The Morning Devotional for December 14, 2020:
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 613, ESV)
Read MoreQ. 106. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
A. In the sixth petition, which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we pray, that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted. (WSC Q106)
Prayer: Our great God in heaven, as your people gather today on this holiest day of the week, we pray that we would see your beauty and majesty. We mourn our remaining sin that prevents us from beholding you in all of your glory. We long to be free from this tyranny and to behold the face of your Son. Yet, in this day, you have given us a picture of what we long for and wait for as we meditate on the promise of the King's return. We ask that you would speak to us from your Word today. We plead with you to thunder from the heavens as you have done in days of old. We beseech you to be compassionate to your people and cause your ministers to speak tenderly to Jerusalem. We desire to see great fruit from your Word proclaimed and ask that it not return void but accomplish all you purpose it to do. We pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Read MorePrayer: Our God in heaven, you who love families and ordained marriage as a blessing to your people, we cry out to you for divine help and guidance for those who you joined together. We know that your Word teaches that you love marriage and hate divorce. We know that you have promised to help those who struggle in difficult relationships -- to give them all they need as they learn to depend on you. We pray that you would protect those marriages that are struggling. We pray that you would bless fathers and husbands and help them love their wives as your Son loves the church. We pray that mothers and wives would submit to their husbands as they submit to the Savior. We pray for our covenant children that they would never know a day that they didn't love the Lord Jesus. We pray for our homes that they would have the aroma of Christ. We pray that you would help in all of these matters for the sake of Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for December 11, 2020:
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12, ESV)
Q. 105. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
A. In the fifth petition, which is, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, we pray that God, for Christ's sake, would freely pardon all our sins; which we are the rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others. (WSC Q105)
Read MoreQ. 194. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
A. In the fifth petition (which is, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors), acknowledging that we and all others are guilty both of original and actual sin, and thereby become debtors to the justice of God; and that neither we, nor any other creature, can make the least satisfaction for that debt: we pray for ourselves and others, that God of his free grace would, through the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, apprehended and applied by faith, acquit us both from the guilt and punishment of sin, accept us in his Beloved; continue his favor and grace to us, pardon our daily failings, and fill us with peace and joy, in giving us daily more and more assurance of forgiveness; which we are the rather emboldened to ask, and encouraged to expect, when we have this testimony in ourselves, that we from the heart forgive others their offenses. (WLC Q194)
The Morning Devotional for December 9, 2020:
Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11, ESV)
Read MoreQ. 104. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?
A. In the fourth petition, which is, Give us this day our daily bread,” we pray, that of God’s free gift we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them.
Prayer: Lord, we plead our cause with you today as your people who are pilgrims in this world. We are exiles, living in a world that s not our home. We are sojourners, traveling through this life anticipating a better country. We cry out to you, "how long?" When will your Son return? When will this struggle be over? As the people of old longed for their redemption and often cried out to you, we too cry out to you pleading for that better country, the New Heavens and New Earth. We long to see sin eradicated from our lives and your creation. We long to be free from the struggle with sin. We long to see Christ coronated as the Lion of Judah. We are weary, Father. We are tired. Please help us to persevere. Give us more grace, Lord. Be merciful to us and help us in the struggle and the fight. May you be pleased to give to your church the will and desire to fight on until we hear the voice of the King. We pray this in His name. Amen.
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for December 8, 2020:
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10, ESV)
Q. 103. What do we pray for in the third petition?
A. In the third petition, which is, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” we pray, that God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven. (WSV Q103)
Read MoreQ. 192. What do we pray for in the third petition?
A. In the third petition, (which is, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,) acknowledging that by nature we and all men are not only utterly unable and unwilling to know and do the will of God, but prone to rebel against his word, to repine and murmur against his providence, and wholly inclined to do the will of the flesh, and of the devil: we pray, that God would by his Spirit take away from ourselves and others all blindness, weakness, indisposedness, and perverseness of heart; and by his grace make us able and willing to know, do, and submit to his will in all things, with the like humility, cheerfulness, faithfulness, diligence, zeal, sincerity, and constancy, as the angels do in heaven. (WLC Q192)
Prayer: Our most holy God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, your Word reminds us of your majesty and grace. It reminds us of your divine providence as you order all things according to the word of your power for your glory and our good. As we review the history of the people of old, we note how often they griped, complained, and murmured against your providence. When hungry, there complained. When thirsty, they complained. When troubled from within and without, they complained. As we observe their behavior, we note that we are sometimes no different. We are ashamed of how often we behave as they did. We desire to be content and rest in your goodness, knowing that you guide our steps and guarantee that we will arrive at our heavenly rest. Please help us to trust you today. Whether this day holds difficulty or ease, we pray that we would be thankful for it. We pray this in the name of the Savior. Amen.
Read MoreThe Morning Devotional for December 7, 2020
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10, ESV)
Q. 102. What do we pray for in the second petition?
A. In the second petition, which is, Thy kingdom come,” we pray, that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened. (WSC Q102)
Read MoreQ. 191. What do we pray for in the second petition?
A. In the second petition, (which is, Thy Kingdom come,) acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; the church furnished with all gospel officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrates; that the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up those that are already converted: that Christ would rule in our hearts here, and hasten the time of his second coming, and our reigning with him for ever: and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends. (WLC Q191)
Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank you for your mercies and how your faithfulness to us is new every morning. We praise you for the bounty of your Word and the rich meal we enjoyed in your worship on the Lord's Day. We are ashamed at how easily we forget the things we hear from the sermons. Like the church of old, we are also forgetful people and need to be reminded often of your majesty, beauty, character, and commands. Please help us today to mediate and confer with the Word preached and seek to bring forth the fruit of it in our lives. Grant to us a willing and joyful spirit full of zeal to be doers of the Word and not mere hearers of it. We pray this in the name of the Savior, who was zealous to do your will. Amen.
Read MorePrayer: Father, we often feel the weight of this world and life and know something of the trails of the church of old as they journeyed from Egypt to Sinai to worship you. Like our fathers, we often struggle with the allurement of this world and sometimes turn aside to things that do not satisfy us. As a result, our hearts are numb as we come to worship you. We pray, O Lord, that you would make alive our cold hearts and fan into flame a greater affection for you. Please help us turn aside from the deaf and blind idols of this life and long to behold your beauty and majesty. Help us to see the beauty of the Lord's day as a picture of that eternal joy we will see on that great day when the Lord Jesus returns for his church. We pray this in his name. Amen.
Read MorePrayer: Father, we know that the times and seasons are in your hands. You have ordered our days from conception to death, and we do not know the day and hour of our end. What we do know is that you have told us to redeem the time and use each moment to serve you, pursuing your kingdom and righteousness. Yet, we live in a world with great distractions for your people. We are inundated with entertainment choices, social media, recreation of all sorts, and much more. We know that you demand your children to live godly and disciplined lives. Forgive us for wasting our time on senseless and meaningless pursuits. Help us use the time you have given to us to pray, seek your face, advance your kingdom, and bring glory and honor to your name. We pray this because of Christ, our Lord, and Savior. Amen.
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