“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?
Message: The One to Whom We Speak
What the Lord is Saying: These lessons for this post are based upon R C Sproul's teaching series on Prayer. This lesson reminds us to consider the God that we approach in prayer. Over the years, society has become more casual and this can have an effect on how we view our supervisors and those over us as well, as more familiar and more of a friend. Yet, we need to remember the God who is majestic in holiness, as today's scripture mentions, awesome and one who works wonders. We can be familiar but we also need to be reverent and give him the respect He deserves.
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Luke 17:7-10
7 “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and [properly] clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? 9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
Message: The One Who is Speaking
What the Lord is Saying: We are to come before God with awe and wonder. Today's passage is a reminder of the relationship between us the servant and Him the master. We don't approach God demanding God to work. We look to His grace and implore Him to be gracious to us. Always we must remember who we are - sinners, needing salvation and forgiveness by His grace. I have been speaking to a man lately online and He is appalled that God is not answering His prayers. I think there is something about us, often always comparing and always seeing others and what they have and thinking we should have the same. I know this is common for me as well. But God is not a puzzle to figure out how he works and us come up with the right formula to get him to do something. He is God and we must respect Him.
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Psalm 34:3
O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
And let us exalt His name together.
Message: Adoring our Lord and Maker
What the Lord is Saying: Thinking about the acrostic for of ACTS - Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication as a way to think about prayer. Many believe prayer to be difficult. As we learn to know more about God, we can't help but adore Him and begin to speak of that adoration. By adoring Him we also come before Him with humility, recognizing He is greater than us, has characteristics we don't have. And in adoration we make mention of those characteristics, like His holiness, worthy of praise, faithfulness, the salvation He gives us, His strength and His grace and mercy, to name a few.
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2 Corinthians 7:9-10
9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to [the point of] repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to [the will] of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to [the will of] God produces a repentance without regret, [leading] to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Message: The Prayer of Confession
What the Lord is Saying: I have been in dialogue with someone else who makes it clear that I John 1:9 is not a salvific verse and yet it is a verse that we come to maybe as a reminder of the importance of confessing our sin. I am not sure if she is saying this is something we don't do, but isn't it important to state before God that we are agreeing that we are sinners, that we need his forgiveness. And today's verse acknowledges a need to repent, to say I am sorry, to turn and go the opposite way. Attrition is sorrow for the consequence of sin. Contrition is sorrow acting against the holiness of God.
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Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with [an attitude] of thanksgiving;
Message: The Prayer of Thanksgiving
What the Lord is Saying: ACTS praying. Now onto T - Thanksgiving. All of our transgressions have at their root 2 primordial (created or developed from the beginning) sins: idolatry and ingratitude. Although changed by God into a new creation at salvation, we still have a tendency toward these sins. But by cultivating thankfulness in our life, thanking God we combat against these sinful tendencies. We also take God's blessings for granted, get absorbed with the present and forget to thank God for specific blessings. By thanking Him regularly we practice remembering and acknowledging that He is the provider of all.
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Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Message: Supplication in Prayer
What the Lord is Saying: Supplication is making requests known to God. In today's passage we are to make our requests known to God and to be persistent (Luke 18:1-8). Supplication is requested of us, but we need to also remember to also stay balanced in Adoration, Confession, and Thanksgiving. Jesus intercedes for us and the Father wants to hear our prayers. The Holy Spirit also intercedes for us. He assists in praying in an unselfish manner.
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Matthew 6:9-13
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
Message: The Model Prayer
What the Lord is Saying: The Lord's Prayer is an example of the kind of prayer that honors God. 'Our Father' reminds us of an intimate relationship we have with God, believing in Christ alone for our salvation. God's name is 'hallowed' or honored as holy on the earth. There is prayer for 'God's kingdom come' and 'will to be done' which is Jesus asking that God's kingdom which is the people that call Jesus Savior, Lord, recognize their sin, that Jesus has now removed the stain of sin on their lives through His shed blood and rising from the dead -- this like-minded kingdom of people is what Jesus wants to see - that everyone will call upon the name of God to be saved. Whiteheart in 1989 had the great song, "Let the kingdom come" which holds to the same idea. And oh how this should be our request each day - O God, May your kingdom come. May people continue to surrender to God and trust in His salvation, instead of making their own way to find worth and meaning in their life. Would you please bring people to a confession of faith and I pray those people would then live their lives obedient to your will. That people everywhere would walk by faith in You. From here Jesus speaks to personal needs - "our daily bread", our agreeing with God of our sins, "forgive us our debts" while also how we relate to one another and keep peace amongst one another and unity and oneness "forgive our debtors," preserve us from 'temptation' and be far away from the schemes of the devil. - I realize the 10 commandments set up in a similar way - God first then ourselves and our relationship with others.
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James 5:16b-18
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
Message: Does Prayer Change Things?
What the Lord is Saying: The simple answer to this question today and often all questions of evangelism and any good works is God has requested that we be obedient and that our obedience matters. Our lives matter. And so while texts like Ephesians 1:11 may state that "God works all things after the counsel of His will" that statement does not absolve us from being involved. God wants us. I believe we are God's gift to Jesus (John 17:24) and as a gift we are intended to serve a purpose. God has shown in His word the effect of our praying and so we continue to pray and talk to Him. I still think it is easy in this thinking to not pray and not be involved. But that moves to disobedience. Prayer is not about changing God's will but being involved in God's will. Thank you God for wanting me, for expecting me to be involved and for working through me. In all of that work may you be glorified.
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