that sin deserves death and eternal punishment. Finally, Daniel acknowledges that only God could restore his people and only because of his great mercy. (vs 18). None of Daniel’s (or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s) righteous deeds are enough to save Judah. They needed God’s mercy and forgiveness to be restored. We too must acknowledge that the only hope we have is Christ. Praise God that when we confess our sins, we can hold fast to the hope found in Christ, the propitiation* for all of our sins. *Propitiation: (n) something that propitiates or appeases; Propitiate: (v) to gain or regain the favor or goodwill of Day #28: Nehemiah's Prayer
This Sunday, guest preacher Gavin Breeden will explore an Old Testament prayer from the book of Nehemiah. In the beginning of the book, we see Nehemiah's response to a difficult situation hemmed in by prayer. First, Nehemiah responds to news about the desolation of Jerusalem with a highly theological prayer which reflects on God's character, promises and past actions. In the next account Nehemiah responds to his invitation to the King by offering a quick and impromptu prayer. A praying life contains many forms of prayer and is flexible to respond as the need arises. The sermon will be livestream and recorded on the City Reformed Church YouTube station. City Reformed Presbyterian Church - YouTube 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” 4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king. 2:1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.” Day #27: Historic Prayers - Imagination, Spirituality, and the Rule of Life (Daniel Snoke)
James K. Smith says that, "love is the condition for knowledge." Pursuit of knowledge without a heart that loves is meaningless. God wants you to love him, and the love he placed within your heart for his good world will ultimately lead you to his grace in deeper and meaningful ways… if we let it. Some Protestants might find it surprising to know that creativity and imagination were important parts of historic Christian spirituality for a lot of church history. Today, most devotional material often isolates the internal experience of faith from the physical world. In fact, many Christians, without knowing it, fear that the physical stuff of life leads to idolatry and believe that true sincerity originates only from within our internal experiences. In this culture, our bodies have become distractions to true worship and our imaginations lead us to sinful practices. Even the popular term "devotions", by which Protestants mean "daily time with God", comes from the medieval practice of using private prayers during Mass to manage the inward affections of isolated individuals. Today, Christians are hyper-aware of their inward sincerity, but they often fail to recognize the power of imagination and physical expression to capture, disciple, and even sanctify their hearts. God made us as physical beings that cannot exist without community, and as such, our faith cannot exist outside of the physical cultures we live in. There is no such thing as a pure faith that is unaffected by human culture. As the philosopher and theologian John Frame says, "Sometimes we dream fondly of a 'purely objective' knowledge of God—a knowledge of God freed from the limitations of our senses, minds, experiences, preparation, and so forth. But nothing of this sort is possible, and God does not demand that of us. Rather, He condescends to dwell in and with us, as in a temple. He identifies Himself in and through our thoughts, ideas, and experiences. And that identification is clear; it is adequate for Christian certainty." We need a spirituality that recognizes God's condescension to us and embraces the physical and imaginative world he has given us. Our faith will become vital when we stop siphoning off our physical imaginations from our spirituality and learn to submit our whole selves, heart, mind, body, and strength, to God's revelation. The term, lex orandi, lex credendi, or "the rule of prayer is the rule of belief" was a mantra of many throughout church history, including St. Augustine. Many have taken this to mean that what we pray forms what we believe, but the heart of the statement gets at something much deeper. It says that how we pray, when we pray, and who we pray with not only forms our beliefs, but molds our entire lives. Deeper still, the equation often works in reverse too; how we live, who we live with, and the patterns we set change our prayers. If we live aesthetically anemic lives, our prayers will be thankless and dull. If we live every day striving for utility, our prayers will struggle to go beyond supplication, and we will fail to see God as a gracious Father who pours out blessings on his children. City Reformed abides by the Reformed "rule of faith", in which Scripture is the sole basis for our faith, but for many, it can be hard to apply that rule to daily spirituality. Instead of placing our spiritual vitality solely on "daily devotions", in which inward experiences are primary, many in the Christian faith also develop a "rule of life". A rule of life is a pattern of habits that seek to align our lives with the purposes of God. They are a system of beliefs and practices that flow out of our faith and in turn, form our faith. The rule of life recognizes that spirituality is much more than inward sincerity and that a strong faith engages every part of who we are. Christians have developed different patterns in every culture and time, but I have observed a kind of evangelical "rule" that