Jesus—blessed child

The boy Jesus - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 2-3; Psalm 113

TO CHEW ON: "And the child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him." Luke 2:40

Day eight of Jesus' life brought Joseph and Mary, with Jesus, to the temple in Jerusalem to perform the purification rites for Mary (Leviticus 12:2-8) and present Jesus, their firstborn male, to God (Exodus 13:2).

It was a day of ritual—and surprises when two elderly people came to them at separate times, prophesied over, and blessed Jesus. Mary and Joseph marveled over Simeon's predictions (Luke 2:29-31) and Anna's referring to their baby as a redeemer (Luke 2:38). No doubt Simeon's blessing addendum, about their baby's divisive destiny that would lead to a sword piercing Mary's own soul, was disturbing.

How reassuring to read, then, after all this was over and life settled down again, that Jesus "… grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."

This verse witnesses to His humanity and his normal development as a child:

• "He grew..." Luke 2:52 tells us He "… increased in wisdom and stature…"

• "...and became strong in spirit..." 

The phrase "strong in spirit"  used in the NKJV is not included in all versions. But that very phrase is used of Jesus' relative John the Baptist (Luke 1:80). I like its inclusion. It portrays Him as a physically healthy and spirited, perhaps strong-willed child—in a good way, of course. 

• "...filled with wisdom..."  

[Sophia: broad and full of intelligence; the varied knowledge of things human and divine, acquired by acuteness and experience, extreme intelligence such as belongs to God.]

Wayne Gruden reminds us that " … he went through a learning process just as other children do—he learned how to eat, how to talk, how to read and write, and how to be obedient to his parents (see Hebrews 5:8). This ordinary learning process was part of the genuine humanity of Christ" - Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 533.

• "… and the grace of God was upon Him."  

[Charis—Goodwill, lovingkindness, favor; that which affords pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, grace of speech.]

Perhaps this "grace" was evident in how life treated Him, how well-liked He was, how easily He learned, how easy He was to get along with. No doubt the qualities of charis (sweetness, charm, loveliness, grace of speech) also emanated from Him.

I love to imagine what Jesus must have been like as a youngster—dark, curly hair, olive skin, lively eyes, with a quick mind and sharp intelligence, full of questions, probably surprising and delighting His parents with funny and wise observations.

Reading how Jesus' childhood turned out, I don't think it's surprising to admit we want something similar for our own children and grandchildren. Let's turn this description of His blessed growing-up years into a prayer for our own little ones.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, as You did, may the little ones in my life grow, become strong in body and spirit, be filled with wisdom and have God's grace upon them in every way. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 113

The Bible Project VIDEO: Luke ch. 1-2 (Gospel of Luke mini-series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The prayer that changed a nation's story

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 1-3; Psalm 48

TO CHEW ON: "And so it was, when I heard these words that I sat down and wept and mourned for many days' I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven." - Nehemiah 1:4


The word economy of the Bible quickly gets us to the crux of the matter in this story that takes place at the end of the Old Testament time. The described state of his fellow Hebrews in Jerusalem distresses Nehemiah (who is a servant of Persian King Artaxerxes) immensely. So he does what we should all do when we're distressed—goes to the One who can help.

Nehemiah 1:5-11 is Nehemiah's heartfelt prayer. Let's look closely at it to see what we can learn about prayer from it.

1. Nehemiah begins by addressing God: "Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God..." His beginning puts him in his place and vaults God to His. By saying these faith-building words (Nehemiah 1:5) Nehemiah also reminds himself of God's power and ability to answer.

2. Nehemiah includes himself with the people (Nehemiah 1:6-7).  Though he is many miles away and probably hasn't participated personally in the sins he confesses, he stands in solidarity with his countrymen. His identification with them also shows his understanding of how God works in and through nations.

3. He prays God's words back to Him. Nehemiah 1:8-9 are a paraphrase a Moses' words in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, recalling words of warning and blessing to Israel from centuries earlier (see Leviticus 26:33 and Deuteronomy 4:25-27, 29-30; 28:63-67; 30:4).

