God’s promised blessings give us courage to pray. In 1 Chronicles 17, King David desired to build a house for the Lord, but was told that he would not be the one to do so. Instead, he was told, God would build a house for him (David). He would receive God’s covenant blessings. The prophet Nathan said to him, “‘I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: 11When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. 14 I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.’”
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Friday, October 5, 2012
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Prayers in Scripture
By Daniel L. Sonnenberg, 2003.
OLD TESTMENT
Hannah’s sorrowful vow to the Lord in exchange for a son
1 Samuel 1:11 And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
Hannah’s votive prayer of thanksgiving; may have been a standard form that Hannah used, not unique to her; seems not to exactly fit here situation (similar to Mary’s Magnificat)
OLD TESTMENT
Hannah’s sorrowful vow to the Lord in exchange for a son
1 Samuel 1:11 And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
Hannah’s votive prayer of thanksgiving; may have been a standard form that Hannah used, not unique to her; seems not to exactly fit here situation (similar to Mary’s Magnificat)
The Reformed Roots of "Leading in Prayer: A Workbook for Worship" by Hughes Old
by Daniel L. Sonnenberg, 2003.
The prayers of the Lord’s Day in the Reformed tradition have been shaped by a number of writers since the 16th century. Hughes Oliphant Old’s Leading in Prayer has drawn together the principles and content of these prayers in a way that can be adapted to the modern worship service. This paper will examine several of these writers to discover the roots of Dr. Old’s pattern of prayer. In each section, I will begin with a summary of Old’s understanding of each particular type of prayer. This will be followed by how this type of prayer was understood or developed by other authors in the Reformed tradition such as John Calvin, William Perkins, the authors of The Westminster Directory, Matthew Henry, Samuel Miller and B. M. Palmer.[FOOTNOTE]
The prayers of the Lord’s Day in the Reformed tradition have been shaped by a number of writers since the 16th century. Hughes Oliphant Old’s Leading in Prayer has drawn together the principles and content of these prayers in a way that can be adapted to the modern worship service. This paper will examine several of these writers to discover the roots of Dr. Old’s pattern of prayer. In each section, I will begin with a summary of Old’s understanding of each particular type of prayer. This will be followed by how this type of prayer was understood or developed by other authors in the Reformed tradition such as John Calvin, William Perkins, the authors of The Westminster Directory, Matthew Henry, Samuel Miller and B. M. Palmer.[FOOTNOTE]
Monday, September 13, 2010
A Corporate Prayer for Christian Worship
Written for Dr. Steve Brown, Communication II, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, December 2003.
O God, you are the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in his life, death and resurrection, reached out to us in love to pay the price for our sins. We glorify your name. We have sinned against you in our thoughts, our words and our deeds. We have forgotten you, we have ignored you, and we have deliberately disobeyed you. Forgive us our sins today and draw us near to yourself. We need you, and we love you.
We are gathered here in the name of your Son because he is the only true source of life, of truth, of healing for our souls. We are afraid of many things that are happening in our world. We fear attacks by terrorists, we fear losing our jobs, we fear that our families will break apart, we fear that we may never have a family of our own, we fear that we will not become all that you have called us to be. Calm our fears and give us your peace.
O God, you are the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in his life, death and resurrection, reached out to us in love to pay the price for our sins. We glorify your name. We have sinned against you in our thoughts, our words and our deeds. We have forgotten you, we have ignored you, and we have deliberately disobeyed you. Forgive us our sins today and draw us near to yourself. We need you, and we love you.
We are gathered here in the name of your Son because he is the only true source of life, of truth, of healing for our souls. We are afraid of many things that are happening in our world. We fear attacks by terrorists, we fear losing our jobs, we fear that our families will break apart, we fear that we may never have a family of our own, we fear that we will not become all that you have called us to be. Calm our fears and give us your peace.
Monday, March 15, 2010
A Corporate Prayer for Christian Worship
Written for Rev. Larry Osborne, Communication Lab I, Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando), September 2002.
Our great and loving heavenly Father,
May your name be praised today above all people, nations, powers and authorities in heaven and in earth.
We pray that you would bring forth your peace, your justice, your righteousness, your mercy and your love among us gathered here, throughout this land, and in every nation on earth.
Our great and loving heavenly Father,
May your name be praised today above all people, nations, powers and authorities in heaven and in earth.
We pray that you would bring forth your peace, your justice, your righteousness, your mercy and your love among us gathered here, throughout this land, and in every nation on earth.
