Bible Prayer Points for Lenten Ember Day Three: ARM Canada Call to Prayer

Thanks to the Prayer Book Society of Canada for this image. 

That it is St Matthias Day today in the BCP calendar caught me by surprise this morning having already posted the Ember Day readings from the Daily Office in both BCP and BAS lectionaries earlier. Not to worry, they’re all good and profitable and for training in righteousness (1 Tim 3.16). 

I believe it is no accident that these readings are presented before us at this particular time. In particular this morning I was struck by the following: 

1 Cor 4.1-7 or 8. 

This reading appears for today both in Morning Prayer in the BAS lectionary and for Evening Prayer on the feast day of St Matthias the Apostle in the BCP. Two things lit up for me to pray: 

1. Paul calls us to be faithful stewards of the mysteries of God (vv1&2). Marriage between a man and a woman is one of those mysteries, a profound mystery, in fact (Eph 5.31-32). Lord, may we be faithful stewards of your gift of marriage, that profound mystery. 
2. We are also not to go beyond what is written (1 Cor 4.6). Lord, may we resist the temptation to go beyond your Word in Holy Scripture in any of our Church’s teaching and doctrine. 

Mt 7.15-27

This is for St Matthias’ Morning Prayer. The following points prompted my prayers: 

1. Beware of false prophets (v15) and apostles (see the petition in the Collect for St Matthais above). LORD, help us by Your Holy Spirit to recognize false prophecy and apostles and to avoid being led astray by them. 
2. Not everyone who says, “‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (V21). It is vitally important that we discern what the true will of the Father is for our Church. LORD, Your will be done in Your Church as it is in heaven. 
3. Building our house on the rock rather than on the sand (vv 24-27). LORD, may all our building be on the rock of properly hearing Your Words and doing them well and faithfully. 

Amen!

Gene+

A Bible Verse Prayer on a Monday Which Happens To Be All Saints Day

Lord, if there is anything we are doing or not doing that is blocking You from acting in a way that ALL the people, when they saw it, would give You deep, heartfelt praise, please show us what it is. (Luke 18.43)

And if you're doing things that we're missing, or are unable to appreciate, please ephphratha (Mk 7.34) us.

3 Prayers for a Preacher

1. Help me to devote myself to prayer and to the ministry of the word. (Acts 6:4)
2. Enable me to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. (Acts 4:29-30)
3. May the faith of those who hear me not rest on my plausible words of wisdom but on Your demonstration of the Spirit and of power. (1 Cor 2:4-5)

A Perfect One-Word Jesus Prayer

I need to be, my church needs to be, you need to be, your church needs to be. Our leaders need to be. Ephphratha'd. Amen.

Thoughts on a Monday in Holy Week

Today Jesus clears the temple and curses the fig tree.

Jesus said,

Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen. And whatever your ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

I wouldn't mind just getting to the fig tree level, let alone the mountain throwing. LORD, help me get from here to there.

Yesterday, the Passion story reminded me of Jesus' kingship. Today, in one of the readings in my excellent St James Daily Devotional Guide, as King David was leaving Jerusalem because of his son Absolom's rebellion, Ittai, a foreigner, makes a statement of loyalty to David:

As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be. (2 Sam 15.21)

My LORD, King Jesus also lives. My I also be wherever He is whether for death or for life.

A Bible Prayer Point from Deuteronomy 30.15, 19

For myself:

Lord, today I turn my back on death and evil. Instead, I choose life and good that I and my children may live, loving you, the LORD my God and holding fast to you, for you are my life and length of days.

For others:

Lord, may N(&N) turn away from death and evil today. May she/he/they choose life and good that she/he/they and his/her/their children may live, loving you, the LORD his/her/their God and holding fast to you, for you are his/her/their life and length of days.
O, yes!!
Deuteronomy 30.15, 19

A Bible Prayer Point for Healing

Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof…

We are not worthy to have you come into this hospital room or even to ask you for this,

…but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. (Mt 8.8)

…and my family member, my friend, my parishioner, will be healed.

O, yes!

Renounce, Bear and Go: Three Word Bible Prayer

A challenging three words in my A Guide to Prayer reading from Luke 14 this morning:

Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (v33)

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (v27)

If I want to be His disciple I must renounce, bear and go.

A Three Word Prayer from the Bible

Widen my heart.

Widen our hearts.

Widen their hearts.

So we are less likely to be restricted by our own affections.

From today's epistle: 2 Cor 6.12 and 13.

Another Three Words and Eternal Life

Three Words

My post-before-last started what I thought might become a little Bible "triads" series—three word phrases that pique my devotional and intercessory interest. Imagine my surprise when yesterday I found a piece by Allan Dobras over at VirtueOnLine entitled "The Three Most Important Words." In his musing on what is happening to Easter and Christianity in America he wonders what are the most important words ever spoken to humankind. He first suggests "In the beginning," might be a contender, and "Come Lord Jesus," but then there's "It is finished!"—all profound and evocative statements worthy of reflection and prayer—but the most important, he suggests, is "He is Risen."

A Bible Three Word prayer point for today:

that all the people I love would come to know that He is Risen if they haven't yet realized that fact and those that know it, can be faithful and fruitful witnesses of it.

Read "The Three Most Important Words" here.

St Clive (S. Lewis) on Eternal Life

There will come a time when every culture, every institution, every nation, the human race, all biological life, is extinct, and every one of us is still alive.

This from The Weight of Glory in my Readings for Reflection in A Guide to Prayer.

