Orthodox Advent Prayers | Two

Let us again join with our Orthodox family of faith in asking for a “stirring up” of the Spirit in and amongst us this Advent season. A prayer, like we saw with Isaiah on Sunday, that is gripped in hope, yielded by peace, and so is a response to God with us!

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to joy.
Lift up our heads from the dust
and adorn us with your righteousness,
that we may rejoice
and testify that our Lord has come;
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

Orthodox Advent Prayers

In the Orthodox tradition, the “stir up prayers” are spoken one each Sunday of Advent. Let us join with our sisters and brothers around the globe and pray these prayers for our faith family today, and in the week to come, especially as we live and work in the power of Peace.

Let us stir up one another by seeking the Spirit’s movement…

Stir up your power, O Lord, and come.
Keep us watchful and ready for the day and hour of your return.
Empower us with the gifts and strength we need,
and keep us faithful to the end;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

From the Ages

Our particular stories of faith, as Hebrews 11 and the season of Advent so aptly remind us, are written within the page of The Story. While knowing this truth is important and helpful, it is by praying this truth that the power of faith’s history takes hold of our hearts.

So this week, let us pray together this prayer from the ages— prayer adapted from John Ballie.

Father of our ancestors, we cry out to you. You have been the refuge of good and wise, prodigals and prostitutes in every generation. You are the beginning of history and our end, the light of life which enlightens every woman and man to realize their full humanity. Throughout the ages you have been the Lord and giver of life, the source of knowledge, and the fountain of all goodness.

The patriarchs & matriarchs, like Abraham and Ruth, trusted you and were not put to shame;

The prophets & prophetesses, like Isaiah and Anna, sought you and put your words on their lips;

The psalmists, like David, and the humble like Mary, rejoiced in you and you were present in their songs;

The apostles, like Peter, and disciples like Martha and Mary, waited for you and were filled with your Spirit;

The martyrs, like Stephen and Felicity, called upon you and you were with them in the flames;

Our poor souls called, and have been heard by the Lord, and have been saved from every trouble.

Father, you have always been there, you are with us now, and you endure forever;

We thank you for this well-worn Christian path, a way ancient and ever-lasting,

a road beaten hard by the footsteps of saints, apostles, prophets, and martyrs.

Thank you for sign posts and warning signals which are there at every corner and which we can understand through the study of Scripture and history, through great literature and the stories of others in your Spirit.

Above all, we give you sincere and humble thanks for the great gift of Jesus Christ, the pioneer of faith.

We praise you that we have been born in an age and a land where we can know his name, and that we are not called to face any temptation or trail which he did not endure.

Holy Father, help us to profit from these great memories of the ages gone by, and help us to enter into the glorious inheritance which you have prepared for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Prophetic Prayers | Finale

We began our “prophetic prayers” saying: The prophets of old spoke and prayed to help us become aware of ourselves in relation to God and others, and that’s the prophetic prayers we need anew today. Praying scriptured prayers for clarity to see and courage to act in the reality of our Father’s Kingdom come and will being done in our time and place in history.

In conclusion, let the prophetic vision of Isaiah lead us into the gratitude and grace of our part in the world alive, a kingdom come (“Jerusalem & Zion” born anew) because of our Father cares, Jesus reigns, and the Spirit guides.

“Before she went into labor,
    she had the baby.
Before the birth pangs hit,
    she delivered a son.
Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?
    Has anyone seen anything like this?
A country born in a day?
    A nation born in a flash?

But Zion was barely in labor
    when she had her babies!
Do I open the womb
    and not deliver the baby?
Do I, the One who delivers babies,
    shut the womb?” Declares the Lord

“Rejoice, Jerusalem,
    and all who love her, celebrate!
And all you who have shed tears over her,
    join in the happy singing.
You newborns can satisfy yourselves
    at her nurturing breasts.
Yes, delight yourselves and drink your fill
    at her ample bosom.”

