Psalm 94:17 "If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence."
Psalm 116:2 "I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I breathe...", ESV: "Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live."
Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
Philippians 4:6-7 "do not be anxious in anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Psalm 95:6 "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." (NIV)
I've been enjoying devotionals with Youversion - some of them have a way of summarizing powerful points, giving me pause for thought, and nudging me toward further personal studies.
Some words and summarizations I'd like to preserve here for future reminders:
'The power of our prayers, then, lies not primarily in our effort and striving, or in any technique, but rather in our knowledge of God.'
'In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoke to us by his Son...the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being.' (Heb 1:1-3)
Regarding Jesus - We cannot look directly into the sun with our eyes. The glory of it would immediately overwhelm and destroy our sight. We have to look at it through a filter, and then we can see the great flames and colors of it. When we look at Jesus Christ as he is shown to us in Scriptures, we are looking at the glory of God through the filter of human nature.
...Through Christ, prayer becomes what Scottish Reformer John Knox called "an earnest familiar talking with God."
"For through Christ we...have access to the Father by one spirit." (Eph 2:18)
From Day 2 of Devotional/Thoughts -14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
"Which view of prayer is the better one? Is peaceful adoration or assertive supplication the ultimate form of prayer?"
<clip>
There are Psalms such as Psalm 27, 63, 84, 131, and the "long hallelujah" of Psalms 146-150 that depict adoring communion with God. In Psalm 27:4, David says that there is one primary thing he asks of the Lord in prayer - "to gaze on the beauty of the Lord."
David prayed for other things, but above all realized that nothing is better than knowing the presence of God.
Psalms also has prayers of complaint, pleading, cries of help, feeling God's absence. Prayer as a struggle for help. Psalm 10, for instance, begins by asking God why he "stands far off" and "hides" himself in times of trouble. "The psalm ends with the psalmist bowing to God's timing and wisdom in all matters yet still fiercely calling out for justice on the earth. This is the wrestling match of kingdom-centered prayer."
Day 5 from Devotion/Thoughts - 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
The seventh -century English theologian John Owens wrote that,
Quote ~ "If you aren't joyful, humble, and faithful in private before God, then what you want to appear to be on the outside won't match what you truly are."
The infallible test of spiritual integrity, Jesus says, is your private prayer life.
Matthew 6: 5-6
Day 6 Notes 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
"To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule - it is a failure to treat God as God. It is a sin against his glory." ~ different way to put it, not sure how much I agree with the wording.
"Far be it from me," said the prophet Samuel to his people, "that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you." (1 Sam 12:23)
Day 8 Quote 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
"What is prayer, then, in the fullest sense? Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him."
<clip>
"The question of the book of Job is posed in its very beginning. Is it possible that a man or woman can come to love God for himself alone so that there is a fundamental contentment in life regardless of circumstances (Job 1:9?) Yes, this is possible, but only through prayer."
Day 10 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
Edmund P. Clowney wrote, "The Bible does not present an art of prayer; it presents the God of prayer."
We should not decide how to pray based on the experiences and feelings we want. Instead, we should do everything possible to behold our God as he is, and prayer will follow. The more clearly we grasp who God is, the more our prayer is shaped and determined accordingly.
Without immersion in God's words, our prayers may not be merely limited and shallow but also untethered from reality. We may be responding not to the real God but to what we wish God and life to be like. Indeed, if left to themselves our hearts will tend to create a God who doesn't exist.
Day 12 Notes 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
'All ancient lands and cultures had temples, because human beings once knew innately that there was a gap, a yawning chasm, between us and the divine."<clip> "Sacrifices and offerings were made and rituals observed by professional "mediators" (priests) ...All such efforts were understood to be partial and fragmentary.<clip>
With the ultimate mediator and priest to end all priests (Heb 4:14-15), we have Jesus who eliminates the gap so that we can know God as friend.
Day 13 -14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
Conversation with God leads to an encounter with God. <clip>Prayer turns theology into experience.
Psalm 116:2 "I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I breathe...", ESV: "Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live."
Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
Philippians 4:6-7 "do not be anxious in anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Psalm 95:6 "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." (NIV)
Psalm 42:8 - "By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life."
