Tag Archives: O Lord

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Praying for God’s Glory

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“O Lord, in accordance with all Thy righteous acts, let now Thine anger and Thy wrath turn away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people have become a reproach to all those around us. So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Thy servant and to his supplications, and for Thy sake, O Lord, let Thy face shine on Thy desolate sanctuary.

“O my God, incline Thine ear and hear! Open Thine eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Thy name; for we are not presenting our supplications before Thee on account of any merits of our own but on account of Thy great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Thine own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name” (Dan. 9:16-19).

God’s glory must be the ultimate goal of every prayer request we make.

Someone once said, “Show me your redeemed life and I might believe in your Redeemer.” That’s a fair request! As Christians, we are Christ’s ambassadors to a dying world. With His Spirit in our hearts and His Word in our hands, we are to speak His truth in love and live a life that lends credibility to what we say.

When we fail to do that, we dishonor God and provide ammunition for those who seek to discredit His work. That was certainly true of Israel. They were God’s chosen people yet His name was blasphemed among the Gentiles because of their unbelief and disobedience (Rom. 2:24).

Daniel knew Israel didn’t deserve mercy, but he asked God to forgive and restore them to their homeland for His own name’s sake. Therein would He be glorified.

When you pray according to God’s will, fervently confessing your sins and interceding for others, you’re following in the godly tradition of Daniel and every other saint who sought God’s glory above all else. May it be so today!

Suggestions for Prayer; Pray for the nation of Israel, that God might redeem many Jewish people for His name’s sake (cf. Rom. 10:1).

For Further Study; Read Ezekiel 36:16-38.

  • Why did God scatter Israel? Why will He regather her?
  • How will the Gentile nations react to her regathering?
John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Trusting in God’s Power

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“I pray that … you may know … the surpassing greatness of [God’s] power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19).

The same divine power that created, sustains, and controls the universe secures your salvation.

God’s power is awesome! David wrote, “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Thine is the dominion, O Lord, and Thou dost exalt Thyself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name” (1 Chron.29:11-13).

In Ephesians 1:19 Paul focuses on one key feature of God’s power: His ability to secure the salvation of His people. And he prays for you to understand the surpassing greatness of that truth.

The Greek word translated “power” is dunamis, from which we get dynamite and dynamo. This power is active, dynamic, and compelling—and it is mightily at work on your behalf. You might not always sense it, but it’s there nonetheless.

Peter expresses the same thought in 1 Peter 1:5, where he says you are “protected by the power of God through faith” in Christ. In that verse “protected” means “to keep or guard” and reflects Peter’s confidence that salvation is inviolable.

The same limitless power that created, sustains, and controls the universe saved you and keeps you saved. That’s why Jesus said no one can snatch you out of the Father’s hand (John 10:29). Not even Satan has the power to do that. Paul confidently added that nothing therefore can separate you from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-39). That’s the confidence you should have as you live each day.

Suggestions for Prayer

Pray for greater spiritual enlightenment and a clearer understanding of your security in Christ. Nothing will rob you of your assurance quicker than unconfessed sin. If that has happened to you, confess it immediately and turn from it. Then ask God to restore to you the joy of your salvation.

For Further Study

Read 1 Chronicles 29:11-13.

  • What prerogatives did David attribute to God (vv. 11-12)?
  • What was David’s response to God’s power (v. 13)?

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Are You a Culture Warrior?

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“Over the last two decades there has been waged an all-out assault on common sense and on the common values of the American people. We now stand at a crossroads.” So said William Bennett, former U.S. Secretary of Education. Few would disagree. In fact, it seems that in addition to common sense and common values, the very Christian heritage of the nation is under fire in what has been called a culture war.

Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!

Lamentations 5:21

While you call upon God to restore America – and you should – evaluate your own self and what are you doing to build His kingdom. Hearts are only changed from the inside. Are you a living, breathing Gospel that draws others to the Savior? Does the joy of the Lord radiate from your life? Or are you only showing anger, disgust, maybe even defeat?

Pray earnestly for national restoration of faith in Almighty God. William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, said, “If we aren’t governed by God, we will be ruled by tyrants.” Remember, therefore, to intercede for the leaders of America’s government to submit their wills to the will of the Lord. Then be joyful. Jesus said He has overcome the world!