For this is God’s Message:

“I’ll pour robust well-being into her like a river,
    the glory of nations like a river in flood.
You’ll nurse at her breasts,
    nestle in her bosom,
    and be bounced on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
    so I’ll comfort you.
    You will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

You’ll see all this and burst with joy
    —you’ll feel ten feet tall—
As it becomes apparent that God is on your side
    and against his enemies…

God’s Decree…

“I know everything they’ve ever done or thought.

I’m going to come and then gather everyone—all nations, all languages.

They’ll come and see my glory.

I’ll set up a station at the center. I’ll send the survivors of judgment all over the world: Spain and Africa, Turkey and Greece, and the far-off islands that have never heard of me, who know nothing of what I’ve done nor who I am.

I’ll send them out as missionaries to preach my glory among the nations. They’ll return with all your long-lost brothers and sisters from all over the world. They’ll bring them back and offer them in living worship to God…says God.

“For just as the new heavens and new earth
    that I am making will stand firm before me”
        —God’s Decree—
“So will your children
    and your reputation stand firm.
Month after month and week by week,
    everyone will come to worship me,” God says.

(Isaiah 66:7-23)

Prophetic Prayers | Five

As a parts of the body of Christ, prophets call us to awe and response to God with us, to remember the Life we have with the expectation that we can and will live it to the fullest in, through, and for Jesus. So, let’s continue praying like prophets with and for one another, letting an adaption of 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 be our guide.

 We have been called and sent by Jesus, the Messiah, according to God’s plan, along with our spiritual friends and companions to God’s church in Dallas, to Chris City Church, believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life. Not to mention all who call out to Jesus, wherever they live. He’s their Master as well as ours!

May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be ours.

Every time we think of one another, we thank God for our lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in us—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in our lives.

Just think—we don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of us as we wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep us steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got us started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on us. May we never forget that, living with courage and compassion, doing justice and loving kindness because we are in awe and responding to God walking with us. Amen.

Prophetic Prayers | Four

One thing that distinguishes a prophet is their ability to see, hear, and feel God’s movement all about them. They can see the “life-lines,” and Life-Light reverberating in the world around, as well as darkened and still places, much like Van Gogh showed us in the Starry Night on Sunday.

And so, let’s pray together for such holistic vision. We’ll use an adaption of St. Patrick’s prayer to help us.

We enter the work for which we are made...

Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,

Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,

Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,

Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

Because Life Light is in Jesus, grant us the vision to know:

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

In…Through…and For…Jesus, we live.

Amen.

Prophetic Prayers | Three

Prophetic prayers move us toward the heart and action of our Father, they also move us and those for whom we pray into lives lived in beat with our Father’s heart and action. So today, for ourselves, for our faith family, and for all those who have (and whom we long to have) fellowship with us in the grace of Jesus, let us be join in the call to life full and forever from Philippians 1:9-11.

For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer

that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment,

so that yo may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ,

to the glory and praise of God.

Amen.

Prophetic Prayers | Two

Prayers can either move us toward God’s actions and heart, or create a distance from them. Take the prayer of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable who prayed “God, I thank you I am not like other men…” (Lk. 18:11) and in doing so found himself outside the justness of God (Lk. 18:14).

While our prayers may not be so blatantly distancing, if we are honest, much of what makes up our prayers to God are please to avoid the troubles others have or tend to fall into. On the surface, such prayers seem innocent and natural, but under the surface, they reveal that our hearts and actions would rather avoid the difficult work of relating rightly with God, others, ourselves, and our environment/circumstances. But remember, Jesus taught us to pray expecting guidance through the inevitable troubles that allows us avoid the drama that exasperates them and deliverance (salvation) from the evil we’re sure to encounter.

Our first prophetic prayer joined us with the apostle Paul, proclaiming that God’s actions and heart have always been moving towards those like us, who find themselves in the midst of troubles and evil, in need of both “the gospel of our salvation” (Eph. 1:13) and “redemption…forgiveness…grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight” (Eph. 1:7-8). Prophetic prayer seeks to get in on this God-work of “uniting all things in Jesus” (Eph. 1:10), not distancing ourselves from the the places and people where it is being worked out.

