PENTECOST • 8

Why do we pray, and how do we pray?

SONGS FOR PRAYER

SET PRAYER

Father in heaven,

in your goodness

you pour out on your people all that they need,

and satisfy those who persist in prayer.

Make us bold in asking,

thankful in receiving,

tireless in seeking,

and joyful in finding,

that we may always proclaim your coming kingdom

and do your will on earth as in heaven. Amen.


reading for: Tuesday Night, 19 July

Luke 11:1-13

The Motivation of Our Prayer

  • READ

    The passage for today starts with a request from the disciples for Jesus to teach them to pray. This request resonates with many, for we consult books on prayer to learn the best ways to pray.

    Jesus does not refuse their request, for he teaches them how to pray. This is commonly referred to as the Lord's prayer.

    Luke 11:2-4

    And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."

    A few key things need to be pointed out from this prayer. Firstly, Jesus was asking his disciples to address God as Father. The God who created the heavens and the earth, the one who is enthroned over the cherubim, is their Father. The disciples were to see him as Father. Secondly, the name of the Father is hallowed. His name is worthy to be praised. Thirdly, the disciples were to pray for the kingdom of the Father to come. They were to pray for the rule and reign of the Father to be manifest on earth as it is in heaven. Next, they were to pray for forgiveness of their sins while first forgiving the sins of others who are indebted to them. Finally, they are to pray that they are not led into temptation.

    This is the model prayer according to Jesus. However, Jesus does not just stop with how to pray, but he continues with why they must pray.

    Luke 11:5-10

    And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

    They must pray because if they ask, it will be given to them. If they seek, they will find. If they knock, it will be opened to them. They must pray because if they ask, they will receive.

    Luke 11:11-13

    What Father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

    They must pray because they serve a good Father who delights to give good gifts to his children. He delights to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

  • REFLECT

    Prayer is one of the most important spiritual disciplines in our walk with the Lord. But we don’t do it just because it is a spiritual discipline. Why pray? This is a question that Jesus answers after telling his disciples the best prayer they can ever pray. He exhorts them that they are to pray because whatever they ask will be given to them and that they serve a Father that gives them the good gift of the Holy Spirit.

    Let’s examine our hearts on why we pray. Do we pray out of our relationship with the Father or? Ask the Lord to reveal to your motivations for praying.

    Perhaps, we do not know how to pray. Then, we might want to practice praying the Lord's prayer regularly. If this prayer is good enough for Jesus and his disciples, then it ought to be good enough for us.

reading for: Wednesday Night, 20 July

Genesis 18:20-32

Praying for Our Generation

  • READ

    The reading today starts in the midst of a conversation between the Lord and Abraham with the Lord deciding that he will not hide from Abraham what he was about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah.

    Genesis 18:17-21

    The Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him." Then the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."

    The Lord did not hide from Abraham what he was about to do but told Abraham that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was very grave and that he was going down to see whether they have done according to the outcry that has come to God.

    Genesis 18:22

    So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

    The men who were with the Lord went toward Sodom, but the Lord did not go but allowed Abraham to stand still before him. Abraham then begins to intercede for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, starting from asking God not to destroy the cities for the sake of 50 righteous people in the city and then interceding the number down to 10. God listened to his intercession, and if there were 10 found there, God would not have destroyed the city.

    Genesis 18:32-33

    Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it." And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

    After this conversation with Abraham, the Lord went his way, and Abraham returned to his place.

    This story shows the importance of intercession as Abraham could have saved the two cities if there were 10 righteous persons in it. Alas, there were not even 10 righteous people in it. This story also shows a good Lord who was willing to hear Abraham's intercession and allowed Abraham to intercede for these evil people.

  • REFLECT

    We are living in a wicked and perverse generation. This generation is doing things perhaps worse than Sodom and Gomorrah would have done. The question is what will we be doing? Will we be like Abraham and intercede for our generation? Will be like Jesus and ask the Father to forgive them for they know not what they do?

reading for: Thursday Night, 21 July

Colossians 2:6-19

Walking in Prayer

  • READ

    What are we to do after we have received Christ the Lord? Paul answers that question for us by exhorting us to walk in Christ. This is how we are to live the Christian life after we have received Christ.

    Colossians 2:6-7

    Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

    We are to live life by walking in him, being rooted and built up in him, abounding in thanksgiving. We are not to be taken captive by all sorts of deceit but to remain rooted in him.

    Colossians 2:9-15

    For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

    Paul elaborates on this point of being rooted in him when he writes that we have been buried and raised with him. Baptism symbolises the death and resurrection that we have undergone with him. Because of him, we have been made alive with him.  We are people who have been given life by him. That is why we can walk in him and pray to him.

  • REFLECT

    Let us remember what Jesus has done for us. He has died on the cross for us so that we are not dead in our sins, but we can be rooted and walk in him in this new kind of life. Because of him, we can walk with him and pray to him. What is one thing that you can do this week to walk in Jesus?

reading for: Friday Night, 22 July

Psalm 138

A Prayer of Thanskgiving

  • READ

    Psalm 138 is a psalm of thanksgiving to the Lord.

    Psalm 138:1-2

    I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

    We are to give the Lord praise with our whole heart, singing his praises. Bow down before the Lord and give thanks to him for his love and faithfulness endures forever. He is worthy of our praise.

    Psalm 138:6-8

    For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

    The Lord is exalted and worthy to be praised but he is not a proud God, but he is a God that regards the lowly and he is with us in the midst of the troubles that we face. He protects us and delivers us from trouble. He is the God who has a plan for our lives, and he will ensure that the purposes that he has for us will come to pass. Praise the Lord for he does not abandon us! Praise the Lord that his steadfast love endures forever! Praise the Lord!   

  • REFLECT

    May we bow before the Lord and sing praises to the Lord. He is the one that is worthy to be praised.   Give thanks to him with our whole hearts. Give thanks to him for his steadfast love and faithfulness.

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