Prayer

The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 1

Theme: Prayer Is a Problem
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
I have always been interested in the things George Gallup, the founder and director of the Gallup Poll organization, has to say about the religious life of Americans. Recently I came across some remarks he made about prayer.

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The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 2

Theme: Encouragement to Prayer
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
There are at least two other reasons why prayer is often a problem for us.
 
We are too sinful. This strikes a bit deeper at our problem, though we do not like to admit it.

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The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 3

Theme: The God of All Grace
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
Why is the throne of God described in Hebrews as a throne of grace? The answer is obvious. It is because God is a God of grace. Indeed, he is the God of all grace.

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The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 4

Theme: A Way Opened to God
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
Yesterday we looked at how God the Father and God the Son are gracious. 
 
God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also gracious.

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The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 5

Theme: Drawing Nigh in Confidence
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
The bottom line of this discussion is that, because of who God is and what Jesus Christ has done in dying for us, changing the throne of judgment into a throne of grace, we who trust Christ are to draw near the throne o

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The Book of John

Last Will and Testament, Scene 5

Theme: Prayer and Peace
 
In these lessons we look at some of the final instructions Jesus passed on to his disciples, and see how they are also given to us for living godly lives even in the midst of difficulty.
 
Scripture: John 14
 
In verses 13 and 14 Jesus talks about prayer, saying that prayer is effective. Notice the way He puts it: “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

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The Book of Psalms

How Long? How Long?, Part 1

Theme: When You Feel Abandoned by God
In this week’s lessons we are reminded that although there are times when we might feel abandoned by God, we must persevere in prayer in order to enjoy the sense of God’s presence once again.
Scripture: Psalm 13:1-6
You may have noticed in your study of the psalms that at different places in the psalter we find increasing intensity and even apparent desperation as we move along. We find this movement as we pass from Psalm 12 to Psalm 13.

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The Book of Psalms

How Long? How Long?, Part 2

Theme: A Prolonged Struggle
In this week’s lessons we are reminded that although there are times when we might feel abandoned by God, we must persevere in prayer in order to enjoy the sense of God’s presence once again.
Scripture: Psalm 13:1-6

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The Book of Psalms

How Long? How Long?, Part 3

Theme: Dark Thoughts Within
In this week’s lessons we are reminded that although there are times when we might feel abandoned by God, we must persevere in prayer in order to enjoy the sense of God’s presence once again.
Scripture: Psalm 13:1-6

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The Book of Psalms

How Long? How Long?, Part 4

Theme: Enemies Around
In this week’s lessons we are reminded that although there are times when we might feel abandoned by God, we must persevere in prayer in order to enjoy the sense of God’s presence once again.
Scripture: Psalm 13:1-6
Yesterday we concluded that the third reason we can feel abandoned is because of dark thoughts and uncontrollable emotions.

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The Book of Psalms

How Long? How Long?, Part 5

Theme: Turning the Corner
In this week’s lessons we are reminded that although there are times when we might feel abandoned by God, we must persevere in prayer in order to enjoy the sense of God’s presence once again.
Scripture: Psalm 13:1-6

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The Book of Psalms

The Prayer of a Righteous Man, Part 1

Theme: A Model Prayer
In this week’s lessons we look at Psalm 17, and learn how this prayer of David can serve as a model both for our own prayers and for how we examine our own holiness.
Scripture: Psalm 17:1-15
Commentators on psalms frequently distinguish between various types of psalms, which they call genres. A typical classification might be: hymns, laments, thanksgiving psalms, psalms of remembrance, psalms of confidence, wisdom psalms, and kingship psalms.1

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The Book of Psalms

The Prayer of a Righteous Man, Part 2

Theme: The Psalmist’s Innocence
In this week’s lessons we look at Psalm 17, and learn how this prayer of David can serve as a model both for our own prayers and for how we examine our own holiness.
Scripture: Psalm 17:1-15

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The Book of Psalms

The Prayer of a Righteous Man, Part 3

Theme: The Need for Self-Examination
In this week’s lessons we look at Psalm 17, and learn how this prayer of David can serve as a model both for our own prayers and for how we examine our own holiness.
Scripture: Psalm 17:1-15

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The Book of Psalms

The Prayer of a Righteous Man, Part 4

Theme: The Love of God
In this week’s lessons we look at Psalm 17, and learn how this prayer of David can serve as a model both for our own prayers and for how we examine our own holiness.
Scripture: Psalm 17:1-15

