Bonnie’s Prayer Affair Prayers

SUPPLICATION

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CHRISTIAN

[Because we are Christians and live in the world we will always need prayer for our walk and for witnessing to others about CHRIST. Here’s an opportunity to pray for others or even ourselves. Fill their name or your name in the blanks.]

THE JOY OF PLANTING AND WATERING

 

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 6.46.31 AM…FATHER, You have created ____ for fellowshipping with You in Your work. You have fashioned (him/her) to experience the most joy when (he/she) is with You. By steady attention to obedience, natural lives can be turned into spiritual lives (ref#118, p61-62). The farmer joyfully plants anticipating the harvest. Cause ____ who plants to anticipate Your spiritual harvest.

Your powerful Word dawns on men like the morning light—like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning—like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth (2 Sam 23:4). This Word comes through the SPIRIT, LORD, put His words on ____’s tongue (2 Sam 23:2).

Make it, FATHER, ____’s joy to be faithful to You as You make (his/her) way blameless (2 Sam 22:33) and righteous (2 Sam 22:21). You will reward (him/her) with joy when (his/her) work is faithful to You (ref#56, p460, [2 Sam 22:21-25]).

By working in union with You ____ can be bold declaring the Gospel, without error or impurity—having no desire to deceive. Make it (his/her) longing to be approved by You (1 Thes 2:2-4)—desiring not approval for (himself/herself) or from men.

FATHER, make ____ gentle, and affectionately desirous that men hear plainly the Gospel (1 Thes 2:7-8). With You, (he/she) will exhort and encourage and charge men to walk in a manner worthy of You—calling them into Your kingdom and glory (1 Thes 2:12).

Also, FATHER, make the ones You regenerate ____’s hope and joy and crown of boasting (1 Thes 2:19). Joining with You, FATHER, in prayer for the ones awakened to Your free gift of grace, cause it to be (his/her) greatest joy. For (he/she) knows that the ones You draw to Yourself through (him/her), will remain in faith and love (1 Thes 3:6) and continue standing fast (1 Thes 3:8). What joy (he/she) will feel for their sake and will long to continue in fellowship with them so that (he/she) may supply what is lacking in their faith and they may supply what is lacking in (his/her) faith (1 Thes 3:9-10).

THANKSGIVING

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FOREVER FAITHFUL GOD

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 6.38.29 AM…Forever, O LORD, Your Word stands firm in the heavens (Ps 119:89). Your purposes are all settled above, and they shall all be fulfilled below (ref#15, [Ps 119:89]). FATHER, what You have ordained as law will always remain law—what You have affirmed will always remain true—and, what You have promised will be sure forever (ref#16, [Ps 119:89]).

Your faithfulness, O GOD, extends from one generation to another (Ps 119:90). As with Your everlasting faithfulness to Your promises, You will reign forever, to all generations (Ps 146:10). Your faithfulness is as established as the earth.

Your gracious promises are addressed to people of every age (ref#16, [Ps 119:90]). FATHER, You never change. Your faithfulness is always around You, it attends You at all times for it is a part of Your very nature (ref#16, [Ps 89:8]). You keep faith forever (Ps 146:6). You unchangeably adhere to the fulfilling of Your promises (ref#68, [Ps 146:6]). I thank You, that You are a forever faithful GOD. AMEN.

CONFESSION

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DEFINING THE “FLESH”

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 6.29.39 AM“Much of our distress as Christians comes not because of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature” Oswald Chambers  (ref#7, March 22nd).

The Bible terms our born-with natural nature, “flesh” (Rom 8:8). “Flesh” denotes “sinful propensities and passions” of my entire nature Barnes’ Notes (ref#16, [John 3:6]).

This “flesh” urges me to carry out its “sinful passions.” I am the host this sinful nature works through. But as a Christian, You, FATHER have implanted another nature in me—Your nature, Your SPIRIT. He not only overpowers my sinful nature but also allows me to be the host of You accomplishing Your will through me.

CHRIST’s activity on the cross has given me the ability to render useless my fleshly nature, not simply the sins of my flesh. But I am too often concerned with the sins. I’m “occupied with today’s anger, tomorrow’s jealousy, or the day after tomorrow’s strife” Watchman Nee (ref#33, p96).

