prayers for ministers

  • "before the day of Pentecost they were dry, sapless trees..." ~ M'Cheyne

    Because this past Tuesday was the 200th birthday of the Scottish minister Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813-1843), I've been revisiting Andrew Bonar's "Memoir and Remains of R.M. M'Cheyne." I previously posted excerpts from a couple of M'Cheyne's pastoral letters (click here), and M'Cheyne in another place wrote, "I am persuaded that I ought never to do any thing without prayer, and, if possible, special, secret prayer." That wasn't merely a lame profession or pious talk on his part, but it was a true heart conviction given him by the Spirit of God –– a belief which permeated and animated all of M'Cheyne's thoughts, words and deeds.

    Photo credit: Work found here / {{PD-US}}

    M'Cheyne valued the privilege of prayer. He sought to be wholly reliant on the Spirit of God, and he longed for and prayed for revival. Not long after his own ordination in 1836, he instituted a weekly prayer meeting at his own church, and he was also involved in regular prayer meetings with another ministers. Like the 120 disciples in Acts 1 and 2, he earnestly prayed for the effusion of the Holy Spirit from on high.

    The following is an excerpt of the charge M'Cheyne gave to P.L. Miller in "Sermon XI. - Ordination Sermon," which M'Cheyne preached in 1840 at Miller's ordination. Though all of us will not be called to pastoral ministry, yet all the saints should be seeking this baptism from on high, for it is our heritage as children of God. (If you've not yet read my last post on Pentecost, with one accord in prayer & supplication: "No other course has been prescribed" ~ George Smeaton, I'd encourage you to do so...)

    May we as God's people seek the Spirit's outpouring, just as the entire Church did as she gathered together in the upper room for the 10 days following Jesus' ascension. O! How we need to see our need of Him! How we need to be strengthened with God's might, so we would walk in the works He has ordained for us, by His power, all to His glory ~ Isaiah 26:12b, Psalm 115:1.

    Seek the anointing of the Holy Spirit.—The more anointing of the Holy Spirit you have, the more will you be a happy, holy, and successful minister. You remember the two olive trees that stood close by the golden candlestick, and emptied the golden oil out of themselves. These represent successful ministers, anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. The Lord make you like one of them. Remember John the Baptist, "He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, and many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God." The Lord fill you in like manner, and then you will be a converting minister. Remember the Apostles; before the day of Pentecost they were dry, sapless trees—they had little fruit; but when the Spirit came on them like a mighty rushing wind, then three thousand were pricked to the heart.

    Oh! brother, plead with God to fill you with the Spirit, that you may stand in his counsel, and cause the people to hear His words, and turn many from the evil of their ways. You know that a heated iron, though blunt, can pierce its way even where a much sharper instrument, if cold, could not enter. Pray that you may be filled with the fire of the Spirit, that you may pierce into the hard hearts of unconverted sinners.

    Source: "Memoir and Remains of R.M. M'Cheyne" by Andrew Bonar (William Middleton: Dundee, 1845), 359-360. (HT for the text: http://books.google.com/books?id=JIY6AAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false.) / (Banner of Truth Trust:  Edinburgh, 1966, 1973, reprinted from the 1892 edition), 405-406.

    * * *

    LORD of hosts,
    we confess that
    we are dry, sapless trees,
    and we have little fruit.

    Apart from Your power, we will remain dry, sapless trees.
    Apart from Your anointing, we will bear little fruit.

    Teach us anew the lesson we have heard so many times:

    " ... Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,
    says the LORD of hosts."
    (Zechariah 4:6)

    This is Your word, O Lord!

    Write Your word upon our hearts,
    so we might plead with You to fill us with Your Spirit.

    O! Spirit of God, descend again and blow upon us
    as You did on the Day of Pentecost.
    Baptize and fill us,
    that we might be empowered,
    that we might no longer be dry and sapless,
    but rather that rivers of living water might overflow,
    to sing and speak of Your mighty works
    to the end of the earth,
    that we might bear much fruit,
    for the sake and renown of Your Blessed Name.

    Song of Solomon 4:16
    Awake, O north wind,
    and come, O south wind!
    Blow upon my garden,
    let its spices flow.

    Let my beloved come to his garden,
    and eat its choicest fruits.

