01-02-2008, 01:36 PM
calihavoc Wrote:
RE: October Prayer Thread
For the next 10 days, I'm going to share a little something that came in the mail for me. 10 Ways to Pray.
Day One:
Pray for a deeper understanding of my value and worth before God.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has crowned us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ; even as, in His love, He chose us as His own in Christ before the creation of the world, that we might be holy and without blemish in His presence." Eph. 1:3,4 Weymouth
Psalms 139:1-18 BBE:
"O Lord, you have knowledge of me, searching out all my secrets. You have knowledge when I am seated and when I get up, you see my thoughts from far away. You keep watch over my steps and my sleep, and have knowledge of all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue which is not clear to you, O Lord.
"I am shut in by you on every side, and you have put your hand on me. Such knowledge is a wonder greater than my powers; it is so high that I may not come near it. Where may I go from your spirit? how may I go in flight from you? If I go up to heaven, you are there: or if I make my bed in the underworld, you are there.
"If I take the wings of the morning, and go to the farthest parts of the sea; Even there will I be guided by your hand, and your right hand will keep me. If I say, Only let me be covered by the dark, and the light about me be night; Even the dark is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day: for dark and light are the same to you.
"My flesh was made by you, and my parts joined together in my mother's body. I will give you praise, for I am strangely and delicately formed; your works are great wonders, and of this my soul is fully conscious.
"My frame was not unseen by you when I was made secretly, and strangely formed in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book all my days were recorded, even those which were purposed before they had come into being.
"How dear are your thoughts to me, O God! how great is the number of them! If I made up their number, it would be more than the grains of sand; when I am awake, I am still with you."
For the next 10 days, I'm going to share a little something that came in the mail for me. 10 Ways to Pray.
Day One:
Pray for a deeper understanding of my value and worth before God.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has crowned us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ; even as, in His love, He chose us as His own in Christ before the creation of the world, that we might be holy and without blemish in His presence." Eph. 1:3,4 Weymouth
Psalms 139:1-18 BBE:
"O Lord, you have knowledge of me, searching out all my secrets. You have knowledge when I am seated and when I get up, you see my thoughts from far away. You keep watch over my steps and my sleep, and have knowledge of all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue which is not clear to you, O Lord.
"I am shut in by you on every side, and you have put your hand on me. Such knowledge is a wonder greater than my powers; it is so high that I may not come near it. Where may I go from your spirit? how may I go in flight from you? If I go up to heaven, you are there: or if I make my bed in the underworld, you are there.
"If I take the wings of the morning, and go to the farthest parts of the sea; Even there will I be guided by your hand, and your right hand will keep me. If I say, Only let me be covered by the dark, and the light about me be night; Even the dark is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day: for dark and light are the same to you.
"My flesh was made by you, and my parts joined together in my mother's body. I will give you praise, for I am strangely and delicately formed; your works are great wonders, and of this my soul is fully conscious.
"My frame was not unseen by you when I was made secretly, and strangely formed in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book all my days were recorded, even those which were purposed before they had come into being.
"How dear are your thoughts to me, O God! how great is the number of them! If I made up their number, it would be more than the grains of sand; when I am awake, I am still with you."
Quote:
Day Two
Pray for caring Christian friendships and involvement in Christian community.
"...and let us consider one another for provoking to love and good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom is with some; but encouraging one another, and by so much the more as ye see the day drawing near.
For where we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains any sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and heat of fire about to devour the adversaries. Any one that has disregarded Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses:
of how much worse punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and esteemed the blood of the covenant, whereby he has been sanctified, common, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" Hebrews 10:24-29 Darby
As a former Witness, I hated hearing the above scripture at the meetings. After all, I was at the meeting. Shouldn't they be going to the houses of the people who weren't at the meeting, and reading it to them?
But notice the phrasing on this one part, the part most loathsome, in different translations:
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" KJV
"not forsaking our own assembling together" WEB
"not neglecting--as some habitually do--to meet together" Weymouth
"not forsaking our own assembling together" ASV
These examples, and much prayer and faith in Jesus Christ, showed me the true meaning of these scriptures, namely, that we GET TOGETHER!!!!
This wasn't talking about formal, static, arranged meetings where nobody could say anything and talk about anything. It wasn't mean to be something that people dreaded. It wasn't meant to be something where people couldn't express and discuss their own ideas. It wasn't meant to be something where all the answers are laid out for you, and woe be to you who deviate from the supplied questions and answers.
We were supposed to "encourage one another", "keep each other strong in the faith". This cannot be done in a formal, structured setting where the answers are all provided, and never questioned.