often leaves out positive aesthetic experience and expression. The rule of life we typically hear about usually focuses on discipline and asceticism, and then we wonder why we struggle to pray longer than five minutes and for things beyond our immediate needs. Our rule of life should not just seek to shed sin and discipline ourselves into daily devotions, but it should also intentionally seek to submit our imaginations to God's Word and seek to participate with him with our physical expressions. As you consider developing a rule of life, let your love for the arts, creativity, and imagination lead your hearts to treasure God. Maybe for the first time, let your imagination be a lens you use to view God with. Do not fear your artistic instincts, rather, submit them to prayerful obedience to God's Word and express your thankfulness as his humble servants. For some, you might need to exercise creative muscles for the first time. There are a lot of ways to develop a rule of life, but consider these principles:
Day 26 – Paul’s Ephesian Prayers, #3 – Prayer as Armor (Jim Partridge)
Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. To close out this week of looking at Paul’s Ephesian prayers, we turn to the relatively familiar “spiritual armor” passage, Ephesians 6:10-20. You may remember growing up going to a Sunday school or VBS in which we were given the role of a single Roman soldier who was then outfitted with the various pieces of spiritual armor. He had the belt of truth (v.14), and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (v.17). We were told that the sword was the only “offensive” weapon at our disposal. The problem with this scenario is that we were leaving out the critical and most prominent 7th piece of armor, which is prayer (v.18-20). The other flaw in this scenario is that Paul was never meaning for this text to be taken individualistically. Roman soldiers never fought alone, they fought as part of the Roman phalanx, a division of soldiers linked together; Paul was not equipping an individual soldier, but instead outfitting an army of saints. And don’t you know...the original Greek contains 4 plural pronouns and 14 plural verbs that reflect this communal aspect of Ephesians 6: 10-17. Translated by Paul Miller: Finally, all of you be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Together, put on the whole armor of God, that all of you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, all of you take up the whole armor of God, that together you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and together having done all, to stand firm. All of you stand therefore, together having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for all your feet, having together put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up together the shield of faith, with which all of you can together extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and together take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Well, that gives quite a different sound, doesn’t it? And it underscores looking at prayer as the vital and most important weapon in our arsenal to combat sin, seek spiritual revival both personally and corporately and to do battle with the devil. As an application for these last 3 devotionals, can I suggest first of all that you seek out a community group in our body in order to get praying seriously with other brethren. CG’s are the lifeblood of our covenant community and are the place where real ministry is done; you cannot really connect with 250-325 people at corporate worship on a given Sunday. We now have 13 CG’s and are always looking to add to that number. Contact Pastor Joseph at [email protected] to get connected. We also have 2 standing online prayer meetings at CRPC that welcome participation. The first is our Wednesday morning prayer community that meets from 8:30-9:30 AM. We start around a scripture passage leading us into general prayers of thanksgiving and praise, then share requests from the participants and known church initiatives or needs for about 20-25 minutes. Then we pray over these needs conversationally for the last 20 minutes on the call. We end promptly at 9:30 to allow our church staff to start their Wednesday morning 9:35 staff meeting. Monday nights at 9 pm sharp features our half hour Global Missions Prayer time that was established by the Missions Committee in 2021 and consists of a Scripture reading, brief sharing of the needs of one of our Mission Partners, then focused prayer for that partner for the bulk of the 30 minutes. This year we also will have several “open” GMP’s to pray for regions of the world or for student outreach or other missional needs that we want to support in prayer. Do join us! Zoom links are to be found in the weekly bulletin, the church-wide Friday email or via the website. For questions or access problems, contact [email protected]. Day 25 – Paul’s Ephesian Prayers, #2 – Accessing the Power Train (Jim Partridge)