Recommended Reading: Lamentations 5:16-22

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Never Ending

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The average attention span in the year 2000, according to a recent study, was 12 seconds. In 2013, it was eight seconds. In comparison, the average attention span of a goldfish is nine seconds. Twenty-five percent of teenagers forget major details of close friends and family members.

O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act.

Daniel 9:19

Thankfully, the Lord’s level of attentiveness is never ending, and nothing goes without God’s notice. “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Luke 12:7) In today’s passage, Daniel asks God to hear, forgive, pay attention to, and act on behalf of His people. He recognized the sin of the nation of Israel and interceded to beg for God’s mercy.

Be aware of your own sin, as well as that of Americans. Then adopt Daniel’s earnest plea as your own this New Year. Ask God to hear when you pray. Confess your sins and request His pardon. Then invite your Heavenly Father to notice and act on behalf of America. Plead for Him to raise up godly citizens as well as a God-fearing leadership who will pay full attention to Him.

Recommended Reading: Luke 11:5-13

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Faith in perfection

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“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” Psalm 138:8

Suggested Further Reading: Deuteronomy 31:1-8

There is yet another confession in the text—the Psalmist’s confession that all he has, he has from God. “Forsake not the works of thine own hands.” I will not, however, dwell upon it, but urge you who are believers to go home and cry aloud to God in prayer. Let this be a New Year’s day prayer. “Forsake not the work of thine hands. Father, forsake not thy little child, lest he die by the hand of the enemy. Shepherd, forsake not thy lamb, lest the wolves devour him. Great husbandman, forsake not thy little plant, lest the frost should nip it, and it should be destroyed. Forsake me not, O Lord now, and when I am old and grey headed, O Lord, forsake me not. Forsake me not in my joys, lest I curse God. Forsake me not in my sorrows, lest I murmur against him. Forsake me not in the day of my repentance, lest I lose the hope of pardon, and fall into despair; and forsake me not in the day of my strongest faith, lest my faith degenerate into presumption, and so I perish by my own hand.” Cry out to God, that he would not forsake you in your business, in your family; that he would not forsake you either upon your bed by night or in your business by day. And may God grant, when you and I shall come to the end of this year, we may have a good tale to tell concerning the faithfulness of God in having answered our prayers, and having fulfilled his promise.

For meditation: Do you open up every area of your life to the One who has promised never to forsake his people? Are there any aspects of your relationship with him which are not all that they should be (Malachi 1:6)?

Sermon no. 231

2 January (1859)

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Learning by Looking Back

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No one was ever elected president by promising a return to the “good old days.” Inaugural addresses tend to be overwhelmingly forward-looking. John F. Kennedy proclaimed that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.” Richard Nixon said that his administration represented a “new beginning.” George H.W. Bush said a “new breeze blows” when he was elected, and Bill Clinton talked about vision and courage to “reinvent America.” Is it ever really helpful to dwell on the past?

Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—

Lamentations 5:21

The answer is yes. The writer of Lamentations – likely the prophet Jeremiah – found it fruitful to look back and examine what had gone wrong in his nation. After King Nebuchadnezzar crushed the Kingdom of Judah, he exiled her citizens to Babylon. Now, as Jerusalem lay in ruins, the Jews were remembering the “good old days,” and they realized those days were good because they had walked with the Lord, followed His Will, and enjoyed His protection.

Will America soon be in ruins, its citizens remembering better times? Today, pray that your leaders will understand the key to the future are these words: “Restore us to yourself, O Lord.”

Recommended Reading: Jeremiah 2:1-9

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – In the Midst

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It seemed as if he was alone. Moses led millions of Israelites from Egypt out of the depths of slavery, but their angst with him resulted in complaints about the food, their water supply and their total situation (Numbers 11:1-10). Only because of his faithful communion with God was Moses able to lead this stiff-necked, sinning nation to the Promised Land.

And he [Moses] said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us.”

Exodus 34:9

It’s a problem that has not gone away. Many today complain about their circumstances. They live in the most prosperous nation of the world, blessed by God with plenteous food, a standard of living higher than any other, and opportunities abounding. Even in these times when jobs are scarce and making ends meet difficult, the Lord continues to provide for those who lean on Him.

Moses’ plea was that the Lord go in the midst of them – that He not help them from afar, but that He remain close. The Lord covenanted to do just that and the people were blessed. It is a prayer for you today…though the sin is great and the hearts are stubborn, Lord, do not forsake this nation.