How can we encourage one another and keep each other strong in the faith if we don't KNOW our brothers and sisters? If we don't know what is discouraging them that they need encouraging? If we don't know their strengths and weaknesses so as to help keep them strong? How could we possibly keep someone strong, when we don't know what makes them strong? When we don't know what makes them weak?
I put it to you here, that the churches with Bingo and pancake breakfasts and rummage sales and counseling are fulfilling this scripture better than Jehovah's Witnesses do. They meet together, the talk to each other, they encourage one another, and they help each other out! That is true charity! Not knocking on somebody's door so early on their only day of rest they just want to shoot us!
Speaking of which, see this next scripture, and keep in mind who is our brother and our sister? Who is our neighbor? WWJD?
"As a bird that wanders from her nest,
So is a man who wanders from his home.
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart;
So does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend.
Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster:
Better is a neighbor who is near than a distant brother.....
A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge;
But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.....
He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,
It will be taken as a curse by him......
Iron sharpens iron;
So a man sharpens his friend’s countenance." Proverbs 27:8-17 WEB
Pray for caring Christian friendships and involvement in Christian community.
"...and let us consider one another for provoking to love and good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom is with some; but encouraging one another, and by so much the more as ye see the day drawing near.
For where we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains any sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and heat of fire about to devour the adversaries. Any one that has disregarded Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses:
of how much worse punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and esteemed the blood of the covenant, whereby he has been sanctified, common, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" Hebrews 10:24-29 Darby
As a former Witness, I hated hearing the above scripture at the meetings. After all, I was at the meeting. Shouldn't they be going to the houses of the people who weren't at the meeting, and reading it to them?
But notice the phrasing on this one part, the part most loathsome, in different translations:
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" KJV
"not forsaking our own assembling together" WEB
"not neglecting--as some habitually do--to meet together" Weymouth
"not forsaking our own assembling together" ASV
These examples, and much prayer and faith in Jesus Christ, showed me the true meaning of these scriptures, namely, that we GET TOGETHER!!!!
This wasn't talking about formal, static, arranged meetings where nobody could say anything and talk about anything. It wasn't mean to be something that people dreaded. It wasn't meant to be something where people couldn't express and discuss their own ideas. It wasn't meant to be something where all the answers are laid out for you, and woe be to you who deviate from the supplied questions and answers.
We were supposed to "encourage one another", "keep each other strong in the faith". This cannot be done in a formal, structured setting where the answers are all provided, and never questioned.
How can we encourage one another and keep each other strong in the faith if we don't KNOW our brothers and sisters? If we don't know what is discouraging them that they need encouraging? If we don't know their strengths and weaknesses so as to help keep them strong? How could we possibly keep someone strong, when we don't know what makes them strong? When we don't know what makes them weak?
I put it to you here, that the churches with Bingo and pancake breakfasts and rummage sales and counseling are fulfilling this scripture better than Jehovah's Witnesses do. They meet together, the talk to each other, they encourage one another, and they help each other out! That is true charity! Not knocking on somebody's door so early on their only day of rest they just want to shoot us!
Speaking of which, see this next scripture, and keep in mind who is our brother and our sister? Who is our neighbor? WWJD?
"As a bird that wanders from her nest,
So is a man who wanders from his home.
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart;
So does earnest counsel from a man’s friend.
Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend.
Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster:
Better is a neighbor who is near than a distant brother.....
A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge;
But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.....
He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,
It will be taken as a curse by him......
Iron sharpens iron;
So a man sharpens his friend’s countenance." Proverbs 27:8-17 WEB
Quote:
Day Three
Pray for opportunities to share Christ through my words and actions.
"But of that day and hour no one has knowledge, not even the angels in heaven, or the Son, but the Father only. And as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. Because as in those days before the overflowing of the waters, they were feasting and taking wives and getting married, till the day when Noah went into the ark, And they had no care till the waters came and took them all away; so will be the coming of the Son of man. Then two men will be in the field; one is taken, and one let go." Matthew 24:36-40 BBE
"And Jesus came to them and said, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go then, and make disciples of all the nations, giving them baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to keep all the rules which I have given you: and see, I am ever with you, even to the end of the world." Matthew 28:18-20 BBE
Pray for opportunities to share Christ through my words and actions.
"But of that day and hour no one has knowledge, not even the angels in heaven, or the Son, but the Father only. And as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. Because as in those days before the overflowing of the waters, they were feasting and taking wives and getting married, till the day when Noah went into the ark, And they had no care till the waters came and took them all away; so will be the coming of the Son of man. Then two men will be in the field; one is taken, and one let go." Matthew 24:36-40 BBE
"And Jesus came to them and said, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go then, and make disciples of all the nations, giving them baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to keep all the rules which I have given you: and see, I am ever with you, even to the end of the world." Matthew 28:18-20 BBE
Quote:
Day Four
Pray for strength to stand firm in the face of temptation.
