Category: Prayer

Your Father Knows What You Need

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:8

Jesus described God as a father – as your Father. God is neither male nor female. But God is attentive and caring like a parent is (or should be).

When we pray, we often tell God everything that is happening in our world as if he doesn’t know. I am guilty of this. I lay down to sleep and immediately start telling God about all the bad things that are happening. It is as if I am telling him that he should be concerned about the things that concern me. As my pastor put it, God doesn’t need our intelligence briefing. He knows.

God wants us to come to him with our needs, even though he already knows what they are. He doesn’t even mind it when we lay our burdens at his feet.

In teaching us how to pray, Jesus said that our Father knows what we need before we ask, therefore…

  • Praise his holy name
  • Pray for more of him
  • Let go of our ideas about how things should be and ask for his will to be done
  • Ask him to provide our daily needs
  • Ask for forgiveness
  • Pray for deliverance from temptation

God is omniscient, all-knowing. He knows what we need. He knows what our future holds.

Father God, thank you for loving a sinner like me. You are my ever-present help in times of trouble. Help me to let go of my worries about this broken world and to trust your omniscience and omnipotence. I pray for those who are suffering and for the oppressed. Amen

Praying for Justice and Peace

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

When asked how people should pray for the United States, David French said to pray for peace and justice; grace and mercy.

Red states versus blue states. Us versus them. Division. Discord. Name-calling. Blaming. This is the state of America today. The country has been torn apart at the seams.

Mr. French described peace as a band-aid and justice as the stiches. Peace without justice is a temporary fix for what ails us. We will never have lasting peace as long as injustice abounds. No justice, no peace.

Pray for justice for the poor, the sick, the homeless, the oppressed, and the marginalized.

Mr. French noted that justice should be holistic. Justice requires balancing the needs of immigrants who are fleeing danger with the needs of legal residents. Justice is impossible without the due process of the law.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body, you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

The Lord calls me to live in peace with others. His love and peace must rule in my heart. And yet… I am also called to stand up for justice. That’s what Jesus did.

Jesus had compassion for the sick and the marginalized. He defended the woman the crowd wanted to stone for adultery. He spoke out against greed, hypocrisy, and self-indulgence.

I must also speak out against injustice. I can’t ignore the fact that immigrants are being mistreated by our government. I can’t ignore the fact that the nation’s leaders are breaking laws, firing people who stand on principle, and denying due process.

The United States is in great need of spiritual healing. Pray that God will change the hearts of the people and our leaders.

Humble us, Lord

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

In an episode of The Good Faith podcast, David French spoke about five ways to pray for America: for justice, peace, mercy, grace, and reconciliation. Before we can be open to these things, we need to be humbled, and we need to uphold the truth.

Heavenly Father,

The people of the United States need to be humbled. We continually disobey your commandments to love you with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Our leaders are either corrupt and cruel or cowardly and complicit. Most of the people who claim to worship you instead bow down to a false god, a man of lawlessness who claims to be the only one who can save this country.

Americans have always been so proud of our country and of our democratic government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Now, we are throwing away our democracy. Today, we no longer uphold the truth that all men are created equal and are endowed by You with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Lord, we were known around the world for our generosity. Now, our leaders cut off humanitarian aid to foreigners, even destroying food intended for malnourished children. Now, our leaders plan to reduce health and food assistance for the poor so they can grant tax cuts to the wealthy.

We thought we were such an exceptional country that Ronald Reagan called the US a “shining city on the hill.” It was you who inspired these words when you said to your followers: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill can not be hidden.”

The USA is not a shining city on the hill. It never was. There’s nothing new to see here. Today, we build cages to imprison migrants, as we once built internment camps for Japanese Americans. The country has once again been overcome by darkness, fueled by the hatred of people of color.

We have a wicked past. White Americans murdered Native Americans and stole their land. The country’s economic prosperity was built on the blood and backs of slaves. The government may try to erase the sins of our past, but they are not hidden from you.

Lord, show us our brokenness. Bring us to our knees. Search our hearts and reveal the sins that break yours. Heal this country.

Amen.

****

2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Philippians 2:3 NIV
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves..

Matthew 23:12 NIV
For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted

Father, bring up there down here

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

I learned the King James version of The Lord’s Prayer when I was a kid. Many churches still recite the King James version, even though we use a more modern translation for other Bible verses. The prayer is so familiar that we may recite it by rote, not pausing to let the words sink in.

The prayer that the Lord taught us to pray is the topic of a Lenten sermon series at my church. We are studying the prayer phrase by phrase, but with a less confusing translation.

Our Father who art… Perhaps because my first Bible was a King James, I didn’t realize how confusing the old English verbs are. God is an artist, but no, he is not up in the clouds painting.

…in heaven. We think of heaven as a place far away and in the future. It’s the place we go when we die, right?

Last week, Pastor Bob said that the real word is heavens not heaven. Our Father is in the heavens, in the air around us, as close as our next breath. He is everywhere.

In 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, the Apostle Paul spoke about being caught up to the third heaven. The first heaven is the created world. The second heaven is the spiritual realm. The third heaven is God’s home.

May your kingdom come

Today, my pastor asked, “What was the gospel that Jesus preached?” I was thinking to myself, the Good News of Salvation. That wasn’t the answer he was looking for. Jesus preached that the kingdom of God is near!

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:17

It’s hard to grasp what Jesus meant about the kingdom of God. When we hear the word kingdom; we may imagine a castle 🏰 or the range of a king’s rule.

May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

My pastor described the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven in the book of Matthew, as the range of God’s effective will. It’s where God’s will is made known and put into practice.

Our culture reinforces the notion that heaven is far away and in the future. We think of heaven as up there. Earth and hell are down here.

God’s kingdom is not some far away place. Heaven is not some far away place. Both are near.

Heaven is life lived fully with God.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

Father, I long for your will to be done right here and now. Bring up there down here.

🏰 ❤️ 🏰 ❤️

The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)
Song by Matt Maher

Father, let Your Kingdom come
Father, let Your will be done
On Earth as in Heaven
Right here in my heart

My help comes from You

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

The sermon at my church on Sunday was about anxiety, which also happens to be the topic of a self-help book I am reading. I get anxious sometimes, but I have learned where to get help.

When I am anxious, one of my favorite Bible verses comes to mind.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

My pastor said that we should not be ashamed of being anxious. It’s not that we should never be anxious, but that we shouldn’t continuously be anxious.

This verse tells me to give my worries to God. He is with me in my struggles. He will help me get through the storms of life.

The words of the King and Country song, Shoulders, remind me that God is pulling me through the hard times:

When I’m caught deep in the valley
With chaos for my company
I’ll find my comfort here
‘Cause I know that You are near

My help comes from You
You’re right here, pulling me through
You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness
All on Your shoulders
Your shoulders

This song was on the radio a lot several years ago when I was stressed about work. I would wake up worrying and then sing this song in my head.

This verse also tells me to give thanks. I thank God because I remember when He pulled me through my struggles.