Dietrich Bonhoeffer

PRELUDE TO PRAYER

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Prayer Facts:

“No sacrifice which a lover would make for his beloved is too great for us to make for our enemy….if we pray for them, we are taking their distress and poverty, their guilt and perdition upon ourselves, and pleading to God for them. We are doing vicariously for them what they cannot do for themselves” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p148-150).

 

Reasons for Waiting for GOD:

Because You formed my inward parts and knitted me together in my mother’s womb (Ps 139:13), I will wait for You.

Because You search me thoroughly and know me (Ps 139:1), I will wait for You.

Because You understand my thoughts and are acquainted with all my ways (Ps 139:2-3), I will wait for You.

Because You are upright and make my path level (Isa 26:7), I will wait for You.

Because You draw near on the day I call to You (Lam 3:57), I will wait for You.

Because You hear my voice and take up my cause (Lam 3:56,58), I will wait for You.

 

Read Through the Bible in a Year: January 29th – February 4th

Jan 29  Ex 23-24; Luke 22

Jan 30  Ex 25-27; Luke 23

Jan 31 Ex 28-29; Luke 24

Feb 1   Ex 30-32; Acts 1

Feb 2   Ex 33-34; Ps 10

Feb 3   Ex 35-36; Acts 2

Feb 4   Ex 37-38; Acts 3

CONFESSION

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YOU GIVE, I ACCEPT WITH THANKS

screen-shot-2016-12-15-at-11-40-00-am…FATHER, I thank You that You have caused me to believe so I am united to CHRIST in You, by the SPIRIT. But, my heart is not content to let just our union be the extent of my involvement. My heart longs for fellowship—You and I giving and receiving affections, delight, satisfaction… I don’t want to merely be a recipient of Your gifts, I want to interact with You (ref#35, p21).

And, not only this, LORD, but I want to be personal and emotional with You in every essence of Your Person so that I find obedience to You an honor (ref#35, p22).

“Christian obedience was of utmost importance, but it was always understood to flow out of this union and never seen as the ground for it” John Owen (ref#35, p22).

O LORD, such a desire I have to revel in the work I do because it pleases You. I want to experience Your consenting presence continually. Send Your SPIRIT to me so He might make me sensitive to when I revert back to making decisions on my own. Yes, I want my obedience to flow out of our communion. Never do I want to perform tasks to get me into communion with You. Oh, to understand and walk according to Your unilateral giving so that I am never inclined to impress You.

“We pay no attention to our own lives or the new image which we bear,…it is only to serve as a mirror for the image of Christ on whom our gaze is fixed” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p304).

SUPPLICATION

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HOW GOD GUIDES

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-11-38-02-am“Many failures and much waste and confusion…are due to men’s coming to work, instead of being sent out to work” Watchman Nee (ref#101, p42).

FATHER, I know what my head says is from You because You have a quiet persistence about Your words of guidance. Keep me from considering pros and cons that bring about debating and doubt. This mental activity does not indicate Your presence (ref#7, March 28th).

“Doubt and reflection take the place of spontaneous obedience…Only the devil has an answer for our moral difficulties, and he says, ‘Keep on posing problems, and you will escape the necessity of obedience’” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p73).

FATHER, when You say it is better to obey than sacrifice, You are addressing my human nature in me. This self-serving, self-glorifying part of me wants to sacrifice itself by doing what it considers great and wonderful acts for You. This sacrificing is the “counterfeit of obedience” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, June 8th).

“Obedience is perfected not in doing something you want to do but in doing the last thing in the world you want to do” Michael Card (ref#137, p152).

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.]

REASONS FOR AFFLICTION–TO OVERCOME

 

screen-shot-2016-10-21-at-9-33-46-am“But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me” (Mic 7:7-8 NRSV).

 FATHER, our natural inclination is to be spared from trouble. But, in Your wisdom, You give us troubling situations to deliver us in trouble. No evil can harm us when we’re at one with You no matter what situation You have us in (ref#7, Aug 2nd).

“God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain, there is no strength” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Aug 2nd).

FATHER, empower ____ to accept the hard situations; compel (him/her), by faith, to defer to Your strength. Even anticipating hard situations wears ____ out physically, but if (he/she) spends (himself/herself) spiritually (he/she) will get more strength. You give strength minute by minute (ref#7, Aug 2nd).

“To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard…” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p88).

____ will find You, FATHER, when (he/she) overcomes suffering by suffering. JESUS prayed for the cup to pass from Him (Matt 26:39). It did pass—when He drank it. His suffering passed as he accepted it. “The cross is his triumph over suffering” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p92).

