A Prayer of Submission to God's Will and Guidance

(To be prayed out load, slowly and meditatively. If a scripture stands out to you, turn to it and spend time seeking God through it)

Lord Almighty, You have purposed. Who can thwart You? Your hand is stretched out; who can turn it back?[i] Certainly not me! Instead of me imposing my desires on You, let me join You in Your grand purposes as You sweep me along in Your great and glorious current.

You have saved me and called me to a holy life – not because of anything that I have done, but because of Your own purpose and Your grace. This grace was given to me in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.[ii] God, I’m awestruck, that that’s how long You have been planning things out – from before time. As I’m caught in the eddying currents of life, trying to decide what Your will is for me, teach me to trust in You will all my heart I choose not to lean on my own understanding, which is so often flawed and me-centred. In all my way, I choose to acknowledge You as the author and perfecter of my faith, knowing and believing that You will make my path straight. [iii] I ask You to shed your light on every hidden agenda, every secret motive, every purpose I have that may not be in line with Your overarching plan. I submit these to You, and lay them under Your authority.

Give me wisdom. Give me understanding. Bind me to Your words that I may not forsake them. Give me wisdom that she may protect me; teach me to love wisdom that she may watch over me. [iv] Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. [v] You are good and upright, O God. I know that You will instruct me, a sinner, in my ways. Make me humble and guide me in what is right. Teach me Your way. [vi]

You are the Lord my God, who teaches me what is best for me. You direct me in the way I should go. As I pay attention to Your commands, my peace will be like a river, and my righteousness like the waves of the sea. [vii] Instead of giving in to the temptation and tendency to dwell in anxiety, I choose to do something counter-cultural and revolutionary: with a spirit of thanksgiving, through prayer and petition, I will present my requests to You. As I do so, Your peace will guard my mind and heart in Christ Jesus! Your peace will stand sentry outside my mind and heart and, in the power of Christ Jesus, will bar the way to Anxiety, stating “You can go NO further”. Flood my heart with peace. [viii] Replace my thoughts of anxiety by teaching me to think on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. If I’m dwelling on these things (which are all attributes of You), how will I have time to wallow in the mire of fearing for the future? As I put this into practice, I will come to experience the GREATEST thing – the deep knowledge that You, the God of peace, are with me![ix]

May I never seek guidance for this life outside of Your word. Give me a love for Your word that is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. [x]You are my refuge and shield. I have put my hope in Your word. [xi]Give me more insight than all my teachers (the clever and well-read people in my life) as I meditate on Your statutes! Give me more understanding than my elders (the ones I look up to and respect) as I obey Your precepts. [xii]

God, I confess that I lack wisdom. So, in faith and obedience to Your word, I ask You for this precious gift. You promise to give me wisdom generously to me (and all who ask), without finding fault. But as I ask You for wisdom, I determine to believe and not to doubt.

If I doubt, I will be like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. This is not who I want to be: double-minded and unstable in all I do.[xiii] Instead, I stand firm. In You, nothing will move me. I give myself wholly and solely to Your work, because I am convinced that, in You, my labour is not in vain![xiv]

Just as Mary said, when told that she had a vital role in Your purposes of salvation for the world, so I choose to rest in You with these words: “I am Your servant. May it be to me as You have said”. [xv] I also join myself with the spirit of Christ, as He was faced with total knowledge of the worst future that any human has faced: “Not my will but Yours be done”[xvi]

You are the Head of the body, the Church. You are the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything, including my future plans, You might have the supremacy. [xvii] During Your time on earth, Jesus Christ, the prayers You offered up were heard because of Your reverent submission to Your Father, the One who could have saved You from death. May I offer up prayers in a similar spirit of reverent submission, not insisting on my own way, but allowing You to have Your way with me. [xviii]

You have prepared me for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of Your Son. May I be just one part of bringing maturity to Your body, enabling Your church to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ![xix] Whatever the future brings; whatever I do, I will work at it with all my heart, as working for You, not for men, since I know that I will receive an inheritance from You as a reward. It is You, Lord Jesus I am serving.[xx]

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.

There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.

