Category Archives: prayer

Six points for prayer

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Jon Bloom (of Desiring God ministries), a few years ago wrote about the 5 “D’s” he prays for daily. Recently, he added a sixth: desperation.

Whatever it takes, Lord, give me…

Delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart. Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Desire to know you, be with you, and seek your kingdom above all else. Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Discernment that comes from a renewed mind that I might know your will. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

Desperation because when I stop feeling my need for you I tend to wander. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. (Psalm 119:67)

Discipline to plan for what I discern as your will. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Diligence to do your will with all my heart.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Sweet hour of prayer

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Needing to practice what I preach, I followed up on my sermon last Sunday (Matthew 6:5-8) with an examination of my personal prayer time. “Do you pray more fervently in public than in private?” I’d asked in that sermon.

Well, the Spirit stirred me to spend an extended time in prayer yesterday, for over an hour. I prayed for my soul, my family, my fellow leaders at church, and the members and friends of the church, and beyond. I was able to pray aloud (in my private study), and thus more carefully weigh my words — and the fervency of my heart — as I gave voice to my petitions. The time passed all too quickly.

When was your last extended season of personal prayer? An brother from a previous generation raised these petitions to the Lord:

Grant us always to know that to walk with Jesus makes other interests a shadow and a dream. Keep us from intermittent attention to eternal things; Save us from the delusion of those who fail to go far in religion….

Amen. pdb