Saturday 5 October 2019

Praying Through God’s Word: Titus

Titus 1:1-2:10
How are we to live? Sometimes, Lord, our journey through life can be very confusing. We don’t know what to think of it all. One person tells us one thing. Someone else tells us something very different. Lord, what are we to do? Help us to start listening to what You have to say to us. You know what’s best for us. Help us to trust You – to guide us safely through our, often, confusing journey. Help us to follow You in the way that You lead us.
Titus 2:11-3:15
Lord, You are the God of grace. You are the God of glory. You come to us in grace. You’re preparing us for Your glory. You lift us out of our sin and shame. You lead us on to Your heavenly and eternal glory. Help us to live by Your grace – and to look forward to Your glory.

Praying Through God’s Word: Zephaniah

ZEPHANIAH

1:1-2:7
‘The great Day of the Lord is near – near and coming quickly… That Day will be a Day of wrath… I will bring distress upon the people… because they have sinned against the Lord’ (Zephaniah 1:14-17). This, Lord, is Your Word of warning. You’re calling us back to Yourself: ‘Seek the Lord – before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the Day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you.’ Help us, Lord, to seek You in ‘righteousness’ and ‘humility.’ This is the way of being ‘sheltered on the Day of Your anger’ (Zephaniah 2:2-3). You’re calling us to ‘worship You in Spirit and in truth’: ‘Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer’ (John 4:24; Romans 12:1).
2:8-3:20
We read, Lord, a story of sin – ‘Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! She has not obeyed His voice. She has not accepted correction. She has not trusted in the Lord. She has not drawn near to her God’ – and a story of salvation – ‘Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment. He has turned back your enemy… The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will renew you in His love. He will rejoice over you with singing’ (Zephaniah 3:1-2,14-17). The story of our sin is full of sadness. The story of Your salvation fills us with gladness – ‘Rejoice and be glad! The Redeemer has come’ (Mission Praise, 573).

Praying Through God's Word: Revelation

Revelation 1:1-20
We thank You, Lord for “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1). It comes from Him. It speaks of Him. We thank You that Jesus “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5). We thank You that He is “coming with the clouds” (Revelation 1:7). Help us to rejoice in the love of Jesus, our crucified Saviour. Help us to get ready for the return of Jesus, our coming King.
Revelation 2:1-29
We thank You, Lord, that Your Word is for here-and-now. It’s not just for far-away and long-ago. You’re calling us to a lifelong commitment – Don’t lose your “first love” (Revelation 2:4); Be “faithful until death” (Revelation 2:10). Help us to “remain true” to You – to keep right on to the right on to the end of the road.
Revelation 3:1-22
Lord, there are doors that You must open – “I have placed before you an open door that no-one can shut” (Revelation 3:8). There’s a door that we must open. It’s the door of the heart. Help us to hear Your knock at the door – “I stand at the door and knock.” Help us to believe Your promise: “If anyone opens the door, I will come in” (Revelation 3:20). Help us to say, “Come into my heart, Lord Jesus” – and help us to remember where this prayer really came from: “The Lord opened my heart” (Acts 16:14).
Revelation 4:1-5:14
“In heaven,” there’s “an open door” (Revelation 4:1). We thank You, Lord, that Jesus has “unlocked the gate of heaven, and let us in.” From heaven’s open door, we hear the voice of love. Jesus calls to us, “Come up here” (Revelation 4:2). May “the Spirit” lead us into Your presence (Revelation 4:2) – and fill our hearts with worship: “You are worthy, our Lord and our God”; “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 4:11; Revelation 5:11).
Revelation 6:1-7:17
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus, Your Son, invites us to “come” (Revelation 6:1,3,5,7) – and look at things through His eyes. We look at earth. We look at heaven. We see a troubled world. We see tremendous worship. Our world is deeply troubled. Heaven’s worship is absolutely tremendous. In our world, we see our sin. In Your heaven, we see Your “salvation” (Revelation 6:16-17). Help us to lift up our eyes, to see Jesus, to be saved through “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10,14).
Revelation 8:1-9:21
What a difference there is between real gold (Revelation 8:3) and fool’s gold (Revelation 9:7). What a difference there is between the real thing and the counterfeit – “”Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” Matthew 7:21). Help us, Lord, not to settle for anything less than the real thing. Let there be more than talking the talk, Help us to walk the walk, to walk with You in faith and obedience.
Revelation 10:1-11:19
Lord, we need to read and hear all of Your Word – the difficult parts as well as the verses that make us feel good. We need the “sour” as well as the “sweet” (Revelation 10:9). It’s the “sour” – “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”, “Flee from the wrath to come” – that prepares us for the “sweet” – “God so loved the world … “, “the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world” (Hebrews 10:31; Matthew 3:7; John 3:16; John 1:29). Create, in us, a real hunger for all of Your Word – not just the parts we like!
Revelation 12:1-13:18
We thank You, Lord for Your Word of warning. We need to watch out for “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan.” He’s a determined enemy – “Day and night,” he accuses Your children. He’s a defeated enemy – “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:9-12). Help us to take our stand against Satan. Help us to stand in the victory of Christ.
Revelation 14:1-15:8
Lord, You’re calling us to live Your way – With “patient endurance,” we are to “obey Your commandments and remain faithful to Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). This won’t be easy. Satan will do all that he can to draw us away from You. We need Your strength. The victory cannot come from ourselves. It must come from You. We look away from ourselves to Jesus. We see that He has died for us. We see that He has risen from the dead. We trust in Him, and we rejoice in Him – “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
Revelation 16:1-17:18
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). Satan will challenge the authority of Jesus. There’s no doubt about that. Satan will fail. There’s no doubt about this! Help us, Lord, when the battle is raging, to lift up our eyes and see Jesus. Help us to see that He is “Lord of lords and King of kings.” Help us to see Him and rejoice. Help us to grow strong in Jesus, our Saviour.
Revelation 18:1-19:10
We read about the fall of Babylon (Revelation 18:2,10,16-17,19,21), and we wonder about our world today. Have you abandoned us, Lord? or Are you still calling out to us, “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). Help us, Lord, to maintain a strong commitment to Christ, without ever giving the impression that we think we’re superior to other people. Help us never to think that there’s something special about us. Help us never to forget that it was You, Lord, who called us out of darkness into Your marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Revelation 19:11-21:8
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus, our Saviour, is “Faithful and True.” He is “the Word of God,” our “Lord and King” (Revelation 19:11,13,16). He invites us to come to Him: “Come, gather together for the great supper of God” (Revelation 19:17). What a great future You’re preparing for us – “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). We thank You, Lord, for the precious promise which sets our feet on this eternal journey: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
Revelation 21:9-22:21