There are different kinds of working, but You, the same God works all of them in all men. [xxi]

I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so my eyes look to You, the LORD my God, till You show me Your mercy. [xxii]

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[i] Isaiah 14:27

[ii] 2 Tim 1:9

[iii] Proverbs 3:5-6

[iv] Proverbs 4:5-6

[v] Psalm 25:4

[vi] Psalm 25:8

[vii] Isaiah 48:17-18

[viii] Phil 4:6-7

[ix] Phil 4:8-9

[x] Psalm 119:105

[xi] Psalm 119:114

[xii] Psalm 119:99-100

[xiii] James 1:5-7

[xiv] I Corinthians 15:58

[xv] Luke 1:38

[xvi] Luke 22:42

[xvii] Colossians 1:18

[xviii] Hebrews 5:7

[xix] Ephesians 4:12

[xx] Colossians 3:23

[xxi] 1 Corinthians 12:4

[xxii] Psalm 123:1

Even angels long to look into these things

There is something about the story of salvation which stumps the angels. The angels who understand enough about God's redemptive plan to sing: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests" also understand that there is layer upon layer of mystery surrounding this story of the God-Man.

The angel who said "I bring you good tidings of great joy that will be for all the people. And these tidings are as follows: Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord" realized that he (the angel) has only begun to scratch the surface of the cliffhanger that the Christ-child presented.

Even angels long to look into these things. To read the passage in its entirety, click here.
Why even angels? Because, outside of the Trinity, if anyone is on the inside loop of what the Godhead is up to, it must be the angels. Did they, who are faced with the unbearable brightness of God's unmasked holiness eternal moment after eternal moment, see that brightness dim as Jesus, the second person of the Trinity vacated heaven. One instant He was there, then the next instant He was gone. Did the angels feel heartbreak; a sense of loss? In the instant that earth gained a God-made-flesh; heaven lost the presence of the Son. He was now geographically on earth.

But, if the angels strained hard enough...if they held their celestial binoculars to their eyes they. could. just. about. see the two celled foetus, that was the second person of the Trinity, pulsing life as He grew in a teenage's womb in the Back-of-Beyondsville, Palestine.

The angels long to look into these things. Even though the angels have the inside scoop when it comes to God, what don't they have? A salvation experience! They were created beings, created perfect. They did not need to be saved.

So, I wonder whether angels long to look into these things, because it's something that they will never know first hand? They see God, they get God, they worship God, they can see His glory and not die...but they will never relate to God as those who are redeemed; they will never relate to Jesus as Saviour. If it were possible for angels to feel jealous, when faced with the brilliance and majesty of God, would they feel jealous of us because we relate to God in a way they never will?

They understand that the story of salvation is a mystery. They LONG to look into these things! But my question is do I long to delve beneath the immediate to the mystery that is only grasped by the explorer? Am I content with dipping my toes into the shallows of of God, or am I willing to put on the scuba gear and go exploring the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! (Romans 11:33)

Have I opened my Bible this Christmas season? And if I have, are the eyes of my heart obscured by the familiar? God, may You open my eyes to the mystery surrounding the birth of Jesus. May you grow in me the explorer-spirit of the angels: that I may long to look into these things, and understand and experience in a fresh way, the magnificence and the mystery of You being made flesh and dwelling among us: Emmanuel. God with us. God with me.

"the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned" (Matt 4:16)

A Prayer for those who struggle this Christmas

A Prayer for those who struggle this Christmas
(Based on the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7)

Jesus, the Child that was born, You came as a vulnerable baby and not a conquering ruler – You understand my weakness. You were crucified in weakness, yet You live by God’s power. Likewise, I am weak in You, yet by God’s power I will live with You to serve others.(i) In my current weakness, I know that I am not laid aside, placed on the shelf – You still plan to use me in my weakness to serve others. You grace is sufficient for me, for Your power is made perfect in my weakness. Teach me to boast about my weakness so Your power may rest on me. Because of this, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, and in difficulties. Why? Because, in Your economy, when I am weak, then I am strong. (ii)

Given Son, You are the One promised to the children of Israel, the One prophesied about that would, in the Spirit’s power, bring justice to the nations. You will not shout or cry out; You will not raise Your voice in the streets. You come in the whisper of quietness, and the hush of empathy. To be honest, I’m feeling as fragile as a bruised reed today. But You won’t break me. My faith feels so insubstantial that all that’s left is a smouldering wick. You promise not to snuff it out. This reed You will heal. This smouldering wick You will coax back to life until a flame of faith in You is re-established in my heart. I see the injustice in the world. Why me? Why my life? What if…? If only... Jesus, You promise that in faithfulness You will bring forth justice. You will not falter or be discouraged until You have established justice on the earth. (iii)

One on whose shoulders the government rests, I give you the burden of ordering my life. Lead me in the way I should go. I feel Your hand on my shoulder, gently making my lie down in green pastures. I hear Your gentle voice, calling me as You lead me beside still waters. As I spend time with You, I feel You, slowly but surely, restore my soul. I trust You to lead me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. (iv) I trust in Your sovereign rule and in Your perfect plan for my life and for all creation. Shift my perspective from my circumstances to Your glory, power and supremacy in all things. My circumstances change. Your rule never changes.

