The good news of Christ
From truth, many turn aside,
They turn instead to myths and lies;
Unwilling to change, they can’t abide
Repentance, with fables disguise
Rebellion, the joy of life untried.
O Lord, from falsehood, protect and keep,
Lest I, too, fall and turn to sin;
Let not my eyes grow heavy and sleep,
Shore up my strength that truth may win.
We humbly cry: help us, Lord,
Our need is great, deny us not,
You alone we yearn to know,
Without your presence we will perish!
Our Father in heaven, the noise of the world drowns out the voice of your Spirit. Let us flee first to be edified by your presence, in order to engage later our neighbors and share with them the gospel.
Heavenly Father, through your Scriptures get my attention and direct my thoughts. Transform mind and soul through words of power, words that created world, rose men from the dead, and confounded enemies.
Let your words bring peace and fullness to all us troubled spirits who ransack the world for satisfaction.
Guide us in your godly way,
Give us strength to hold at bay
Temptations, darkened thoughts of wrong,
Of self, of places we don’t belong. Continue reading “Let praise be yours both loud and long”
Father, let my struggles be with you, and never against you. At times, I may wrestle with an angel, as Jacob did, not knowing even the reason behind the contest, but let my desire always be for a blessing from you.
Let me not be the schemer as was the patriarch, but a submitter to your will, to find you and know your presence.
Father in Heaven, make my life abide by your original intent for marriage, life, and the church. Let me discover in Scripture how you created both the world and the gospel and how I should live in accordance with your design. Continue reading “Original intent”
God in heaven, let us hate the things you hate, and love the things you love. Keep us from exchanging these because of pressure from man or because of our love of people. Make us steadfast in our hate of evil and in our love of righteousness.
Make the love of the lost our guiding star to give us courage in face of opposition to speak the word of Christ.
Remind us of our need for faithfulness, for the return from infidelity and betrayal is fraught with pain and discord.
Keep us from arrogance, pride, materialism, and intrigue, that we may not be destroyed.
Today’s prayer was inspired by several readings, from Pro 6, Ac 14, 2 Sam 19, and Eze 27.
We seek your favor, God of mercy. We humble ourselves to obey your commands. We strive to do what is right. We strive to be humble in your sight. Protect us on the day of your judgment by the name of your Son. Continue reading “We seek your favor, God of mercy”
On Forthright Magazine, Mike Brooks offered these three facets of prayer, from reading the Lord’s prayer.
Note that there is no mention of posture, dress, directional orientation, or other physical requirements in our prayers. Christians are encouraged to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) but not a certain number of times per day. Paul mentions “lifting up holy hands” in prayer (1 Timothy 2:8). However, the acceptable prayer of the tax collector in Jesus’ parable was given “without so much as rais[ing] his eyes to heaven” (Luke 18:13).
Read the whole article here.