Epaphras Prays Podcast

The ungodly thinks, and lives a mantra of, love is love. They believe that love of the world is all you need. And give little thought about how much God so loved the world.

They really are looking for love in all the wrong places!

Even among the children of God, we need to focus first on our Lord’s love—and pray for more of it.

What is love?

Love, as God defines it, is agape, which is affection, goodwill, benevolence, or prefers, i.e., divine love (= what God is, prefers, and expresses). This is not like love the world offers, it is a type, quality and quantity of love that the Father has for Jesus, and that He has for us.

Jesus said our love for Him will grow cold as lawlessness is increased (Matthew 24:12). Growing cold is turning away or falling away from nearness to him; our affections can diminish for our Savior and be replaced with affections for worldly things.

Therefore as believers, we must intentionally and purposefully cultivate love for the Lord, meaning we long for it and ask for it regularly in prayers—that we have have it and express it.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. Romans 5:5. O, that this holy affection would runneth over us!

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, Philippians 1:9. Abound, or as the NASB uses: overflow; to gush, exceed, be above and beyond!

Do any of us have enough love of God, and love for God?

Or more than enough?

Is love increasing, overflowing and abiding in abundance?

Or in stead, is it instead shallow, weak, cold?

Then let us pray for love:

O Lord, we love you, because You first loved us, we pray let love be daily poured out, and abounding in and over us, back to You and outward to others. Amen

The Four Dimensions of Love

We pray for more Godly, divine, perfect, holy love, so that:

1. We know the love Jesus has for us and abide in it

Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:18-19). His love is unfathomable, immense, and immeasurable.

As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. (John 15:9) We do this by verse 10, we keep His word.

2. We may love Jesus as the Father does

And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

Jesus declared, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (Matt 22:37) Note how these correspond the the first four commandments in Exodus 20. This is why Jesus says this is the great and first command. These outline how we love God

3. We would love others as Jesus does

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:39). Note how this encompasses the Second Table, that is, the other six commandment. These outline how we love people. This is the royal law of Scripture (James 2:8)

And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows, (1 Thessalonians 3:12) Increase, overflow.

4. We love ourselves as Jesus loves us

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)

More on this another time, for now remember we are in not of this world and do not selfishly care for ourselves, indulgently (the ‘you deserve it’ mantra), excessively, or sinfully, pursuing the things of this world.

Our love of self is knowing (experiencing) His love for us, seeing our inner man how God sees us, and care for our lives (our bodies and minds) in ways that reflect His love and manifest it like the moon reflects the sun.

Self love for believers is to seek being filled with His love to overflowing.

We close with our prayer for all those who love the Lord:

May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

(2 Thessalonians 3:5)

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Most people around you don’t know Jesus. Most people nearby aren’t saved by grace. Most are lost, trapped in darkness of sin and separation from God.

It’s up to us to pray them into the kingdom.

In this podcast:

Let’s learn to pray today for unsaved people among us, as did Paul: Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. Romans 10:1 ESV

Do we have that same heart for the lost as did Paul?

* Who he prayed to

* Who he prayed for

* What did he pray for

* Why did he pray?

Plead with the Lord on their behalf!

5 prayers for their salvation and 1 for yourself

* Ask: He give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins

* Pray: the word of the Lord run swiftly and be glorified.

* Ask God open hearts to hear and heed the message.

* Pray For the word of the Lord to grow mightily (the preaching and teaching) and prevail (be heard, be light in darkness, win the lost).

* Ask God to graciously correct those in opposition and perhaps grant them repentance so they may know the truth and come to their senses to escape the snare of the devil.

And finally, one prayer for yourself: pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the field, which are ripe and plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray for harvesters. (Luke 10:2)

Pray for their salvation. Now is the time to seek the Lord Jesus, call upon His name and be saved.

Learn to pray as Jesus taught, through Scripture and proven teachers. Grow from uncertain to confident, sporadic to steady, and then intercede for God’s church. Lord, we ask, teach us to pray!

Thank you for listening, and even more for praying!

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Action—which is any Christian activity, apart from prayer is essentially godless, for it fails to bring Almighty God into the picture. Nothing should be done without prayer for the single reason that not praying leaves God out of the issue or activity altogether.