FATHER, how vital for ____ to keep communion with You—to draw near You in hard times for if (he/she) removes (his/her) eye from You even for a moment, (he/she) will succumb to “every dark suggestion of the adversary” Octavius Winslow (ref#61, May 30th). Linked with You, (he/she) overcomes—we overcome—You, LORD, overcome for ____.

SUPPLICATION

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PROVISIONS

[We all know someone who is dealing with financial problems. Here is an opportunity to pray for them. Fill their name in the blanks.]

WARNINGS AGAINST HOARDING

Screen Shot 2016-05-14 at 2.28.17 PM…FATHER, I lift up ____ as (he/she) has asked for prayer. Give (him/her) the ability to evaluate (his/her) resources correctly. (His/Her) possessions You give that they might be “consumed in use and…meet the legitimate requirements of the body” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p174-175).  Remind ____ You give earthly goods to be used, not to be collected.

I beseech You, FATHER, to give ____ food suitable for (him/her)—food that will nourish and preserve (him/her), and that You would give it day by day. Assist (him/her) to not be over-zealous and careful for tomorrow but by daily prayer obtain daily supplies from You.

SUPPLICATION

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PRAYING FOR FELLOW CHRISTIANS

[Our brothers and sisters in CHRIST need our prayers.  We can even pray for ourselves in our spiritual battles.  Fill in the blanks with your desired name.]

DISCIPLESHIP

Screen Shot 2016-02-03 at 3.06.31 PM“Luther had said that grace alone can save; his followers took up his doctrine and repeated it word for word. But they left out its invariable corollary, the obligation of discipleship” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p49,50).

FATHER, I bid You teach ____ to not be content to just be a witness and preacher and teacher of JESUS CHRIST. You did not give the Apostle Paul simply a message to proclaim, but, instead, brought him into a personal subduing relationship to JESUS (ref#7, January 24th). “Paul was devoted to a Person not to a cause” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, January 24th).   Please constrain ____ also, to CHRIST.

O FATHER, open ____’s eyes to look for Your control over (him/her) (2 Cor 5:14). Like the Apostle Paul, You overrule (him/her), capturing (him/her) by the love of CHRIST (ref#7, February 4th). Hasten ____ to be still and know that You are GOD (Ps 46:10).

You desire ____’s whole life to be overmastered—changed so much that (he/she) has no end, no aim, and no purpose but Yours (ref#7, January 24th). You have not regenerated (him/her) to merely represent CHRIST.

Disciples are not witnesses of CHRIST—not witnesses of what JESUS can do, but disciples are witness unto Him. FATHER, give ____ a small sense of who CHRIST is. Grant ____ a face-to-face meeting with CHRIST that makes (him/her) forget about witnessing all together. ____’s interaction with JESUS will naturally make (him/her) a model disciple. (He/She) will then make disciples by example.

____ is representing CHRIST bodily now on earth. Teach (him/her) to take everything that happens to (him/her) as happening to CHRIST, “whether it be praise or blame, persecution, or commendation” Oswald Chamber (ref#7, February 4th).

O LORD, control ____ that (he/she) might be a living disciple. The reputation of JESUS CHRIST is at stake in (his/her) life (ref#7, Sept 19th).

“That we gain heaven, that we are delivered from sin, that we are made useful to God—these things never enter as considerations into real abandonment, which is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, March 12th).

CONFESSION

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PLACING MYSELF ABOVE OTHERS

Screen Shot 2016-01-13 at 2.04.09 PM“Anger is always an attack on the brother’s life, for it refuses to let him live and aims at his destruction….Every idle word which we think so little of betrays our lack of respect for our neighbor, and shows that we place ourselves on a pinnacle above him and value our own lives higher than his. The angry word is a blow struck at our brother, a stab at his heart: it seeks to hit, to hurt and to destroy….When a man gets angry with his brother…when he…insults or slanders him, he is guilty of murder…He erects a barrier not only between himself and his brother, but also between himself and God. He no longer has access to him: his sacrifice, worship and prayer are not acceptable in his sight. For the Christian, worship cannot be divorced from the service of the brethren,…God will not be separated from our brother: he wants no honor for himself so long as our brother is dishonored….There is therefore only one way of following Jesus and of worshipping God, and that is to be reconciled with our brethren” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p127-129).

FATHER, Your love for everyone in Your creation is so great that You refuse to commune with me any further if I am the least bit critical of anyone. I cannot be as sweet water, worshipping You and, at the same time, bitter water and angry at my bother. If I’m not sweet to my brother, You will be bitter toward me. How greatly grieved You are when my words, even in jest, speak negatively of someone.