    * * *

    Please add your *PRAYERS* below as God's Holy Spirit leads you.

  • loving truth ~ while so many hearts in heaven and earth are flaming with love and admiration...

    II Thessalonians 2:9  The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10  and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12  in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

    That phrase "love the truth" has been on my heart for quite some time now. It's one thing for us to believe the truth, but aren't we as Christians also supposed to love the truth? Can we say that we love Christ if we make only a mere mental assent to the truth? Yes, we are to believe on Christ, but what kind of belief is a belief that does not prove itself by fervent love? Jesus Himself told us what the greatest commandment was:

    Mark 12:28  And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29  Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength? Is not Christ, called the way, the truth and the life? Is not genuine love for Christ shown as we love truth? Is not a lack of love for the truth one of the reasons why the church is in such a miserable and pitiable state today?

    Our God is the God of truth. He cannot lie.
    Our Father is the Father of lights, in whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
    Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the way, the truth and the life.
    Our Spirit is the Holy. He is the Spirit of truth, sent to guide us into all truth.
    God's Word is truth.

    Does not our Bridegroom wash His Church continually with His Word, which is truth?

    Ephesians 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26  that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27  so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

    Should not our ministers do likewise?

    Our God delights in truth:

    Psalms 51:6  Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

    Should not our ministers delight in truth?

    In spite of our professed desire to be valiant for truth, how easy it is for any one of us to be tempted, allured and drawn away by our flesh, by expediency, by fear of men, by the spirit of the age, and by the devil –– so we might "sell truth," in disobedience to the Biblical mandate:

    Proverbs 23:23  Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

    How can anyone be valiant for that which he does not love?

    I recently started reading "The Life and Sermons of Edward D. Griffin, Volume 1." Edward Dorr Griffin (1770-1837) was a minister in the northeastern United States for over forty years, and was privileged to witness a series of revivals under his ministry. In his journal, Griffin wrote the following examination regarding love for the truth in 1797, a few years after he entered the ministry.

    EXAMINATION. Sabbath Evening, August 20th. I have been this evening examining my feelings towards God, the law, and Jesus Christ, and the plan of salvation by him. I have asked myself such questions as these:  Am I pleased with a God who sits on the throne of the universe, governing all matters so as to promote the highest happiness of the universe; who, in the exercise of infinite benevolence, has entered on a system of operations most conducive to manifest and diffuse himself, and to complete a kingdom of holy, benevolent, and happy beings; who is perfectly pure and holy; and who, as the faithful guardian of the universe, has resolved to punish every thing which opposes its happiness; who abhors every sin, even mine; who has manifested his abhorrence of sin in the destruction of the old world, Sodom, &c. and on the cross, and in the punishment of my sins; who is just, merciful, patient, and faithful; who has made discoveries of these perfections in the gospel, and in all that he has done for Zion, from the days of Adam; who requires himself to be loved and respected supremely? &c. Do I love the law which requires perfect benevolence and sinless perfection, and condemns every transgression? Would I wish for a law any different? Have I any hopes of being able to atone for my sins? Am I pleased with the character and offices of Christ and the way of salvation by him? That he should have all the praise of my salvation, and that I should be exempt from punishment in consequence of the opportunity which he has given God to manifest, in his treatment of him, his abhorrence of my sins? &c. And after the most serious and elaborate examination, I dare not come to any fixed conclusion, though I hope my heart is pleased with this representation of God, and the law, and Christ. I think I feel ashamed that while so many hearts in heaven and earth are flaming with love and admiration in view of these truths, mine is so little affected by them, that I cannot decide whether I love them or not. Yet I solemnly determine not to give up the examination until I can answer decisively. I am resolved to pursue it to-morrow. And O, may the Lord give me light to see and know myself, and to love him with fervency.

     

    ~ Source: "The Life and Sermons of Edward D. Griffin" by William B. Sprague (orig. published 1839, republished in 1987 by The Banner of Truth Trust), 22-23.

     


    Holy God, we come to you and ask you to forgive us for Jesus' sake, as we confess to You how our hearts flame with love and admiration for so many other things, but our hearts are not flaming with love and admiration in view of these truths.

    Holy God, we come to you and ask you to forgive us for Jesus' sake, as we confess to you how quickly we are affected by worldly matters, but we remain so little affected by these sublime truths.