"No temptation has you in its power but such as is common to human nature; and God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. But, when the temptation comes, He will also provide the way of escape; so that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 Weymouth
Matthew 6:13
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For your is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen" AKJV
"And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." ASV
"Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amein." HNV
"and lead us not into temptation, but save us from evil." Darby
"Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen." WEB
"And let us not be put to the test, but keep us safe from the Evil One." BBE
Have you noticed something strange in the translations quoted above from Mathew 6:13? Half of them omit the phrase: "For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen."
This petition is expressed:
(1.) Negatively: Lead us not into temptation. Having prayed that the guilt of sin may be removed, we pray, as it is fit, that we may never return again to folly, that we may not be tempted to it. It is not as if God tempted any to sin; but, "Lord, do not let Satan loose upon us; chain up that roaring lion, for he is subtle and spiteful; Lord, do not leave us to ourselves (Ps. xix. 13), for we are very weak; Lord, do not lay stumbling-blocks and snares before us, nor put us into circumstances that may be an occasion of falling." Temptations are to be prayed against, both because of the discomfort and trouble of them, and because of the danger we are in of being overcome by them, and the guilt and grief that then follow.
(2.) Positively: But deliver us from evil; apo tou ponerou--from the evil one, the devil, the tempter; "keep us, that either we may not be assaulted by him, or we may not be overcome by those assaults:" Or from the evil thing, sin, the worst of evils; an evil, an only evil; that evil thing which God hates, and which Satan tempts men to and destroys them by. "Lord, deliver us from the evil of the world, the corruption that is in the world through lust; from the evil of every condition in the world; from the evil of death; from the sting of death, which is sin: deliver us from ourselves, from our own evil hearts: deliver us from evil men, that they may not be a snare to us, nor we a prey to them."
III. The conclusion: For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen. Some refer this to David's doxology, 1 Chron. xxix. 11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness. It is,
1. A form of plea to enforce the foregoing petitions. It is our duty to plead with God in prayer, to fill our mouth with arguments (Job xxiii. 4) not to move God, but to affect ourselves; to encourage the faith, to excite our fervency, and to evidence both. Now the best pleas in prayer are those that are taken from God himself, and from that which he has made known of himself. We must wrestle with God in his own strength, both as to the nature of our pleas and the urging of them. The plea here has special reference to the first three petitions; "Father in heaven, thy kingdom come, for thine is the kingdom; thy will be done, for thine is the power; hallowed be thy name, for thine is the glory."
And as to our own particular errands, these are encouraging: "Thine is the kingdom; thou hast the government of the world, and the protection of the saints, thy willing subjects in it;" God gives and saves like a king. "Thine is the power, to maintain and support that kingdom, and to make good all thine engagements to thy people." Thine is the glory, as the end of all that which is given to, and done for, the saints, in answer to their prayers; for their praise waiteth for him. This is matter of comfort and holy confidence in prayer.
2. It is a form of praise and thanksgiving. The best pleading with God is praising of him; it is the way to obtain further mercy, as it qualifies us to receive it. In all our addresses to God, it is fit that praise should have a considerable share, for praise becometh the saints; they are to be our God for a name and for a praise. It is just and equal; we praise God, and give him glory, not because he needs it--he is praised by a world of angels, but because he deserves it; and it is our duty to give him glory, in compliance with his design in revealing himself to us. Praise is the work and happiness of heaven; and all that would go to heaven hereafter, must begin their heaven now.
Observe, how full this doxology is, The kingdom, and the power, and the glory, it is all thine. Note, It becomes us to be copious in praising God. A true saint never thinks he can speak honorably enough of God: here there should be a gracious fluency, and this for ever. Ascribing glory to God for ever, intimates an acknowledgment, that it is eternally due, and an earnest desire to be eternally doing it, with angels and saints above, Ps. lxxi. 14.
Lastly, To all this we are taught to affix our Amen, so be it. God's Amen is a grant; his fiat is, it shall be so; our Amen is only a summary desire; our fiat is, let it be so: it is in the token of our desire and assurance to be heard, that we say Amen. Amen refers to every petition going before, and thus, in compassion to our infirmities, we are taught to knit up the whole in one word, and so to gather up, in the general, what we have lost and let slip in the particulars. It is good to conclude religious duties with some warmth and vigor, that we may go from them with a sweet savor upon our spirits. It was of old the practice of good people to say, Amen, audibly at the end of every prayer, and it is a commendable practice, provided it be done with understanding, as the apostle directs (1 Cor. xiv. 16), and uprightly, with life and liveliness, and inward expressions, answerable to that outward expression of desire and confidence. -excerpt from "The SWORD Project"
Peace be with you.
