Sue O’Donnell. 10.01.21
“Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah...She became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 11 v 16, 18 NLT)
Christ Jesus, born to us at Christmas,
Where can you meet Him readily?
Study the sacred Scriptures carefully.
Do not just read and forget.
Read, reflect and connect the teaching,
Asking yourself ‘How does this impact upon me,
Upon my way of life, faith motivated?’
‘How can I become more dedicated as I pray?’
Think of how the Lord Jesus prayed.
He acknowledged our Father’s position.
“ ‘I am the true grapevine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of Mine that doesn’t bear fruit, and He produces the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” (John 15 v 1, 2 NLT)
“ ‘Our Father in heaven’,” (Matthew 6 v 9 NLT) the Lord Jesus stated,
Then He acknowledged our Father’s character,
“ ‘May Your name be kept holy’.” (Cont)
Jesus aligns human will with the holy,
For He sees this as essential for us.
“ ‘May Your Kingdom come soon.
May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’.” (v 10)
Jesus has acknowledged the presence and benevolence of God.
He has shown how to enter His presence through praise.
Do we amaze sufficiently or frequently enough?
“Oh the joys of those who ...delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night...they prosper in all they do.” (Psalm 1 v 1, 2, 3 NLT)
Do we praise the extraordinarily gracious goodness of God?
Jesus calls the Almighty ‘Father’ confidently,
Knowing His blood shed at the † atones for us,
Jesus emphasises that which is of daily importance.
The kingdom priorities include its establishment
In ourselves, family, community, church, nation.
“The kingdom of God is...righteousness and peace
And joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14 v 17) generously gifted us.
Then it is time to turn to our needs,
Asking of our Father Provider to meet these.
“ ‘Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for...For everyone who asks receives...” (Luke 11 v 9, 10 NLT)
“ ‘Give us this day the food we need’.” (Matthew 6 v 11 NLT)
Food for our body, Jesus Himself being food for our soul and spirit.
He tells us directly He is the Bread of Life.
Jesus as Lord and Saviour, comes to nourish us in the Holy Eucharist especially,
As well as in prayer and the study of sacred Scripture.
Forgiveness is an important part of our life,
Both in the need to receive this and to offer it.
“ ‘Forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us’.” (v 12)
We have to determine to do this out of love for Christ Jesus.
He who freely gifts us His own life for our forgiveness in Jesus.
“We all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty of our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.” (Romans 3 v 23, 24, 25 NLT)
And pray “ ‘Do not let us yield to temptation,
But rescue us from the evil one’,” (v 13) this is our urgent plea.
We need the strong protection the Lord God will give us.
We can put on a full suit of spiritual armour
Which is the helmet, shield, breastplate and carrying a sword,
Enabling us to fight satan and all manner of temptation,
So we have a clear pattern of prayer.
Bless the Lord God as an almighty Trinity,
Declare the power in the blood shed for us at Jesus’ †,
In this we profess Jesus as Saviour Redeemer.
Seek wisdom and truth in the Holy Spirit gifted us.
“To those called by God to salvation, both Jew and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1 v 24)
The Spirit is drawing us ever closer to the Lord Jesus.
Speak out with confidence grateful for any progress.
Bless, profess, confess, this is the pattern of prayer,
Whereby we dare to hope, claiming success
Because we belong to our Father, in the Son, by the Spirit.
Praise the Lord God, then, for sharing His kingdom power,
For promising the glory we will see in the heavenly realm,
For making us one family, brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus.
“Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into His heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever!” (2 Timothy 4 v 10 NLT)
“May the Lord be with your spirit. And may His grace be with all of you.” (2 Timothy 4 v 22 NLT)
Let us pray in hope, expressing thanksgiving. For once our life was not lived correctly, not in a way which pleased our Father, for we lacked the virtues requisite for holiness.
“But – when God our Saviour revealed His kindness and love, He saved us ...” (Titus 3 v 4, 5) through the life and death of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus.