Consider the previous sentence for a few moments. Then pray for yourself, our faith family, and Jesus’ Church in our city, nation, and world an adaption of Colossians 1:9-14:

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has guaranteed our whole and holy life by the sealing of the Holy Spirit, may we be filled with the knowledge of Your will, Your desired work, so as to walk in a congruent manner, fully pleasing You, bearing fruit in every thing we word and deed by which we make life, good; every increasing in our knowing and being known by You.

Strengthen us with all power according to Your glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, for, Father, You have qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light, delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of Your beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Because we are in Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Prophetic Prayers

Even in my social media-less void, I’ve heard the rumblings from a variety of Christian fronts all clamoring in one way or another for a prophetic voice (or voices) to cut through the cultural climate and bring whatever solutions that particular group perceives is needed for our day and time. The longing I think is spot on. After all, Jesus spoke of the “Blessed” life as being instep with the “prophets who were before” us (Matt. 5:12).

What concerns me, however, is that what I hear in the desire for clarity is means of opposition not of reconciliation. Its the clarity of the speck in another’s eye, what’s keeping them from seeing rightly, rather than the clarity of the log in my own that keeps me from participating with the good that our Father in heaven is longing to manifest. The prophets of old spoke and prayed to help us become aware of ourselves in relation to God and others, and that’s the prophetic prayers we need anew today.

Will join me in praying a first prophetic word for over our faith family, and the faith family’s of our city, speaking a reconciling awareness over you sisters and brothers:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Eph. 1:3-14)

Praying Until We No Longer Need To

The prayer of Jesus has been prayed in every generation from its first utterance. We have all felt the longing and necessity within the tightly packed yet simple words. Perhaps none more deeply felt than Jesus’ final words to repeat:

but deliver us from evil and the evil one (Matthew 6:13)

While it is true that experience of the blessedness of life with God in life with others is not something we have to wait for, it is, as we’ve attested, also an experience of opposition. Not just the “troubles” of daily living, but a life that is opposed by a force/forces that often feel too much for us to overcome. This need of deliverance is “a cry from the heart in every age,” says Bailey. A prayer which our Father has answered over and over and over again, most finally through the Son.

So, we end our prayers from “the prayer” joining the saints in every generation that has been and will be until there is no longer need for such longing.

Deliver us from evil and the evil one.

In Jesus name we pray and live.

Amen.

Praying Pre-Emptively

“Oh, Lord, hold us back and do not let us take the path into trials.”

That’s what scholar of Near Eastern Studies and professor of New Testament, Joachim Jeremias contends Jesus is teaching us to pray when He said, “And lead us not into temptation…” (Matthew 6:13).

Jesus presumes we are prone to be drawn into situations that exasperate the sufficient troubles of the day. We are, as we said no Sunday, suckers for drama of the soul. The problem is, once we are caught up in the drama, it’s really difficult to be at peace, much less be a peacemaker. So, Jesus teaches us a daily prayer of pre-emptive avoidance:

“We don’t know what we are getting ourselves into today, but you do. We trust you to guide us, leading us not into drama but through the troubles of the day.”

Implied In Prayer

Even the way Jesus models prayer for us helps us to recognize and live in the “new map” his sermon (and subsequent life and teaching) unfold. If the kingdom of heaven is not a place we arrive in the traditional sense, but a reality that we experience and in which we mature, then no wonder Jesus teaches us to pray:

Hallowed be thy name.

Let it come—thy kingdom,

let it be done—thy will.

The phrasing, says Kenneth Bailey, implies both an already-ness to God’s holiness, kingdom, and purposes; alongside an expectation of living depth, more complete experience of all three in real time. So, as we pray these opening words this week, give yourself the space to meditate on what the prayer’s implications for your life and those who you make a life with. Pray and ponder:

Hallowed be thy name.

Let it come—thy kingdom,

let it be done—thy will.

A Footnote in Prayer

Eugene Peterson once wrote,

“in prayer we become what we say...The task is not to get God to do something I think needs done, but to become aware of what God is doing so that I can participate in it.”