Praying Through God’s Word: Ruth

Ruth 1:1-2:23
Sometimes, Lord, it seems to us that some things just happen by chance. You’re saying to us, “No. It’s more than that.” You are working in us. You are showing us Your love. Day-by-day, You are showing us that You are the faithful God. You are the God of “amazing grace.” Help us to say more than “These things just happened.” Help us to say, “God has blessed us. Thank You, Lord.”
Ruth 3:1-4:22
Thank You, Lord, that Jesus has become one of us. He’s come down to this earth for us – and He’s gone to the Cross for us. He came from heaven – and He’s taking us to heaven. He has taken our sin – and He’s given us His forgiveness. When we think of Jesus – all that He has done for us, all that He is doing for us, all that He will do for us, may our hearts be filled with praise to You, the God of our salvation.

Wednesday 2 October 2019

Lord, Your love is the best love.

Psalm 36:1-12
We thank You, Lord, for “Your steadfast love” (Psalm 36:5,7,10). Your love is the best love. It’s the greatest love of all. Your love is very wonderful. We rejoice in Your love. We are amazed at Your love. We look at Jesus, Your Son, crucified for us, and we say, “Amazing love, how can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?” Jesus died for us. Now, He lives in us. In love, You are leading us on into Your future – on to “fullness of joy in Your presence” (Psalm 16:11).

It’s better to ‘put a zip on it’ than to ‘put our foot in it.’

Proverbs 10:23-11:11
“With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbour” (Proverbs 11:9). Lord, this is straight talking – from Your holy Word. We need to hear this kind of thing. It keeps us on the right track. It keeps us from going off the rails. When, Lord, we’re tempted to speak words that will hurt other people, help us remember Your Word to us: “The tongue is a fire … With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men … this ought not to be so” (James 3:6-10). Help us, Lord, to keep quiet – or end up saying, I wish I had never said that – It’s better to ‘put a zip on it’ than to ‘put our foot in it’. When we have nothing good to say, help us to say nothing at all.

Words For Singing, Words For Living

Psalms 75:1-76:12
“We give thanks to You, O God … I will rejoice for ever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. Make your vows to the Lord your God, and perform them” (Psalm 785:1,9; Psalm 76:11). Teach us, Lord, that true rejoicing in You is more than singing praise to You. Teach us to live what we sing. “Fill Thou our life, O Lord our God, in every part with praise.” “Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.” Such words are not to be forgotten as soon as we leave the place of worship. They’re more than words for singing. They’re words for living. How, Lord, can we live a life of praise and consecration? – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

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