Text: Ephesians 3:14-21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Today we will delve into Ephesians 3:14-21, which happened to be the text for my NT exegesis paper while in seminary and also the text for my first seminary sermon. I remember being intrigued by the phrase “…according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church…”(v.20-21). Amazingly, 10 years later this same text was the highlight of author Paul Miller’s new book, A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World. This book was the basis of our recent A Praying Church seminar held in January. (In the interest of full disclosure, I will be drawing insights from that book into this devotional.) Miller’s first insight is that prayer accesses the spirit of Jesus, which can readily be seen in v.14-16. This is the beginning of what Miller describes as a pattern that he calls the church’s power train; prayer accesses the Spirit, who carries us to Jesus, where we find power, where we find the ability to live in a discouraging world and where we find “glory in the church” (v.21). It comes especially as God’s people pray together, such as is first seen in a 10-day prayer meeting in the book of Acts, starting with the disciples in the upper room (1:14) and culminating at the end of Pentecost with the disciples experiencing mass conversions at the end of Chapter 2. A similar display of corporate prayer leading to power is seen in Acts 4: 23-31. Miller states “prayer is the critical spark that brings this Spirit engine to life”, much like the spark of a plug that initiates the power train of a car. So, prayer is not just one more activity of the church, it properly lies at the heart of all the church’s ministry. And there is no special gift of prayer, it is not optional (like breathing!); it is for all of God’s people to participate in! The Lord Jesus in his ascended humanity was fully clothed in the Holy Spirit and that “clothing” is now experienced by the disciples as Jesus now gifts the church with the Spirit at Pentecost. So now we can say that as the fully human Jesus lives by the power of the Spirit, so do we. In v.17, Paul asks that Christ may dwell in the heart of his readers. Although as believers, that is already the case; what I believe he is asking for now is an experiential knowledge of that truth. So that the Ephesian brethren would be naturally given to love others (“rooted and grounded in love”) as well as be granted the strength of comprehension of the massive love of Christ for them, such that they are literally possessed by Christ and His love (v.19). This prayer is "cap-stoned" by the amazing doxology of v. 20-21, where Paul ties together these truths with powerful praise. He even invents a new Greek superlative word in v.20 to express himself, as he appears at a loss for words that already exist!! Ephesians 3:14-21 is a wonderful and comprehensive prayer that I have encouraged as many parents as I can to pray over their children as they seek their hearts to be changed toward the day when they experientially know the truth of Christ dwelling in their hearts by faith (v.17) and then find themselves expressing love as the fruit of that faith. Then they in turn are granted strength to comprehend the love of Christ for them (v.18-19). Pray this for yourself, pray this for friends dealing with besetting sins (like young men dealing with porn) as again this prayer goes straight to the heart and seeks to expel idols and replace them with a deep experiential knowledge of Christ and His love. Today we continue to look at prayers from the New Testament. Jim Partridge, a retired elder at City Reformed, has written several posts this week about Paul's prayers in the book of Ephesians. I am particularly thankful that he was willing to write about the realities of prayer and pain in his own life as he continues his fight against cancer. (MK)
Day #24 – Paul’s Ephesian Prayers, #1 – Praying with Depth and Boldness (Jim Partridge) Text – Ephesians 1: 15-23 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. The epistle of Paul to the Ephesians has been called “the gospel of the church”, and Paul the apostle in the first 3 chapters applies his apostolic calling to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up of the body of Christ” (Eph.4:12), even as he has the church apply in chapters 4-6 what he has taught in those first three chapters. The focus of Ephesians 1-3? A beautiful exposition of the doctrine of the church, which Paul does by with a combination of prayer and preaching and doxology (he at times interrupts his own prayer with a doctrinal exposition, then returns to his prayer). He prays about 45% of the time, most expansively in 1: 15-23 and 3: 14-21. So, Paul equips the saints to see the beauty of the church while simultaneously praying over his hearers/readers. Today we will consider the first prayer in Chapter 1, then tackle the prayer of Chapter 3 tomorrow. Finally, the apostle shows prayer to be the ultimate piece of spiritual armor and our greatest weapon. We will look at spiritual warfare (Eph 6:10-20) on Day 26 – stay tuned! Briefly, as one reads Eph.1:15-23, one can see a depth of content and expression that is frequently absent in our broad and shallow prayers... (“Lord, would you bless Tom today in his struggle against ____" … "Lord, would you make Joan’s procedure to go smoothly"… "Lord , help the boy!") Such prayers are not wrong or inherently deficient, but they lack depth, don’t they? And yet I often find this is how I pray for people. Too often the modus operandi of my prayers is that they are shallow and lack boldness. By contrast, we see in this text Paul praying boldly for “a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (v.17) for his readers. What does he ask for? Three things are petitioned: 1) enlightened "eyes" of the heart, so that his readers would know experientially the amazing hope that they are called to; 2) the riches of a glorious inheritance that they have as a people, and 3) immeasurable power that the Lord gives to His saints, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and then seated Him at the righthand of the