Recommended Reading: Exodus 34:1-10

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Your Choice Treasure

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Alistair Begg

Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.  Psalm 31:5

These words have been frequently used by the godly in their hour of departure. We may profitably consider them this evening. The object of the believer’s interest in life and death is not his body or his possessions but his spirit; this is his choice treasure: If this is safe, then all is well. What is our physical condition compared with the soul?

The believer commits his soul to the hand of God; it came from Him, it is His own, He has until now sustained it, He is able to keep it, and it is fitting that He should receive it. All things are safe in Jehovah’s hands; what we entrust to the Lord will be secure, both now and in that day of days toward which we are hastening. It is peaceful living and glorious dying to rest in the care of heaven. At all times we should commit everything to Jesus’ faithful hand; then even if life should hang on a thread, and difficulties multiply like the sands of the sea, our soul shall live in safety and delight itself in quiet resting places.

“You have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” Redemption is a solid basis for confidence. David did not know Calvary as we do, but even as redemption cheered him, so our eternal redemption will sweetly console us. Past deliverances are strong guarantees for present assistance. What the Lord has done He will do again, for He does not change. He is faithful to His promises and gracious to His saints; He will not turn away from His people.

Though Thou slay me I will trust,

Praise Thou eve from the dust

Prove, and tell it as I prove,

Thine unutterable love.

Thou may chasten and correct,

But Thou never can neglect;

Since the ransom price is paid,

On Thy love my hope is stayed.

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The family reading plan for August 27, 2014 * Lamentations 4 * Psalm 35

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Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Cry to the Lord

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Alistair Begg

To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Psalm 28:1

A cry is the natural expression of sorrow, and a suitable utterance when all other modes of appeal fail us; but the cry must be alone directed to the Lord, for to cry to man is to waste our entreaties upon the air. When we consider the readiness of the Lord to hear and His ability to aid, we shall see good reason for directing all our appeals at once to the God of our salvation. It will be in vain to call to the rocks in the day of judgment, but our Rock attends to our cries.

“Be not deaf to me.” Mere formalists may be content without answers to their prayers, but genuine suppliants cannot; they are not satisfied with the results of prayer itself in calming the mind and subduing the will—they must go further and obtain actual replies from heaven or they cannot rest; and those replies they long to receive at once—they dread even a little of God’s silence.

God’s voice is often so terrible that it shakes the wilderness; but His silence is equally full of awe to an eager suppliant. When God seems to close His ear, we must not therefore close our mouths but rather cry with more earnestness; for when our note grows shrill with eagerness and grief, He will not long deny us a hearing. What a dreadful case we would be in if the Lord should become forever deaf to our prayers. “Lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.” Deprived of the God who answers prayer, we would be in a more pitiable plight than the dead in the grave and would soon sink to the same level as the lost in hell. We must have answers to prayer: Ours is an urgent case of dire necessity; surely the Lord will speak peace to our agitated minds, for He never can find it in His heart to permit His own elect to perish.

 

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

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The family reading plan for July 2, 2014 * Isaiah 64 * Matthew 12

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Train Up a Child

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The Barna Group estimates that about 60 percent of young people stop going to church. Those who remain do so because they have been trained with a biblical worldview, both parents attend church regularly and they teach by example. The numbers significantly drop when only one parent is faithful in spiritual matters.

For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

Psalm 71:5

Often adults get too wrapped up in their own lives and leave most of the training to teachers, peers and media. When the disciples rebuked parents for bringing their infants to Jesus, the Lord scolded them by saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:16) Another well-known verse says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

Today, ask God what you can do to help young people become disciples of Christ. Pray that He will send children and youth workers into this harvest field. Pray for the nation’s leaders and citizens (especially the younger ones) to find a church where they can learn, serve and grow in the Lord.

Recommended Reading: Deuteronomy 6:4-13

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Praying for God’s Glory

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John MacArthur

“O Lord, in accordance with all Thy righteous acts, let now Thine anger and Thy wrath turn away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people have become a reproach to all those around us. So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Thy servant and to his supplications, and for Thy sake, O Lord, let Thy face shine on Thy desolate sanctuary.

“O my God, incline Thine ear and hear! Open Thine eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Thy name; for we are not presenting our supplications before Thee on account of any merits of our own but on account of Thy great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Thine own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name” (Dan. 9:16-19).

