October 20, 2009

• May we arise and inquire of God

  As way of background, we've been looking at the account of Israel going to war against Benjamin because some Benjamites had sexually abused a Levite's concubine who later died as a result of their abuse. You can read the complete story in Judges 19:22-20:48 and see the previous prayers related to this passage of Scripture here.
  
  We have been considering and reflecting upon the perseverance of the Israelites in battle and what we can learn from their example, and then turn those things into prayers for perseverance for ourselves, so we might keep God's command to us to persevere (Revelation 3:10).
  
  So far we have prayed:
  
  Prayers for holiness. (Please note that the children of Israel were clear about what sin was. So too ought to be praying for a clear vision of God's holiness and an increasing desire to be holy and to live holy lives. Please see my prayers here and here.)
  
  and
  
  Prayers for unity. (Second, the children of Israel were united in their efforts. So too we ought to be praying for God to protect the unity we have in Him and that we would endeavor to uphold the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Please see the related prayers here, here, here and here.)
  
  Now I would like to continue on with
  
  Prayers for continuing obedience. We can see that despite defeat, the children of Israel continued to seek and prepare themselves to do God's will and followed through in obedience. So too we ought to be praying God would keep us seeking His face, that we might be diligent and vigilant and follow through in obedience to His revealed will for us.
  
  Please read Judges 19:22-20:48. I am focusing today on how the Israelites arose and inquired of God.

  O Lord God,

  Before Israel went to battle we find that the people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God.

  After their first defeat, they went back again...they inquired of the LORD.

  Again, after the second defeat...the people of Israel inquired of the LORD.

  They sought You. They waited to hear from You. They feared moving ahead apart from Your clear direction.

  Holy God, we confess too often we go into battle without inquiring of You. We don't seek You. We don't wait to hear from You. We move ahead without Your clear direction. Forgive us for going into battle without inquiring of You.

  We see throughout the Scripture how devastating that is.

  We confess we have thoughts come into hearts but we often don't check with you to see if they are from Your heart or not. Jeroboam followed his own heart, led the people into idol worship and provoked You to anger rather than trusting Your promises to preserve his kingdom.

  Forgive us when we follow our flesh, rather than seeking You and walking by Your Spirit.
  Forgive us when we follow our own hearts, rather than following You and Your perfect heart.
  Like the Israelites, may we arise and inquire of You, O Lord.

  We confess we have a zeal for Your name but we often do not temper it with knowledge. Peter wanted to stop the Prince of glory from fulfilling His mission and went so far as to cut off an ear.

  Forgive us when we follow our flesh, rather than seeking You and walking by Your Spirit.
  Forgive us when we follow our own wisdom, rather than following You and Your perfect wisdom.
  Like the Israelites, may we arise and inquire of You, O Lord.
  
  
  We confess we have a desire to make something happen and we often resort to doing things our way rather than walking by faith in You and Your promises. Abram and Sarah elicited Hagar's help rather than trusting in Your sure promises to provide an heir.

  Forgive us when we follow our flesh, rather than seeking You and walking by Your Spirit.
  Forgive us when we rely on our own ingenuity, rather than waiting on You and Your perfect promises.
  Like the Israelites, may we arise and inquire of You, O Lord.

  We confess we have a compulsion to react to situations rather than being compelled by Your love. Saul offered an unlawful sacrifice rather than being a man after Your own heart, a man who waited on You and trusted in Your care.

  Forgive us when we follow our flesh, rather than seeking You and walking by Your Spirit.
  Forgive us when we are compelled to do something out of fear, rather resting in You and Your perfect love.
  Like the Israelites, may we arise and inquire of You, O Lord.

  We confess we become anxious when we don't see Your provision and we don't trust You and Your sure promises. The Israelites provoked and tempted you in the wilderness rather than trusting in Your perfect provision.

  Forgive us when we follow our flesh, rather than seeking You and walking by Your Spirit.
  Forgive us when we become anxious rather than trusting in You and Your perfect provision.
  Like the Israelites, may we arise and inquire of You, O Lord.

  We confess we become distraught when we don't see You answering as we think You ought. Jeremiah lamented the day He was born rather than trusting Your promise to be with Him.

  Forgive us when we follow our flesh, rather than seeking You and walking by Your Spirit.
  Forgive us when we become distraught rather than trusting You and Your perfect faithfulness.
  Like the Israelites, may we arise and inquire of You, O Lord.

  O, holy Father in heaven, You are good and loving to us. How can You not be? You have made us Your own. You have set Your love on us. We are one with Your blessed Son by grace through faith and bound together with You and Your Son by Your Holy Spirit.

  We know that even though we are Your chosen people, You allow us to undergo defeat. We see that here when the Israelites here were in obedience to Your will, they still suffered great loss and defeat. We see this throughout Your Holy Word and throughout Church history. We do not always understand this. But we know we can trust Your loving hand has not left us. You have promised to never leave us or forsake us. You have sent Your Spirit to abide with us forever. You have not, nor will You leave us as orphans.

  Therefore, may we continue to abide in You. Lead us to continue to arise and inquire of You, Lord God, in the same way the Israelites did here. May we not doubt Your plan for us, no matter how things may look to us on any given day. Keep us walking by faith and not sight. O, draw us back constantly to arise and inquire of You, Lord God. No matter how many defeats we may face. One, two, ten, twenty, one hundred battles,  if they all end in defeat we know You are the Victor. You have already defeated sin, Satan and death on the cross from rising from the dead that glorious day over 2000 years ago. The battle has already been won on the cross of Calvary. Lord Jesus, You are reigning in glory and are seated at the right hand of God. And we are with You there in heavenly places. All things are under You Lordship, even though they may not appear to be at times. Give us eyes of faith to see You there, like Stephen had. The Prince of glory. May we look unto Jesus when the battle looms large. O, to consider Him! This is our means of perseverance in the darkest and bloodiest battles. We will endure seeing Him who is invisible. He is there with us always, even in the worst of defeats! He is leading us through! He is the Victor! The firstfruits! The captain of our salvation! The pioneer of our faith! He will never fail us!

  We are trusting You are working all things for Your glory, for our good and for the furtherance of Your Gospel, even through those many defeats we face. You are working all things according to the counsel of Your will. We know nothing catches You by surprise. We know that You will be exalted and Your Son will be preeminent. Amen. These things we can trust. We can trust You and Your Word to us. You are not a liar. You are faithful and true.

  We await the day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God our Father. Holy Spirit, write Your word upon on our minds and in our hearts, these truths about Your sure and steadfast love for us and Your faithfulness to us, so we might be able to continue to persevere in the battle. We can only be steadfast, immovable and abounding in the battle because of the resurrection life You have already placed into us. O, may we continue to battle in the grace and strength You provide for us. Strengthen us with Your Word, O Lord. Grow our faith, O Lord. Help us, for we often we have so little faith and so little strength. Be merciful and gracious to us. How can You not be merciful and gracious to us when we are fighting the battle You have ordained for us? Work in us to will and to do of all Your good pleasure, so we might persevere in the battle. As our days are, we know so shall our strength be. You will provide us with the manna we need for each day's battle. Let us arise and inquire of You, O God, all our days! Amen.

  Please add your prayers here as His Spirit leads you.

  • 1:12 PM
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