The Practice of Private Prayer
Private prayer is a difficult occupation. Our communication with God is vital. Therefore, the devil aims to keep us from it in any way he can. Not only that, the world tells us that we are foolish to believe in and pray to an invisible God, and our flesh is weak and undisciplined. The most common form of distraction is busyness in life, work and ministry. Especially in church work, there is always more that can be done. The next sermon or newsletter article is always waiting to be written, someone always needs a visit or a phone call, the last Session meeting must be followed up and the next one prepared. There is so much to do and think about that it is very easy to justify skipping private prayer in order to “get on with God’s business.” We justify ourselves, thinking that doing God’s work is more important than communicating with the God of the work. Often it is because we believe we see more tangible results from work than from prayer, when in fact, prayer connects us with God, who is the source of any lasting result in our work. Martin Luther once told a friend that he had so much to do the next day he had to get up earlier to pray longer in order to accomplish all that he had to do. Therefore, we must make an appointment each day with God as part of our plan for the day or it will get pushed out of our schedule. Even five minutes a day is better than nothing. We must make an appointment until we can’t live without it.
A Prayer for the Opening of a Civic Gathering
Written for Dr. Steve Brown's course, Communication II, Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando), December 2003.
O God, we acknowledge today that you are our Creator and that you order the affairs of our individual lives, the life of our community, our nation and even the whole world. Your strong hand provides for us, guides us, protects and preserves us. Nothing happens without your knowledge, participation and permission.
Therefore, we ask that as we gather today, you would lead us as we consider, discuss and make decisions that affect our community. Guide our thoughts, temper our tongues, and bring us into unity over the matters before us. May the decisions we make serve the needs of the members of our community and serve as a model for other communities around us. May our community reflect your goodness, your grace, your righteousness, your compassion, your justice and your glory. Thank you for hearing our prayer. Amen.
O God, we acknowledge today that you are our Creator and that you order the affairs of our individual lives, the life of our community, our nation and even the whole world. Your strong hand provides for us, guides us, protects and preserves us. Nothing happens without your knowledge, participation and permission.
Therefore, we ask that as we gather today, you would lead us as we consider, discuss and make decisions that affect our community. Guide our thoughts, temper our tongues, and bring us into unity over the matters before us. May the decisions we make serve the needs of the members of our community and serve as a model for other communities around us. May our community reflect your goodness, your grace, your righteousness, your compassion, your justice and your glory. Thank you for hearing our prayer. Amen.
A Corporate Prayer for Christian Worship
O God, you are the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in his life, death and resurrection, reached out to us in love to pay the price for our sins. We glorify your name. We have sinned against you in our thoughts, our words and our deeds. We have forgotten you, we have ignored you, and we have deliberately disobeyed you. Forgive us our sins today and draw us near to yourself. We need you, and we love you.
We are gathered here in the name of your Son because he is the only true source of life, of truth, of healing for our souls. We are afraid of many things that are happening in our world. We fear attacks by terrorists, we fear losing our jobs, we fear that our families will break apart, we fear that we may never have a family of our own, we fear that we will not become all that you have called us to be. Calm our fears and give us your peace.
Give wisdom to those in authority over us that we might live in peace and freedom to proclaim the gospel in our community and throughout the world. Give wisdom to our church’s leaders that we might serve you faithfully and lovingly among your people. Help your people to live in unity and love with one another so that others might see Christ among us. Help us together to fulfill our calling to make disciples of all the nations, to minister to the poor and needy, and to stand up for righteousness wherever we are.
Lord, remember those among us who are sick, hurting, depressed, struggling with doubt, or lonely. Comfort the troubled. Strengthen the weak. Lift up those who are cast down. Give joy to the sorrowful.
O God, you are our deliverer and our salvation. We look forward with hope and joy to the coming of the fullness of your kingdom, when every tear will be wiped away and when Christ will reign forever and ever and we will reign with him as his glorious bride. Thank you for your matchless grace and mercy on our behalf. All glory be to you now and forever, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
We are gathered here in the name of your Son because he is the only true source of life, of truth, of healing for our souls. We are afraid of many things that are happening in our world. We fear attacks by terrorists, we fear losing our jobs, we fear that our families will break apart, we fear that we may never have a family of our own, we fear that we will not become all that you have called us to be. Calm our fears and give us your peace.
Give wisdom to those in authority over us that we might live in peace and freedom to proclaim the gospel in our community and throughout the world. Give wisdom to our church’s leaders that we might serve you faithfully and lovingly among your people. Help your people to live in unity and love with one another so that others might see Christ among us. Help us together to fulfill our calling to make disciples of all the nations, to minister to the poor and needy, and to stand up for righteousness wherever we are.
Lord, remember those among us who are sick, hurting, depressed, struggling with doubt, or lonely. Comfort the troubled. Strengthen the weak. Lift up those who are cast down. Give joy to the sorrowful.
O God, you are our deliverer and our salvation. We look forward with hope and joy to the coming of the fullness of your kingdom, when every tear will be wiped away and when Christ will reign forever and ever and we will reign with him as his glorious bride. Thank you for your matchless grace and mercy on our behalf. All glory be to you now and forever, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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