Deal Generously with Your Servant

The prayer of Psalm 119.17-24 (Holman CSB):

Deal generously with Your servant so that I might live;

then I will keep Your word.

Open my eyes so that I may see wonderful things in Your law.

I am a stranger on earth;

do not hide Your commands from me.

I am continually overcome by longing for Your judgments.

You rebuke the proud, the accursed,

who wander from Your commands.

Take insult and contempt away from me,

for I have kept Your decrees.

Though princes sit together speaking against me,

Your servant will think about Your statutes;

Your decrees are my delight and my counselors.

A Prayer for Missionaries

Father, I thank you for the men and women who devote their lives to take your message of love to people from the four corners of the earth, for reaching the lost with the Gospel. Missionaries are special people, O Lord. Bless them, Father, with your love and the strength they need to continue in their work. Encourage them, Father, for their labor is often thankless and forgotten by so many. The results of their work is not often not readily seen . . . it can take a long time for some seeds to take root and sprout. Father, affirm in your servants the value of their labor and the satisfaction that they are glorifying you in their tireless fervor of sharing your word.

Thank You for This Day

Father, thank you for this new day. It is a day filled with promise and potential. Father, may I use this day to honor you and bless those around me. May I be disciplined in my use of the time you have given me today. May I be productive and not slothful. May I accomplish good things, worthwhile things, and not just occupy space and waste the precious time that you have given. At the end of this day, may I look back with satisfaction and know that you have been praised in my actions, this day.

Daniel Prayed to God

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave an account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom. So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. The men said, "We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God."

So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, "O King Darius, live forever! All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to anyone, divine or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked." Therefore, King Darius signed the document and the interdict.

Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously. The conspirators came and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God. Then they approached the king and said concerning the interdict, "O king! Did you not sing an interdict, that anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human, within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions?" The king answered, "The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked." Then they responded to the king, "Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, prays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day."

When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, "Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed."

Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!" A stone was brought and laid on on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with hi sown signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting: no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?" Daniel then said to the king, "O king, live forever! My God has sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong." Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. Then the king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions--they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: "May you have abundant prosperity! I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: For he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion has no end. He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth; for he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."

So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

(The words of Daniel 6, New Revised Standard Version)

God's Answer to Prayer . . . May Be You

In the latest NOOMA video, entitled "Open," Rob Bell speaks about prayer, specifically the subject of "unanswered prayer." He offers one line that struck me as particularly powerful. He said, "Don't pray for God to feed the hungry if you have plenty to eat." His point was that in many cases you and I might very well be the answer to the prayers we offer to God.

Don't pray for God to feed the hungry if you have plenty to eat. I'll be thinking a lot about these words and the message behind them during this upcoming week. I am often quick to overlook the ways in which I can be a blessing to the lives of others. I, like many, get too caught up in my own life to see the needs of others. My life is not to be lived to self, it is to be given as an offering to God and used in service to others. That is why I am here. That is why you are here.

Sweet Hour of Prayer

This old William Bradbury and W. W. Walford hymn speaks of the great blessing of prayer.

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,

That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father's throne

Make all my wants and wishes known;

In seasons of distress and grief

My soul has often found relief,

And oft escaped the tempter's snare,

By thy return, sweet hour of prayer.

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,

The joy I feel, the bliss I share

Of those whose anxious spirits burn

With strong desires for thy return!

With such I hasten to the place

Where God, my Savior, shows His face,

And gladly take my station there,

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,

Thy wings shall my petition bear

To Him whose truth and faithfulness

Engage the waiting soul to bless;

And since He bids me seek His face,

Belive His wrd, and trust His grace,

I'll cast on Him my ev'ry care,

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.

John Calvin on Prayer

John Calvin said this on prayer, while commenting on Jesus' prayer in Matthew 6:

Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things known to him, or of exciting him to do his duty, or of urging him as though he were relucant. On the conrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek him, that they may exercise their faith in mediating on his promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into his bossom; in a word, that they may declare that from him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things.

Father, My Prayers are Confused

Father, many times, my prayers are confused. There are times when I am uncertain of what to pray, of what to ask, of what to expect. In my selfishness, I have desires and my own estimation of what needs to be, but I look at the world and I observe my small corner of it and realize that the way in which you are working must be at odds with what I am wanting. At first, such observation makes me frustrated, even angry and bitter . . . Why, God, have you not stepped in? . . . then, I realize, that you are God and I am not . . . You have all the wisdom and foresight, and my understanding is quite limited.

Father, I praise you that in my confusion, you know what is best for me and for those I love so deeply. May I learn to trust you more, to be patient in awaiting for your hand and your response. And, Father, may I know that you are not a manipulator . . . that the free choices of others sometimes goes against your will. May you judge them in accordance with your will, and may I be free of resentment and hatred and judgment.

Father, I give to you the concerns of my heart and the troubles of my family. I praise you for your love . . . for your abiding presence . . . may I accept the way that you lead. May I be at peace with where you are bringing me. May I live for you irrespective of what happens around me and to me. Father, I leave the circumstances of my life to you, fully trusting in You.

Thank You for a New Year

Father, thank you for this new year. As I look ahead I see the horizon far away. This new year is filled with wide vistas, its promise and potential is great. You are the God of new beginnings, of renewal. Be with us, Father, as we live this new year. May we be recharged, rejuvenated, ready to grow, improve, prosper, and succeed. Lead us in this new year, Father. May we be what you desire us to be.

Father, Give Me a Good Kick

Father, in the abundance of your blessings, you give me opportunity. Opportunity to serve, to love, to share, to give, opportunities to bless others. But, so much of the time, my fervor to serve, to love, to share, to give, and to bless wanes. I am so preoccupied with my own concerns, needs, activities, and ambitions. With the opportunities you give me, grant to me also a willing heart, motivation, give me a good kick and move me out of my comfort (or my rut) so that I may be about your business, your concerns, to share the blessing of your love with others.