4. He names his request. He reminds God of the investment He has already made in Israel (Nehemiah 1:10) and pleads for mercy, for himself (from his boss, the King of Persia; 'would God move the heart of a king to give him favor?') and in that, also for all of Israel (Nehemiah 1:11).

The rest of the book of Nehemiah tells the story of how King Artaxerxes releases Nehemiah from his duties, finances and equips his trip to Jerusalem, and then how Nehemiah leads the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall and eventually a spiritual revival.

What large and small things are troubling us today? Let's pray about them. Let's pray remembering how big and capable God is in contrast to our own neediness, frailty, and unworthiness. Let's pray God's words—His promises—back to Him, naming our requests with all the passion and emotion they bring up in his.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for prayer. Help me to realize that a burden about a situation or person is also an invitation to pray about it. Help me to pray from my heart,  with faith in You and Your power. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 48

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Come and get prayed for

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Philippians 1:1-14

TO CHEW ON: “‘And this I pray…’”  Philippians 1:9


In our church we have a Sunday morning prayer time. It’s an interlude during congregational worship when people people can come to members of the prayer team and get prayed for.

I’m on the prayer team. When I take my place during prayer time I never know what it will bring. Sometimes no one comes. At other times I pray for two or three. The needs are as various as the people that come. I always pray beforehand that God will, by His Spirit, give me the thoughts and words to pray for each person so that what is really needed, even below the felt need, is exposed and brought to God.

Paul, in his prayer for the Philippians, prays with a broad brush. His would be a prayer to fit a lot of requests in the way it addresses the deep issues of heart and life.

• He prays for the quality of their love (Philippians 1:9).

Doesn’t that need—for a growing, intelligent, discerning love—cover a lot of requests that have to do especially with relationships (marriage, family, friend, work, ministry). A list of what a growing, intelligent, discerning love would look like is found in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.

• He prays for their excellence (Philippians 1:10).

The NKJV expresses it: “… that you may approve the things that are excellent…” The Amplified Bible enlarges on that thought:

“So that you may surely sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value—recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing the moral differences.”

Doesn’t that sound a lot like a prayer for wisdom? It reminds me of a list of excellent thought destinations Paul gives us later in Philippians  (“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” - Philippians 4:8.)

• He prays that their lives will produce good fruit - Philippians 1:11.

Doesn’t that sound a lot like a prayer for success—a success whose goal is God’s glory not ours (“… to the glory and praise of God” - Philippians 1:11b)? Another list comes to mind: the fruits of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" - Galatians 5:22,23. 

What a great example of an all-encompassing prayer! Praying it for ourselves or for someone else brings to God a multitude of needs, many of which we’re aware of, others we may not even know we have.

PRAYER: Dear Father, I pray that my love will grow in knowledge and discernment, that I will dwell on and give expression to that which is excellent, and that my life will be filled with the fruits of righteousness today. May I bring glory to You. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Guidebook

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:129-144

TO CHEW ON: "Direct my steps by Your word;
And let no iniquity have dominion over me." Psalm 119:133


This deceptively easy request, if granted, could make life a lot simpler.
- Our struggle with resentment would be over, for we would forgive.
- Jealousy would be a thing of the past, for we would not covet.
- Rudeness, selfishness and generally living with a chip on our shoulders would be replaced with love.
- Etc.

So how many of us actually pray this and mean it?

Perhaps it's simplistic to interpret and spell out the results of this prayer so literally. It certainly is a lot easier said than done. But it does seem like the last part of our focus verse gives us a clue as to why obeying God's word is not only a good suggestion but vital to spiritual health. Because when we don't, "iniquity" will not only be present in our lives, but may rule us (Romans 6:12).

["Iniquity" is the old-fashioned word that means the bad stuff. The Message renders it malign: evil in effect, pernicious, baleful, injurious. It is bad attitudes, harmful tendencies, plain old sin.]

I'm going to challenge myself today to actually pray and mean this prayer. When negative attitudes creep in, when fear pops up, when my thoughts toward others are critical, negative, suspicious — anything but loving —I will ask: Does the Bible have a command, give advice, or tell a story about this that, if obeyed, would defeat this iniquity in me. And then I purpose to act on what I'm shown.

