The Chief Aim of Prayer

Today is Wednesday, the 26th of October, 2022, in the 30th week of Ordinary Time.

May the peace of Christ be with you today!

Day 23,603

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, 
who seek him with their whole heart, 
who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
(Psalms 119:2-3 ESV)

Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, stand at our side and protect us in all our days on earth. Grant us an understanding of the honor that belongs to God. Help us see that you are sent so that heaven and earth shall one day bow down before God's almighty will. Stand by us so that we may hear, understand, and accept your Word. Stand by us all our lives. Be with us in suffering and in our last hour when death comes to us. May your grace be with us. Help us at all times to be firmly rooted in the will of our God and Father in heaven. Amen.
(Daily Prayer from Plough.com)

“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”
(John 17:11 NIV)

Today I am grateful:

for Jesus’s prayer for unity among His followers of the future
for the blessing, honor, glory, and power that belongs to our Lord
for the great compassion that God has for us
that the chief aim of prayer is the glorification of God
that Jesus intercedes for us

I love the LORD, because he has heard 
my voice and my pleas for mercy. 
Because he inclined his ear to me, 
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
(Psalms 116:1-2 ESV)

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; 
our God is merciful. 
The LORD preserves the simple; 
when I was brought low, he saved me. 
Return, O my soul, to your rest; 
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. 

For you have delivered my soul from death, 
my eyes from tears, 
my feet from stumbling; 
I will walk before the LORD i
n the land of the living.
(Psalms 116:5-9 ESV)

What shall I render to the LORD 
for all his benefits to me? 
I will lift up the cup of salvation 
and call on the name of the LORD, 
I will pay my vows to the LORD 
in the presence of all his people.
(Psalms 116:12-14 ESV)

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,”
(Exodus 34:6 NIV)

As a father has compassion on his children, 
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 
for he knows how we are formed, 
he remembers that we are dust.
(Psalms 103:13-14 NIV)

For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
(Romans 9:15 NIV)

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
(Luke 22:31-32 NIV)

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
(Romans 8:34 ESV)

Time is short, this morning. I want to briefly focus on the majesty of God. Yet, in His majesty, He is compassionate toward us. As He passes in front of Moses, who is hidden in the cleft of the rock, He declares about Himself, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”

All glory and honor and power belong to Him. As Handel’s Messiah sings, “Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto Him, be unto Him!” He is worthy of all of our praise and worship.

And yet, He is compassionate. He loves us. He desires fellowship with us. He knows our human condition; He remembers that we are dust, and that we will stumble. Yet He picks us up, dusts us off, and sets us back on the right path.

To help us along, Jesus, the Son, sits at His right hand, interceding for us. He prayed for Simon, that his faith would not fail. He prays for us, as well. He prayed for all of us in John 17, in the “high priestly prayer.” He continues to pray for us today. And when we pray, we participate in His life.

“Prayer is participating on earth in the life of Christ in heaven.” (Andrew Murray)

And the chief aim of our prayers should be that God be glorified.

Father, thank You for the prayers of Jesus for us! It is great comfort to me to know that He intercedes for us at Your right hand. It is great comfort to me to know that You remember that I am merely dust. Thank You for hearing our prayers. By right, You don’t have to do that. You are the Creator. All glory and power and majesty belong to You. I praise You for Your compassion.

May all of my prayers have the aim of Your glory.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV)

Grace and peace, friends.

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