Month: July 2017

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior who has washed us with His blood, clothed us with His righteousness, and adopted us as His children!

What are your 10 favorite psalms?

As you consider this answer, perhaps you are listing such psalms as Psalm 23, Psalm 1, Psalm 100, Psalm 46, and Psalm 136. Many might also include Psalm 51. This 51st psalm is David’s prayer of confession to the Lord for his breaking the second table of the law specifically with Bathsheba and Uriah her husband. The psalm opens up in a memorable manner: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (vs. 1-2).

Underlying David’s prayer life and our prayer life are faith and truth. The faith is not in ourselves but in Jesus Christ who is the author of our faith. “For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). We can say that he who comes to God in prayer must believe that God is. More specifically, He that comes to God in prayer must believe that God is who He says He is in His Word.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” We pray this prayer often, but what does it mean to pray this petition with faith and truth?

David’s prayer of Psalm 51 has always intrigued me. Here he cries out to God for forgiveness and asks God to blot out his transgressions, to wash him from his iniquities, and to cleanse him from his sin. Transgression, iniquity, and sin: why does the Psalmist use these words? Surely David is confessing the weight and gravity of his sin, but what does David’s prayer have to do with faith and truth?

David is often referred to in Scripture as a man after God’s own heart. When David prays, he prays with faith. Walking by faith, David’s heart was tuned to the Word of God even though he was a fallen and sinful man. How better do we see that than in the psalmist’s inspired prayer of repentance? He prays not according to his own imaginations of who God is but rather according to the revelation of who God is from God’s Word. “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exodus 34:6-7).

God reveals Himself to Moses as the God who is merciful and gracious, the forgiver of iniquity, transgression, and sin, and David prays to the merciful God asking Him to forgive exactly what He  has promised: iniquity, transgression, and sin. This is the prayer of a man after God’s own heart. This is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. This is how we should pray to the Lord as we ask Him to forgive us of our sins. We should pray in accordance with God’s Word, by faith, believing that He is who He has revealed Himself to be in His Word.

So praying with faith means praying according to the revelation of God Himself in His Word that He is who He says He is and that He does what He says He will do, and we rest in the knowledge of this truth as we pray. The Lord is Almighty God, holy in all His works, wonders, and ways, perfect in righteousness, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. This is the God whom we come before in our prayers, including our prayers of repentance, and this is our God in whom we believe, rest, and hope, and in whom we have eternal life by His blood.

Now notice also that while we must come before God in faith, we also come before Him in truth. What does it meant to come before the Lord in truth when we pray? Jesus says to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” There is an assumption made by Jesus of Christians when they pray – that Christians themselves will be forgiving others. Jesus says in Matthew 6, “If you  forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

When we come before the Lord seeking forgiveness we must do so in truth, not as the hypocrite who desires something of God but will not grant that same thing to another who seeks it of him.
Remember the parable of the servant who owed his master much and was forgiven all, but threw in prison his fellow servant who owed him but a penny. How much more will God do to us if we ask Him for forgiveness of our sins but will not forgive those who ask for our forgiveness?

Praying truthfully does not mean we must forgive sin against us though the sinner does not ask forgiveness for the sin. God says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” However, if someone comes asking forgiveness for sin, and we deny it, we should not expect God to forgive us – we are playing the hypocrite. Similarly, if someone asks for forgiveness and we grant it verbally but not in action, we should not expect God to grant us His pardon – we are playing the liar.

On the positive side, if we grant forgiveness to those who ask it; if we pray in faith to our God who is the only living and true God; if we receive and rest on Him as our only hope in this life or the next; then we can have great confidence in asking God to forgive us for He has promised to forgive us our sins. It is God’s very character to forgive sinners for He is the gracious and merciful God who forgives iniquities, transgressions, and sins. Do not doubt this, for to doubt it is to make little of Him who is very great. Do not deny this, for to deny it is to deny the truth. Do not reject it, for to reject Jesus Christ, the God-man, is to reject the only way of salvation for sinners. All who come to Him will be saved unto everlasting life.

May the God of all mercy and grace fill us with all joy and gladness, as we confess our sins before Him. For we know that He who is the giver of faith and repentance will in no wise reject that which He has given. We also know that He who sees all  things has defeated sin and death and will surely forgive us as He has promised. Brothers and sisters, cry out to the Lord in faith and truth and He will surely hear you!

Almighty God our Father
There is none great like You for by Your hand all things are and were created
It is a thing too great for us to come before Your presence and live
For we are a sinful people, full of evil, and negligent in doing good
You, O Lord, are the God full of mercy and compassion
Gracious in all Your ways
Perfect in all Your works
Holy in all Your words
You have revealed Yourself to us as the God who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin,
And we have committed such offenses against You
We have broken all Your commandments
Neglecting that which You have told us to do
Pursuing and doing that which You have forbidden
We plead with You, O Lord, to forgive us our sins
Have mercy upon us
Cause Your face to shine upon us
Until that day that You return or call us home, mold us and make us perfect even as You are perfect
Grant to us holy desires, to love that which You love and hate all that which You hate.
Soften our hard hearts of rebellion
Loosen our stiff necks
Reveal to us our sins and turn us from them
So that we may bring all glory to Your holy name
That others may learn from us and exalt the name of Jesus Christ
And that the generation to come might see the marvelous grace of Jesus Christ
Believe in You, repent of their sins, and be saved
We pray this in the matchless name of Jesus Christ our Savior, our Lord, and our God
Amen

Ben Stahl, Elder

Dear Brother and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who is from all eternity to all eternity, who dwelt among us but is now ascended, and who came to Earth and is coming again in all glory and power!

