this week: ABIDE

We're back from a terrific family vacation and ready to charge into a new year. It's prayer week at Grace. Hope you're setting aside some extra time to pray with your nuclear family and others in the Grace family.

Each morning at 6:30 and afternoon at 12:00 noon the pastoral staff are facilitating times of prayer in the Fireside Room. Growth Groups are kicking their quarter off with a prayer focus this week as well and don't forget Drawing Near, our ongoing weekly prayer meeting every Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM.

Even for me as a pastor, I want to be the first to admit that prayer is hard. It's just so easy to neglect it in our non-stop, go-go-go world. I realize it's just not going to happen unless I schedule it and prioritize it. At the same time, prayer is so vital. Not only does prayer change the world because God has ordained to work through the prayers of His people, but as Pastor Steve reminded us on Sunday, this is part of how we abide in Jesus, Our Vine.

Why would we neglect to talk to our Creator and Savior, when He invites us to come to Him? Yet we do. . . . it's crazy.

I think sometimes our past failure in the area of prayers can be a barrier to our prayers today. This misses grace and is opposed to the Gospel. His mercies are new every morning. Let's not be bound to the past, but begin again today. Today is a new opportunity to come to Him.

I'll see you along the way . . .

Puritan Prayer #6: A Pastor's Prayer

This one is personal and powerful for me on this and every Monday.

O MY LORD,
Let not my ministry be approved only by men,
or merely win the esteem and affections of people;
But do the work of grace in their hearts,
call in Thy elect,
seal and edify the regenerate ones,
and command eternal blessings on their souls.
Save me from self-opinion and self-seeking;
Water the hearts of those who hear Thy Word,
that seed sown in weakness may be raised in power;
Cause me and those that hear me
to behold Thee here in the light of special faith,
and hereafter in the blaze of endless glory;
Make my every sermon a means of grace to myself,
and help me to experience the power of Thy dying love,
for Thy blood is balm,
Thy presence bliss,
Thy smile heaven,
Thy cross the place where truth and mercy meet.
Look upon the doubts and discouragements of my ministry
and keep me from self-importance;
I beg pardon for my many sins, omissions, infirmities,
as a man, as a minister;
Command Thy blessing on my weak, unworthy labours,
and on the message of salvation given;
Stay with Thy people,
and may Thy presence be their portion and mine.
When I preach to others let not my words be merely elegant and
masterly,
my reasoning polished and refined,
my performance powerless and tasteless,
but may I exalt Thee and humble sinners.
O Lord of power and grace,
all hearts are in Thy hands, all events at Thy disposal,
set the seal of thy almighty will upon my ministry.

Puritan Prayer #5: Power by My Frailty

I bolded my favorite lines in this one . . . good thoughts on a Saturday evening.


O GOD,
I know that I often do thy work without thy power,
and sin by my dead, heartless, blind service,
my lack of inward light, love, delight,
my mind, heart, tongue moving without thy help.
I see sin in my heart in seeking the approbiation of others;
This is my vileness, to make men's opinion my rule, whereas
I should see what good I have done,
and give thee glory,
consider what sin I have committed and mourn for that.
It is my deceit to preach, and pray,
and to stir up others' spiritual affections
in order to beget commendations,
whereas my rule should be daily to consider myself more vile
than any man in my own eyes.
But thou dost show thy power by my frailty,
so that the more feeble I am, the more fit to be used,
for thou dost pitch a tent of grace in my weakness.
Help me to rejoice in my infirmities and give thee praise,
to acknowledge my deficiencies before others
and not be discouraged by them,
that they may see thy glory more clearly.
Teach me that I must act by a power supenatural,
whereby I can attempt things above my strength,
and bear evils beyond my strength,
acting for Christ in all, and
having his superior power to help me.
Let me learn of Paul
whose presence was mean,
his weakness great,
his utterance contemptible,
yet thou didst account him faithful and blessed.
Lord, let me lean on thee as he did,
and find my ministry thine.

Puritan Prayer #2: God's Cause

SOVEREIGN GOD,
Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart,
and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom
to set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns;
Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice,
for to bring honour to thy name is my sole desire.
I adore thee that thou art God,
and long that others should know it, feel it,
and rejoice in it.
O that all men might love and praise thee,
that thou mightest have all glory from the intelligent world!
Let sinners be brought to thee for thy dear name!
To the eye of reason everything respecting the conversion of others
is a dark as midnight,
But thou canst accomplish great things;
the cause is thine,
and is to thy glory that men should be saved.
Lord, use me as thou wilt,
do with me what thou wilt;
but, O, promote thy cause,
let thy kingdom come,
let thy blessed interest be advanced in this world!
O do thou bring in great numbers to Jesus!
let me see that glorious day,
and give me to grasp for multitudes of souls;
let me be willing to die to that end;
and while I live let me labour for thee
to the utmost of my strength,
spending time profitaby in this work,
both in health and in weakness.
It is thy cause and kingdom I long for, not my own.

O, answer thou my request!

Puritan Prayer #1

Many, many thanks to Pastor Steve for jumping in to preach yesterday as I recovered from the flu. I'm feeling better. This week is our 2007 Grace Week of Prayer. I just came out of a sweet time of morning prayer with Jessica, Kayla, Amy, Armand and Tim.

I hope that you've made a commitment to pray with your family and with others in the church family in a special way this week. This week at "life together" I thought I'd highlight some Puritan prayers from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.

Here's the first which touches on some of the themes of Steve's message yesterday. . . . our condition apart from God's grace, our continuing need for God's grace . . .

Incomprehensible, great and glorious God, I adore Thee and abase myself.
I approach thee mindful that I am worse than nothing, a creature worse than nothing. My thoughts are not screened from Thy gaze, my secret sins blaze in the light of Thy countenance.

Enable me to remember that blood which cleanseth all sin, to believe in that grace which subdues all my iniquities, to resign myself to that agency which can deliver me from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

Thou hast begun a good work in me and canst alone continue and complete it.
Give me an increasing conviction of my tendency to err, and of my exposure to sin.
Help me to feel more of the purifying, softening influence of religion, its compassion, love, pity courtesy and employ me as Thy instrument in blessing others.

Give me to distinguish between the mere form of godliness and its power, between life and a name to live, between guile and truth, between hypocrisy and a religion that will bear Thy eye.

If I am not right, set me right, keep me right;
And may I at last come to Thy house in peace. Amen.