Wonderful Counselor, just before You left this earth, You promised another Counsellor to Your disciples – one that would be with us forever. This Counsellor’s name is the Spirit of Truth. Holy Spirit, I know You, for You live with me and in me. Jesus promised that He would not leave me as an orphan. Holy Spirit, You are the ever-present fulfillment of that promise. I am not an orphan, because You are with me, Spirit. (v) You counsel me in the stillness and You anchor me in the storm. Teach me. Today, remind me of the words of Jesus that I need to hear. (vi) Spirit, help me in my weakness. I have no idea what I should pray for, so I trust You to intercede for me with groans that my pitiful words can never express. Free me to groan my deepest heart aches to You, confident that I always have Your ear. Father, You know the mind of the Spirit. I give You permission to search my heart, to know the deepest, darkest part of me and to shine Your light into the darkness. Spirit, I praise You for interceding for me in this unutterable way in accordance with God’s will. (vii)

Mighty God, With Your mighty hand, You led your children out of captivity into freedom, Lord. (viii)You have been leading people into freedom ever since. Lead me into the freedom of knowing that You will never leave me or forsake me. You remind me, Lord, that it is for freedom that You have set me free. I think You need to put it in such basic terms because I can sometimes be so dull and forgetful! I choose to stand firm in You and not let myself be burdened by a yoke of slavery. (ix) Instead I choose to shoulder Your easy and light yoke and, side by side, we will get through this season together. As You teach me what companionship with You is, I learn from You and find rest for my soul. (x)You know how much I need rest for my soul and, only You the Mighty God can give it to me. I trust You for this rest.

Everlasting Father, I don’t know how it works that You are called the Everlasting Father, except to understand that You and the Father are one (xi). I have been given to You, Jesus, by Your Father who is greater than all. No one can snatch me out of Your Father’s hand, out of my Father’s hand. (xii) No matter what my emotions tell me, no matter how I may feel from one moment to the next, I am reassured in the reality that I am secure in You. If You justify me, who can bring a charge against me? If You, Jesus, are standing at God’s right hand interceding for me, who can condemn me? Nothing can separate me from Your love. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus my Lord. (xiii)

Prince of Peace, what a reassuring name! You are my Prince of Peace. You Yourself are my peace, destroying the barrier that used to exist between me and God, reconciling me to the Father through the cross. However, I don’t feel peace right now. I feel turmoil, conflict, anger, fear, uncertainty, anxiety, disappointment, loneliness, depression…I feel the weight of the world. I’m not experiencing peace right now. I know that You don’t promise me an easy ride. In fact, You say that in this world I will have trouble. That’s a given. But I take heart in the truth that You have overcome the world! (xiv) Your punishment upon the cross brought me peace, as my sin and iniquity (and that of the whole world) was laid upon You. (xv) I choose not to worry about tomorrow, because worrying is such a waste of time. If You take such care over Your creation, how can I doubt that You take intricate and intimate care of me? (xvi) This season, I am reminded that Your kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (xvii)Like the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, in the midst of the hurry and crowds of the season, I reach my trembling hand out to touch the edge of Your robe, knowing I will find healing there, and knowing that this little act of faith will stop You in Your tracks. You notice me. (xviii)


Your government, Your sovereign rule will never end. Your peace will go on and on.
I am Yours and You are mine. For today, that is enough for me.

Amen.

i 2 Corinthians 13:4
ii 2 Corinthians 12:9
iii Isaiah 42:1-4
iv Psalm 23
v John 14:16-18
vi John 14:26
vii Romans 8:26-27
viii Exodus 13:9
ix Galatians 5:1
x Matt 11:28-30
xi John 10:30
xii John 10:29
xiii Romans 8:34-39 (selected)
xiv John 16:33
xv Isaiah 53:5-6
xvi Luke 12:28
xvii Romans 14:17
xviii Matthew 5:25-34