Pray for strength to stand firm in the face of temptation.
"No temptation has you in its power but such as is common to human nature; and God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. But, when the temptation comes, He will also provide the way of escape; so that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 Weymouth
Matthew 6:13
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For your is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen" AKJV
"And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." ASV
"Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amein." HNV
"and lead us not into temptation, but save us from evil." Darby
"Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen." WEB
"And let us not be put to the test, but keep us safe from the Evil One." BBE
Have you noticed something strange in the translations quoted above from Mathew 6:13? Half of them omit the phrase: "For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen."
This petition is expressed:
(1.) Negatively: Lead us not into temptation. Having prayed that the guilt of sin may be removed, we pray, as it is fit, that we may never return again to folly, that we may not be tempted to it. It is not as if God tempted any to sin; but, "Lord, do not let Satan loose upon us; chain up that roaring lion, for he is subtle and spiteful; Lord, do not leave us to ourselves (Ps. xix. 13), for we are very weak; Lord, do not lay stumbling-blocks and snares before us, nor put us into circumstances that may be an occasion of falling." Temptations are to be prayed against, both because of the discomfort and trouble of them, and because of the danger we are in of being overcome by them, and the guilt and grief that then follow.
(2.) Positively: But deliver us from evil; apo tou ponerou--from the evil one, the devil, the tempter; "keep us, that either we may not be assaulted by him, or we may not be overcome by those assaults:" Or from the evil thing, sin, the worst of evils; an evil, an only evil; that evil thing which God hates, and which Satan tempts men to and destroys them by. "Lord, deliver us from the evil of the world, the corruption that is in the world through lust; from the evil of every condition in the world; from the evil of death; from the sting of death, which is sin: deliver us from ourselves, from our own evil hearts: deliver us from evil men, that they may not be a snare to us, nor we a prey to them."
III. The conclusion: For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen. Some refer this to David's doxology, 1 Chron. xxix. 11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness. It is,
1. A form of plea to enforce the foregoing petitions. It is our duty to plead with God in prayer, to fill our mouth with arguments (Job xxiii. 4) not to move God, but to affect ourselves; to encourage the faith, to excite our fervency, and to evidence both. Now the best pleas in prayer are those that are taken from God himself, and from that which he has made known of himself. We must wrestle with God in his own strength, both as to the nature of our pleas and the urging of them. The plea here has special reference to the first three petitions; "Father in heaven, thy kingdom come, for thine is the kingdom; thy will be done, for thine is the power; hallowed be thy name, for thine is the glory."
And as to our own particular errands, these are encouraging: "Thine is the kingdom; thou hast the government of the world, and the protection of the saints, thy willing subjects in it;" God gives and saves like a king. "Thine is the power, to maintain and support that kingdom, and to make good all thine engagements to thy people." Thine is the glory, as the end of all that which is given to, and done for, the saints, in answer to their prayers; for their praise waiteth for him. This is matter of comfort and holy confidence in prayer.
2. It is a form of praise and thanksgiving. The best pleading with God is praising of him; it is the way to obtain further mercy, as it qualifies us to receive it. In all our addresses to God, it is fit that praise should have a considerable share, for praise becometh the saints; they are to be our God for a name and for a praise. It is just and equal; we praise God, and give him glory, not because he needs it--he is praised by a world of angels, but because he deserves it; and it is our duty to give him glory, in compliance with his design in revealing himself to us. Praise is the work and happiness of heaven; and all that would go to heaven hereafter, must begin their heaven now.
Observe, how full this doxology is, The kingdom, and the power, and the glory, it is all thine. Note, It becomes us to be copious in praising God. A true saint never thinks he can speak honorably enough of God: here there should be a gracious fluency, and this for ever. Ascribing glory to God for ever, intimates an acknowledgment, that it is eternally due, and an earnest desire to be eternally doing it, with angels and saints above, Ps. lxxi. 14.
Lastly, To all this we are taught to affix our Amen, so be it. God's Amen is a grant; his fiat is, it shall be so; our Amen is only a summary desire; our fiat is, let it be so: it is in the token of our desire and assurance to be heard, that we say Amen. Amen refers to every petition going before, and thus, in compassion to our infirmities, we are taught to knit up the whole in one word, and so to gather up, in the general, what we have lost and let slip in the particulars. It is good to conclude religious duties with some warmth and vigor, that we may go from them with a sweet savor upon our spirits. It was of old the practice of good people to say, Amen, audibly at the end of every prayer, and it is a commendable practice, provided it be done with understanding, as the apostle directs (1 Cor. xiv. 16), and uprightly, with life and liveliness, and inward expressions, answerable to that outward expression of desire and confidence. -excerpt from "The SWORD Project"
Peace be with you.
