Trust in God alone

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Photo by Jessica Lewis via Pexels

 
O Lord, What trust do I have in this life?
What is my greatest comfort of all the things which are seen under heaven?
Is it not you, O Lord my God, whose mercies are without number?
Have I ever been well without you?
And how has evil fled when you are near?
I would rather be poor with you than be rich without you.
I choose to be a pilgrim on earth with you than without you in the heavens.
Where you are, there is heaven.
And where you are not, there is death and hell.
You alone are my desire and, therefore, 
    I must groan and cry out earnestly for you.
In short, I depend fully on you – and you alone –
    to help me in the necessities of life.
You are my hope.
You are my trust.
You are my comforter and most faithful friend in all things.
 
All people seek their own desires, 
    but you desire my salvation and my good.
You work all things to my good.
Even though I am exposed to many temptations and adversities,
    you have planned all of this for my good.
You want to prove your love to me in a thousand ways.
In these temptations and adversities,
    you should not be loved or praised any less 
    than when you were filling me with heavenly comfort.
 
In you therefore, O Lord God, I put all my hope and security.
I lay all my trials and anguish upon you,
    because I find everything and everyone else to be weak and unstable.
Without you yourself to assist me, I find no comfort, instruction, or safety.
Many friends are not helpful or comforting.
Wise counselors do not give useful answers.
Books by learned authors do not always console or provide deliverance.
Beautiful, secret hideaways do not shelter.
 
For all things which promise peace and joy are insufficient without you present.
So, you are the source of all goodness, fullness of life, and peace in my soul.
Hope in you is the strongest comfort for your servants.
“I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord. You are my refuge.” – Psalm 141:8
In you, O God, Father of mercies, I put my complete trust.
 
Thomas à Kempis, 1379-1471, German monk
The Imitation of Christ Book 3 Chapter 59
 
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Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
    for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
    He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in him at all times.
    Pour out your heart to him,
    for God is our refuge.

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learning to hold you by the hand

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 Photo by Liv Bruce on Unsplash
 
Father, here is something I can share with everyone in the world:
We cannot all be brilliant or rich or beautiful.
We cannot all dream beautiful dreams like You give some of us.
We cannot all enjoy music.
Our hearts do not all burn with love.
 
But all of us can learn to hold You by the hand and rest.
And when You are ready to speak 
    the fresh thoughts of heaven will flow in like a crystal spring.
All of us rests at the end of the day,
   and what a world of gain if everyone could rest
   in Your waiting arms, Father, 
   and listen until You whisper.
 
Frank C. Laubach, 1884 – 1970, American missionary the Philippines
 
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I remember the days of old;
    I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

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By your grace I mourn

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La Confession,Marie Amélie Cogniet via Wikimedia commons
 
Preserve your work, Lord.
Guard the gift you have given even to those who pull back.
 
For I know I was not worthy to be called your servant,
   but by your grace I am what I am.
 
And grant that I may know how with genuine affection 
    to mourn with those who sin.
Grant that as often as I learn of the sin of anyone who has fallen,
    I may suffer with them,
    and not scold them in my pride,
    but mourn and weep with them,
    so that in weeping over another
I may also mourn for myself.
 
Ambrose of Milan, c.339-397, Bishop of Milan
Fount of Heaven Prayers of the Early Church
 
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Therefore confess your sins to each other 
    and pray for each other 
    so that you may be healed. 
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Come quickly and soon, Lord Jesus

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Icon of the Second Coming via Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord, we comfort ourselves with the prospect of a future
    when every evil and infirmity will cease.
We know who said, “Surely I come quickly.”
    And do not our hearts echo to your words?
    Do not the Spirit and the bride agree?
Yes! Amen!
 
Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Come and put an end to our fears and failings.
Come and deliver us from this scene of strife and confusion.
We are weary of living in the tents of this brutal world.
We are weary of ourselves.
 
Oh! We can hardly bear to pass day after day 
    with such faint, unworthy glimpses 
    of your beauty and your goodness.
We are weary and ashamed of our holy things.
So much coldness and wandering in prayer,
    in reading the word, in your public ordinances,
    that we cannot help but say,
“Of that I had wings like a dove,
    that I might fly far away from this vain ensnaring world!”
 