FATHER, please sensitize me to focus on, not individual sins but denying the urgings of my fleshly nature. It’s a given that my sin and lust keep me away from You, but also remind me that this fleshly nature is a totally selfish nature. Anything I do for my profit, or to make me look righteous, and anything I do out of what I deem my duty to You—all these actions are sin also (ref#35, p255).

Attempting to follow You without denying the flesh is the foundation of failure (ref#33, p116). Whenever I lack trust that is flesh in action (ref#33, p114). Flesh is impatient. It will resist waiting on You, FATHER. It also will not have faith enough to trust the SPIRIT. Flesh will make its own plans never having “the sense of utter dependency” Watchman Nee (ref#33, p114).

FATHER, I ask You give me strength to upstage my flesh so I may sit before You experiencing my dependence upon You. I praise You for the grace You have given me to put into practice the death of my fleshly nature. My most concern is always to recognize and render useless this “flesh.”

ADORATION

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CHRIST – MY HIGH PRIEST

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 6.17.01 AM…“O SAVIOUR OF SINNERS, Thy name is excellent, thy glory high, thy compassions unfailing, thy condescension wonderful, thy mercy tender” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p58). FATHER thank You for Your Son.

“The work of our Lord as Priest was two-fold—atonement and intercession. The one He accomplished upon the cross, the other He now transacts upon the throne” Octavius Winslow (ref#61, July 14th).

“There is one…way human beings can reach God. That way is through Christ Jesus, who is himself human” (1 Tim 2:5 NCV). “God sent him to buy freedom for us…so that he could adopt us as his very own children” (Gal 4:5 NLT). “…our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand” (Heb 10:12 NLT).

“…He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb 9:26 NKJV). “…He offered himself…as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make our consciences pure from useless acts so we may serve the living God” (Heb 9:14 NCV). “…he set us free from sin forever” (Heb 9:12 NCV).

“Christ…went into heaven…and is there now before God to help us” (Heb 9:24 NCV). “For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way so he could be their merciful and faithful high priest…Then Jesus could bring forgiveness for their sins” (Heb 2:17 NCV). “Jesus is the kind of high priest we need. He is holy, sinless, pure, not influenced by sinners, and he is raised above the heavens” (Heb 7:26 NCV). “And now he can help those who are tempted, because he himself suffered and was tempted” (Heb 2:18 NCV). “For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. When he lived on earth, he was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin” (Heb 4:15 NCV). “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25 NKJV).

“Christ…is our go-between with God. His obedience and suffering were so perfect that God will not turn him away. Therefore, if we go to God through him, God will not turn us away either” John Piper (ref#92, p72).

“Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our…faith in Him]” (Heb 4:14 AMP).

SUPPLICATION

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NON CHRISTIAN Resisters

[We all have friends and family that do not want anything to do with Christianity so it is up to us to pray for their salvation. Here’s an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

SIN NOT LEADING TO DEATH

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 5.32.48 AM“There may be those…in sin that there may seem to be…almost no ground of hope. They may have cast off all the restraints of religion, of morality, of decency;…they may have been professors of religion, and now may have renounced the faith of the gospel altogether, but still, while there is life it is our duty to pray for them,…” Barne’s Notes (ref#16, [1 John 5:16])

FATHER, I am thinking about ____. Your Apostle John says, at the end of his first epistle, there is sin that leads to death and sin that does not lead to death (1 John 5:16). I do not know where ____ is in (his/her) spiritual life, because I only see the outward signs, but, I pray for (him/her) with a “hope and expectation of success” Matthew Poole (ref#21, p941, [1 John 5:16]).

You say, You will give me what I ask for in 1 John 5:15. And follow it with: “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life…” (1 John 5:16 ESV).

Oh FATHER, how I want to believe that ____ is sinning in a way that does not lead to death so that You will give (him/her) life. I pray ____’s sin is not an obstinate sin, thus incurable (ref#21, p941, [1 John 5:16]). I pray ____ is not refusing Your diagnosis of (his/her) need and Your offer of forgiveness (ref#56, p1828, [1 John 1:10]). I pray ____ is not chronically disobedient to Your commands (ref#125, p2437, [1 John 5:16]) for continuing in such a state leads to permanent death.

