Empower me, O Lord, to do the work that needs doing.
Rather than worry about what others are doing in Your name, help me to do the things You have called me to do.
Instead of consistently seeking for signs of things that may not come, help me, like Brother Lawrence of The Resurrection, to say "It is Thou and I Lord; I will do my best out of love for You and hope it is good enough."
Continue to mold my life around the principles of godliness, purity courage, communication, and love.
Do Thou, O Lord, show me how to Thee best. Give me patience in waiting for Thy will to manifest, even while I am busy doing what is needful.
Let me focus not on circumstances nor on what I see and hear and experience with my senses, but rather with Thee and Thy greatness and power.
Thou art sovereign and supreme, Lord; open Thou my eyes.
Amen
Wonderful prayer. One of the most freeing things I've learned is that the indwelling of the believer by the Holy Spirit can change the believer... The Holy Spirit's influence can be trusted to move the believer into good works that are pleasing to God.
ReplyDeleteColossians 1:26-27 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Christ In YOU!
So the spirit of Christ Himself dwells in the believer. The power receptacle of the human is plugged into the power source of the Almighty. And the only one to ever have God say, "This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased" dwells in the believer.
And Philippians 2 doubles down on this as well:
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
So Paul tells us to work out our own salvation knowing that it is GOD working in us to do what pleases Him. And I would submit He is working THROUGH us. If you are cooperating with what God is doing in you, then you can trust what you do is pleasing to Him. That cooperation is stated in Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Otherwise, if I am trying to figure out what God wants, with no cooperation, no indwelling Holy Spirit, then my own faulty imagination will come up with stuff. And that can't be pleasing to God.
Jeremiah 32 shows how far we can go down the "I did the best I could" hole:
33 And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.
34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.
35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
They didn't cooperate with what God was working out. They sacrificed their own children in an attempt to please the other god they were worshiping. And the Almighty said it never entered His heart for something like that be done.
Study the Word. If what you are doing doesn't line up with Scripture, then it is suspect at best. Cooperate with what God is doing. Walk where He is leading.
That is a great key STxAR. Or as someone else I read once wrote "Figure out what God is doing in your generation and go do that".
DeleteWell that's a nice little prayer to start a hot, humid overcast Sunday.
ReplyDelete:)
Thanks Glen! It occurred to me that I have benefited greatly from the written prayers of others but never write - or share - the ones I write my self. It is a good practice to get into.
DeleteAmen.
ReplyDeleteIndeed Kelly, Indeed.
DeleteAgreed. Amen.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda!
DeleteI learn a lot from the blogs I read, especially this one, as well as your commenters. Blessings to you today and thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Bob! I am glad that it in some way serves a purpose that I was hoping it would serve.
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