When will this conflict cease?
When will all our tears be wiped away?
When will we see as you are,
    and be formed to resemble you more completely?
 
The time is short, and passing away quickly.
We hold out a little longer, in faith and patience.
You will come and not delay.
In the meantime, may we have grace to improve the present,
    as the only opportunity we can have of glorifying you,
    our Lord and Savior, in a sinful world.
 
When we get safely home, 
    we will not think we have done and suffered to much on the way.
 
I am yours.
Amen.
 
John Newton, 1725 – 1807, English slave trader, then abolitionist and hymn writer
 
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He who testifies to these things says, 
    “Surely I am coming soon.” 
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Prayerful possession by God

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Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
 
I have tasted a thrill of fellowship with you, Lord, 
    which has made anything discordant with you to be disgusting.
Your possession of me this afternoon caught me up with such sheer joy
    that I thought I never had known anything like it.
You were so close and amazingly lovely
    that I felt like melting all over with a strange blissful contentment.
 
Having experiences like this several times a week,
    the thrill of filth repels me,
    for I know its power to drag me from You,
After an hour of close fellowship with You
    my soul feels clean, as new fallen snow.
 
Frank C. Laubach, 1884 – 1970, American missionary the Philippines
 
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His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, 
    through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 
    by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, 
    so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, 
    having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Blessing for the day’s work

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Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, Rembrandt via Wikimedia Commons
 
I will not let you go, O Lord, unless you bless me;
    so bless me this day, this hour, this moment:
 
Bless my mind to discern the one thing that this day requires;
Bless my heart to remain at peace in the face of fear;
Bless my will to resist all needless distractions;
Bless my hands to do the work that you have entrusted to me;
Bless my ears to be attuned to your voice;
Bless my eyes to see the signs of your presence;
Bless my feet to go wherever you would lead me.
 
I pray this so that I might be
    like the birds of the air
    and the lilies of the field,
    free of worry and secure
    in the enfolding care
    of my Father in heaven.
I pray this in your name.
Amen.
 
W, David O. Taylor, American theologian and Anglican priest
 
____________________________
 
 
And God is able to bless you abundantly, 
    so that in all things at all times, 
    having all that you need, 
    you will abound in every good work.

for the Church in the world

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The Supper at Emmaus, Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, Wikimedia Commons
 

We pray, Lord God, for your Church throughout the world:

  that it may share to the full in the work of your Son,
      revealing you to men
      and reconciling men to you;
  that Christians may learn to love one another,
      as you have loved us;
  that your Church may more and more exhibit the unity
      which is your will and your gift.
 
We pray that we and all Christians
    may be what you want us to be;
    and do what you want us to do:
  that we may be content with whatever comes our way,
    and attain peace of mind in self-forgetfulness.
 
We pray for those who suffer for faith and conviction,
    and are tempted to turn back
    because their way is hard:
  help and strengthen them, Lord;
    so that they may hold out to the end,
    and by their loyal witness draw others to you.
 
We pray for our country:
  that none may exploit others,
    and none be neglected or forgotten;
  that we may be quick to reward service
    and to recognize true worth;
  and that all may work for the common life and welfare.
 
We pray for the life of the world:
  that every nation may seek the way that leads to peace;
  that human rights and freedom may everywhere be respected;
  and that the world’s resources may be ungrudgingly shared.
 
We pray for the homes of mankind:
  that husbands and wives may accept lifelong marriage as their ideal.
We pray for broken homes
    and those in danger of breaking,
  that your love may redeem and remake them.
We pray for the homeless,
  that no family may have to face a lifetime without a home.
 
We pray for those who are ill:
    that illness may not break their spirit;
  that through the healing skill you have given
    they may be made well;
  and that those who are permanently handicapped
    may find the way to use and overcome their suffering.
 
Finally, we pray that the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Chriist
    may be known and accepted by increasing numbers of men.
Draw to yourself all seekers after truth and goodness:
  may they find the unfathomable riches
     which can be found in you alone
And may all the nations you have made
  come and worship you
  and honor your name.
 
edited by Caryl Micklem, 1925 – 2003, English minister
_______________________
 

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria 
    had peace and was being built up. 
And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, 
    it multiplied.

