Tag Christian

An ACTS Prayer

Todd R 5 Comments

Dear fellow travelers,

There are many ways to pray, and my personal prayers are generally highly improvised, but recently something different happened.  I very rarely write (or type) out prayers, but when I was organizing a file of verses I have, I realized a sequence of them made a good prayer outline, even following the ACTS outline I learned many years ago: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

The prayer is below.  The parts in quotes are adapted from the Scriptures in the footnotes, and the parts between are where we can “improvise”, but I found that the quoted parts help create a good frame of mind for the parts in between.

The Psalm 16 reference might need some explanation.  The Psalm, written by David, references the assignment of land in Canaan among the 12 tribes of Israel.  Numbers 26:56 says, “Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller,” while the “lot” was probably something like a modern “roll of the dice.”  The verses quoted in this prayer recognize that although our circumstances, our “lot in life” are not random outcomes but chosen by our Creator.  Therefore, whatever our “lot” is, we can be thankful for it, and we can also know that our future “lot,” the things we ask for, are in His hands.

Feel free to use this yourselves and I hope it blesses you as it has me!

Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash

Adoration
“You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.”[1]

Add your own prayers of praise!

Confession
“You are the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness[2]
Your steadfast love never ceases; your mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”[3]

Confess to the Lord, knowing that He is merciful and faithful!

Thanksgiving & Supplication
“You are my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”[4]

Thank the Lord for what He has provided for you,
then put your petitions before Him!

Closing
“I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
            in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
            because you are at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Amen”[5]

[1] Nehemiah 9:6
[2] Exodus 34:6
[3] Lamentations 3:22-23
[4] Psalms 16:5-6
[5] Psalms 16:7-8

Why We Pray

Todd R 1 Comment

Why do Christians pray, and why should they pray?  We probably pay a lot more attention to what we are praying than why, and maybe sometimes we don’t pray because we don’t think its necessary.  This may happen when we don’t know the why.

There are many reasons (many “whys”) we could think of for why Christians should pray, and here are some:

Do we pray to tell God what we want or need?  No, because the Bible tells us[1] that God already knows what we need.  He already knows everything, including knowing what we need better than we do, as our Creator.

Do we pray to convince God we are worthy and deserve His audience?  No, because on our own we are unrighteous sinners and only deserve separation from God.  Jesus has already accomplished everything we need to be able to approach God.

Do we pray so that God will love us more?  No, God’s love is based on His own character, not our actions.  He can’t love us more, and won’t love us any less, than He does.  That He gave His Son to die on the cross for us proves this.

So, why?

Before teaching His disciples how to pray using what we now call the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said to them: “Pray then like this.”[2]  We often think of the Lord’s Prayer as instruction on how to pray, but maybe miss that Jesus told His disciples to pray.  It’s something He wants us to do, and regularly.

We pray because Jesus tells us to.  “Pray then like this” said Jesus because God desires a relationship with us and a big part of that relationship should be time spent in prayer.

Thomas Becon, an English cleric and Protestant reformer in the 1500’s, wrote this about prayer[3]: “For God neither for our worthiness nor for our unworthiness heareth us; but for his commandment and promise sake. He hath commanded us to pray; therefore ought we to pray. For if we should never pray till we were worthy of ourselves before God to pray, so should we never pray: but we therefore pray, because God hath commanded us so to do. Our worthiness is the humble confession of our unworthiness; and our obedience unto the commandment of God to pray maketh us most worthy.”

Therefore, pray, and often.

“Pray without ceasing” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

[1] Matthew 6:8, 6:32, Luke 12:30
[2] Matthew 6:9a
[3] McKim, Donald K.  Everyday Prayer with the Reformers (2020).  P. 65.

Prayer: A Quint of Quotes

Todd R 1 Comment

Dear fellow travelers,

Here is another “Quint of Quotes” with some of my favorites on prayer, plus a bonus verse:

“Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven; it is getting God’s will done on earth” – Robert Law

“Pray as though everything depended on God, and work as though everything depended on you.” – Saint Augustine

“Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.  Pray for powers equal to your tasks.” – Phillips Brooks

“We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives.” – Spurgeon, on Colossians 4:2

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” – Martin Luther

“Pray without ceasing” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

There Goes John Bradford (to Paradise): History for February 24

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Born in 1510, John Bradford was a rising Protestant minister during the reign of King Edward VI in England and was well known for his pious dedication and unselfish nature.  After studying at Cambridge and preaching regularly around London, he was appointed as Chaplain to the King in 1551.  The common expression “There but for the grace of God go I” is often attributed to him and was a reminder to himself that grace alone has saved him.  An 1822 book on prayer says that:

“The pious Martyr Bradford, when he saw a poor criminal led to execution, exclaimed, ‘there, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford’. He knew that the same evil principles were in his own heart which had brought the criminal to that shameful end.”[1]

Bradford and others in the Tower of London, from John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (1563). Public Domain.