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The Book of Psalms

The Prayer of a Righteous Man, Part 5

Theme: A Final Appeal
In this week’s lessons we look at Psalm 17, and learn how this prayer of David can serve as a model both for our own prayers and for how we examine our own holiness.
Scripture: Psalm 17:1-15

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The Book of Psalms

A Day of National Thanksgiving, Day 1

Theme: The Importance of Giving Thanks
In this week’s lessons we see that prayer is not only to be offered to the Lord when we are in need of his help, but it is also to be offered in thanks for his goodness and faithfulness to us.
Scripture: Psalm 21:1-13
Psalm 20 is a prayer for God’s deliverance of Israel’s king on the occasion of an impending battle. It is a prayer for victory. The twenty-first Psalm, the one that we will look at here, is a prayer of national thanksgiving for that deliverance.

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The Book of Psalms

A Day of National Thanksgiving, Day 2

Theme: Lest We Forget to Thank God
In this week’s lessons we see that prayer is not only to be offered to the Lord when we are in need of his help, but it is also to be offered in thanks for his goodness and faithfulness to us.
Scripture: Psalm 21:1-13

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The Book of Psalms

A Day of National Thanksgiving, Day 3

Theme: Thanksgiving for Past Victories
In this week’s lessons we see that prayer is not only to be offered to the Lord when we are in need of his help, but it is also to be offered in thanks for his goodness and faithfulness to us.
Scripture: Psalm 21:1-13
Yesterday we looked at the first of six blessings for which God was to be praised. Today we consider the next three.

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The Book of Psalms

A Day of National Thanksgiving, Day 4

Theme: The Covenant-Keeping God
In this week’s lessons we see that prayer is not only to be offered to the Lord when we are in need of his help, but it is also to be offered in thanks for his goodness and faithfulness to us.
Scripture: Psalm 21:1-13
Today we look at the last two of the six specific blessings for which the Lord was to be given thanks.

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The Book of Psalms

A Day of National Thanksgiving, Day 5

Theme: Thanksgiving for Future Victories
In this week’s lessons we see that prayer is not only to be offered to the Lord when we are in need of his help, but it is also to be offered in thanks for his goodness and faithfulness to us.
Scripture: Psalm 21:1-13

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The Book of Psalms

My Light and My Salvation, Part 4

Theme: The Soul’s Prayer
In this week’s lessons we are reminded of the need to confidently wait upon the Lord to answer our prayers.
Scripture: Psalm 27:1-14
The latter half of Psalm 27 begins with verse 7, as I pointed out earlier, and it is here that we find the abrupt change of language, structure and tone I also mentioned. The verbs change from the first or third person to the second. The earlier affirmations become prayers. The mood changes from confidence to earnest entreaty.

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The Book of Psalms

Hope in God Alone, Part 1

Theme: An Appeal to Be Heard
In this week’s lessons we learn how to approach God in prayer, how to address evil, and the need for thanksgiving.
Scripture: Psalm 28:1-9

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The Book of Psalms

Hope in God Alone, Part 2

Theme: How to Approach God
In this week’s lessons we learn how to approach God in prayer, how to address evil, and the need for thanksgiving.
Scripture: Psalm 28:1-9

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The Book of Psalms

Hope in God Alone, Part 3

Theme: The Psalm’s Petition
In this week’s lessons we learn how to approach God in prayer, how to address evil, and the need for thanksgiving.
Scripture: Psalm 28:1-9

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The Book of Psalms

Hope in God Alone, Part 4

Theme: Giving Thanks
In this week’s lessons we learn how to approach God in prayer, how to address evil, and the need for thanksgiving.
Scripture: Psalm 28:1-9
Yesterday we considered three things to keep in mind as we read in the Psalms of David asking God to judge others. Today we begin by looking at a fourth idea.

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The Book of Psalms

Hope in God Alone, Part 5

Theme: A Final Broadening Stanza
In this week’s lessons we learn how to approach God in prayer, how to address evil, and the need for thanksgiving.
Scripture: Psalm 28:1-9

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The Book of Psalms

The Lord, the Lord Almighty, Part 3

Theme: The Passing of the Storm
This week’s lessons teach us how and why to praise God, and what will happen for us as we do.
Scripture: Psalm 29:1-11
The second stanza of the psalm (vv. 3-9) contains the description of the storm. What a description it is! It is hard to read it without thinking of great storms one has witnessed.