The Church (and other ministries) often give lip service to prayer, while we busy ourselves with good activities. We are very good at working and acting, but very bad at praying. Truly praying.

How much of our ministry activity—like proclaiming the Gospel, shining light in dark places, caring for the sick—falls short simply because we’ve left God out? The Word does not increase across the land and prevail mightily. (Acts 6:7) Instead, darkness fills the void we’ve left room for.

Prayer is an absolute necessity to the proper carrying on of God’s work. God has made it so. —from E. M. Bounds in The Weapon Of Prayer.

He goes on to tell us why the twelve told the disciples “we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.” Because they knew the success of the Word and the progress of the Church were dependent on their commitment to praying. “God could effectively work through them in proportion as they gave themselves fully to prayer,” he writes.

The people of God must first, last and in between be a praying people. We’d better start on our knees, then roll up our sleeves. Do not neglect, or abbreviate, praying just because we have sooooo much work—even ‘for the Lord’ —on our hands!

Look to the Bible: Moses, Daniel, Elijah, Nehemiah, and numerous others recorded for us as praying before they acted. And, like the Apostles, these are first men of prayer; the Lord works through those who pray. Jesus, too. He prayed through the night, then chose His disciples when daylight came (see Luke 6).

We should do the same! Let us also be like these, bathing all our activities first in prayers. Don’t gloss over it merely asking for His blessing on what we've already planned. No! Instead we are seeking His kingdom come and His will be done. If the Lord wills we will do this or that.

How utterly we might otherwise fail, how mightily we may instead prevail. — Bounds

Share your prayers to others. Share this post to someone you are praying for.

Praying is Action

One truth I want to emphasize is this, if action means doing something (whatever that thing is) then the praying itself is an action.

That doesn’t mean replacing other activity undertaken by the Church. The body of Christ has dozens or hundreds of things it can and should be doing to minister to the needs of the body, to preach and teach, to evangelize and so many more.

But all—and I do mean all—of these necessary actions need to be done after prayer, not instead of. But don’t replace the doing with only praying! Like a seesaw, it’s both, many times in equal measure.

Success and progress in kingdom work are dependent on doing both.

Learn to pray as Jesus taught, through Scripture and proven teachers. Grow from uncertain to confident, sporadic to steady, and then intercede for God’s church. Lord, we ask, teach us to pray!

New to prayer? Start here.

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She poured out her soul before the Lord and worshiped Him, then went home in peace. When her prayer was answered, she came and worshiped again. This woman knew bold and fearless praying.

1 John 5:13-15

I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.

Our Foundation of Eternal Life - v. 13

The Conditions on Prayers - v. 14

God’s Perfect Timing - v 15

The Gracious Limitations - v 15

Our Prayer Practice

* True freedom in prayer

This is free and fearless praying!

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This week I’m praying as much against as I am for.

One is asking the Lord to provide something, grace or blessings, help or wisdom. I (and you) need all those and so much more. So it is good to pray with petitions for something.

James says if we lack wisdom, to ask for it.

Praying against something is altogether different. It’s not my go-to type of praying, but there are times and reasons to make petitions against. See Psalm 83, for example.

Asaph cries “O God, be not silent; be not speechless; be not still, O God. See how Your enemies rage, how Your foes have reared their heads. With cunning they scheme against Your people and conspire against those You cherish…”

and later “Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes a forest, as a flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with Your tempest, and terrify them with Your storm.”

That’s intense!

This is petitions for the Almighty to come do something against the enemies of God’s people. It is a cry for God’s intervention against evil.

There is certainly plenty of “what is evil” all around us (if you want to say it more sinister, say Ee-vill, like the bad guys in movies). We read and hear all the time, about those who inflict what ought not to be upon one another. Books, films, news, all portray ungodly deeds and all manner of these evils near and far.

John also says, Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:20). Those perpetrators of evil, simply put, hate God, and the evil they do is the result. This word evil can be defined as worthless and bad, of no account, wicked. And Johns instruction--even warning, is to not imitate it among ourselves.

The followers of Christ are not to repay anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone, says Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:15. So even if evil is come upon us by those who hate the Light, we are taught to do good, to bless those who curse us, even--yes, even to--get this, pray for them! In Luke 6:28, Jesus says “bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Even when they are evil, doing evil things to us, God’s own people?