Set us free to serve

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image via Picryl


Set us free, O Lord, from the shackles of sin and earth,
    that we may joyfully serve you and labor on your command.
O Lord! Truly I am your servant.
You have loosed my bonds.
You set us free so that in your service we may find liberty.
You honor us by letting us do your will.


When we wait before you, 
    you incline our hearts to the joy of obedience
    and the blessedness of action for you.
You draw us by mighty motives, 
    and you inspire us with power that is not our own.


We are enriched by so many gifts from your hand,
    and enabled by so many inspirations of your grace.
So grant that we may joyously wait upon you in all holy obedience.


And as the eyes of the servants are toward their master,
   so may ours be to you, our God.
Amen


Alexander Maclaren, 1826 – 1910, Scottish Baptist minister
Joy of Heaven Prayers of the Revivals


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Romans 6:22


But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. 
Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

I lift my eyes to the heavens

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Kadisha Valley, Lebanon via Wikimedia Commons


I lift up my eyes to the one who dwells in the heavens.
I lift up my eyes as Abraham lifted his 
    when he wanted to see the eternal promise and seed. 
I lift up my eyes to count the stars of heaven, 
    believing that you are a generous God. 
Like Isaiah, I raise my eyes to contemplate the power of the Most High. 
Like Nebuchadnezzar, I lift up my eyes to you. 
Then my mind is restored and I can bless the Lord of heaven, the Most High.

Before a stinking grave, I lift up my eyes to the Lord of everlasting life. 
Like Jesus, I lift up my eyes, asking that all people know the true God. 
When I meet a mute or deaf person, I lift up my eyes to the Lord of heaven. 
When I need bread and fish, with a thankful heart I raise my eyes. 


Like Stephen, I bow down on my knees. Then
    I lift up my eyes to see heaven open up in the midst of a bloody age. 
On the fields of Samaria, I raise my eyes to see a great harvest 
    in which Arabs and Jews are saved. 
I lift up my eyes to be transformed and to become a divine tool 
    for changing the oppressor 
    and for helping the oppressed and the poor.

Like the eyes of servants looking towards their masters 
    and maids towards their ladies, 
    so my eyes will be lifted up to God, 
    seeking mercy and compassion.
Today I will not look backward like the wife of Lot. 
I will not stare blindly like the servant of Elisha 
    who did not see the angels of God. 
Unlike Asaph, I will not look at the strength of evildoers. 
But like John at Patmos, I will turn towards the voice that speaks to me, 
    in order to behold your greatness. 
O God who lives in the heavens, I lift up my eyes to you.


Yohanna Katanacho, 1967 – , Palestinian Israeli evangelical theologian
Praying through the Psalms


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Psalm 123


To you I lift up my eyes,
    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
Behold, as the eyes of servants
    look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
    to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he has mercy upon us.

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough
    of the scorn of those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of the proud.

Juneteenth prayer

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image by Devin Avery via unsplash

Today, we commemorate the end of slavery in America.
This day partially reminds us of the progress made.
This day also partially reminds us of the progress we have not made.
We celebrate the freedom of black lives in our nation.
We grieve that we have not correctly reconciled racism in our nation.

You created each person in Your image.
The two greatest commandments call us to love You with all our heart, souls, and minds;
Then, to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Your love for us motivates us to love each other.
If we do not love each other, then ultimately, we have not experienced Your love.

As much as we commemorate and celebrate Juneteenth, we grieve this day.
We mourn that our black brothers and sisters have not been loved as our neighbors.
We mourn that our black brothers and sisters have been treated less than created in Your image throughout history.
So, Lord, we confess our sins and repent.
The healing and reconciliation we desire comes from the gospel.

On Juneteenth this year, we ask You to guide our nation.
May the good news of the gospel motivate us to love each other.
May the ideals of our words match the practices of our lives.
May a fresh empowerment of Your Spirit unite us together.
Give us eyes to see and ears to hear Your will and leading.

Peter Englert, discipleship pastor in upstate New York

source

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Psalm 146:7-9

He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
   the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the foreigner
    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.