In most bible translations, the Jesus’ prayer ends with a footnote. There at the bottom of the page in ultra tiny print, the publishers include a comment like, “some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.”

Whether or not this footnote was original to Matthew or added later, the final phrase brings us back to the point of Jesus’ prayer: awareness that God’s kingdom, power, and glory are the only real, as well as the only ones that last; so God help us, let’s participate!

This week, let’s spend some time mediating on the footnote. Pray the words slowly three times, then let the Spirit lead you into how God’s kingdom, power, and glory are showing forth now and forever.

For Yours is

the Kingdom and

the Power and

the Glory,

Forever.

Amen.

Caught & Released

The way Jesus teaches us to pray, forms us individually and collectively in three relational truths:

• The One to whom we pray is both Creator and Near: “Our Father…in heaven.”

• Our daily and basic living is caught up in “the great sweep of history” of His Story from making holy His name to living free from evil.

• Because we are caught up in His life and action; we are released into our lives and actions.

Kenneth E. Bailey contends that "Each of the six petitions involves an act of God, and each specifies or implies participation on the part of the believer,” the one praying. So this week, let’s pray the implied made specific below, allowing our minds and hearts to formed so that we might live the Truth.

Father, You make Your own name holy, and so I am expected to live a holy life.

Father, You bring Your Kingdom, and so I am to work toward the goal of its fulness.

Father, You fulfill Your will, and so I am to discover and obey it in daily life.

Father, You give the gift of daily bread, and so I am to labor with what you give.

Father, You forgive, and so I am to share what I have been given.

Father, You guide me away from evil, and so I must live a life that follows where You lead.

Starting At the Depths

When a disciple asked Jesus to teach he and his fellow apprentices to pray, he probably expected something similar to what he learned growing up: a route prayer. Maybe Jesus’ prayer would sound different, use different words than the Shema, but ultimately, it would be another collection of words whose force was felt through repetition. Yet, what the disciple wanted, and what Jesus wanted for his followers, was not a fresh version of the same old thing, but something that took us to the depths of “routine religion.”

Jesus desires us not to merely pray memorized words, but to pray in a way that moves us from the shallows into the depths of faith. A move that, ironically enough keeps us firmly grounded in the weeds of daily life (see Matt. 6:19-34). Still, its a movement into depth that begins by emphasizing the heart of our faith: forgiveness:

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)

So this week, slowly pray the words Jesus taught us below. But this time, as the Holy Spirit leads, let your conversation with God lead linger in depths of embolden phrase. Allow the weight of what has been forgiven you, be an alleviating joy. Allow the weight of what needs forgiving in others, be a prostrating plea.

Now, let’s pray with Jesus Matthew 6:9-13 from The Message:

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are.

Set the world right.

Do what’s best — as above, so below.

Keep us alive with three square meals.

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

Your in charge!

You can do anything you want!

You’re ablaze with beauty!

Yes. Yes. Yes.

"Lord Teach Us..."

The one time the disciples ask Jesus to teach them something, the one time rather than learning through observation they desire to learn through a lesson, they ask Jesus to teach them…what, do you think? Nope. Teach them to stay steadfast and do the right things? Nope. Teach them to overcome the enemy? Nope. Teach them what to know about God? Nope.

Each of those would have been a good thing to learn. Yet what the disciples asked Jesus to teach them was not a lesson on morality or kingdom advancement or even theology. Instead, they asked “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1). Haven learned from Jesus along their journies for nearly three years, Jesus’ apprentices recognized that what is most important is not what you know, but who. They came to realize that a truly “blessed” life—one morally sound, kingdom strong, and biblically wise—came through relationship, communion, and conversation with God.

The same is true for you and I, so over the next several weeks, we’ll follow the disciples’ lead, asking Jesus to teach us to pray and letting his lesson sink into our hearts and out of our mouths.

This week, take a few minutes to pray Jesus’ prayer three times. After each cycle, give yourself a minute to sit in the relational simplicity of Jesus’ conversation.

