"All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You." (Psalm 22:27)
I pray the Psalms reading each day; and our text is a powerful prayer to confess and pray for the nations. Our Lord Jesus prayed from this Psalm on the Cross.
The Bonhoeffer biography by Metaxas which I have read recently gave me encouragement to continue in the practice. Bonhoeffer was a strong believer in praying the Psalter. The last book he would publish before his death was The Prayer Book of the Bible. Bonhoeffer asserts that by praying the Psalms, we "pray along with Christ's prayer and therefore may be certain and glad that God hears us. When our will, our whole heart, enters into the prayer of Christ, then we are truly praying. We can pray only in Jesus Christ, with whom we shall also be heard.'"
Praying the Bible does not always mean "adapting" a text to our particular situation or desires. Praying the Bible means just that--- praying the Bible. The Greek word translated, "confession," or "profession," means "to assent, acknowledge, covenant." Hebrews 3 says that Jesus is, "the Apostle and High Priest of our confession." I pray passages whether they sound like prayers or not. For me, praying a passage is confession of that passage, as one Greek scholar says, "confession," means "saying the same thing" God says. Praying the, "Words of God," is acknowledging His Words, covenanting with His Words. How can you not have such prayers answered? His Word is His Will, His purposes for mankind and the universe. Bible praying is a grand praying, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven."
Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for the Great Prayer Book. Amen.
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Be Sure to read the article at: www.apf327.blogspot.com and contact your representatives in DC.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