Someone once said, “Show me your redeemed life and I might believe in your Redeemer.” That’s a fair request! As Christians, we are Christ’s ambassadors to a dying world. With His Spirit in our hearts and His Word in our hands, we are to speak His truth in love and live a life that lends credibility to what we say.

When we fail to do that, we dishonor God and provide ammunition for those who seek to discredit His work. That was certainly true of Israel. They were God’s chosen people yet His name was blasphemed among the Gentiles because of their unbelief and disobedience (Rom. 2:24).

Daniel knew Israel didn’t deserve mercy, but he asked God to forgive and restore them to their homeland for His own name’s sake. Therein would He be glorified.

When you pray according to God’s will, fervently confessing your sins and interceding for others, you’re following in the godly tradition of Daniel and every other saint who sought God’s glory above all else. May it be so today!

Suggestions for Prayer:

Pray for the nation of Israel, that God might redeem many Jewish people for His name’s sake (cf. Rom. 10:1).

For Further Study:

Read Ezekiel 36:16-38.

Why did God scatter Israel? Why will He regather her?

How will the Gentile nations react to her regathering?

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Faith in perfection

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CharlesSpurgeon

“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” Psalm 138:8

Suggested Further Reading: Deuteronomy 31:1-8

There is yet another confession in the text—the Psalmist’s confession that all he has, he has from God. “Forsake not the works of thine own hands.” I will not, however, dwell upon it, but urge you who are believers to go home and cry aloud to God in prayer. Let this be a New Year’s day prayer. “Forsake not the work of thine hands. Father, forsake not thy little child, lest he die by the hand of the enemy. Shepherd, forsake not thy lamb, lest the wolves devour him. Great husbandman, forsake not thy little plant, lest the frost should nip it, and it should be destroyed. Forsake me not, O Lord now, and when I am old and grey headed, O Lord, forsake me not. Forsake me not in my joys, lest I curse God. Forsake me not in my sorrows, lest I murmur against him. Forsake me not in the day of my repentance, lest I lose the hope of pardon, and fall into despair; and forsake me not in the day of my strongest faith, lest my faith degenerate into presumption, and so I perish by my own hand.” Cry out to God, that he would not forsake you in your business, in your family; that he would not forsake you either upon your bed by night or in your business by day. And may God grant, when you and I shall come to the end of this year, we may have a good tale to tell concerning the faithfulness of God in having answered our prayers, and having fulfilled his promise.

For meditation: Do you open up every area of your life to the One who has promised never to forsake his people? Are there any aspects of your relationship with him which are not all that they should be (Malachi 1:6)?

Sermon no. 231

2 January (1859)

 

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – A Voice of Confidence

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Alistair Begg

You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life.

Lamentations 3:58

Observe how positively the prophet speaks. He does not say, “I hope, I trust, I sometimes think that God has taken up my cause”; rather he speaks of it as a matter of fact not to be disputed. “You have taken up my cause.” Let us, by the aid of the gracious Comforter, shake off those doubts and fears that so easily mar our peace and comfort.

Let this be our prayer-that we may be done with the harsh, croaking voice of conjecture and suspicion and may be able to speak with the clear, melodious voice of full assurance.

Notice how gratefully the prophet speaks, ascribing all the glory to God alone! You will notice that there is not a word concerning himself or his own pleadings. He does not ascribe his deliverance in any measure to any man, much less to his own merit; but it is “you”-“You have taken up my cause, O LORD; you have redeemed my life.”

A grateful spirit should always be cultivated by the Christian; and especially after deliverances we should prepare a song for our God. Earth should be a temple filled with the songs of grateful saints, and every day should be filled with the sweet incense of thanksgiving.

How joyful Jeremiah seems to be while he records the Lord’s mercy. How triumphantly he sounds out melody!

He has been in the low dungeon, and even now he is none other than the weeping prophet; and yet in the very book that is called “Lamentations,” in as clear a song as Miriam’s when she played her tambourine, in as piercing a note as Deborah’s when she met Barak with shouts of victory, we hear the voice of Jeremiah going up to heaven-“You have taken up my cause, O LORD; you have redeemed my life.”

O children of God, seek after a vital experience of the Lord’s loving-kindness, and when you have it, speak positively of it; sing gratefully; shout triumphantly!