Will you join me?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the Bible — so clear and practical. Please show me where sin has the upper hand in my life because I haven't let Your word direct my steps. Amen.

MORE: Obey — what exactly?
In order for this prayer to make sense, the pray-er needs to have some familiarity with what God has said in the Bible — His outright commands and the stories of how He dealt with people. Eugene Peterson, in the chapter on obedience from the book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction speaks of the need for getting familiar with that history:

"The psalmist [Peterson is analyzing Psalm 132 in this chapter] is not an antiquarian reveling in the past for its own sake but a traveler using what he knows of the past to get to where he is going — to God.


For all its interest in history the Bible never refers to the past as 'the good old times.' The past is not, for the person of faith, a restored historical site that we tour when we are on vacation; it is a field that we plow and harrow and plant and fertilize and work for a harvest." p. 168.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Watchmen

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 62:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day and night,
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent." Isaiah 62:6 NKJV

 "You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest" - Isaiah 62:6 NIV

A little sidebar article in my Bible called “Watchfulness and Restlessness: The True Spirit of Prayer” gives this bit of historical information and insight into Isaiah 62:1-7:

“This passage formed the essential vision for a prayer community organized in the 1700s, in a part of Germany called Moravia. Known as the Moravians, they christened their community Hernhutt (sic), meaning, “The Lord’s Watch,” establishing a 24-hour prayer vigil that lasted over 100 years! Isaiah calls such intercessors “watchmen” noting:

1) They are positioned high on the walls, prayerfully focused on activities in the city, among nations and in heaven itself (vs. 6).

2) Alert to the character and ways of God, they review His promises, which are unfolding both for Jerusalem and for the nations (“Gentiles”) as well (vv.1&2).

3)They take stock with a spirit of urgent restlessness, refusing to keep silent before God (vv. 6b-7)" - David Bryant in “Kingdom Dynamics” – New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 947.

How does this description of watchman-like prayer hit you? Does it make you want to pray more fervently, about more things? That’s the effect it has on me.

Watchmen in Bible times didn’t fight the battles. They mainly reported what they saw to the people with the authority, power and military resources to do something about it.

Are you seeing problems in your home, your neighborhood, your workplace, your city, your nation, the world? Don’t default to man-made and manipulative first lines of attack. Instead of doing things like grumbling, phoning a talk show, or starting a petition, make your first reaction one of reporting what you see to God. It is only God who has the power and resources to make a real difference.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to be an alert and restless watchman (watchwoman) over my little part of the world. Amen.

MORE: A Watchman's Guide to Praying God's Promises
 In a free e-book (pdf) Dick Eastman outlines a 30-day comprehensive prayer plan that is sure to enlarge your prayer borders and watchfulness. 

This guide sets out a different prayer topic each day for 30 days (like the seven mountains of influence: religion, family & marriage, education, business, government, media, arts and entertainment, along with 23 more topics including Israel, children, justice, Christian leaders, etc.). Following these requests, each day has Scriptures to pray over the request, and a list of nations that will have you interceding for each nation of the world once a month. 

Download the 227-page e-book A Watchman's Guide to Praying God's Promises HERE. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Let the Apostle Paul pray for you

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Philippians 1:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11


Don't you just love it when someone prays over you, and for you, the kind of prayer quoted in our focus verses today? This kind of prayer lifts our sights from our concerns to how we fit into God's big picture. It casts a vision of what we strive toward. It reminds us that we're part of something big, glorious, and eternal.

Wes Campbell in the Introduction to the "Apostolic Prayers" chapter of Praying the Bible: The Book of Prayers says:

"Have you ever listened to a father earnestly pray for his child? In the Apostolic Prayers you find the apostles—the early fathers of the church—praying for their spiritual children. Most of the Apostolic Prayers in the Bible were written by the Apostle Paul" - p. 187.

Our focus verses today make up one of those prayers prayed by Paul over the Christians in Philippi. Campbell notes the characteristics commonly found in such prayers. He observes that Apostolic prayers are:

• "Fatherly prayers. They express what a father wants for those he has birthed and is raising in the Lord.