    May the God of truth lead us into all truth. May the Lord give each one of us light to see and know ourselves, and to love Him and to love the truth with fervency.

    May God's Spirit inflame in us an ever-increasing love and admiration for Him and His truth.

    May the Spirit of truth teach us the fear of the LORD, lead us in His way, teach us truth in the secret heart, so we might love the truth and walk in the truth.

     

    Psalm 86:11 (adapted)
    Teach us your way, O LORD,
    that we may walk in your truth;
    unite our hearts to fear your name.

    May our God be merciful and gracious to us and raise up ministers such as Edward Dorr Griffin.

    * Please add your PRAYERS below, as God's Holy Spirit leads you. *

     

  • Why should You be like a stranger? May our hearts burn with us!

    Jeremiah 14:7  “Though our iniquities testify against us,
    act, O LORD, for your name's sake;
    for our backslidings are many;
    we have sinned against you.

    8  O you hope of Israel,
    its savior in time of trouble,
    why should you be like a stranger in the land,
    like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

    9  Why should you be like a man confused,
    like a mighty warrior who cannot save?
    Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us,
    and we are called by your name;
    do not leave us.”

    Luke 24:28  So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29  but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30  When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31  And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32  They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33  And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34  saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35  Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

    O, LORD our God,

    Though our iniquities today are many, though our sins testify against us as they did in the day of Jeremiah, will you not act for Jesus' sake?

    Though our iniquities today are many, though our sins testify against us as they did in the day of Jeremiah, will you not have mercy on us for Jesus' sake?

    We are called by Your Name. We are Your people. You are our God. You alone are our hope. You alone are our Savior in time of trouble.

    Lord Jesus, do not be like a stranger in the land! Do not be like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night! Do not be like a man confused! You alone are the mighty warrior who can save us!

    O, Lord our God, do not delay! Are you not already in our midst? O, do not be silent! Do not turn Your face away from us!

    Open our ears so we might hear You. Open our eyes so we might see You. Open our hearts to receive You. Open our souls that we might know You.

    Have mercy upon us for we are Your people. Have mercy on us for we are called by Your Name. Like the disciples on the Emmaus road, we urge You to stay with us. O, it is near evening. The day is far spent. We are in great trouble. Much of Your Church in many places is in a very dark place now. O, Morning Star, will You not arise once again and shine Your light upon us in this gloomy place? Will You not come and abide with us? O, stay with us! Do not leave us. Do not forsake us.

    LORD our God, the only Savior, will You not once again come in glory to Your Church in our time of trouble and cause Your face to shine on us and restore us so we might be saved? We have no other hope but You.

    On this Lord's Day particularly, as Your Word is taught and preached by Your servants, may Your blessed Spirit come into the midst so Your Word might go out with power, boldness and assurance. May the teaching and preaching of Your Word be made effectual by Your Holy Spirit. Let Your Holy Word spoken and heard not be a dead letter but become a living fire in our souls so our hearts might burn within us. May that passion incite a flaming zeal for Your glory and renown throughout the world.

    O, LORD our God, be gracious to us. Be very gracious to us. Draw near to us as You cause us to draw near to You. Make Yourself known to us this day. May our hearts burn within us. Bless Your Word as it is read and spoken and heard. May the soil of our hearts be prepared this day and each and every time we come to Your Word so it might take root and grow and flourish and produce the fruit You desire. May we receive You and Your Word humbly. May Your Word not return void but burn within us like a fire in our hearts that we cannot hold in.

    O, we are hungry for You, Bread of Life. No other bread can satisfy! No worldly bread can nourish our souls. Living God, feed us with Your living Bread until we want no more! O, Lord Jesus, meet with us this day. Do not leave us! Stay with us!

    Holy Father, You have chosen us and called us to be Your people. Jesus Christ, heavenly Bridegroom, we are Your bride. Chief Shepherd, we are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture. O, Good Shepherd of the sheep, why should You be like a stranger to us? Hope of Israel, do not leave us! Holy Savior, come to us! Make Yourself known to us this day! May our hearts burn within us this day! Holy Spirit, may we not grieve, quench or limit You as we read and hear Your Word.

    *Please add your prayers as the Holy Spirit of God 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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