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01-31-2008, 01:36 PM
Meditation
2 Samuel 7:18-19,24-29
Readings
Lord God, you are God and your words are truth; you have made this generous promise to your servant. Do, then, bless the house of your servant that it may be before you forever. (2 Samuel 7:28-29)
King David provides a wonderful model for our prayer. When he proposed building a temple in Jerusalem, God told him that this would be accomplished by his son Solomon. Instead, God promised to build David a “house,” a lasting dynasty for his descendants, a permanent home for his people. Emboldened, David set aside his own desires and plans, praised God for his promise, and humbly prayed for its fulfillment. Keeping in mind the awesome things God had done for him and his people in the past, his hope could reach out and lay hold of the future God had revealed to him.
Our prayer, too, has great power when we base it on God’s promises, both his Scriptural promises to all believers and the specific assurances he has given us in personal prayer. Specific promises such as the salvation of a straying loved one or healing from a serious illness may require persistent prayer on our part, but we can continue to pray with confidence. What promises of God seem too good to be true? Hold onto them anyway. And boldly hold God to his promises as well. Then pray and act in a way that helps bring about what he has promised.
Scripture promises us: “If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing” (1 John 1:9). So we can pray: Father, I sorrowfully bring this sin before you. As you have promised, forgive me and make me clean and new.
Again, Scripture promises: “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come”
(2 Corinthians 5:17). And again, we can pray: Holy Spirit, I have been buried with Christ in baptism. You declare that I am a new creation in you. Empower me to live in your love.
“Jesus, you promised, ‘Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son’ (John 14:13). Come, Lord, and inspire me to pray according to your desires. By your Spirit, and heal the minds, bodies, and relationships that I now bring to you in prayer.”
Psalm 132:1-5,11-14; Mark 4:21-25
Online Christian Devotion
2 Samuel 7:18-19,24-29
Readings
Lord God, you are God and your words are truth; you have made this generous promise to your servant. Do, then, bless the house of your servant that it may be before you forever. (2 Samuel 7:28-29)
King David provides a wonderful model for our prayer. When he proposed building a temple in Jerusalem, God told him that this would be accomplished by his son Solomon. Instead, God promised to build David a “house,” a lasting dynasty for his descendants, a permanent home for his people. Emboldened, David set aside his own desires and plans, praised God for his promise, and humbly prayed for its fulfillment. Keeping in mind the awesome things God had done for him and his people in the past, his hope could reach out and lay hold of the future God had revealed to him.
Our prayer, too, has great power when we base it on God’s promises, both his Scriptural promises to all believers and the specific assurances he has given us in personal prayer. Specific promises such as the salvation of a straying loved one or healing from a serious illness may require persistent prayer on our part, but we can continue to pray with confidence. What promises of God seem too good to be true? Hold onto them anyway. And boldly hold God to his promises as well. Then pray and act in a way that helps bring about what he has promised.
Scripture promises us: “If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing” (1 John 1:9). So we can pray: Father, I sorrowfully bring this sin before you. As you have promised, forgive me and make me clean and new.
Again, Scripture promises: “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come”
(2 Corinthians 5:17). And again, we can pray: Holy Spirit, I have been buried with Christ in baptism. You declare that I am a new creation in you. Empower me to live in your love.
“Jesus, you promised, ‘Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son’ (John 14:13). Come, Lord, and inspire me to pray according to your desires. By your Spirit, and heal the minds, bodies, and relationships that I now bring to you in prayer.”
Psalm 132:1-5,11-14; Mark 4:21-25
Online Christian Devotion