“Because of His mercy, He washed away our sins” (v 5) something we could not do for ourselves, “Giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” (v 5)
Let us pray in gratitude for this regeneration and renewal as our Father “Generously poured out the Spirit upon us, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” (v 6)
Let us pray rejoicingly. “Because of His grace He declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” (v 7)
Let us pray, offering thanks for prayer! Also for the writings of sacred Scripture. “These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.” (v 8)
Lord, to pray as You want us to pray, we need You as Saviour, Redeemer, Brother, and Shepherd, blessing us by the active Spirit of truth. Then no longer will we deceive ourselves that all is well.
Clearly, there are many who do not yet believe, and others who have gone lukewarm in their faith. How this must distress each Person of the Trinity, when they have done all that was necessary to rectify this.
I am sorry for my failures and thank You from a truly grateful heart for coming into my life as a Trinity who provide, deliver and protect. The knowledge of Your presence is our holiness.
Your holiness is our happiness. Therefore we ask to receive more from You, whilst also thanking You for all that is good and holy, upright and worthy, a taste of heaven on earth.
Christmas has let us know Your love at first hand in a most marvellous, mysterious way. Our life is made up of such momentous occasions of holy love gifted us.
The next great season within church time will be Lent, when we seek in even greater earnest to become Yours entirely, Lord Jesus, the Life Giver. You are our praise and worship.
Endless praise is due to our Father through You, by the faith building Spirit, the Praise Giver. Our faith which seeks to know, has been richly rewarded.
Our hearts will live forever and ever praising You, delighting in You. “All who seek the LORD will praise Him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.” (Psalm 22 v 26 NLT)
“The whole earth will acknowledge the LORD and return to Him. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.” (v 27) May this be soon.
You are the Messiah of all peoples everywhere, who seek to find holy truth and call upon the Holy Spirit.
Hear Your people’s prayer, Lord, asking the Holy Spirit to direct our attention to the places where You are to be found.
May we not be too busy to hear the Spirit’s prompt, persuasion or to feel His prod into our conscience.
Seeking Your help, may we find this, so we live to give glory to God.
Lord Jesus, You are a beam of light, thank You. You are a compass pointing us in the right direction, thank You. You are a signpost home to heaven, thank You.
We praise and venerate the Holy Trinity, offering thanks for all the hope, peace and joy You give us so readily and continuously. “Good faith will stand forever.” (Ecclesiasticus 40 v 12 TNJB) Thank You.
Please continue to bless each and every life given to You, Lord Jesus, led and safeguarded by the Holy Spirit of prayer. You shower blessings upon us! Thank You so much for this grace.
What unfailing goodness is our providence. Thank You for all love and mercy, Your unfailing steadfastly loving, most generous kindness. Profoundly You bless us.
Let Your truth reign throughout the world. Animate us by Your Spirit of wisdom to know what to do, where and when. You are the way. We must serve You, Lord Jesus, doing this wholeheartedly.
Thank You that Your love welcomes us into Your presence every day, be these times of joy, or trial, or sadness.
In all circumstances let us turn to You. Thank You that You pray for us, for all believers. Anoint us by Your Holy Spirit, Lord.
The glorious life beyond will be ours one day if we keep sincere in our faith’s practices and prayer. May the Spirit equip us to be godly in our intentions, plans, words and actions. May He be our decision Maker
together with You, Lord Jesus.
May our heart and mind be well prepared to receive of You, to live through You, to work for You, to glorify and honour our Father in so doing, until we reach the full fullness of heaven.
We should, we must daily practise what we will be doing eternally, praising the Holy Trinity with the very heart of our being, our whole soul belonging to You.
Seeking, let us pray with rejoicing. Discovering, let us pray in thanksgiving. Thinking, let us pray to be even more involved in Your will for us, Your plan and purpose being that of our Father’s will and wishes.
Lord Jesus, You are the Servant King reaching out to help us, whatever our current need for godly will, wish, plan and purpose. Thank You for being a part of this by Your Holy Spirit. You are our rejoicing. Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
Key Themes
PRAYER
THANKFULNESS