Father in Heaven. This is a prayer of great depth over His readers! How often do we pray like this over our brethren? Think on these truths…meditate on them: Biblical hope, a glorious inheritance and power* that we access through our union with Jesus. All yours in Him, brethren! Tomorrow: thepower train, Eph.3:14-21. *Appendix: How do we handle perceived unanswered prayer? The disconnect we might feel between the power promised in passages such as the ones here in Ephesians, and our own experience? Not to mention what some have called the "extravagant promises" of our savior Jesus surrounding prayer. (John 14: 13-14, 15:7, 15:16b,16:23-24 and many more...) What happens when we compare this with long periods of waiting for God to fulfill His promises? As this is an appendix to an already long devotional, and on a really challenging topic, please do not expect a comprehensive answer to any of these questions. I would like to point you to some great resources to help you struggle with such good and honest inquiries. In Paul Miller’s first book on prayer, A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World, he devotes several chapters to address Jesus’ prayer promises and how we might faithfully approach them. He focuses on the barriers to asking or asking selfishly. In his second book, he deals with issues surrounding problems experienced in group prayer meetings, like overemphasis on medical issues or problems. All of these things he handles with remarkable grace. There are many other resources that I could point you to: Tim Keller’s, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering is helpful, as is another Paul Miller book, J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life. Let me focus the rest of this appendix on my own personal response to questions like these as I have encountered them over the almost 15 months since my cancer diagnosis. Pastor Matt asked me some of these questions just this last week and asked me to reflect on them in this blog. As he asked, I realized that several of these I really do not recall addressing in my thinking, so perhaps this blog can be a helpful journey for me to take even as I share with you! Let me say initially that I am so thankful for the clear Reformed theology taught at CRPC, as I feel that such teaching has made endurance of this trial that much easier. One example of this is that both Tracy and I believe we were spared concerns over the “Why?” questions so many struggle mightily with; as we have been taught a robust doctrine of the sovereignty of God and of His goodness. Against the backdrop of this teaching, such questions have not been an issue. Matt’s repeated emphasis on the realities of biblical faith being “hard” and yet the Lord being ever present IN the hard has been good preparation and help to sustain our journey. Let me give another very simple but hopefully not simplistic example. Psalm 103 has often been a favorite psalm of mine, and it was our part of our liturgy just last Sunday as our call to worship. It contains the tremendous promise that the Lord is the one who “heals ALL your diseases” (v.3). An emphasis on future hope contained in the gospel teaching week after week leads me to think and believe that the Lord in fact IS my healer and will heal this cancer either in this life or the next. He is not bound by time and will be true to His promise. Another help to our journey has been the tremendous gospel hope in the midst of reality contained in our music. These gospel psalms, hymns and spiritual songs have SO lifted Tracy and I week by week – kudos to our music team who pick great songs every week. One that we have sung perhaps not frequently is Whatever my God Ordains is Right and this song fills me with great hope as does Christ is Mine Forevermore. Thus through robust teaching/preaching and hymnody, we have been given a robust “theology of suffering” that I believed prepared us well for this trial – especially for one who really had no history of personal suffering prior to 12/19/22. (The date I was diagnosed with aggressive cancer.) Thanks be to our gracious God! I am going to stop here and offer if anyone reading wants further counsel on struggles they might be having surrounding the difficult questions posed in this appendix, please, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or call me at 412-417-9352 and I would be glad to pray with you and offer whatever help I might be able to provide. Day #23: Paul’s Prayer for Fellow Workers (Joe Stehle)
Paul is writing to his friends – “Philemon, our beloved fellow worker” along with Apphia, Archippus, and the church in his house. Although Paul has a significant request coming later in this letter, he starts with a sincere prayer that reminds me of the importance of our ministry relationships. Philemon 4-7 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all of the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. God has blessed City Reformed with a large congregation of people who are earnestly seeking to serve God and each other. When I look around and when I see people that I know, most of the time I can think of ways that I have seen them showing God’s love to each other. This provides joy and comfort, and it refreshes the hearts of the saints. I am truly thankful for that. Now, let’s look now specifically at Paul’s prayer. “I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers” does not tell us to do anything specific but it is Paul sharing a practice in a way that we can adopt. He thanks God each time he remembers them in prayer. The