To pray “in Jesus’ name” (Jn. 14:13) does not mean that Jesus is bound to answer our requests the way we want. It is not a set of magic words that constrict God from acting according to His will. In fact, to pray, “in Jesus’ name” is to request the will of God above all […]
Read More Praying in Jesus’ nameBecause the believer in Christ is secure in his salvation, he can be sure that God has saved and will save Him through eternity (1 Jn. 5:13). But that’s not the only benefit of salvation; because the believer is saved, he also can be confident in going to God in prayer, not withholding anything from […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers: You can prayPray with Confidence 1 John 5:14-15 August 10, 2014 When a new college graduate takes his first job, one of his concerns will be, “what kind of benefit package do you have?” He wants to know what added privileges there are for working in this job — is there health care and a retirement package […]
Read More Sermon: Pray with ConfidenceBruce Ware, “Prayer and the Sovereignty of God,” in For the Fame of God’s Name: Clearly, God does not need us to bring our concerns to him in order for him to know what we need or to know how best to act. He is God! He knows perfectly our backgrounds, our families, our friends, […]
Read More Why pray?John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion: Words fail to explain how necessary prayer is, and in how many ways the exercise of prayer is profitable. Surely with good reason the Heavenly Father affirms that the only stronghold of safety is in calling upon his name (Joel 2:32). By so doing we invoke the presence […]
Read More The profitability of prayerSome helpful articles: “Rescuing the Rupps: A Christmas Parable” (Clint Archer) One balmy Summer day in 1997 Rita Rupp (57) from Tulsa Oklahoma, was on a lengthy road trip with her husband Floyd (67). For no reason in particular, she began to sense that they may be in danger. She started thinking, ‘What if someone […]
Read More Grab bagThis morning’s Old Testament reading recounts the story of Assyria’s threat against Judah. It seemed that Judah was hopeless. But Hezekiah, having received the threat from the king of Assyria through the words of his servant Rabshakeh, went to pray. The content of his prayer was direct: You are the God, you alone (Is. 37:16) […]
Read More Why pray?Some helpful articles from around the internet: Jon Bloom offers “Seven Ways to Pray for Your Heart.” David Murray reminds us, “All things for good.” Sin too? All sin is evil. No sin is worth it. It’s always better that we not sin. However, sin is also part of the “all things” that God works together […]
Read More Grab bagVirtually every believer will acknowledge that he does not pray enough. We don’t pray for a variety of reasons. And one of those reasons is that we do not think highly enough about God who hears our prayers. We have a deficient functional theology. Oh, we would likely say the right words about God and […]
Read More Our God who hears our prayersR. A. Torrey: Oftentimes when we come to God in prayer, we do not feel like praying. What shall one do in such a case? cease praying until he does feel like it? Not at all. When we feel least like praying is the time when we most need to pray. We should wait quietly […]
Read More When we don’t feel like prayingHave you ever been unsure about how to pray for others? Perhaps someone’s name comes to mind and you feel compelled to pray, but you are uncertain what to pray. Or maybe someone has asked you to pray and you know you should even pray at that moment, but no words come to mind. Your […]
Read More Praying for othersPaul’s benediction in Ephesians 3 has been on my mind much this week. It is an expression of Paul’s overflowing gratitude for and dependence on the Triune God who is producing salvation in Paul. It is an exalted view of what the Father, Son, and Spirit are presently at work doing in the believer and […]
Read More A Trinitarian prayer to guide the dayThis morning, Tony Reinke quoted this prayer from one of my favorite devotional books, The Valley of Vision. It is fitting for the advent of a new year: O Lord, Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory. Give me a grace […]
Read More A Prayer for New Year’s DayThis morning you may be in a hurry to get to church to worship. Your clothes may not look or feel right; your children may be complaining; you may have had some conflict with your spouse; you may have slept too late and now you are rushed. But in your haste to leave the house, […]
Read More As you prepare for worship, give thanks“Now may the God of peace [who is the author and the giver of peace], who brought back from among the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood [that sealed, ratified] the everlasting agreement (the new covenant), strengthen (complete, perfect) [and] make you what you ought to be [and] […]
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