Now, let’s pray as Jesus teaches us in Matthew’s precursor to Luke’s version. Matthew 6:9-13 from The Message:

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are.

Set the world right.

Do what’s best — as above, so below.

Keep us alive with three square meals.

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

Your in charge!

You can do anything you want!

You’re ablaze with beauty!

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Choosing Life

Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him. (Deut. 30:19-20)

The “law,” including its foundational Ten Words, where given not to suffocate life, and certainly not to destroy life. The words were spoken that we might know what life really is, that true and lasting life is possible, if we so choose. This week, let this prayer script (adapted from Nan Doerr & Virginia Owens) be a means of choosing the grace bestowed upon us, choosing life in the love of God and others, in the Way and ways God has given us to live.

Let us pray:

Father, the earth is Yours, for You have made it! We come adoring You!

We trust you with all our hearts, knowing you resist the proud and never forsake those who boast in your mercy.

Give us understanding that we shall keep your law, keep it with all our hearts.

Father, let us know the happiness of those who walk not in the counsel of the wicked, nor linger in the way that is off the mark, but are rooted in life with you, in Your life.

May all the people from east to west, north to south, see in us and join with us in Your Kingdom come and will done on earth as it is in heaven.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore.

Amen.

The Tension In Between

The near instinctive and universal affirmation of many of the Ten Words speaks to the foundational truth that we are created to desire what God desires, a whole and holy life, even if we are not always consistent nor right in how we go about crafting such an existence. The tension between our desire and what we see, between longing for light and journeying through darkness, is why we pray Psalm 139:23-24 or some variation so often, including today.

So let us ask our good Father to know our hearts in our relations to those we make a life with, and lead us in the clarity of His love for us and them.

Father, we come to You because our sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake, and we are called Your children because of His love for us.

Father, we come to You because we desire what You desire and want nothing more than to live the fullness of Your life in us.

Father, search us and know our hearts. Show us if there is any dishonor, violence or in-fidelity, any deception or dishonesty towards those in our lives (even the ones we fail to see).

Father, create in us pure hearts, and let the love of Jesus lead us to see clearly the way before us to live whole and holy together.

Because Jesus lives and is pressing back the darkness already, we pray. Amen.

Take A Look

Come now and look upon the works of the LORD, what awesome things he has done on earth. (Psalm 46:9)

Thanks that binds our attitudes and actions to the grace given us is fostered through regular praise to our Father for what we often overlook or take for granted. This week, let this prayer script (adapted from Nan Doerr & Virginia Owens) be a means for letting your heart rest in the grace bestowed upon you and all those in your life, so that your thanks might be felt in our words and deeds.

Let us pray:

Father, the earth is Yours, for You have made it! We come adoring You!

How amazing, merciful Father, that we, Your Church, the very work of Your hands and Love, bound in the unity of the Spirit, show Your power among our neighbors, in our work places, city, and homes.

May joy and gladness be found in us, as You make and Eden out of the wilderness of our lives individually and together.

Father, thank you for caring the for lowly, comforting us, Your children, in every season.

May all the people from east to west, north to south, see in us and join with us in Your Kingdom come and will done on earth as it is in heaven.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore.

Amen.

Continuing With Thanks

“Wisdom…calls from the highest places…’Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.’” (Proverbs 9:1, 3, 6)

Since we desire “to live,” to lead a life that follows the Way into abundance, let us continue with thanks, binding our attitudes and actions to the grace given us. This week, let this prayer script (adapted from Nan Doerr & Virginia Owens) be a means for letting your heart rest in the grace bestowed upon you, so that your thanks might be felt in our words and deeds.

Let us pray:

Father, we come in worship before the beauty of Your holiness. We come in adoration to You.

Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of Jesus’ redeeming work, and to follow daily in His holy steps.

For You have said to those who love You, “these I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer” (Isaiah 56:6-7).

Father, be merciful and bless and us. Spirit, show us the Light of Jesus and guide us in the countenance of grace upon grace.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore.

Amen.