June 8
A Prayer For Obedience To The Word
God of eternal wisdom and everlasting glory, who had only to speak and the world was formed and mankind was created, we come humbly, and yet boldly, into Your presence this morning hour. We worship and we praise You for who You are and what You have done, and what You are doing and for what You will do for all who have their faith and trust in You.
This morning we are moved to great gratitude and awesome wonder at the gift of Your Holy Word, the Bible. We thank You for inspiring holy men of old to record for us that which You knew to be necessary for our salvation and congruent with Your will as made known through Jesus Christ Your Son. We thank You for Your providence and Your protection of that Word. We thank You for those across the centuries who gave their lives to preserve, copy and defend it against the many forces of evil that would destroy it. We thank You for those thousands who laboriously copied the Word with quill and reed and for those who first placed it into print. We thank You for those who have in the past, and are still translating the Word in the language of tribes and nations and unreached people of the world. Lord with the Psalmist of old we cry out, “Oh, how we love Your Word. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but Your Word stands forever.”
But even as we thank You for Your eternal Word, we have much to confess. We have not always treated it as Your Word. We have not always approached it in humble obedience. Sometime we have neglected it altogether; at other times we have read it half heartedly with our minds on other things; worst of all, there have been those times when we have read it thinking that we would, through such reading, gain brownie points in the Book of Life. Father, we know that Your Word is intended, both directly and indirectly, to get inside our heads, to deal with our souls and to form a life that is congruent with Your will as You have made it known through Your Son Jesus. O God, forgive us for our failure to internalize Your truth and to let it form and fashion us into a people that are well pleasing unto You. Help us, O God, to take You seriously when You cry: “Is not my Word like a fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.”
God of love and mercy, give us an appetite for Your Word such as was expressed by the prophet: “When Your Words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my hearts delight.” Only then will the reading of Your Word produce in us, the purpose for which You have given it to us. Only then will it enter our souls as food enters our stomachs, spread through our blood and produce in us the Christ-likeness which makes us truly Your people in word and deed.
This is our prayer offered in the name of Jesus. Amen
A Prayer For Obedience To The Word
God of eternal wisdom and everlasting glory, who had only to speak and the world was formed and mankind was created, we come humbly, and yet boldly, into Your presence this morning hour. We worship and we praise You for who You are and what You have done, and what You are doing and for what You will do for all who have their faith and trust in You.
This morning we are moved to great gratitude and awesome wonder at the gift of Your Holy Word, the Bible. We thank You for inspiring holy men of old to record for us that which You knew to be necessary for our salvation and congruent with Your will as made known through Jesus Christ Your Son. We thank You for Your providence and Your protection of that Word. We thank You for those across the centuries who gave their lives to preserve, copy and defend it against the many forces of evil that would destroy it. We thank You for those thousands who laboriously copied the Word with quill and reed and for those who first placed it into print. We thank You for those who have in the past, and are still translating the Word in the language of tribes and nations and unreached people of the world. Lord with the Psalmist of old we cry out, “Oh, how we love Your Word. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but Your Word stands forever.”
But even as we thank You for Your eternal Word, we have much to confess. We have not always treated it as Your Word. We have not always approached it in humble obedience. Sometime we have neglected it altogether; at other times we have read it half heartedly with our minds on other things; worst of all, there have been those times when we have read it thinking that we would, through such reading, gain brownie points in the Book of Life. Father, we know that Your Word is intended, both directly and indirectly, to get inside our heads, to deal with our souls and to form a life that is congruent with Your will as You have made it known through Your Son Jesus. O God, forgive us for our failure to internalize Your truth and to let it form and fashion us into a people that are well pleasing unto You. Help us, O God, to take You seriously when You cry: “Is not my Word like a fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.”
God of love and mercy, give us an appetite for Your Word such as was expressed by the prophet: “When Your Words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my hearts delight.” Only then will the reading of Your Word produce in us, the purpose for which You have given it to us. Only then will it enter our souls as food enters our stomachs, spread through our blood and produce in us the Christ-likeness which makes us truly Your people in word and deed.
This is our prayer offered in the name of Jesus. Amen