From talking with many people, it seems that God is leading us as a church to grow in our fellowship with Him through prayer. Sometimes in our prayer life it is difficult to understand how the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer directs and enables Christians to make petitions for themselves and others. How does the Lord’s Prayer guide me when praying for health needs? How does the Lord’s Prayer assist me when praying for safety? Can the Lord’s Prayer be a pattern for me when I am looking for a new job? Does the Lord’s Prayer match up with Scripture telling me to pray for our government? Utilizing the Lord’s Prayer as a guide for all of prayer can prove to be a challenging concept.

A few months ago we considered the 2nd petition, “Thy kingdom come.” We saw from Scripture how this petition was not only a petition for the Lord to return, but even more, a petition for the growth of the kingdom of grace, a petition for the shrinking and destruction of the kingdom of Satan, a petition for the bringing to glory of all the saints, and the list goes on. The 2nd petition of the Lord’s Prayer summarizes in one phrase many petitions that are properly brought before the Lord.

Consider the Ten Commandments. The 6th commandment is, “Thou shalt not kill.” Does this mean it is moral then to punch your neighbor? Of course not. The 6th commandment summarizes an entire category of sin in the one commandment. Jeopardizing the physical wellbeing of ourselves or of others, even in non-­?lethal manners, is included within the 6th commandment. Just as the 2nd petition summarizes many prayers, the 6th commandment summarizes many moral duties.

Similar to the 2nd petition and the 6th commandment, when we come to the 4th petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” God is again summarizing many petitions into one so as to give us a pattern and direction for our prayer life.

How then can we pray the 4th petition in our daily prayer lives? First, let us consider what is implied on the surface of this petition. So far in the Lord’s Prayer we have been petitioning the Lord for things that apply to Him: “Hallowed by Thy name,” “Thy kingdom come,” “Thy will be done.” Now it changes to “Give us…” Is this a respectable way to approach God?

What does Scripture have to say about this? Consider the manner in which God reveals Himself to us. God tells us: He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness (Psalm 107:9); He will not suffer the soul of  the righteous to famish (Proverbs 10:3); He gives food to the hungry and  frees the prisoners (Psalm 146:7); and He will supply  all your needs  according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Our God has promised to care for us, yet we do not deserve it. So even as we meditate on this petition in accordance with God’s character, knowing by faith that He will provide for all our needs, we are reminded of His marvelous grace, and this leads to the praise the Lord. The Lord is full of mercy, kindness, and compassion He even gives us our daily bread. Praise be to the Lord God.

It is difficult to pray in such a manner without acknowledging with the psalmist, “What is man that You are mindful of Him?” We are reminded of Daniel who acknowledges, “To us belongs confusion of face…because we have sinned against Thee…to the Lord our God belongs mercy and forgiveness…” (Daniel 9:8-­?9). We are unworthy to receive any good thing of the Lord because of our sin. And yet, He has given us much. So the 4th petition also leads us to repentance.

Second, now with this humble acknowledgement of the glory of Christ who provides and the confession of our own unworthiness to receive any provision from the Lord on account of our sin, we may humbly approach our Savior with our needs. We pray for many things: the health of our own bodies, even as Hezekiah prayed; the healing of others; even all of our concerns and cares in this life. These are very broad categories because this petition covers a very broad array of requests. The Lord who cares for the lilies of the field, will He not so much more care for His people?

We have considered four petitions along with the preface to the Lord’s Prayer and we can notice how in each petition there is a pattern that our prayers can take. And that is the pattern of praising God, repenting of our sins and confessing our unworthiness to enter into God’s presence, giving adoration to God who alone is worthy to receive our praise and who has done marvelous works for the children of men, and we yearn with Him for the desires of our heart.

The pattern is very helpful for us especially as we consider the 4th petition. It is easy for us to fall into a pattern of prayer where we simply ask God for item after item and forget to praise Him for who He is and all that He has done for us. As our minds focus on God and His glory we  are aided to pray to God in faith for the petitions of our hearts with fuller confidence and boldness to ask because we are praying to the God who has kept us and cared for us; we are praying to the God whose power is beyond all our understanding; we are praying to the God whose mercy is greater than the Heavens; and we are praying to our heavenly Father who demonstrates His care for us day by day.

Brothers and sisters, as we pray to our great God for things agreeable to His will, let us pray with great boldness and confidence with all faith, for He who has commanded us to pray these things has all power to bring to pass the petitions of our heart. And as you see the ever present and bountiful hand of the Lord your God at work, give all  glory to God who has not appointed us to wrath but rather to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the Lord!

Almighty and most merciful God

We come before You in the name of Your Son and our Lord Jesus Christ

He who formed the Earth and the Heavens

He who heals all of our diseases

Who forgives all our iniquities

Who showers us with good and protects us from evil

We thank You for Your care and provision for us, a sinful people

We deserve death but You give us life

We deserve poverty but You give us riches

O most merciful God, we thank You for Your goodness to us

And we ask now that You would continue to provide for all our needs

As You have done in the past we ask that You would continue into the future

Provide for us food for our physical nourishment

Provide for us the means to care for our families and ourselves

Provide health for the sick and strength to the weak

In all that You provide us we ask that You would cause us to enjoy and be content in Your provision

And may we faithfully declare Your goodness in our lives to the world around us

In all this we pray that Christ’s name would be exalted

And it is in Jesus Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Ben Stahl, Elder