Prayer Affair

ADORATION

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“…worship focuses us totally on a majestic, triumphant Creator-Redeemer, lifting us out of ourselves—our sins, inadequacies,…Worship is our response to his extreme grace” Will Metzger (ref#79, p152).

MORNING PRAYER

Screen Shot 2015-09-11 at 12.46.04 PM“O send out Thine angel of truth

and the light of Thy grace!

Let them lead me to…the hallowed hill,

Thy glory’s dwelling-place.

 

“I will go to Thine altar, my God,

I will joy in Thy sight:

I will praise Thee upon the harp,

my Lord, my Light” Arthur S. Way (ref#38, p322, [Ps 43:3-4])!

 

“Lord, pledged am I,

and I will pay my vows with thankful breath,

For Thou hast plucked my soul this day

out of the clutch of death.

 

“And hast Thou not my feet set free

from falling by the way

That I may walk, my God,

with Thee in living light of day” Arthur S. Way (ref#38, p340, [Ps 56:12-13])?

 

“…I will sing Thy protecting power,

Thy mercy will I sing at morning-tide; 

For Thou hast been my lofty refuge-tower; 

In my distress I sheltered by Thy side” Arthur S. Way (ref#38, p344, [Ps 59:16]).

 

 

VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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IT’S NOT SIN THAT CAUSES ME TO FALL AWAY

10/26/12

Screen Shot 2015-09-11 at 12.27.00 PMFATHER, I woke up frightened about what I was thinking. “I can’t wait for You, FATHER. I don’t know how. I have no patience for it.” I deduced failure in every situation I thought of; another week of care-giving put me in panic mode.

I am so vulnerable now—trying to get my footing on the Rock but knowing I don’t have the wherewithal. Re-reading a couple entries of my years-ago journal I find I’m in the same place I was many times before. This does not help my panic.

Sigh. It’s true, as changeable as I am I often do not change. Some days I do all right, some days, not. And none of the days next week promise success.

Indeed, FATHER, it’s true; I’m unable to control my panic. So it is that You create me to fall away from You and I do it well. It’s clear that it’s not a particular sin that causes me to fall away; but it’s simply who I am.

However, at breakfast I read in Nehemiah about the people admitting they are unable to rebuild the wall (Neh 4:10) and I think about my condition.

Under the direction of Nehemiah, the people rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem knew they would not be able. Nehemiah reminded them not to be afraid, but to remember the LORD who was great and awesome and who would fight for them (Neh 4:14,20).

PROMISE-KEEPING, UNCHANGEABLE GOD, as changeable, yet unchangeable, as I am You never change. Now I get it.

This is why You made me changeable so You can showcase Your unchangeableness! I’ll walk into this week of care-giving depending on You—knowing You will accomplish Your desire. I may panic all through it but in it You will showcase Yourself. Who am I to beg You to eliminate my panic? Ah, let me now just bow in submission to You.

SABBATH

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“The believer…keeps the law of God, not believing by keeping it we gain acceptance or approval with God, but rather we keep God’s law as a declaration of our grateful response to His love” Alistair Begg (ref#164, Series: Pathway to Freedom, Sermon#: 1692, “Holy Day or Holiday?” Part One, Oct 31, 1993).

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8 NASB).

We must have an internal conviction about keeping this commandment. And the convincing reason is the joy we gain in the LORD’s fellowship (ibid).

Remember an experience with someone where the interaction with him or her eclipsed all thought of your personal work or leisure. Recall the fellowship, love and joy of the occasion.

This is why GOD established the Sabbath—to give us a holiday to be together with Him. Enjoy this holiday.

 

SUPPLICATION

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This Anguish Was Good For Me

Screen Shot 2015-09-05 at 4.43.46 PM…“Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins” (Isa 38:17 NLT).

FATHER, suffering comes in two forms: within—“the apparent desertion of the Bridegroom which is the most agonizing of the soul’s sufferings, and without, the persecuting malice of men and devils” Madame Guyon (ref#128, p442).

 ____ knows, O LORD, that Your rules are righteous (Ps 119:75) and (he/she) is not. Can You treat (him/her) more cruelly than (he/she) deserves? Never, (he/she) is never smitten as harshly as (his/her) sins deserve (ref#34, April 30, AM).

You, FATHER, have afflicted ____ in faithfulness. (Ps 119:75). But, LORD, see to (his/her) suffering within for it is most debilitating.

In ____’s despondency remove (his/her) anxious thoughts and forebodings, grant (him/her) a glad heart that has a continual feast regardless of circumstances (Prov 15:15). Make (him/her) delight in Your law so (he/she) will not perish in this affliction (Ps 119:92). You who make ____ see many troubles and calamities will revive (him/her) again (Ps 71:20).

Now that (he/she) lives among bitterness and crosses and is prostrate under a load of trouble and affliction, instill within (him/her) that (he/she) comes closest to being “all fair” in the Bridegroom’s eyes. In suffering (he/she) is “all fair” and there is no spot or deformity in (him/her) (ref#128, p 439-440, [Song 4:7])

Suffering scours out ____’s harsh, unyielding, bounded and limited nature that stands in the way of (his/her) happiness. This present suffering is not (his/her) fault nor is it offensive in Your sight; “it is simply a natural defect, derived from Adam, which (his/her) Bridegroom will insensibly take away” Madame Guyon (ref#128, p440, [Song 4:7]).