explicit message is thankfulness, so when we think of each other – either in a regular prayer time or just thinking of each other, please remember to give thanks to God. We can give thanks for the friendship of others and for how God shows his love through them. The implicit message is that we should be remembering each other in our prayers. That is easiest for the people we know well – family, close friends, community group members, pastors and staff – but Paul also identified “the church in your house” – which basically means every person. That does not mean that we each need to pray for several hundred people by name, but it does mean that we should actively try to know the people in the church, at least those with whom we interact, and to take opportunities to pray for them as God brings them to mind. “I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” The NIV version says “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Let’s be praying for each other to be active in sharing our faith – not necessarily preaching on a streetcorner, but always conscious of being an image of God’s love. The phrase “for the sake of Christ” or “in Christ” brings to mind the teaching we heard in the “Praying Church” seminar. I do not yet fully appreciate the full impact of praying to enable every good thing in us for the sake of Christ, so my request today is for you to pray for me (and all of us) that we can understand what that should mean to us as we pray for renewal as a praying church. This week we will be looking at examples of prayer in the New Testament. The first is a striking example from the early church found in the Book of Acts. (MK)
Day #22: "Believers Pray for Boldness" (Joe Stehle) Have you ever felt an earthquake? After graduation from Grove City, my first job took me to near San Jose, California. I had not experienced an earthquake growing up in Western PA, and so it was a very strange feeling when the room seemed to move and any hanging lamps started to sway. By God’s grace I was never in a bad earthquake, but each one that you feel really gets your attention. (If you are interested, ask me or find someone else who has lived in an earthquake area to tell you some earthquake stories.) Our scripture passage today ends with an earthquake in this attention-grabbing experience from Acts. Peter and John had been boldly preaching the resurrection of Jesus, and the Priests and Sadducees had them arrested. The next day they were questioned and told not to speak of Jesus. But they responded saying that they "cannot but speak of what they had seen and heard." We pick up the story there... Acts 4:23 – 31 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord. Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The Kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his anointed – for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. This significant incident in the early church has several important points for us, and a caution for us as Presbyterians. Let’s take the caution first. Vs 30 speaks of healing, signs and wonders. For many of us, our first reaction is to think that those things were limited to that apostolic time, and so we tend to gloss over them as not applicable to us. But I encourage us to look more carefully at what we can apply for ourselves. Peter and John had been preaching boldly about the resurrected Christ. As Christians today, I think we are familiar with the idea of Jesus having been raised from the dead. But they were speaking to their fellow Israelites, many of whom may have been in the crowd when he was crucified, or may know someone who saw it. Then they were arrested and told by the authorities to stop speaking about the resurrection. They responded that they had to say what they saw, and when they were released the first thing they did was to gather with friends and pray. Vs 24 starts “they lifted their voices together to God”, followed by praising God for who He is, what He has created, and His sovereign plan. (Which is an excellent example of small group prayer.) Vs 29 asks God to recognize the threats but grant them boldness to continue the message. Vs 31 speaks of the place they were gathered being shaken, then all being filled by the Holy Spirit and continuing to speak with boldness. They did not pray to be miracle workers – that was happening in Jesus’ name – but rather to “continue to speak boldly”. They were not asking for a great miracle for themselves, but just to be able to faithfully continue in the work they were already doing. As we read about and practice praying this spring, let’s remember this example. Facing the trial of being arrested and being warned to stop preaching, they gathered to pray. They praised God and prayed to be able to continue to do what they had been doing. Now, why the earthquake? I do not know with certainty, but my thought is that God wanted to make sure that Peter, John, and the rest of the group there felt certain that their prayers had been answered. As we gather to pray, we can be confident that God will answer us, even without an earthquake. We will explore the following Scripture passage in the Sunday Sermon at City Reformed Church. As we continue to look at what it means for us to pray in the midst of life's hardships, we will consider the difficult topic of disappointment in prayer. We will look at a passage where the Apostle Paul remembers how God refused to grant his request for the removal of a difficulty ("thorn in the flesh") and instead granted "sufficient grace" for Paul to continue in faithfulness.
