Pauls’ epistles, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians are some of my favorite books in the Bible. There is so much here to learn from, about life and about Jesus Christ our Lord. Within them, he shares His love for the church and other believers, as we all ought to. He encourages them by telling them the that He prays for them and what He prays for. I try to pray for my family and my church for these as well, though not as often as I should. Of course, I try to stay away from ‘recited’ prayer, but I think using scripture within your prayer is good. As believers, we need to be intercessors for others. That is what Paul is doing in His letters. These intercessory prayers encourage and guide us in our prayer life and in our life. When I read them, I also feel He was praying these prayers for all of us.
The Lord’s Prayer; no, not that one
Last week, we talked about the model prayer from Matthew 6, that many call “The Lord’s Prayer.” I think it is more fitting to call Jesus’ prayer in the garden “The Lord’s Prayer.” It is His prayer. As He prepares Himself to give His life and take on the sins of the world onto the cross, He prays a heartfelt prayer for His mission, for His disciples and for all believers.
Continue reading “The Lord’s Prayer; no, not that one”
Prayers of the Bible: The Model Prayer
I thought I would switch gears a bit and discuss something many of us fall short of: Prayer. As you look through the Bible, there are many prayers. Some are short, some are long. All are heart-felt and sincere (except for one that I can remember where the Pharisee is praying that he is not like the sinner before him who is praying with sincerity…that is a good lesson for another time). If you have never watched the movie, The War Room,” you should. Powerful movie. Be sure to get the DVD and watch the bonus features. They provide a lot of insight and lessons from the movie. One thing I remember from one of these is that every church need to be ‘a praying church,’ not just a church that prays. Prayer should be a center activity in our lives and in our churches. Paul says, “pray without ceasing.” Whatever you are going through, good or bad, pray about it. If someone around you needs prayer, be an intercessor for that person. Seek out who needs prayer and pray for them.
So, what is prayer and how do we pray? I think there are many ways to pray. Sometimes it is just a short sentence praying for someone or something going on. Other times it is thanking God for all His goodness and remembering who He is. It may be confessing a sin or struggle you may have or asking for healing or comforting for yourself or someone you know. It is simply talking with God. What do you think? Do you have any experience in your prayer life you would like to share? Prayers answered? Frustrations? Questions? Please comment. Continue reading “Prayers of the Bible: The Model Prayer”
Guilt and Forgiveness
In some ways guilt and forgiveness go hand in hand, but in other ways they are completely opposite. Without guilt there is no need for forgiveness. Forgiveness is more about the forgiver showing mercy. We can all receive forgiveness if we just believe and trust in Jesus Christ…and we all need it. In my last post, we talked about how we should forgive, knowing that we have been forgiven too. Jesus not only took our sins away, but He also took away our guilt. Knowing this, we should e able to not only forgive others, but also forgive ourselves. Continue reading “Guilt and Forgiveness”
Forgive You, Forgive Me
I was thinking about talking about forgiveness and as I was the line from the movie, Jerry Maguire, “Help Me Help you!” kept coming into my head. That is sort of where this title came from. In order to forgive others, I think one must learn how to forgive one’s self. And, when being forgiven, one must learn to forgive. “Help me Help you.” God has shown us mercy through His Son, who loved us so much that He gave His life in order that we may be forgiven. Nothing we do can earn forgiveness, it is God’s act of love. We don’t deserve His forgiveness, but He forgives us anyways. We just need to accept it. In the same way, those who have hurt us do not deserve forgiveness but if we remember what Jesus did on the cross, we can forgive them too. Continue reading “Forgive You, Forgive Me”
My Daily Scriptures 