His worldly fortunes changed in 1553 when the Catholic Mary I became Queen, and one of her first priorities was persecution of prominent Protestants.  Bradford was arrested within a month, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and sentenced to death.  While in the Tower, he wrote a letter to his mother on this date, February 24, in 1554, that included a powerful statement about prayer: God “doth put off our prayers, that he might recompense it with abundance, that is, that he might more plentifully pour upon us the effect of our petitions.” [2]  On July 1, Bradford was burned alive at the stake.

In another book on prayer, Donald McKim wrote about Bradford’s letter:
“We can imagine that no one would seek an answer to his prayers more ardently than Bradford while awaiting death. Yet he believed that even with no apparent answers to prayers, God plentifully pours abundance on those who pray!
At the end of his letter Bradford mentions God’s promise-which believers receive and anticipate, even in the midst of their sufferings and afflictions. Paul recorded the promise: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9) Plentiful abundance! Now and forever!”[3]

In John Bradford’s story, there is a terrible irony between two things he is known for – a common phrase and his martyrdom – but in the end, God is faithful, and I hope to meet Bradford someday in Paradise, where the grace of God has bought me a place.

[1] Bickersteth, Edward.  A Treatise on Prayer.  (1822).  Sourced from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bradford
[2] McKim, Donald K.  Everyday Prayer with the Reformers (2020).  P. 92.
[3] Ibid.

Love When Bad Things Happen

Todd R 2 Comments

Fellow travelers,

Sometimes things happening in the world grab our attention and make us assign more significance to them than they deserve.  Sometimes these are natural phenomena, like earthquakes, comets, or eclipses, and sometimes they are manmade phenomena, like wars.

One reason we do this is that passages in the Bible like Mark 13:5-23 describe what events will happen before Jesus returns again.  We want Him to return!  While it’s right to anticipate with excitement that Jesus is coming back, it’s important to sort out such passages by what is describing what will happen (descriptive truth) and what God tells us to do when these things happen (prescriptive truth).  In all circumstances, the God’s primary commandments for us are to love God and to love our neighbor, even if they are our enemy.  No phenomena should pull us off that path, and Mark 13:5-23 recommends that.

In the table below, I paraphrase and categorize Mark’s message into what is descriptive vs. prescriptive truth:

DescriptivePrescriptive
Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’See that no one leads you astray
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, and nation will rise against nationDo not be alarmed
Earthquakes and famines in various locationsBe on your guard
You will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sakeBear witness before them and do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say
Brother will deliver brother over to death and you will be hated by allEndure
False christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wondersBe on guard

To Jesus, none of the things in the descriptive column are new information.  All were included in His plan from eternity past.  The actions He recommends are not new information either.  The “Prescriptive” column tells us not to panic, but to endure, to keep doing what we should be doing before these bad things happened – Love God, love your neighbor, even if your neighbor is your enemy.

On the other hand, false christs and prophets will tell us current events are unprecedented and a fulfillment of prophecy and they will tell us what we should do.  The false prophet takes the descriptive of evil in the world and creates their own false prescriptive.  They recommend an incomplete and inaccurate narrative of current events as an ultimate solution.  Their own Babel which God must “come down” from heaven to even see (Genesis 11:5).  But the true Christ calmly says, “be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand”. (Mark 13:23). The true Christ comes down from heaven and demonstrates how to create a true ladder back to heaven, offering forgiveness to all, even those who refuse to accept it or practice love.  He will be thoroughly and eternally glorified by manifesting His kingdom as the only eternal kingdom, ruled by love, not by panic over current events.

No matter what we see happening in the news or in the world, Jesus knew it was coming and He told us that in any circumstance we should obey and glorify Him, through love for Him and neighbor.  He doesn’t panic and neither should we.

Amen.