facing this decision . . .

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image by geralt via pixabay​
 
Lord, I am facing this decision today . . .    
Help me not to choose based on the approval of people, but for your honor . . .
Help me not to choose based on financial advantages, but on spiritual advantages . . .
Help me not to assume that I know what is best, but to seek wisdom in your Word . . .
Help me not to assume that earthly power is where real strength is found, 
   but to find power in You . . .
Help me not to assume that a past decision is the best decision, 
    but to seek Your guidance . . .
Help me not to be blinded to the presence of evil as I choose . . .
Help me not to be blinded to the impact of fear as I choose . . .
Help me not to be blinded by my own ambition as I choose . . .
Amen.
 
Kurt Bjorklund, 1968- , American Minister and author  
_________________________
 
 
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, 
    who gives generously to all without reproach, 
    and it will be given him. 
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, 
    for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 
    he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Trade away my heart of stone

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image via Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord, in your highness you bow your head, 
    so now we have hope that you truly hear us. 
You offer your kiss of reconciliation, of your own accord. 
You were the one who had been grieved and wronged, 
    yet you reached out to us who had done the wrong.
You reach out your arms to embrace us. 
You stretch out your nail-scarred hands to give us all things abundantly, 
    without holding anything back. 
Your heart is open to receive us, 
    if we will enter at the open door. 
Your feet will never leave us, 
    if we do not leave you.
Our Father and Lord, 
    you see the hardness of our heart 
    – and the dullness of it. 
It is not enough for us to be attracted and called so gently, 
    so sweetly, and so lovingly. 
You must be willing even to draw us, pull us, compel us, and drag us.
But this old heart is stony. 
It feels no gentleness. 
It is not moved with any hope of the good things you promise. 
So create in us a new and obedient heart.
Amen.
 
Book of Christian Prayers of 1578
 
___________________________
 
 
I will sprinkle clean water on you, 
    and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, 
    and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. 
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh 
    and give you a heart of flesh. 
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes 
    and be careful to obey my rules

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A PRAYER FROM DEATH-ROW

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
O LORD GOD,
even The GOD and FATHER of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS, The CHRIST LORD GOD, You are HOLY and RIGHTEOUS;
GRACIOUS and altogether TRUE.
YOUR Mercies are everlasting, and they are renewed every morning.
O LORD GOD,
unto THEE do I lift up my Soul.
And unto THEE do I cry in despair.
Have mercy on me LORD, I pray, and deliver me.
Deliver me from those who are too Strong for me:
And deliver me from certain death.
YOU said in YOUR WORD, that YOU looked down from the height of YOUR Sanctuary; From Heaven YOU beheld the earth; To hear the groaning of the prisoners;
To loose those that are appointed to death.
Behold, I am in prison, and they have appointed my soul for death.
But unto YOU, O LORD my GOD, do I make my appeal.
For YOU are that GOD that took me from my Mother’s bosom, 
    and declared YOUR Love for me, 
    and made YOUR covenant with me, 
    and told me that YOU will never leave me nor forsake me.
But that YOU will be with me always, even until the end of the World:
And caused me to hope in YOU.
And now, O LORD my GOD, in THEE do I put my Trust.
Let me not be brought to shame.
Neither let any that Trust in YOUR HOLY NAME be brought to shame.
But bring me out of this prison swiftly, I pray;
And deliver me by a strong HAND, O LOVER of my soul.
In the NAME of JESUS, I pray AMEN, and AMEN!
 
Pastor Kevin Burns, prisoner on Death Row in Tennessee
 
________________________
 
 
Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
    so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
that he looked down from his holy height;
    from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
    to set free those who were doomed to die

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Trust in God alone

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

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
 
____________________
 
 
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

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 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
 
_____________________________
 
 
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
 
_______________________
 
 
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

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
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
 
____________________________
 
 
He who testifies to these things says, 
    “Surely I am coming soon.” 
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Prayerful possession by God

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
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
 
________________________
 
 
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.