• Foundational prayers. As founders of the church, the apostles were setting things in order.

• God-focused prayers. They are, in fact, so God-focused that they virtually ignore the demonic host.

• Positive prayers.... Apostolic Prayers are not focused on fixing what we aren't, but rather on fulfilling what we can be.

• Prayers for the church. They bring before God the concern of the saved whether individuals, churches or regions" 

How can we make the most of these rich prayers?

Campbell again:

"When praying these prayers for yourself, personalize them by changing the pronouns and ask that God would do these things in your own life. Then pray the exact same words over your friends and family, putting their names into the text. Do the same for your church and the other churches throughout your city or region. When you do this, you will be praying like the apostles prayed. You can even expect the same results!" - all quotes above from Wes Campbell, Praying the Bible: The Book of Prayers, pp. 187-191.

PRAYER: Dear God, may my love overflow more and more and may I keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want to understand what really matters, so that I may live a pure and blameless life until the day of Christ's return. May I always be filled with the fruit of my salvation—the righteous character produced in my life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Amen. (Philippians 1:9-11 personalized from the NLT version.)

MORE: More Apostolic Prayers

Want to read/pray more Apostolic Prayers? Here are a few of the more than a dozen found in the New Testament:

Acts 4:29-31
Ephesians 1:15-20
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; 5:23-24
3 John 2

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Letting God get a word in

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 15:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "'If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.'" John 15:7

Here we see an important part of abiding — or living — in the vine (Jesus) is prayer. And an effective way of praying, that is praying prayers that get answered, is making God's words part of our prayers.

This happens on several levels.

1. God's words change us so we ask for the right things.
As we get familiar with God's heart as expressed in the Bible and we let it change us, our desires will come into line with His will. When that happens we'll pray for things that are His will. When we and God want the same thing, His answers to our prayers will be "Yes."

2. We pray God's words back to Him.
God's word has unique power. Jeremiah describes it as a hammer and a fire(Jeremiah 23:20). Isaiah tells us it will not fail in the purpose for which God sends it out (Isaiah 55:10-11). So why not pray these powerful, unable-to-fail words back to God.

Daniel Henderson (author of Transforming Prayer) quotes Calvin Miller in this regard:

"Too often we go into God's presence with a list of pleas, trying to talk God into granting our desire. But this kind of praying makes us 'one big mouth' and God 'one grand ear.' But when we pray the Scriptures, it makes God the voice and leaves us the ear. In short, God gets His turn at getting a word in edgewise" - Calvin Miller, from The Path to Celtic Prayer, p. 57, quoted in Transforming Prayer p. 103.

Henderson tells us how he does this practically:

"On a personal level, I read the Scriptures using the Bible program on my laptop. As specific passages speak to me, I paste them into my journal program. Then I take time to allow those Bible segments to speak deeply to my heart and write out my prayers in response. This sense of Christ's presence and the substance of His Word guide my praying for that day" - Transforming Prayer, p. 105.

Let's ask God to show us ways we too can adjust our prayer times to combine Bible words and prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please teach me to pray using the power of Your words. May they change me. Help me to find and recognize Bible passages that express Your will for the people and circumstances in my life. May I then be alert to use them in prayer. Amen.

MORE: Praying the Bible

There are many resources available to help us pray God's word. Some I am aware of:

Praying with Fire

Take Words With You (a pdf book you can download from this page)

You can also write your own scripture prayers for the people you love, your circumstances, your career, your city, and your country. I've posted two such prayers on the "Prayer" page of this blog. Try writing one of these for yourself and your circumstances.

(From the archives) 

NOTE: For those receiving this by email, sorry about how unreliable these have been lately. Blogger is having problems with publishing scheduled posts on time

Prayer for children

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 17:15-27

TO CHEW ON: "And Abraham said to God, 'Oh that Ishmael might live before You!' .... 'As for Ishmael, I have heard you.'" Genesis 17:18,20

Abraham, not daring to believe the promise that God would give him a son through Sarah, prays, "Oh that Ishmael would live before You."