The Apostle Paul says, “…I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor 9:27 ESV). Paul knows how easy it is to put himself above others with angry or idle words. He knows he must subdue his corrupt tendencies and thus warns himself (and me). (ref#16, [1 Cor 9:27]).

So, today, FATHER, I ask that You make me aware of how I dishonor people. I surely desire to not lose Your presence because of saying and thinking unkindness toward someone.

THANKSGIVING

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GOD’S LOVE – FRUITFULNESS: MY LOVE – THANKFULNESS

Screen Shot 2016-01-11 at 4.07.48 PM“The Father communicates…his love…through Christ; and we make no return of love…but through Christ. He is the treasury wherein the Father disposes all the riches of his grace, taken from the bottomless mine of his eternal love…” John Owen (ref#35, p117).

FATHER, all Your fullness You poured into CHRIST. It pleased You that all divine fullness should dwell in Him permanently. (Col 1:19). And I receive that fullness of Your love from Him by faith—communing responsively to You through the treasury of CHRIST.

Because You love me You bless me with all spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3). These blessings are an ever-flowing fountain. Your love descends on me in bounty and fruitfulness. These blessings are absorbed into me and create goodness in me (ref#35, p118). Your love descends through CHRIST and I experience growth.

My love, on the other hand, ascends to You in thankfulness (ref#35, p119) for Your provisions. My love also ascends to You in the duties I perform in response to Your love. Your presence demands I behave. But, behaving becomes a duty of joy for me because of Your presence through CHRIST.

Yes, because of Your love, I gladly give You Your due as my FATHER. What can I do to honor You (Mal 1:6)? I do not love You for no reason—I love You for the “excellency, loveliness, and desirableness” that is You (ref#35, p120). It becomes my joyous work to follow, running along behind You with CHRIST (ref#10, p 58).

THANKSGIVING

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GOD’S WORD IS NATURE-CHANGING

Screen Shot 2015-11-06 at 4.17.20 PM…FATHER, I thank You for Your Scriptures. And I thank You for providing the SPIRIT who guides me as I read.

I can easily fall back into reading with the mind of my flesh, using my natural “sense and reasons without the Holy Spirit…” (Rom 8:6 AMP). But by reading this way I’m only looking for information to help me. Without the SPIRIT to help, Your Word is external. It does not change me inside. It only gives me advice to act independently of You.

“God’s word,…is still living; it is instinct with energy; it is keener than any two-edged sword: that can but pierce flesh, but this finds its way to the dividing line between the animal life and the immortal spirit: it pierces the deepest recesses of our nature; it analyses the very emotions and purposes of the inmost heart” Arthur S. Way (ref#38, p229, [Heb 4:12]).

I praise You that Your Word “…is a sifter of the reflections and conceptions of the heart” Kenneth S. Wuest (ref#37, p519, [Heb 4:12]). Its energy seeks to get into and stay with me. It has the ability to stir me and work in me to a degree that I can’t get away from it (ref#28, p83).

All thanks to You, FATHER, that Your Scriptures are able to instruct, reproof, and train me in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). Thank You that Your Word will never pass away (Matt 24:35). The HOLY SPIRIT brings life to me through the Word which grants life to me both now and forever (Rom 8:6). Thank You. AMEN!

SUPPLICATION

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TO OVERCOME

Screen Shot 2015-09-23 at 9.13.44 PM“But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me” (Mic 7:7-8 NRSV).

 FATHER, our natural inclination is to be spared from trouble. But, in Your wisdom, You give us troubling situations to deliver us in trouble. No evil can harm us when we’re at one with You no matter what situation You have us in (ref#7, Aug 2nd).

“God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome. The strain is the strength. If there is no strain, there is no strength” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Aug 2nd).

FATHER, empower ____ to accept the hard situations; compel (him/her), by faith, to defer to Your strength. Even anticipating hard situations wears ____ out physically, but if (he/she) spends (himself/herself) spiritually (he/she) will get more strength. You give strength minute by minute (ref#7, Aug 2nd).

“To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard…” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p88).

____ will find You, FATHER, when (he/she) overcomes suffering by suffering. JESUS prayed for the cup to pass from Him (Matt 26:39). It did pass—when He drank it. His suffering passed as he accepted it. “The cross is his triumph over suffering” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (ref#10, p92).

FATHER, how vital for ____ to keep communion with You—to draw near You in hard times for if (he/she) removes (his/her) eye from You even for a moment, (he/she) will succumb to “every dark suggestion of the adversary” Octavius Winslow (ref#61, May 30th). Linked with You, (he/she) overcomes—we overcome—You, LORD, overcome for ____.