This circumstance may destroy (his/her) beauty in the eyes of people around (him/her), but (his/her) Bridegroom is most pleased for ____ has no longer any comeliness of (his/her) own. In CHRIST’s eyes through this suffering (he/she) has become possessed of true beauty (ref#128, p440, [Song 4:7]). In His time, CHRIST will “reanimate this annihilated soul” Madame Guyon (ref#128, p446, [Song 4:16]) and ____ will become His perfect bride.

 

THANKSGIVING

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Mutual Interchange of Kind Services

Screen Shot 2015-09-05 at 4.24.56 PM…FATHER, I thank You that I can see Your greatness and love in every flower I look at. But, by that relationship I only comprehend the distance between us—Your power and my inabilities.

But, with the riches of Your grace You have recovered me from a state of enmity to a state of mutual communion and fellowship. You have done this by uniting me together in a covenant of peace ratified by the blood of JESUS. By Your giving and my receiving we can fellowship with each other. Your covenant-giving and my affections toward You binds our wills together (ref#35, p94).

Out of Your vast ocean of love You continually pour out extravagant gifts. You offer such things as a wilderness with entire fields of flowers that bloom without any eye seeing. And You give extravagant gifts to me personally. These gifts make me long to continue to taste Your sweetness and excellencies looking to experience the fullness of Your provided salvation (ref #35, p94). Your kind service to me is Your gifts, my kind service to You is my offerings of praise.

“How precious…are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;…” (Ps 139:17-18 NKJV). “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Ps 139:14 ESV). “…I will celebrate your kindness…” (Ps 101:1 CEV). “…Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Ps 139:14 ESV). “I have seen your power and your glory…” (Ps 63:2 CEV).

CONFESSION

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Trying to Sin Less

Screen Shot 2015-09-04 at 1.45.04 PMMY FATHER, “When thou art angry towards me for my wrongs I try to pacify thee by abstaining from future sin; But teach me…that only Christ’s righteousness, ready made, already finished, is fit for that purpose; that thy chastising me for my sin is not that I should try to reform, but only that I may be more humbled, afflicted, and separated from sin, by being reconciled, and made righteous in Christ by faith;…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p96).

FATHER, my logic says, “Eliminate sin and I won’t need forgiveness—be good and I won’t have to suffer Your discipline.” But my striving to do better next time does not neutralize my sin.

“Sin is…deliberate and emphatic independence of God” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Oct. 7th). All attempts I use to stop sinning and live right are attempts to usurp Your authority and put myself under my control.

“…the wicked…flatters and deceives himself…that his iniquity will not…be hated” (Ps 36:1-2 AMP).

“Sin is a fundamental relationship; it is not wrong doing, it is wrong being…” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Oct 7th). In me is the heredity of sin. JESUS did not take my sins on Himself; he took on Himself my heredity of sin (ref#7, Oct 7th). I am not a sinner because I sin, but I sin because I am a sinner (ref#56, p781).

FATHER, I humbly accept Your Son’s finished work on the cross to cover my sinful nature. Keep reminding me that constantly I need CHRIST to take care of my sin. I don’t need Him just when I think have I sinned. King David said, “My sin is ever before me” (Ps 51:3). Keep alive in me, LORD, the sense of sin’s evil constantly so I might think upon CHRIST constantly (ref#35, p317).

ADORATION

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Prayer Facts:

“It is not enough to remember [who God is and what His promises are]; we must hear it again. Prayer is the act in which we hear it again. It is not enough to carry memory verses around with us; we need daily encounter with the resonant voice of God. Prayer is that encounter. Situations change. Does God change? We pray. We listen. God speaks his word again—the same word!—and we are restored and renewed in our commitment….Resolve is essential but not enough. In prayer God provides renewal. Prayer is not so much the place where we learn something new, but where God confirms anew the faith to which we are committed” Eugene Peterson (ref#144, loc 1298-1311).

Reasons for Waiting for GOD:

Because You plant eternity in my heart—a sense of purpose which nothing under the sun but You can satisfy (Eccl 3:11), I will wait for You.

Because my blood is costly in CHRIST’s sight and because He has pity on me (Ps 72:13-14), I will wait for You.

Because You confirm and make me steadfast and established and endue me with the gifts of the HOLY SPIRIT (2 Cor 1:21), I will wait for You.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life (Ps 63:3), I will wait for You.

VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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The LORD’s Progression

  1. HE MOVES; I TRUST

    GOD the FATHER, GOD the SON, and GOD the HOLY SPIRIT took seven days to create the earth—no “poof” and it was done.

  2. GOD’s covenant to His creatures started in Genesis 3:15 with only the promise of a Savior and was built upon throughout the Old Testament Scriptures until its culmination in JESUS CHRIST.
  3. Now GOD continually conforms His people progressively into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
  4. I’ve rewritten this post at least 10 times.

So very frequently the Unchangeable GOD changes my situations.  He asks me to trust Him (Romans 1:17) as He leads me down to valleys and up to mountaintops—down, up—down, up. In valleys my FATHER is looking to see if I turn to trust Him. On mountaintops my FATHER is looking to see if I continue to trust Him.

Progression, progression, all is progression.

These Monday posts are journal entries of how GOD progresses me. Note that it is GOD Who provides the progression; I don’t progress. Some days my faith is strong, other times, not.

“Few understand that the Christian life is a process of change, neither perfection nor defeat” Paul David Tripp (ref#5, p340).

Whether you are presently a superstar-saint or a common-sinner Christian, consider joining me, for together we are all a people for God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9) being built by Him as a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5).

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