Apparently, yes…Continue reading from the archived article Praying Against Evil for more how to bless those who curse you, pray for their salvation, and pray for deliverance from the greatest evil

Who do you know who needs this?

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What do we pray for? What is our ultimate goal in praying? What is the answer we seek from our praying?

According to this Prayer Insight from Johnathan Edwards, the answers are all the same: The good brought by prayer is God Himself. This comes from a look into On Corporate Prayer For Revival, by Johnathan Edwards

The text today looks at the significance of prayer in seeking God’s presence and revival in the Church. It highlights that when people come together actively seeking Him in prayer, our ultimate goal is not just to seek God’s favor or mercy, but to desire God Himself. And this is how, Edwards says, God advances His Church today.

In Zechariah 8:20-22:

20 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—21 and the residents of one city will go to another, saying: ‘Let us go at once to plead before the LORD and to seek the LORD of Hosts. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead before the LORD.”

In the podcast, we find Edwards sees corporate prayer not as a mechanism to trigger God into acting, but more the posture of a people who collectively desire God Himself above all else. Revival is simply God revealing Himself to those who are looking for Him together.

Here we’ll find the primary objective of prayer is to seek God Himself, and when done corporately with a sincere heart, it can lead to spiritual revival and the manifestation of God’s presence in the Church, as promised in Scripture.

May this encourage us to gather and seek the Lord, crying to Him fervently that He would revive us, restore us , reveal Himself in glory, and, soon, return.

Sending this to others in your fellowship might get this thing started. The time is ripe!

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New to prayer and intercession? Start Praying Here

Grace isn’t something we pray only before a meal. It’s what we pray for, every moment, every day.

We’re used to grace being a brief word of thanks to God for what He has graciously provided. And rightly we do this. But the grace of our gracious Lord is more than this.

Praying grace is found all through the Word of God, especially as greetings in the New Testament letters.

Some examples:

* 1 Corinthians 1:3 - Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

* Philemon 1:25 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

* 2 Peter 1:2 - Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

* 2 Peter 3:18 - But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

* 2 John 1:3 - Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

What is Grace?

Rightly understood, grace from our Lord is unmerited favor; it is something our Lord freely give us that we do not deserve, cannot earn or repay. It is kindness, favor, a gift, a blessing. The words in Greek and Hebrew both refer to God freely giving of Himself to people because He desires to be with them.

We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:5), which grants sinful people pardon for our disobedience, and gives to us eternal salvation in Christ alone. It is this kindness that leads us to repentance, which is why we ought to say grace. Indeed, all we have, are and do, is by grace.

Prayer connects us to the Lord’s divine favor. He responds to our asking (in humility and dependence) with a continual outpouring of His help and guidance. A life of constant communication and fellowship with our Lord is receptive to His kindness and direction.

But it is not only for mealtimes. The early church fathers, and the Puritans understood this. Below are a few of their prayers which we may also pray. We are not used to such praying — with strange words or speaking style, but, along with praying the Scripture passages above, praying these will broaden and deepen our own prayers as we say (and pray) grace.

Grace in the morning. Grace at noontime. Grace for evening hours. It doesn’t come automatically, it comes by asking.

Grace is not only for you, but for other saints in Christ. Sharing this helps let them know.

For Growth in Grace

Give perfection to beginners, O Father; give intelligence to the little ones; give aid to those who are running their course. Give sorrow to the negligent; give fervor of spirit to the lukewarm. Give to the perfect a good consummation; for the sake of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen. (Irenaeus, Old Gallican Sacramentary)

For Grace and Protection

Incline mercifully Thine ear, O Lord, to these our prayers, and fill our hearts with Thy grace, that loving Thee with an unfeigned love we may evermore be defended under Thy most gracious protection, and be accepted in all our prayers and services; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen. (An Ancient Collect)

For Christian Graces

Grant Thy servants, O God, to be set on fire with Thy Spirit, strengthened by Thy power, illuminated by Thy splendour, filled with Thy grace, and to go forward by Thine aid. Give them, O Lord, a right faith, perfect love, true humility. Grant, O Lord, that there may be in us simple affection, brave patience, persevering obedience, perpetual peace, a pure mind, a right and honest heart, a good will, a holy conscience, spiritual strength, a life unspotted and unblamable; and after having manfully finished our course, may we be enabled happily to enter into Thy kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen. (Old Gallican Sacramentary)

Grace Active – A Puritan Prayer

O God, may Thy Spirit speak in me that I may speak to Thee. I Lord Jesus, great high priest, Thou hast opened a new and living way by which a fallen creature can approach Thee with acceptance.

