Category Archives: Prayer

Gospel spirituality

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What does gospel (that is to say, evangelical and reformed) spirituality look like?  Peter Adam writes:-

1. Mediator

Christ is the mediator of the revelation of God, so this spirituality is Christ-centred, responding with faith in Jesus Christ, and especially to his saving death and resurrection.

2. Revealer

Christ has revealed the Father, so this spirituality is that of trust in God our Father, his love and kindness in Christ, and his sovereign and providential rule over everything.…

Praying with right motives

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‘When we pray for things pertaining to this life, we must desire temporal things for spiritual ends; we must desire these things to be as helps in our journey to heaven. If we pray for health, it must be that we may improve this talent of health for God’s glory, and may be fitter for his service; if we pray for a competency of estate, it must be for a holy end, that we may be kept from the temptations which poverty usually exposes to, and that we may be in a better capacity to sow the golden seeds of charity, and relieve such as are in want.…

The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew and Luke

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Matthew 6:9–13 Luke 11:2–4
Our Father in heaven Father
May your name be sanctified May your name be sanctified
May your kingdom come May your kingdom come
May your will be done
As in heaven, so also on earth
Give us today our daily bread Give us each day our daily bread
Forgive us our debts Forgive us our sins
As we also have forgiven our debtors As we also forgive everyone
who sins against us
And do not lead us into temptation And do not lead us into temptation.
…

The life of prayer

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Albert Barnes offers the following guidelines:-

1. Every Christian should have some time allotted for this service, and some place where he may be alone with God.

2. It is not easy, perhaps not possible, to maintain a life of piety without regular habits of secret devotion.

3. The morning, when we have experienced God’s protecting care, when the mind is fresh, and the thoughts are as yet clear and unoccupied with the world, when we go forth to the duties, trials, and temptations of the day; and the evening, when we have again experienced his goodness, and are about to commit ourselves to his protecting care, and when we need his pardoning mercy for the errors and follies of the day, seem to be times which commend themselves to all as appropriate seasons for private devotion.

…

1 Sam 1 – Hannah’s prayer – sermon notes

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Text – 1 Samuel 1

I wonder if you have heard of the ‘Great Prayer Experiment’?

Some while ago, doctors from Duke University Medical Center devised a test to see whether heart patients recovered more readily if they were prayed for.  The three year study involved 750 patients from throughout the USA and 26 prayer groups from different part of the world, including Christians in Manchester, Buddhists in Nepal and Moslems in America.  The findings suggested that prayer made no measurable difference to the long term health of the patients involved. …

Psalms of lament in the Gospels

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The function of the psalms of lament in the Gospels, especially in the passion narratives, reflects a righteous sufferer typology.

  1. Jesus is betrayed by his friends. (Mk 14:18; Ps 41:9; 55:12-14)
  2. He is sorrowful. (Mk 14:34; Ps 43:5)
  3. He is falsely accused (Mk 14:56 par.; Ps 27:12).
  4. Pilate washes his hands of Jesus’ death. (Mt 27:24; Ps 26:6)
  5. Jesus’ clothes are divided among his enemies. (Mk 15:24; Ps 22:18)
  6. He is mocked. (Mk 15:29-31; Ps 22:7-8; 109:25)
  7. He thirsts.
…

Let’s change the way we pray

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Intercessions in church and in small groups tend to follow a pretty predictable path: jobs, exams, upcoming events, mission partners and, of course, health needs.

Nothing wrong with praying for such things – nothing at all.  But the prayers of the Bible are rarely about such things.  They are much more frequently about one’s own, and other people’s relationship with God.

Suppose, says David Powlinson, someone asks you how they might pray for you.  And imagine the impact of the following response:-

“I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, and have been inattentive and irritable to those nearest and dearest to me.

…

What would you pray for?

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“Irrespective of whether you currently pray or not, if you were to pray for something at the moment, what would it be for?”

This was the intriguing question posed in a recent online survey, conducted by ICM Research, of 2,000 adults in England, Scotland and Wales.

The most popular answers were:-

  • A family member
  • Peace for the world
  • Healing for another
  • Less stress in my life
  • An end to world poverty
  • Guidance
  • Thankfulness
  • My partner
  • Prosperity
  • A friend
  • Healing for myself
  • Marriage or relationship
  • Forgiveness
  • Work
  • My spiritual life
  • My church

Just 15% said that they would not ever pray for anything.…

Theology of Prayer 10 – Its place in moral government

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B.M. Palmer, Theology of Prayer, ch. 10

All the objections to the necessity of prayer are based on a misunderstanding of its nature and purpose.  If prayer were intended to inform God of what he did not already know, or to stir up his reluctant generosity, or to persuade him to change his plans by appeals to his reason, then it would be an affront to God’s nature and a denial of his divine attributes. …

Christian meditation

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Communication with God is immensely important, but also difficult.  It is real for the Christian, who experiences God in forgiveness and mercy, in love, joy and peace, and in prayer.  However, it fluctuates, hence the need for nurture through meditation and similar means.

Christian meditation

1. Elevates, because of God’s immensity.

This is true in the material realm, as in contemplation of the vastness of the heavens.

But it is even more true in the spiritual realm. …