The good news of Christ
Not a byword, but life, O Lord, is your mercy toward us. Save us from destruction. Let your angel of death pass over us, for we show the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Your judgment is just, so we plead the justice of Christ. To him help us to be faithful so that we may be confident on the final day.
Our Father in Heaven, we measure days as good or bad, but we confess that, at the moment, we have no idea whether they contribute or not to our spiritual growth or to the progress of the gospel.
Let us call every day, therefore, a good day, a day in which you can and do work, a day in which we may be transported closer to our goal of greater knowledge of you and greater deeds in Christ.
Our daily prayers are often the same,
But we do not repeat them in vain,
Our small concerns, in Jesus’ name,
We place, O Lord, in your domain. Continue reading “Our daily prayers are often the same”
Heavenly Father, like Simon who put his boat at Jesus’ disposal to teach those upon the shore, I put both me and mine in your hands, for the use of the kingdom.
And like the miraculous net of fish which our Lord gave in return for that surrender, bring to your people today a harvest of souls.
God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, blessed be your name in all the earth!
Let be sure of your presence with us. Let us hear the Word of your promise. Let us stand as recipients of the seal of the Spirit. Continue reading “Prayer: Sure of your presence with us”
Not a day goes by without a thought
To the cross of life, the Lord’s sweet gift,
Where I with innocent blood was bought,
By the Lamb who freed my soul of guilt. Continue reading “Prayer: Not a day goes by”
Be, O Lord, my morning blessing,
day’s endurance, evening resting,
Be for me my air of breathing,
Sight for eyes and food for eating. Continue reading “Be for me my air of breathing”
Chuck Webster shares some ideas for those (of us) who struggle with prayer. Worth one’s while. Among other things, he says,
Pray a really short prayer, or a really long one—it doesn’t matter. Some of your prayers will last about fifteen seconds as you walk the sidewalk to your front door in the evening. Others might last as long it takes you to fall asleep, or as long as the drive is to work or the grocery store. And then you’ll have some that are like the ones Jesus prayed when he went off into the wilderness—a time of uninterrupted, focused communion with the Lord. But whatever you do, don’t worry about the length. Pray from your heart . . . God hears the ten-second prayer just like he hears the thirty-minute one.
So many needs, much pain to bear,
What lack of growth, what weights we feel,
Among us hide many hurts to heal—
How much we crave this hour of prayer! Continue reading “So many needs, much pain to bear”
Every other line from Psa 36.7-9
How precious is your loyal love, O God!
You set us in a space that’s free and broad;
The human race finds shelter under your wings,
Where men find sated the great desires of kings; Continue reading “Prayer: How precious is your loyal love, O God!”