Prayer, Praise and Yoking
God Is:
- Light - 1 John 1:5, James 1:17
- With me in my pain - Psalms 56:8 (Wikipedia says: The myth of the ancient origins of the tear catcher was inspired by the biblical book of Psalms where David says of God "You have kept count of my sorrows; put my tears in your bottle." These were widely used in Ancient Persia during funeral processions as they believed the dead should not be mourned. Thus a tear shed by those that remain would appear as obstacles on the souls passage from the material world to the next.)
- Able - Ephesians 3:20, Jude 24-25
I am:
- Saved - Romans 10:9-10
- Clean - Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 10:22, 1 Corinthians 6:11
- Free - Galatians 5:1, John 8:36
Prayer
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
Interesting correlation between the Ten Commandments that have us Honoring God in the first three, The Sabbath in the fourth. Our parents in the fifth, and our fellowman in the rest.
The Greatest Commandment was identified as Loving the Lord our God with every type of energy and every ounce of energy that is in us and our neighbor as ourselves.
And the teaching of Jesus re: prayer follows this same pattern - recognizing and honoring God for who He is, asking for temporal needs and healing relationships - with a recognition of our need for help resisting evil.
Praise
Oh for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise
The glories of my God and King the triumphs of His grace
My gracious Master and my God assist me to proclaim
To spread through all the earth abroad the honors of Thy name
Jesus! the name that charms our fears that bids our sorrows cease
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears ’tis life and health and peace
He breaks the power of canceled sin He sets the prisoner free
His blood can make the foulest clean His blood availed for me
He speaks, and listening to His voice new life the dead receive
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice, the humble poor believe
Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb your loosened tongues employ
Ye blind, behold your Savior come and leap, ye lame, for joy
Glory to God, and praise and love be ever, ever given
By saints below and saints above the church in earth and heaven
Words by Charles Wesley (1739)
Public domain.
Yoked
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.
There are a number of cautions about avoiding partnerships that would pull us away from Jesus. Can we yoke with thoughts?
If so, what thoughts do we want to yoke with and where do they come from?