Help me to contemplate the dignity of Thy Person, the perfectness of Thy sacrifice, the effectiveness of Thy intercession.

O what blessedness accompanies devotion, when under all the trials that weary me, the cares that corrode me, the fears that disturb me, the infirmities that oppress me, I can come to Thee in my need and feel peace beyond understanding!

The grace that restores is necessary to preserve, lead, guard, supply, help me.

And here Thy saints encourage my hope; they were once poor and are now rich, bound and are now free, tried and now are victorious.

Every new duty calls for more grace than I now possess, but not more than is found in Thee, the divine treasury in whom all fullness dwells. To Thee I repair for grace upon grace, until every void made by sin be replenished and I am filled with all Thy fullness.

May my desires be enlarged and my hopes emboldened, that I may honor Thee by my entire dependency and the greatness of my expectation.

Do Thou be with me, and prepare me for all the smiles of prosperity, the frowns of adversity, the losses of substance, the death of friends, the days of darkness, the changes of life, and the last great change of all. May I find thy grace sufficient for all my needs.

For the sake of Christ, we pray for grace, Amen

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In James we are directed to how we pray for ourselves. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. (James 5:13 ESV)

At times of our affliction, we are to pray. When we are cheerful, we are to praise. This should be the first things we do.

Do we? You maybe, but for many, no, it’s not first, or second. Or worse.

Why is that? Well, I’m too independent, stubborn or angry or cheerful. Lack of trust in God might be another reason. Or lack of faith. Ignorance? The list goes on, you fill in your own blanks.

So the first lesson is that we should pray and praise. In bad times or in good.

What do we pray when we are suffering? Most of us likely pray to be relieved of the suffering, that the Lord would take away the pain or affliction—and that is only natural. It is also good to be purposeful in our prayers for our own Godliness, for strength in grace, for growing up in Christ, or for counting it all joy in facing trials of many kinds.

We ought perhaps to pray that our faith would not fail, nor our love grow cold, but that we would draw near to God. Perhaps we pray from Matthew 5:48—Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (NASB)

It is likely that when the storms come, when the trial is upon us, that the Lord is after something more than just our personal comfort. James chapter one tells us these trials produce something in us — and that is likely what the Lord is after, namely perseverance, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (verse 2).

Scripture suggestions for personal prayer:

* Pray from 2 Corinthians 13:9 And this also we pray, that you may be made complete.

* Pray from Colossians 4:12 that you may stand mature and assured in the will of God.

* Pray from 1 Thessalonians 3:10 that what is lacking in your faith may be supplied

* Pray from 1 John 2:5 that you keep his word, in him truly love for God is perfected.

* Pray from James 1:3 for wisdom from God, who give generously.

There are many things we can do after we pray, but we should not do anything until after we pray. ~ Anon

Notice how often we are directed to pray first and to pray continually. How often instead do we pray last and pray rarely! Daniel prayed before interpreting the kings dream; Nehemiah prayed before meeting with the king; Jesus prayed through the night before calling the 12 disciples. Elijah is another example of one who prayed and his prayers were answered:

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. James 5:17-18 ESV

He prayed fervently, then, he prayed again. God answered both prayers! First that it would not rain, again that it would rain.

And when we are cheerful?

Then we sing praises! Give God all the glory for all He has done, the blessings He poured out, the grace He extended; the mercy, healing, saving, and so on. Praise Him for who he is, Lord, God, King; provider, protector, deliverer; Savior, Redeemer, Friend.

In Luke 17 we see Jesus cleansing 10 lepers, but only one returned to give Him thanks: (verse 15) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God…

Let us not neglect to be thankful in our cheerfulness, we are to praise and give Him honor for His loving-kindness, being thankful to Him with our praises. God hears and answers our prayers, and when he does, we are indeed joyful — but do not forget to show proper gratitude!

