“Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.” — Martin Luther
- 1-Minute Devotional Thought:
In 1 John 2:12-14, the elder Apostle John (“the beloved”) pours out a rapid-fire succession of statements about what a Christian looks like in various stages of spiritual maturity. When he writes about “little children” and “young men” and “fathers,” John desires for those who will read his letter to be encouraged by their current state of being in Christ.
Even more, since all six of the verbs John uses to describe Christians are “perfect tense” verbs, we understand John to be making the point that what the Christians are in the here and now came about because of action which occurred in the past … and this action also has a definite future — no doubt about it!
So take a look! Have you only recently found faith in Christ and repented of your sin? Then John describes you as “your sins are forgiven” and “you know the Father.”
Or perhaps you have been walking with Christ — and He has walked with you — through “many dangers, toils and snares,” and this walk has given you a rock-solid confidence in God. His grace has made you full of Christian wisdom and grace. If so, John describes you as a “Father” (there is nothing gender specific here, the term denotes anyone seasoned in the Christian faith), and says of you: “you know Him who is from the beginning.” The eternal One, the everlasting God has become known to you both through the objective truth of the Bible, and your subjective experiences of life — the joys and the sorrows alike — have also taught you much about yourself and your God.
But most of us reading a “prayer blog” are neither “young children” in the faith nor are we “fathers” in the faith. We are in that third category: “young men.” We are not nursing a bottle of milk as a newborn babe in Christ, but neither are we yet far advanced in faith, knowledge and wisdom. No, John describes us like this: “you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”
No matter what level of spiritual maturity you may be at, you’ll never move beyond what the “young children” take delight in — the forgiveness of sins. And, no matter how short or long your spiritual journey has been so far, you’ll never move beyond the practice of daily prayer to the Father.
- As citizens of the City of Man: Prayer for the peace and prosperity of the city you call home.
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
- Pray for pro-life ministries throughout our land and the world. Sometimes it seems as though public sentiment and perhaps even legal theory might be changing in the direction of “sanctity of life” position. Other days, not so much. Whether the public and legal tide ever changes, however, the frontline pro-life ministry goes forth week-by-week. Women in situations of personal crises looking for answers can find both support for the pregnancy and an eternity-changing Word of Gospel.
- Pray for the Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) ministry taking place at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina — led by Tyler Dirks:
Tyler Dirks was born in Dodge City, Kan., and is a graduate of Kansas State University. While in college, Tyler was on staff with Young Life, where he worked as the manager of the high ropes course at Crooked Creek Ranch in Fraser Valley Colorado. There he met his wife Carrie (who is from South Carolina). Tyler graduated with his Masters of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, N.C., in May of 2007, and took a call to be the Campus Minister for RUF at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C. Tyler and Carrie are the proud parents of Margaret Grace, Henry Lewis and Haven Katelin. Find out more on their blog.
- Using the new 2013 “watchlist” produced by Open Doors, we pray for the persecuted Christians of a different country each week.
Teachers/parents, consider this a great way to introduce geography into the weekly lessons. Show students where the nation is, then pray for Christians in that place.
This week we pray for the Christians of Uzbekistan, which ranks No. 16 on the watchlist:
The regime will do anything to stay in power, so no religious activities outside state-controlled institutions are allowed. The Russian Orthodox Church has more freedoms, but evangelical Christianity is seen as a destabilizing element that needs to be eradicated. Churches live in fear of raids, termination of services, confiscation of literature, and the imposition of heavy fines, which are frequent and increasing. Church members face harassment, detention and arrest for holding private prayer meetings or possessing illegal literature.
PRAY: That God will strengthen and encourage persecuted Christians who are under pressure on many fronts; that larger Christian groups will find ways to gather for worship or training; for Tohar Haydarov, imprisoned in 2010 for ten years, on trumped-up charges.
- Prayer for the nation – focusing this week on the state of Iowa.
- In 2013, we will pray together by name for Christians in 50 nations, Christians in all 50 states and all the presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and the emerging new Reformed body, ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbytreians. You are encouraged to add specific pastors, lay leaders, congregations, missionaries, new church developments and other ministries to the list by posting a comment to the blog. (Please do not publicly post the names of missionaries serving in contexts where exposing their identity would cause them harm or bring harm to those they serve in Christ’s name.) Let us kneel before the Father and ask His will be done.
- Prayers for the PCUSA: Pray for the presbyteries of the Synod of the Covenant: Cincinnati, Detroit, Eastminster, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Mackinac, Maumee Valley, Miami Valley, Muskingum, Scioto Valley and Western Reserve.
Prayers for Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC): the Midwest Presbytery (John Manon, stated clerk).
- Prayers for the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA): the churches of the Ascension Presbytery (parts of Pennsylvania).
- Prayers for ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
- Prayers for The Fellowship of Presbyterians.