I've been enjoying devotionals with Youversion - some of them have a way of summarizing powerful points, giving me pause for thought, and nudging me toward further personal studies.
Some words and summarizations I'd like to preserve here for future reminders:
'The power of our prayers, then, lies not primarily in our effort and striving, or in any technique, but rather in our knowledge of God.'
'In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoke to us by his Son...the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being.' (Heb 1:1-3)
Regarding Jesus - We cannot look directly into the sun with our eyes. The glory of it would immediately overwhelm and destroy our sight. We have to look at it through a filter, and then we can see the great flames and colors of it. When we look at Jesus Christ as he is shown to us in Scriptures, we are looking at the glory of God through the filter of human nature.
...Through Christ, prayer becomes what Scottish Reformer John Knox called "an earnest familiar talking with God."
"For through Christ we...have access to the Father by one spirit." (Eph 2:18)
From Day 2 of Devotional/Thoughts -14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
"Which view of prayer is the better one? Is peaceful adoration or assertive supplication the ultimate form of prayer?"
<clip>
There are Psalms such as Psalm 27, 63, 84, 131, and the "long hallelujah" of Psalms 146-150 that depict adoring communion with God. In Psalm 27:4, David says that there is one primary thing he asks of the Lord in prayer - "to gaze on the beauty of the Lord."
David prayed for other things, but above all realized that nothing is better than knowing the presence of God.
Psalms also has prayers of complaint, pleading, cries of help, feeling God's absence. Prayer as a struggle for help. Psalm 10, for instance, begins by asking God why he "stands far off" and "hides" himself in times of trouble. "The psalm ends with the psalmist bowing to God's timing and wisdom in all matters yet still fiercely calling out for justice on the earth. This is the wrestling match of kingdom-centered prayer."
Day 5 from Devotion/Thoughts - 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
The seventh -century English theologian John Owens wrote that,
'A minister may fill his pews, his communion roll, the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more.'
A good self-test of the real you and what to work on is what you think of when alone and no eyes on you. Do your thoughts go to God? Quote ~ "You may want to be seen as a humble, unassuming person, but do you take the initiative to confess your sins before God? You wish to be percieved as a positive, cheerful person, but do you habitually thank God for everything you have and praise him for who He is? You may speak a great deal about what a "blessing" your faith is and how you "just really love the Lord," but if you are prayerless - is that really true?"
Quote ~ "If you aren't joyful, humble, and faithful in private before God, then what you want to appear to be on the outside won't match what you truly are."
The infallible test of spiritual integrity, Jesus says, is your private prayer life.
Matthew 6: 5-6
Day 6 Notes 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
"To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule - it is a failure to treat God as God. It is a sin against his glory." ~ different way to put it, not sure how much I agree with the wording.
"Far be it from me," said the prophet Samuel to his people, "that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you." (1 Sam 12:23)
Day 8 Quote 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
"What is prayer, then, in the fullest sense? Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him."
<clip>
"The question of the book of Job is posed in its very beginning. Is it possible that a man or woman can come to love God for himself alone so that there is a fundamental contentment in life regardless of circumstances (Job 1:9?) Yes, this is possible, but only through prayer."
Day 10 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
Edmund P. Clowney wrote, "The Bible does not present an art of prayer; it presents the God of prayer."
We should not decide how to pray based on the experiences and feelings we want. Instead, we should do everything possible to behold our God as he is, and prayer will follow. The more clearly we grasp who God is, the more our prayer is shaped and determined accordingly.
Without immersion in God's words, our prayers may not be merely limited and shallow but also untethered from reality. We may be responding not to the real God but to what we wish God and life to be like. Indeed, if left to themselves our hearts will tend to create a God who doesn't exist.
Day 12 Notes 14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
'All ancient lands and cultures had temples, because human beings once knew innately that there was a gap, a yawning chasm, between us and the divine."<clip> "Sacrifices and offerings were made and rituals observed by professional "mediators" (priests) ...All such efforts were understood to be partial and fragmentary.<clip>
With the ultimate mediator and priest to end all priests (Heb 4:14-15), we have Jesus who eliminates the gap so that we can know God as friend.
Day 13 -14-Day Devotional by Tim Keller
Conversation with God leads to an encounter with God. <clip>Prayer turns theology into experience.
