December 29, 2009

  • Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart

    From "Sketch of Samuel Rutherford" by Andrew A. Bonar:

    He [Rutherford] dealt with individual parishioners so closely and so personally as to be able to appeal to them regarding his faithfulness in this matter.  He addresses one of them, Jean McMillan: "I did what I could to put you within the grips of Christ; I told you Christ's testament and latter-will plainly."  He so carried them on his heart (like the priest with the twelve tribes on his breastplate), that he could declare to Gordon of Cardoness, "Thoughts of your soul depart not from me in my sleep." "My soul was taken up when others were sleeping, how to have Christ betrothed with a bride in that part of the land," vix. Anwoth [his pastorate]. He so prayed over them and for them, that he fears not to say, "There I wrestled with the angel and prevailed. Woods, trees, meadows, and hills, are my witnesses that I drew on a fair match betwixt Christ and Anwoth."

    O, Lord God, Great Shepherd of the sheep,

    We are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture. We confess we are nothing and we have nothing apart from Your sovereign grace and love set on us. We were sheep all gone astray and You laid our iniquity on Jesus Christ, the Lamb, so we might be reconciled to You.

    We come to You in Jesus' blessed and holy Name alone. We have no other appeal and can make no other appeal to You but through Him and through His body and His blood given for us. Be gracious to us for Jesus' sake. We come empty handed and ask You to strengthen us for the work You have called us to do, the work of shepherding and interceding for Your people. We know we are not sufficient for these things. O, Lord God, be our sufficiency and our strength and our portion.

    We come before you because You have given us a heart for You and for Your Gospel and for Your Church, Your flock. You have given us a strong desire and passionate heart to see Your people (and ourselves) renewed and set aflame once again. We know there is no hope for ourselves or for Your Church as a whole apart from Your Spirit coming down afresh on us and reviving us again.

    Yet now we confess that our love for You and for the flock is often lukewarm or even cold. Our love is not steady and sure and bright and shining constantly as Your love is for us. We confess we do not walk steadfastly in the calling You have called us to. We know this grieves You.

    Forgive us, O Lord God.

    Lord, have mercy on us.
    Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart.

    O, Lord, our Good Shepherd, strengthen us, by Your Spirit. O, stir up our hearts and minds and wills. O, we confess we are in need of endurance. Empower us, fill us up with You, so we might be faithful to those you have entrusted to us, as You are ever faithful to us. Impart to us a love for the flock like You have for us. Help us to know the breadth and length and height and depth of Your love for us.

    Lord, have mercy on us.
    Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart.

    O, Lord, our Good Shepherd, strengthen us by Your Spirit. O, may we serve others in love through our prayers, our words and our deeds, so we might not faint, so we might persevere in all we can to put others within the grips of Christ. We so long to see them in your grip, even as we know we are needing to be continuing to place ourselves one again in your grip and at your whole disposal to do with us as You will. We confess how we so often chafe at Your easy yoke. Forgive us, O Lord.

    Lord, have mercy on us.
    Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart.

    O, Lord, our Good Shepherd, strengthen us by Your Spirit. We confess we have no message of our own, You alone have the words of eternal life. Supply the words we need and speak through us, to tell others of Christ's testament and latter-will plainly. Let us not shrink back from speaking Your Word. Your Word is truth. Your Church is sanctified as Your truth is proclaimed. May we never be fearful of men but fear You alone. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so we might proclaim Your Word with boldness, assurance and power, so many lives would be arrested with Your glory and Your grace and brought into Your Kingdom light and freedom.

    Lord, have mercy on us.
    Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart.

    O, Lord, our Good Shepherd, strengthen us by Your Spirit. O, how we need You to carry us, we have no strength in and of ourselves. You alone are our strength. Strengthen us with Your resurrection power to carry on our hearts (like the priest with the twelve tribes on his breastplate) the sheep you have entrusted to us. We confess we need You to carry us so we might carry the dear lambs. Give us a greater love for the sheep; give us an increased burden for Your people, so we cannot come to Your throne without bringing them with us, but we will feel unclothed and naked before You apart from bringing them with us there.

    Lord, have mercy on us.
    Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart.

    O, Lord, our Good Shepherd, strengthen us by Your Spirit. You are the one who never sleeps or slumbers. You are the One who ever lives to interecede at the throne of grace, O grant that our hearts might be knit with Yours at the right hand of the Father so we might be in continuing intercession for the sheep of our flocks, Your sheep, Your flock, purchased with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Our spirits are willing but our flesh is weak. O strengthen us, eternal and everlasting God with Your Holy Spirit to endure to the end, to continue steadfast in prayer for Your Church.

    Lord, have mercy on us.
    Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart.

    O, Lord, our Good Shepherd, strengthen us by Your Spirit. O, we so long to see Christ exalted and given His proper place, to have Christ betrothed with a bride in our various towns and cities. We have seen how Your Church continues to balk at Your headship. We confess we ourselves have continued to balk at Your headship. Forgive us, O Lord. Until You are given Your rightful place, given the preeminence, we cannot expect You to bless us. Help us to bend our necks and bow our knees to Your sovereign Lordship, for You alone are our King and Lord.

    Lord, have mercy on us.
    Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart.

    O, Lord, our Good Shepherd, strengthen us by Your Spirit. O, strengthen us to wrestle with the angel until You bless us. Let us persevere. Let us not faint. We know You have called us to this ministry of prayer and are trusting You to keep us on the watchtower, to keep us approaching Your throne of grace, to keep us prostrating before You, O Lord. Keep us marching around the walls that must come down. Keep us building the walls that must be erected. God forbid that we fail to pray for Your flock. Forgive us for the times we have left off in prayer. You never fail to intercede for us. Impart to us by Your Spirit all we need to continue wrestling and seeking Your face in prayer. We are asking these things for the sake of and the honor of Your blessed Name. O, come again and bless Your people, so we might bless You in this world, so we might reflect You and show the world You and Your glory, so we might be a praise in the earth.

    Lord, have mercy on us.
    Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart.

    Lord, have mercy on us.
    Make us shepherds & intercessors after Your own heart.

    Please add your prayers as His Holy Spirit leads you.

tent_of_meeting

"he called it the tent of meeting..."

I am burdened to pray to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the reformation and reviving of Christ's church.

The phrase tent of meeting comes from Exodus 33:7: Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.

This site is devoted to God first and foremost. In all that is done here, my prayer is that God is glorified and His Name magnified and Christ and Him crucified is lifted up so He might be preeminent and God might receive all the praise, honor and glory due His Holy Name. All who have come to a saving knowledge of our Father by grace through faith in the all-sufficient sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are welcome to enter this tent of meeting to seek the Lord.

This blog is a place for all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to come and seek God's face for revival. My intention is for this tent of meeting to be a holy place where we can enter into PRAYER together to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit leads you, please enter into prayer either here (think of "comments" as prayers) or on your own.

Habakkuk 3:2 O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.

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