I'm not sure I understand all that meant to Abraham. It probably meant that he desired Ishmael to acknowledge God as his God and honour Him as Abraham did. God also took it as Abraham requesting that the promises He had made for his not-yet-born son would be for Ishmael.

God's reply to Abraham was "No" to that last. For His covenant was to be with Sarah and her son Isaac. But then God added these reassuring words: "As for Ishmael, I have heard you," and He tells Abraham how he will answer prayer for Ishmael.

Isn't Abraham's prayer: "Oh that Ishmael would live before you" the prayer of every Christian parent for our sons and daughters? We want more than anything for our kids to acknowledge Him as Lord and Saviour and honour Him with their lifestyle and choices.

Let's not give up praying for them, knowing that just as God heard Abraham's prayer for Ishmael, God hears our prayers for the Ishmaels and the Isaacs in our lives.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that You hear my prayers for my children and grandchildren. Please bless them with Your favour. Amen.


MORE: Prayers for children

Praying scripture for and over children is powerful. "Praying for the Children" is a compilation of Bible verses (including references) we can use in prayer for our Isaacs and Ishmaels, Sarahs and Rebekahs.

Scripture praying

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 1:57-80

TO CHEW ON: "'And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation toHis people….To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.' So the child grew and became strong in spirit. Luke 1:76-77; 79-80

I love the prayers of prophetic blessing in the Bible, especially the ones that fathers prayed over their children. Our reading today is the powerful prayer / prophecy that Zacharias prayed the day he and his wife brought their eight-day-old baby to the temple to be named and circumcised. And isn't the outcome of Zacharias's prayer exactly what we want for our kids and grandkids - physical growth and spiritual strength?

So why not pray the same way for our kids? We may not have the original Holy Spirit inspiration that Zacharias did on the day he prayed this prayer, but we do have all of inspired scripture on which to base our prayers. Why not pray it for and over our kids?

Dick Eastman in his book The Hour That Changes the World gives a three-part plan for devising scripture prayers.

1. Listen to or read a passage from the Bible.

2. Stop listening or reading the moment you discover a verse or two that impress truth on your heart:
- Meditate on what the verse is saying to you.
- Ponder every aspect of the passage.
- Evaluate how the passage might be transformed into a specific petition.
Ask:

• Does this verse prompt me to pray for something specific?
•  How can this passage be directly applied to my petition?
• Can I use some of the words of the passage verbatim as I pray?

3. Using your mediation "form a personal prayer 'enriched' by that promise from God."

- Dick Eastman, The Hour That Changes the World, pp. 59-60.

Here are a couple of my favourite passages on which to base prayers for the babies and children in our lives:

"So Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground." 1 Samuel 3:19

"And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was on Him." Luke 2:40

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man." Luke 2:52

PRAYER: Dear God, please bless (___insert names of loved ones) and keep them. May You make Your face shine upon them and be gracious to them. May You turn Your face toward them and give them peace. Amen (prayer based on Numbers 6:22-27).

MORE: Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Today the church celebrates the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

Here is the collect that begins the day's liturgy:

"Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

"Birth of St.John the Baptist" by Luca Signorelli (1445-1523)

(This is a re-post - devotion first published on June 24, 2010.)

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Letting God get a word in

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 15:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "'If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.'" John 15:7

Here we see an important part of abiding — or living — in the vine (Jesus) is prayer. And an effective way of praying, that is praying prayers that get answered, is making God's words part of our prayers.

This happens on several levels.

1. God's words change us so we ask for the right things.
As we get familiar with God's heart as expressed in the Bible and we let it change us, our desires will come into line with His will. When that happens we'll pray for things that are His will. When we and God want the same thing, His answers to our prayers will be "Yes."

2. We pray God's words back to Him.
God's word has unique power. Jeremiah describes it as a hammer and a fire. Isaiah tells us it will not fail in the purpose for which God sends it out. So why not pray these powerful, unable-to-fail words back to God.

