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A Prayer about the Unoffended Preacher

by | Mar 26, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Lent

A Prayer about the Unoffended Preacher

And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. Luke 4:29.

Lord Jesus,

Every time I read this story of you 

preaching in your hometown temple, 

I’m astonished that your own people 

hated you so much. 

You announced that you were the Messiah with the words, 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 

because he has anointed me 

to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). 

How could anyone hate such a sermon? 

You gently but firmly 

reminded this hometown congregation 

that when God’s prophet is rejected, 

he is sent elsewhere (Luke 4:24-27). 

How did they respond? 

They sought to throw you off a cliff (Luke 4:29). 

Jesus, may we receive your words into our hearts 

and honor you in our lives. 

May we never attack you or others 

who tell us the hard truth about ourselves. 

May we walk in your ways, 

the gentle and strong ways 

of the one who “passed through their midst” 

and “went away” 

as the people of your town sought to kill you. 

In your unoffended name we pray. Amen. 

Read Luke 4:16-30.

A Prayer about Preparing for Eternal Glory

by | Mar 25, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Death and Resurrection, Lent

A Prayer about Preparing for Eternal Glory

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

Glorious Father,

We confess, 

we don’t often enough tear ourselves away 

from the busy demands of this world 

to think of the eternal glory just beyond. 

After all, we have baby showers we have to attend, 

emails we to answer, 

yards to mow.

What do we even mean by eternal glory?

Eternal glory is that to which we have been called, 

by “the God of all grace” “in Christ” (1 Peter 5:10). 

Eternal glory is the future glory “to be revealed in us” 

after “the sufferings of this present time” (Rom. 8:18). 

Eternal glory is that for which 

we and all of creation “groan inwardly” as we “wait eagerly” (Rom. 8:23).

Eternal glory is the glory for which 

the sufferings of this world prepare us. 

Eternal glory is so weighty 

that it will one day prove our sufferings 

to have been as light as a feather (2 Cor. 4:17-18).

In one sense, of course, we have already inherited this eternal glory 

if we are in Christ: “….those whom he justified he also glorified” (Rom. 8:30). 

And yet, our glory’s full fruition awaits the day of Christ’s return: 

“When Christ who is your life appears, 

then you will also appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:3).

Oh, Lord, draw our minds to contemplate the joys 

that await us in eternal glory, 

that we might live every day in anticipation of it.

In Jesus’ glorious name. Amen.

Read Romans 8:18-30; 1 Peter 5:6-11.

A Prayer about Becoming a Living Sacrifice

by | Mar 24, 2023 | Daily Prayer, kingdom living, Lent

A Prayer about Becoming a Living Sacrifice

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

Merciful God,

What a remarkable calling you’ve given us, 

and how remarkable that you’ve also made it possible!

I wonder if we sometimes slip right by this verse, 

not noticing the “Therefore” 

and wondering what it’s there for. 

Because “from him and through him and to him” 

are all things, 

and only because of that reality, 

we are able to present our bodies 

as a living sacrifice. 

In Christ, we become living sacrifices, 

holy and acceptable to you. 

Now by the power of the Holy Spirit, 

we respond in worship, 

in gratitude for your mercy, 

giving you all things. 

We offer our work to you as a sacrifice, 

asking you to help us glorify you in it, 

whether the job is drudge-work or dream work.

We offer our relationships to you as a sacrifice, 

asking you to help us glorify you through them, 

to love neighbors and family and even enemies.

We offer our bodies to you as a living sacrifice,

asking you to help us glorify you in them, 

To care well for them and to thank you 

for how you have made them.

We offer our minds to you as a living sacrifice,

asking you to help us glorify you in them, 

seeking to instruct them with your wisdom.

And on and on we go, 

with everything that we have 

and everything that we are, 

giving it all back to you, 

because and through the One 

who gave himself as a living sacrifice for us. 

In his loving name we pray. Amen.

Read Romans 11:36-12:2.

A Prayer about a Strange Trade-Off

by | Mar 23, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Death and Resurrection, Lent

A Prayer about a Strange Trade-Off

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. 1 Peter 3:18

Holy and Merciful God,

Thank you for these show-stopping words from 1 Peter. 

This reality that we focus on in Lent 

should widen our eyes and slacken our jaws:

Christ suffered for sins (our sins). 

He who was fully God and fully man 

died in the flesh; 

he was raised in the spirit.

And now, we who believe in him 

will never suffer punishment for our sins again. 

Why would he do such a thing?

For one reason only: 

So that he might bring us to God, 

for we could not come near God before—

the unrighteous cannot be near the righteous (Psalm 5:5). 

But when Christ became sin for us, 

we became the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Holy God, we admit, 

with our myopic human perspective, 

this great exchange makes no sense at all.

It only makes sense if you are an unfailingly loving God 

who would go to unimaginable extremes

to bring his beloved people to him. 

And that is what you are. 

How we praise you and thank you for this good news!

In Jesus’ substituting name. Amen.

Read 1 Peter 3:18; Psalm 5; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

A Prayer about Returning to the Lord

by | Mar 22, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Lent

A Prayer about Returning to the Lord

Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and he relents over disaster. Joel 2:13.

Merciful and Gracious God,

What an astounding invitation! 

May we read and rehearse these words 

until they change our wayward neural pathways. 

For we have two big problems: 

the first problem is our sin; 

the second problem, a bigger problem, 

is our rooted unbelief. 

We simply refuse to believe 

that you are as good as you say you are 

throughout Scripture. 

Today, may we bring the worst 

of our sinful and doubting selves 

to the wildest of your promises to us:

But Lord, you don’t know what I’ve done.

I do, and I am gracious.

But Lord, you don’t know how many times I’ve done it.

I do, and I am merciful.

But Lord, you don’t know how dark my thoughts are.

I do, and I am slow to anger.

But Lord, you don’t know how cruel I’ve been.

I do, and I am abounding in steadfast love.

But Lord, you don’t know how badly I’ve screwed things up.

I do, and I relent over disaster.

Good Father, plant these truths down deep in us, 

that we may return to you, confess our sin, 

and know the joy of your forgiveness and the delight of serving you. 

Read Joel 2:12-32.

A Prayer about Never Dying

by | Mar 21, 2023 | aging, dying, and death, Daily Prayer, Death and Resurrection, Easter, Lent

A Prayer about Never Dying

Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ John 11:25-26

Lord Jesus,

How I love the true story 

in which you asked your beloved friend Martha this crucial question. 

Her brother, Lazarus has died, 

and she knows that you could have saved him, 

but you didn’t. 

Now he lies in a tomb, 

and she has the faith to say, 

“But even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, 

God will give you” (John 11:22).

And you made this bold assertion: 

“Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23). 

But you didn’t stop there. 

You revealed your true identity to Martha: 

‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ 

And you promised that anyone who believes in you 

will never die (John 11:25-26). 

Jesus, as we walk toward Resurrection Sunday, 

may we see you, the risen and ascended Jesus, 

not only risen from the dead 

but seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Hebrews 10:12). 

And may we address this most crucial question: 

“Do we believe this?” 

It is truly a matter of eternal life and eternal death. 

By your grace, may we believe.

Read John 11:1-44.