Sunday's Livestream link is here: 2024/03/03 CRPC Communion Worship Service Livestream - YouTube Sermon: 2 Cor. 12:7-10 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. This is our second post from Daniel's series on historic forms of prayer. While most of our program will focus on prayers which are highly personal and often spontaneous, we wanted to give some consideration to expressions of prayer which come from historic practices. For centuries, large parts of the Christian world thought of prayers through the lens of liturgical cycles or monastic routines. As Daniel notes in his opening comments, modern people are always tempted to swing back-and-forth between extremes in our approach to worship and prayer. Historical reference helps us to learn from the wisdom of our ancestors and keep our own moment in perspective. (MK)
Day #20: "Prayer in Liturgical Patterns" (Daniel Snoke) In recent years, some reformed Christians view historical liturgical* patterns like the savior of postmodern worship, while others see evangelical freedom as the only cure for dead liturgies. There are endless books, rules, and traditions when it comes to "liturgical" forms of worship and prayer, and depending on what side of the spectrum you land, you may love or hate various aspects of the neo-liturgical worship in reformed circles. The most helpful way to view many historical patterns of liturgy are as long-form prayer. No matter what form of prayer you use, there is a pattern. Many protestants have adopted the famous ACTS pattern (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication), and there are many other "short form" patterns that are used in daily worship. However, there are two patterns of prayer that help us participate with God's grace over longer periods of time. Each have many variations, but as you seek to engage in prayer, consider how you might adopt longer patterns of prayer that add focus and rhythm to your entire life. Two you can consider are: 1) Praying the Hours The early monastic movement began to set patterns for communal worship and life, and over the centuries we have received what many traditions call the daily office, or praying the hours. They are: middle of the night (Vigils), morning prayer (Lauds), midmorning prayer (Terce), midday prayer (Sext), midafternoon prayer (None), evening prayer (Vespers), and night prayer (Compline). Some traditions provide lectionaries to guide you through reading the Bible, but many variations can be found. The purpose is not to make a new law for yourself(!), but to view the natural circadian rhythms of the day as part of your constant return to God's grace. Many of our prayers in the modern world suffer because we forget that we are but creatures, created by God from dust. Praying the hours helps you remember that you are finite and completely reliant on God for every good thing. During my sabbatical in 2019, my wife Bethany, our 6 month old child, and I went to stay for a few nights with the Cistercian monks at the Abbey of the Genesee. These monks make bread for work and do not leave the monastery. During their daily office, they pray all 150 Psalms each week and pray for the church and the world. Our time there was beautiful, not in the least because God's Word was richly present through regular prayer. The Psalms spoke clearly in their regular pattern and many of my own songs and prayers were formed through their voice. Bethany and I struggled at times though, as protestants who are used to viewing our faith through the lens of utility. "Why spend so much time praying if you don't go and interact with the world around you?" It was not until our drive home when Bethany insightfully reflected, "You know, there is something comforting, knowing that there are people constantly praying for revival in the church and the world." We realized that the monks' prayers could easily be seen as a waste of time if our understanding of prayer was only one of utility. I now see that the Psalms gave these monks better insight into the human condition and better words of supplication for deliverance. The Psalms fuel their prayer, not as wasted words, but as words of life. Here is the pattern of Psalms from the Abbey of the Genesee, but there are many others you can find too. 2) Liturgical Calendar Much like praying the hours, the liturgical calendar seeks to use the natural rhythm of the calendar year to help us remember and participate in the story of God. Many of the famous liturgical seasons (like Lent and Advent) began as ways to catechise new believers before becoming members and getting baptized. Church leaders synchronized these seasons with significant moments in the earthly ministry of Christ as a way of showing their community that discipleship was not just an affiliation, but a walking-with and participation in the life of Christ. In the protestant world, we no longer use these seasons for catechesis, but the underlying goal of walking in union with Christ, through prayer and devotion are still applicable to us today. In this way, we can pray and celebrate our union with Christ with our yearly patterns, not just our daily devotions. There are many ways to engage the church calendar, but you can find a very brief overview from Covenant Seminary HERE. * Editor's Note: The word "liturgy" is frequently used to describe the order of a worship service. Churches that have a worship service that is described as "liturgical" would have a more structured worship service. Practically speaking, City Reformed has a style of worship that is moderately liturgical. Our service has some prayers that are written out and which people say together. We have responsive readings which people say together. And we have a standard order to the service, which consists of particular elements which do not change each week. All of those things would cause many people to think of our service as being somewhat liturgical, at least in comparison to a contemporary worship service in which very few items are written down or structured. On the other hand, more highly liturgical churches follow a liturgical calendar. Daniel mentions this in his post. Many churches that have this approach will orient every part of their worship service around the yearly calendar, even the sermon text and all of the Scripture readings. While large parts of contemporary worship have shifted away from liturgy, others have pushed the pendulum back the other direction. The term "imprecatory prayer" refers to a prayer that asks God to bring judgment on an enemy. These types of prayers are more common in the Bible than we often realize and can be challenging to interpret. (MK)
Day #19: The Power and Purpose of Imprecatory Prayers - Psalm 69 (Luke Kephart) Psalm 69 To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.