Daniel Henderson (author of Transforming Prayer) quotes Calvin Miller in this regard:

"Too often we go into God's presence with a list of pleas, trying to talk God into granting our desire. But this kind of praying makes us 'one big mouth' and God 'one grand ear.' But when we pray the Scriptures, it makes God the voice and leaves us the ear. In short, God gets His turn at getting a word in edgewise" - Calvin Miller, from The Path to Celtic Prayer, p. 57, quoted in Transforming Prayer p. 103.

Henderson tells us how he does this practically:

"On a personal level, I read the Scriptures using the Bible program on my laptop. As specific passages speak to me, I paste them into my journal program. Then I take time to allow those Bible segments to speak deeply to my heart and write out my prayers in response. This sense of Christ's presence and the substance of His Word guide my praying for that day" - Transforming Prayer, p. 105.

Let's ask God to show us ways we too can adjust our prayer times to combine Bible words and prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please teach me to pray using the power of Your words. May they change me. Help me to find and recognize Bible passages that express Your will for the people and circumstances in my life. May I then be alert to use them in prayer. Amen.

MORE: Praying the Bible

There are many resources available to help us pray God's word. Some I am aware of:

Praying with Fire

Take Words With You (a pdf book you can download from this page)

You can also write your own scripture prayers for the people you love, your circumstances, your career, your city, and your country. I've posted two such prayers on the "Prayer" page of this blog. Try writing one of these for yourself and your circumstances.

Powerful name

"Triumphal entry into Jerusalem" 
- Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 118:1-29

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Psalm 118:26

Parts of Psalm 118 were what the "very great multitude" shouted as Jesus approached the city riding on a donkey - the event we now celebrate as Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:1-10). Those crowds recognized the prophetic scene painted in Psalm 118 as Jesus entered Jerusalem's gates:

"Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them....
This is the gate of the Lord
Through which the righteous shall enter" - Psalm 118:19,20.

Their shout "Hosanna" is the Hebrew rendering of "Save now" (Psalm 118:25). Their chant, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" is a direct quote from Psalm 118:26.

Their declaration that Jesus came "in the name of the Lord" is weighty with meaning. Daniel Henderson in his book Transforming Prayer devotes a whole chapter to exploring "the name of the Lord." Here are some bits that help us understand what the crowds were shouting that day and what we do when we invoke that powerful name:

"The 'name of the Lord' represents more than a title for God. It is the essence of His identity and character revealed to the hearts of men....


Throughout His ministry Jesus brought great clarity to us about His character and identity by declaring His unique names....He excited worship, for example, with the 'I am' statements made in the gospel of John:

• 'I am the bread of life (John 6:35).

• 'I am the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5).

• 'I am the gate for the sheep' (John 10:7,9).

• 'I am the resurrection had they life' (John 11:25).

• 'I am the way, the truth, and the life' (John 14:6).

• 'I am the true vine' (John 15:1,5).

Later the New Testament books will explode additional truths about our Christ, telling us that He is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8), the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), the chief cornerstone of the household of God (Ephesians 2:20), the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22), the very Word of the God (Revelation 19:13), and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16)" - Daniel Henderson, Transforming Prayer, p. 127-129.

Obviously the Jerusalem crowd didn't recognize Jesus in all His fullness. For only days later another crowd shouted "Crucify Him!" But we, with all of the Bible at our disposal, can now see the depth of meaning and power in "the name of the Lord." And it is on the strength of that name (which we often invoke so casually) that Jesus promises God the Father will answer our prayers:

^"23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.²⁴ You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy" - John 16:23-24 NLT.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for coming to earth to be the incarnation of all that God is. Help me to begin to comprehend the massiveness of this, and understand the privilege it is to be able to pray in Your name. Amen.

MORE: Praying in the name of Christ

"To pray in the Name of Christ is to pray as one who is at one with Christ, whose mind is the mind of Christ, whose desires are the desires of Christ, and whose purpose is one with that of Christ. Prayers offered in the Name of Christ are scrutinized and sanctified by His nature, His purpose, and His will. Prayer is endorsed by the Name when it is in harmony with the character, mind, desire and purpose of the Name" - Samuel Chadwick (The Path of Prayer, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1936, p. 52) quoted in Transforming Prayer, p.131.