Sin that does not lead “to death is sin for which forgiveness is possible because (1) forgiveness is sought” and (2) You, FATHER, are “willing to grant it” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2437, [1 John 5:16]).

Turn ____ from (his/her) wandering, evil course; save (him/her) from death (James 5:20). FATHER, nothing is impossible with You (Luke 1:37). Grant ____, repentance that (he/she) may escape from the snare of the devil, for (he/she) now is captured by him to do his will (2 Tim 2:25-26).

THANKSGIVING

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THANKS FOR THE LITTLE THINGS

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 5.27.07 AM…FATHER, I thank You that not only do You draw me, but You draw close to me. You do not send another; You attend to me Yourself. It’s the tiny things You do that shows Your willingness to be amazingly intimate. You know every detail of my life (ref#7, June 3rd).

You look on the earth and it quakes; You touch the mountains and they smoke (Ps 104:32); You speak and the heavens tremble. The whole earth shudders at Your presence (Ps 114:7).

Yet You know what I’m thinking and I’m never out of Your sight (Ps 139:2-3). You even know everything I’m going to say before I say it (Ps 139:4).

You are constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to You. You are constantly searching me in order to strengthen my heart. You show Yourself strong on my behalf (2 Chron 16:9).

When I take a deep breath it moves Your heart; my whisper can turn Your head toward me; You respond when You hear my prayer (ref#34, Sept 28th AM). Thank You for Your attentiveness to little things. May You rejoice in Your works; may Your glory endure forever (Ps 104:31).

CONFESSION

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I SIN KNOWINGLY BUT NOT WILLFULLY

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 5.19.25 AM…FATHER, I grieve especially over the sins I commit knowing full well I’m disobeying You. Can You forgive me for such in-Your-face, blatant, rebellion?

The book of Leviticus describes sacrifices for sins. But the sacrifices are only for unintentional sins (Lev 4:2). The writer of Hebrews says: “…if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,” (Heb 10:26 NKJV).

Yet, I, as well as other Christians, knowingly sin—even King David prayed that You keep him back from “…presumptuous sins…” (Ps 19:13 NASB). FATHER, help me understand that I may sin knowingly, as King David did but that does not mean I sin willfully. Sinning willfully means sinning willingly. Sinning willingly means I sin out of my own glad choice with no intention of repenting. Adam Clarke’s Commentary brings meaning to Hebrews 10:26:

“A man may be overtaken in a fault, or he may deliberately go into sin, and yet neither renounce the Gospel, nor deny the Lord that bought him.” Adam Clarke’s Commentary (ref#15, [Heb 10:26]). But, “if we sin willfully] If we deliberately…renounce the profession of the Gospel and the Author of that Gospel,…the…case must be utterly without remedy.” (ref#15, [Heb 10:26]).

When I do sin deliberately, my “case is dreary and dangerous but it is not hopeless; no case is hopeless but that of the deliberate apostate who rejects the whole Gospel system,…” (ref#15, [Heb 10:26]). And, all thanks to You, FATHER, that You have cemented in my heart never to reject the Gospel.

How I thank You, FATHER, that You give me the grace of confession. Yes, You have put in my heart the desire to repent. You have closed the gate behind me. Because You have made me Yours, I will never again sin willfully.

Though FATHER, drive me to fear sinning against You deliberately. Such actions remove me from Your presence. My iniquities always make a separation between You and me. My sins hide Your face so that You do not hear me (Isa 59:2).

LORD, I take hold of Your grace of repentance and use it to bring myself back into Your presence. And, FATHER, during this activity of repentance, sober me into remembering that even though I will never sin willfully, sinning knowingly is dreary and dangerous.

ADORATION

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REGENERATION AND SANCTIFICATION

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 5.09.20 AM…FATHER, I desire to understand the mechanics of Your salvation (as much as You permit me to know)—how You have redeemed me and what the stipulations are of Your covenant with me.

You began by drawing me (John 6:44); I never sought You on my own—for I was unable (Rom 3:10,11). “Regeneration is a momentary act, bringing a person from spiritual death to life. It is exclusively God’s work” The Reformation Study Bible (ref#56, p1650).

“Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation: so as, a natural man…is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself…” (The Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch. IX:3).

FATHER, through Your drawing I realized my sins were a roadblock between You and me (Isa 59:2) and so I repented of them (Isa 59:20), believing CHRIST’s shed blood saved me from Your wrath (Rom 3:25).

I became a brand new person inside. My new life began (2 Cor 5:17)—a life fashioned after You, renewed from the inside and able to work itself into my conduct as You accurately reproduced Your character in me (Eph 4:24). This metamorphosis is called, “sanctification” and it will continue until the day I die (Phil 2:12).

“According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 35), sanctification is ‘the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness’” The Reformation Study Bible (ref#56, p1650).

From now on I have a choice to sin or not to sin since regeneration releases me from the bondage of continual sin (2 Cor 7:1). But, as I go through sanctification I have two contrary urgings (Rom 8:6-7): (1), urgings from the SPIRIT, and, (2), urgings from my depraved nature.

The SPIRIT sustains my new life but my original fallen instinct (the sin of my flesh) still has the ability to rise to obstruct my Christlike desires (Rom 7:18,19).

“Sanctification is…dependent on God’s continuing action in the believer, and consisting of the believer’s continuous struggle against sin….Sanctification is…human effort dependent on God” The Reformation Study Bible (ref#56, p 1650) (underlining mine).

SUPPLICATION

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GENERAL TRIBULATION

[We all can think of a Christian sister or brother experiencing so much affliction they may not be able to pray for themselves. Here’s an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

GOD’S CARE AND DAILY PROVISION

Screen Shot 2016-07-18 at 6.22.01 PM…FATHER, ____ is suffering and in (his/her) afflictions it is difficult, if not impossible, to see Your constant underlying provisions. Swing ____’s eyes off the conflict and onto Your Son. (I realize this is a supernatural request.)

“It will be well with the righteous….he is well fed; he feeds upon the flesh and blood of Jesus. He is well clothed; he wears the imputed righteousness of Christ. He is well housed; he dwells in God. He is well married; his soul is joined in the bonds of marriage union to Christ. He is well provided for; the Lord is his Shepherd. He is well endowed; heaven is his inheritance. It is well with the righteous…” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, April 14th PM).

Move ____ to believe You, FATHER, more than (his/her) eyes and feelings tell (him/her). Help (him/her) throw (his/her) entire dependence on Your goodwill. Praise You for allowing ____ the opportunity to recognize Your hourly dependence by permitting (him/her) to pray daily. Teach (him/her) to pray often so (he/she) can recognize Your constant love.

“Oh how rich is the grace that supplies us so continually and does not refrain itself because of our ingratitude” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, July 16th AM). “When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows” Ann Voskamp (ref#130, p58). FATHER, favor ____ with the ability to turn (his/her) thoughts toward You for the purpose of giving You thanks for Your provisions.

THANKSGIVING

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PSALM 50:16-23

Screen Shot 2016-07-18 at 6.16.01 PMTo the Mighty One, God the LORD, who speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down (Ps 50:1), I offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to glorify You (Ps 50:23).

When I was a faux Christian I passed over thanking You, for I needed no one but myself to act like a Christian. I even spoke of You affectionately believing You helped me succeed in Christian activities. But, I was an island—myself all-sufficient, creating You in my own image.

I read Ps 50:16-17 many times. It says, “But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you” (Ps 50:16-17 ESV). I was not influenced by the words for I did not consider myself wicked. I didn’t know I cast Your words behind me; I didn’t hate discipline, for I didn’t think I needed it.

In my sufficiency it was quite easy to forget You all together (Ps 50:22), let alone think of giving You thanks.

But, now my sacrifice is thanksgiving. I thank You for all Your grace and mercy that You may glorify Yourself through me. I thank You from a heart truly and deeply affected with Your mercies and for a life continually being made well-pleasing to You (ref#112, p82, [Ps 50:14]).

May all my thanksgivings give You the honor that You require and prize (ref#112, p83, [Ps 50:23]). FATHER, keep me from idols—the idol of independency void of thanksgiving.