This, then, is how we are to pray for ourselves.

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Prayer is loyalty to God. Non-praying is to reject Christ and to abandon Heaven. A life of prayer is the only life which Heaven counts. — Bounds

Today we study a chapter from the work of E. M. Bounds.

Key Points

* Prayer is an obligation for those who are devoted to God, even more so than worldly success or wealth.

* Prayer is not merely a religious duty but a vital aspect of life, as important as breathing.

* Prayer is the means by which God’s will is enacted on Earth, allowing His kingdom to be established and His purposes fulfilled. It sanctifies daily life, secures forgiveness, and defeats evil.

* Prayer is not merely a one-sided conversation; it is a relationship between God and His children.

* Prayer is not only a religious practice but a way to please God and align with His will.

* Prayer is to be without ceasing.

Key Quotes

God is vitally concerned that we should pray. God does His best work for the world through prayer. God’s greatest glory and man’s highest good are secured by prayer. Prayer forms the godliest men and makes the godliest world.

There is nothing on earth nor in Heaven, for time or eternity, that God’s Son did not secure for us. By prayer God gives us the vast and matchless inheritance which is ours by virtue of His Son. God charges us to “come boldly to the throne of grace.” God is glorified and Christ is honored by large asking.

Biblical examples of how prayer can alter God’s purposes

* In Psalm 2

* In Psalm 72

* In Ephesians 3

* In Job

* In Revelation 8

* In Jonah

Conclusion

this chapter highlights the central role of prayer in the lives of those who belong to God. It portrays prayer as an obligation, a privilege, and a means of influencing God’s purposes and demonstrating loyalty to Him. Bound reminds us, and encourages all believers to embrace the profound significance of prayer and to intercede for the salvation of all humanity, following the example of Jesus Christ.

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Is there any work, higher work for the disciple to do than His Lord did? Is there any loftier employment, more honorable, more divine, than to pray for others? To take their woes, their sins, and their perils before God; to be one with Christ? To break the thrall which binds them, the hell which holds them and lift them to immortality and eternal life?

E. M. Bounds

Thank you for reading Epaphras Prays . This post is public so feel free to share it.

Taken from The Reality of Prayer by E. M. Bounds, pp. 13-16. Full text available: https://www.embounds.online/_files/ugd/06aa1c_544b127e41e34f5fad0cccca26659bfb.pdf

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Have you ever sat in a prayer gathering and there’s that one intercessor who just seems to go deep in petitions before the Lord? They don’t pray just on the surface, and you can tell they’ve spent plenty of times laboring in prayers.

That’s can be inspiring, or maybe discouraging, making our own praying seem a bit feeble, or so we think. It’s not about being eloquent, but about knowing the heart and will of the Lord. He hears all our prayers, but this type of praying comes with repeated time with him.

Still, I’ve found that being near, or listening to, others who pray well can be helpful as we grow in our own praying. So this time is a variety of prayer classics, I’ve selected from works readily available, full of prayers that we can echo and incorporate in our devotional praying.

As E. M. Bounds said:

“Prayer is our most formidable weapon, but the one in which we are the least skilled, the most averse to its use.”

Let’s grow greater in prayer skill! May these help teach us, inspire us, enlarging and encouraging us to go to the Father more often, longing to go deeper before and with Him:

A Disciple’s Renewal from Prayers of the Puritans

O MY SAVIOR, Help me. I am so slow to learn, so prone to forget, so weak to climb; I am in the foothills when I should on the heights; I am pained by my graceless heart, my prayerless days, my poverty of love, my sloth in the heavenly race, my sullied conscience, my wasted hours, my unspent opportunities. I am blind while light shines around me: take the scales from my eyes, grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief. Make it my chiefest joy to study thee, meditate on thee, gaze on thee, sit like Mary at thy feet, lean like John on thy breast, appeal like Peter to thy love, count like Paul all things dung.

Give me increase and progress in grace so that there may be more decision in my character, more vigor in my purposes, more elevation in my life, more fervor in my devotion, more constancy in my zeal. As I have a position in the world, keep me from making the world my position; May I never seek in the creature what can be found only in the Creator; Let not faith cease from seeking thee until it vanishes into sight. Ride forth in me, thou King of kings and Lord of lords, that I may live victoriously, and in victory attain my end.

LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY from With Christ In the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray

Blessed Lord! You have this day again given us another of Your wondrous lessons to learn. We humbly ask You, O give us to see aright the spiritual realities of which You have been speaking. There is the harvest which is so large, and perishing, as it waits for sleepy disciples to give the signal for laborers to come. Lord, teach us to look out upon it with a heart moved with compassion and pity. There are the laborers, so few. Lord, show us how terrible the sin of the want of prayer and faith, of which this is the token. And there is the Lord of the harvest, so able and ready to send them forth. Lord, show us how He does indeed wait for the prayer to which He has bound His answer. And there are the disciples, to whom the commission to pray has been given: Lord, show us how You canst pour down Your Spirit and breathe upon them, so that Your compassion and the faith in Your promise shall rouse them to unceasing, prevailing prayer.

O our Lord! we cannot understand how You canst entrust such work and give such power to men so slothful and unfaithful. We thank You for all whom You art teaching to cry day and night for laborers to be sent forth. Lord, breathe Your own Spirit on all Your children, that they may learn to live for this one thing alone--the Kingdom and glory of their Lord--and become fully awake to the faith of what their prayer can accomplish. And let all our hearts in this, as in every petition, be filled with the assurance that prayer, offered in loving faith in the living God, will bring certain and abundant answer. Amen.

For Friends and Relatives from PRAYERS of the EARLY CHURCH Edited by J. MANNING POTTS

O God, the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom every family in heaven and earth is named, thou who hast set the solitary in families, grant to all members of this family and to all the members of our different families, that, according to the riches of thy glory, we may be strengthened with might by thy Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God; through the eternal Christ our Savior. Amen.

—Adapted: Ephesians 1:17; 3:15-19.

For Stewardship from PRAYERS of the EARLY CHURCH Edited by J. MANNING POTTS

O Lord God Almighty, who hast built Thy Church upon the foundation of the Apostles, under Christ the head corner-stone, and to this end didst endue Thy holy apostle St. Barnabas with the singular gift of the Holy Ghost; leave me not destitute, I humbly beseech Thee, of Thy manifold gifts and talents, nor yet of grace to make a right use of them always without any sordid self-ends, to Thy honour and glory; that, making a due improvement of all those gifts Thou graciously entrustest me with, I may be able to give a good account of my stewardship when the great Judge shall appear, the Lord Jesus Christ, who reigneth with Thee and the Eternal Spirit, one God, blessed forever. Amen.

—Barnabas.

Pray A Psalm

We can pray the Psalms, which is simply taking the Words of Almighty God as written by David or others and pray those same words back to God. When we do this, we are assured we are directly praying the will of God. And that means we can pray with confidence (1 John 5:14) that the Lord hears and gives.

We like to pray these as we imagine David must have, and we echo his words as our own prayer.

Happy is he whose resting-place is in the secret of the Lord, and under the shade of the wings of the Most High; Who says of the Lord, He is my safe place and my tower of strength: he is my God, in whom is my hope.

He will take you out of the bird-net, and keep you safe from wasting disease. You will be covered by his feathers; under his wings you will be safe: his good faith will be your salvation. You will have no fear of the evil things of the night, or of the arrow in flight by day, Or of the disease which takes men in the dark, or of the destruction which makes waste when the sun is high.

You will see a thousand falling by your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. Only with your eyes will you see the reward of the evil-doers. Because you have said, I am in the hands of the Lord, the Most High is my safe resting-place; No evil will come on you, and no disease will come near your tent.

For he will give you into the care of his angels to keep you wherever you go. In their hands they will keep you up, so that your foot may not be crushed against a stone. You will put your foot on the lion and the snake; the young lion and the great snake will be crushed under your feet.

Because he has given me his love, I will take him out of danger: I will put him in a place of honor, because he has kept my name in his heart. When his cry comes up to me, I will give him an answer: I will be with him in trouble; I will make him free from danger and give him honor. With long life will he be rewarded; and I will let him see my salvation.

from Psalm 91:1-16 BBE

May we grow in skill in praying well

What’s a old prayer that you think we should pray along with? If you have a favorite, or one that is a go-to prayer, please share.

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