In one of his books, Dallas Willard asks, "Have you ever thought about what you'll be doing in ten thousand years?" I guess it depends on whether or not Alan Dobras' three most important words are true, and whether or not one believes it.

He is Risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Psalm 126 as a Prayer for Those in Need of Restored Fortunes

My Psalm for the week in A Guide to Prayer is 126, that wonderful little one about the laughter and joy that come after the weeping, when fortunes are restored. The restoration is so amazing that it is like a dream; too good to be true.

Thanks to this YWAM publication, A Voice for the Voiceless: 30 Days of Prayer for the Voiceless: addressing global issues of gender-based injustice. See here (don't know why this shows as strike through). I find myself praying for people, women and girls mostly, who badly need their fortunes restored.

The last three days have covered child prostitution, AIDS and domestic violence. The numbers are horrific. I guess I knew that, but the enormity and specifics of the problem gets lost in the minutiae of my comfortable and secure day to day life. To come: Pakistan (where, I learned today that, 70-90% of women experience domestic violence), abortion, refugees, eating disorders, purdah, female labourers, China, incest, barren women, pornography, female suicide bombers, starvation, trafficking, Afghanistan, female genital mutilation, teenage mothers, honour killings, prostitution, war, Africa, rape, dowry, missing women, education, single mothers, Iran and slavery.

Psalm 126 can be a lovely prayer for all who are experiencing hard times; the sick, the unemployed, the abused, those in stressed relationships; the list goes on. Pray that the LORD in His mercy will restore their fortunes so that they, too, will be like those who dream and that they will laugh and shout for joy. Soon. Amen.

UPDATE—9 May 2012: Jude and I are still using it each day.

Bible Verse Prayer Point from John 20

I am praying that s/he/you:

may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20.31, ESV)

Oh, yes! A good prayer.

The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ Bible Verse Prayer Point

Pray that God will shine in my/her/his/our/their heart(s) to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The purest, clearest light and the most precious face in the world.

"And Jesus, looking at him, loved him" (Mk 10.21) before asking him to give it all up and follow him.

That face.

O, yes!

1 Peter 2:9 Bible Verse Prayer Points

On this, the 10th day of Christmas, from today's in A Guide to Prayer:

that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (ESV)

Two prayer points in reversed order from how we find them in 1 Peter:

1. That those for whom we pray would be able to hear and respond to Him who is calling them out of their particular areas of darkness


2. That they would then proclaim those excellencies. 

Oh, yes!!

Final O Antiphon Prayer Point (a Day Late)

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the desire of all the nations and their Saviour: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

For the second time, "save us." We must need it. A good prayer for all.

So here is the whole O Antiphon "Come and" list:

1. teach us the way of prudence


2. redeem us with an outstretched arm


3. deliver us and do not delay


4. bring the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death


5. enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death


6. save us, whom you formed from the dust


7. save us, O Lord our God

Methinks the repetitions are telling.

O Antiphon Prayer Points for December 22

Two today. No time yesterday. Twelve hours at the church.

Yesterday: Sunday December 21st

O Dayspring, splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. 

Dayspring; I love that name for Jesus. We all experience the darkness and the shadow from time to time. Poet Longfellow caught it nicely:

Be still sad heart and cease repining;
Behind the clouds the sun is shining,
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life a little rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

We have a Dayspring behind our clouds who can enlighten us.

Pray that he will come into our lives and the lives of those for whom we pray and enlighten us.

Today

O King of the nations, and their desire, the corner-stone making both one: Come and save us, whom you formed from the dust. 

Lord, thank you for making us. Save us from all that darkens and ensnares us.

O Antiphon Prayer Point for December 20

O Key of David, and sceptre of the house of Israel, who opens and no one can shut, who shuts and no one can open: Come and bring the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. 

We all know folk who live in prison houses of darkness and the shadow of death. Some have been imprisoned by the sinful acts of others, some have imprisoned themselves by their own sinful behaviour. In any case, a good Advent prayer would be to ask Jesus to come and bring me/us/him/her/them out.

O Antiphon Prayer Points for December 19

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign to the people, before whom kings shall shut their mouths and whom the nations shall seek: Come and deliver us and do not delay.

Three prayer points there.

1. That those for whom we pray would see and respond positively to the "sign to the people" that Jesus represents


2. That the nations will seek Him now


3. That Jesus will come and deliver the folk for whom we pray from whatever ensnares them: addictions, ignorance, carelessness, fear, whatever. 

An O Antiphon Prayer Point for Advent

O Adonai, and leader of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm. 

He has already redeemed us in one sense, but many still need to know it and accept it. We can pray that those we care about soon will because the night is far spent and the day is at hand.

For those who do know and have accepted, there can still be areas and behaviours we have allowed to sneak out from under the cover of that redemption. As we repent, come O Adonai, and redeem those things with Your mighty outstretched arm, too.

An O Antiphon and Bible Prayer Point for Advent

Today the "O Antiphons" begin in the seven day lead up to Christmas. These are ancient verses which declare some lovely names of Jesus—O Wisdom, O Sacred Lord, O Flower of Jesse's Stem, O Key of David, O Radiant Dawn, O King of All Nations, O Emmanuel.

O Antiphon Prudence Prayer Point

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, and reaching mightily from one end of the earth to the other, ordering all things well: Come and teach us the way of prudence. 

A good prayer for those in the throes of Christmas shopping.

Bible Prayer Point: Prepare the way of the Lord

Lord, may the way I live out this Advent/Christmas season prepare your way (Mk 1.2) into the hearts of the people with whom I live and move and have my being (Acts 17.28).