When was the last time frustration led you to fervently invoke God's judgment upon your adversaries? Chances are, not recently or frequently. After all, as believers, we are admonished to pray for our enemies. Imprecatory prayers, like those found in Psalm 69, may perplex us due to their stark language and apparent desire for retribution. Yet, beyond the surface, these prayers are not pleas for personal vengeance but rather calls for God's justice in a world marked by brokenness. Let's delve into Psalm 69 for a deeper understanding and guidance on how we should approach such prayers: The Person Praying: -Almost all the imprecatory Psalms are attributed to David. This is particularly important since David is more than just an individual. He is God’s anointed and represents God’s actions on behalf of his people.
The Enemies – While the enemies that the psalm talks about are David’s enemies, the primary view is that these are enemies of God. After all, twice in 1 Samuel we see that David could kill Saul but does not because he recognizes any action against Saul is in God’s hands, not his. This is not a call for personal vengeance, but for God’s justice, as He determines, and in His time.* It does, however, ask for God to fulfill all that justice demands as justice roots out all evil. (vs 13-25) God’s response – David trusted God for the outcome, and the reality is clear that God’s justice will prevail, and the enemies of God will finally be dealt with. Through the lens of the New Testament, we have insight that David didn’t have. Jesus quoted this psalm in relation to himself in John 2:17 (vs 9) and John 15:25 (vs 4), and when Jesus is on the cross, they give him sour wine as in verse 21. Paul also states in Romans 11: 7-9 that the people who crucified Jesus were in view in Psalm 69:22,23. You see that in Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, the prayers of David were fulfilled. Christ is victorious over the enemies of God. For the elect, Jesus flips the script and God’s justice is fulfilled in the death of Jesus and we are saved through his conquering of death and the grave. Yet there are those still who will reject God’s grace and be condemned. The New Testament calls us to pray for our enemies that they might become converted enemies just as we are. Psalm 69 ends praising God because “the Lord hears the needy” and “God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it. In this light we can approach God through the imprecatory psalms, expressing our helplessness and need in the face of the reality of persecution for God's people, specifically for what they represent as His children. and the godlessness in the world. We ask for God in His love and mercy on us to move on the promise of His salvation. This has already happened through Jesus, as His salvation redeems the chosen, but also condemns those who reject Him. Yet its final and total fulfillment is yet to come. It also lets us recognize our own need for salvation from our own sin, but also from those who would see God diminished by our sin, and to ask God to act for us in defense of His Holiness. Here is some guidance on how to pray:
* [Editor's note on the NT connections.] In Romans 12, Paul calls believers to forego personal vengeance. This command is grounded in the certainty of God's complete vengeance. Far from justifying our own violence, the promise of God's vengeance leads us to respond to evil with love. Romans 12:19-21 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Day #18: "Prayers of Supplication*" - Psalm 86: 14-17 (Joseph Bianco)
O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them. But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant. Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. Christianity can at times be an intellectual pursuit. There is a lot to think about and ponder throughout the Bible and the doctrines of the Christian Faith. As Presbyterians we tend to value the intellectual aspects of the Bible. We love to hear God’s truths and to cling to them. We enjoy how knowing who God is and how he created us has vast implication for our lives now. We delight in understanding, both who God is and how he made us. These are good things, but if our faith is only an intellectual pursuit we would be missing something important. If all Christianity is to you is an intellectual pursuit, then you have missed a central point of the Bible. God is not simply an idea or a philosophy, but is a real and present help even at this very moment. God is not able to be controlled or manipulated and even C.S. Lewis called him “dangerous.” God won’t always do what you want him to do or act in the ways you think he should act. God is who he is and will do what he will do, but even though he is powerfully awe-inspiringly dangerous, he is also a Father who loves to help his children. In Psalm 86, David had a real tangible trouble. A group of insolent men - bandits - were seeking David’s life. David needed God’s help to be saved from these men and so he cried out to God for deliverance. God loves to answer the prayers of his children. He is an ever-present help in times of trouble. Climbing at the gym the other day, I was talking with an unbeliever. He had some need and I made mention of praying for that need. He said he didn’t ask God for things, as if things were below God’s help. I told him that we can come to God with even the smallest things. It’s not like he has limited time or power! We can believe this lie, that God won’t give us what we ask for so we don’t ask. Our first instinct is to run to fix the problem ourselves, rather than getting on our knees to pray. David knew he could go to God because he knew God’s character, that God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. This a phrase often repeated about God in the Old Testament. It’s repeated because we can be tempted to believe that God is not merciful and gracious… but he is. Do you believe that God wants to help you in your affliction? Do you believe that he is present to help you now? Do you believe that God will provide in real tangible and meaningful ways as to help you escape the “insolent men”? Take some time and go to God now with your needs. Accept with thankfulness whatever he offers you. One last nugget is found in verse 17, “you Lord have helped me and comforted me.” God goes beyond our physical problems and comforts our anxious souls. Here is my prayer for you: Gracious Father, I pray that those reading this blog entry would experience your loving comfort now. Whatever hardship they are experiencing, may they feel your comfort in the midst of the conflict. I pray that they may feel your arms of assurance around their shoulders, and sense your loving embrace. I pray that they would be able to rest in you, and entrust themselves to you as their good Father. I pray you would provide for all their needs. Amen. *"Supplication" means a prayer that asks for something, in contrast to some of the other psalms we look at this week, which featured praise or confession. In the Lord's Prayer, the fourth petition, "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" is a clear example of a supplication. Day #17: "Prayers of Thanksgiving" - Psalm 138:1-3 (Joseph Bianco)
Palms 138: 1-3 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;* I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.** On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. In the Bible there are many examples of prayer-filled-thankfulness, but Psalm 138 is a quintessential psalm of thanksgiving. It’s a psalm that begins with thankfulness and ends with a call for the Lord to fulfill his promises to his people. It’s an interesting psalm because the people are thankful for what God has done for them in the past, but there is also an acknowledgment that in some ways they are still lacking. They are still waiting on God to act. The first lesson to learn then, is that thankfulness must happen constantly. We must constantly go to God with thankfulness whether it’s a been a day of gain or a day of loss. There is always something we can be thankful for and we must count our blessings lest we forget all that God has done for us. Being constantly thankful, also allows us to trust God in what he has not yet given to us. The time of waiting is the hardest part. For example, if your old aunt Margie dies and you are promised her inheritance, are you thankful even though you do not yet have the inheritance? Of course you are! You are very thankful because you know you have a million buckaroos coming your way. It’s hasn’t arrived yet, but your thanking God because you know it’s coming. Well, we have an inheritance far greater than a million dollars, but we can become disillusioned because it hasn’t happened yet. The reality of God’s eternal promises can feel less real for us than that of future earthly inheritance. The truth is that God’s eternal promises are not actually less real at all. We just haven’t experienced them all yet. The psalmist gives thanks primarily for who God is and secondarily for what God has done for him. All of this thanksgiving is wrapped up in the last line of the psalm, “Do not forsake the work of your hands.” God knows it’s hard for us to wait; but thanksgiving is the antidote. I’ll tell you a secret. I used to pray before bed recounting the day’s events. The problem I was experiencing is that it wasn’t bringing me peace, rather it was reminding me of all the problems I’d have to deal with tomorrow. I began to change my bedtime prayer to be simply a prayer of thanks. I would confess sin and pray for others earlier in the day, but at nighttime I started to just say "thank you" to my Father. After I started to pray and thank him for all he has done for me, it is easier to go to bed trusting in God’s goodness to me, and I can let what comes tomorrow... come tomorrow. For now, I close my eyes in thankfulness of all God has blessed me with and all that he is. Take time now to thank God for his character, for his faithfulness and for his promises. *Notes: “gods” in v. 1 is taken in various ways. Some see it as angels and others as human rulers. I personally take the views that “gods” means “gods” in the sense that David is not going to the lesser “gods” but to the true God. **For v. 2 there is an ESV footnote of an alternate rendering. While these footnotes can be helpful, please understand that if the translators include it, it does not mean that it can be equally traded out for the verse in the scripture. They are simply indicating another less likely possibility, but a possibility nonetheless. |
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