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The Book of Psalms

The Lord, the Lord Almighty, Part 5

Theme: Peace on Earth
This week’s lessons teach us how and why to praise God, and what will happen for us as we do.
Scripture: Psalm 29:1-11
Elijah’s experience of God’s presence in the gentle whisper is what it is like as we come to the end of Psalm 29. The storm has passed by, and what remains is God himself, as peaceful and as much in control of all things as he has always been. Yet here are two more points.

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The Book of Matthew

When He Had Given Thanks, Part 1

Theme: When Jesus Gave Thanks
During this Thanksgiving week, we learn how to render thanks to the Lord through the prayers of thanksgiving from Jesus himself.
Scripture: Matthew 14:19

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The Book of Matthew

When He Had Given Thanks, Part 2

Theme: What We Learn about Jesus from His Prayers
During this Thanksgiving week, we learn how to render thanks to the Lord through the prayers of thanksgiving from Jesus himself.
Scripture: Matthew 14:19
The accounts of Jesus offering a prayer of thanks at meals where he is presiding enables us to reflect on who Jesus is.

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The Book of Matthew

When He Had Given Thanks, Part 3

Theme: Imitating Jesus in Our Prayers
During this Thanksgiving week, we learn how to render thanks to the Lord through the prayers of thanksgiving from Jesus himself.
Scripture: Matthew 14:19
In so small a matter of thanking God for his food, Jesus becomes an example to us. What is it that we can learn from his behavior? As we saw yesterday, we should give thanks for even the smallest things. Today we examine three more points.

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The Book of Matthew

When He Had Given Thanks, Part 4

Theme: Giving Thanks Publicly
During this Thanksgiving week, we learn how to render thanks to the Lord through the prayers of thanksgiving from Jesus himself.
Scripture: Matthew 14:19
On this Thanksgiving Day, we continue our look at Jesus’ example to us in so small a matter as thanking God for his food.

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The Book of Matthew

When He Had Given Thanks, Part 5

Theme: How to Give Thanks
During this Thanksgiving week, we learn how to render thanks to the Lord through the prayers of thanksgiving from Jesus himself.
Scripture: Matthew 14:19
So what should we do this Thanksgiving weekend? I suggest that we should follow our Lord’s example and thank God in each of these ways I have tried to point out in this study.

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The Book of Psalms

A Sick Man’s Cry for Help, Part 3

Theme: A Second Prayer
From this psalm we learn how to approach God for mercy, knowing that he hears us and will answer our prayers to his glory.
Scripture: Psalm 38:1-22
Yesterday we saw that in the case of Job, his suffering was not because he had sinned, but, rather, it was a demonstration before Satan that a human being will love God for who he is and not just for what the person can receive from him.

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The Book of Psalms

Sheep That Conquer, Monday

Theme: “God Never Sleeps”
From this psalm we learn that although we sometimes may not understand what God is doing in the present, we know how God has helped us in the past, and can therefore confidently come to him in prayer for the future.
Scripture: Psalm 44:1-26
“God never sleeps,” wrote the Scottish commentator Murdoch Campbell in his opening observation on this psalm.1 Maybe not, but he seems to, at least at times. He seems to be sleeping when his people cry out to him in their troubles.

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The Book of Psalms

Sheep That Conquer, Tuesday

Theme: God’s Past Acts of Deliverance
From this psalm we learn that although we sometimes may not understand what God is doing in the present, we know how God has helped us in the past, and can therefore confidently come to him in prayer for the future.
Scripture: Psalm 44:1-26

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The Book of Psalms

Sheep That Conquer, Wednesday

Theme: The Puzzling Present
From this psalm we learn that although we sometimes may not understand what God is doing in the present, we know how God has helped us in the past, and can therefore confidently come to him in prayer for the future.
Scripture: Psalm 44:1-26

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The Book of Psalms

Sheep That Conquer, Thursday

Theme: Desperate for an Explanation
From this psalm we learn that although we sometimes may not understand what God is doing in the present, we know how God has helped us in the past, and can therefore confidently come to him in prayer for the future.
Scripture: Psalm 44:1-26

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The Book of Psalms

Sheep That Conquer, Friday

Theme: Prayer for Deliverance in the Future
From this psalm we learn that although we sometimes may not understand what God is doing in the present, we know how God has helped us in the past, and can therefore confidently come to him in prayer for the future.
Scripture: Psalm 44:1-26

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The Book of Psalms

Monday: Betrayed

Theme: Psalms 52 and 54
In this week’s lessons we learn how David approached God in prayer when he experienced the terrible situation of being betrayed.
Scripture: Psalm 54:1-7

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The Book of Psalms

Tuesday: Betrayed

Theme: The Fugitive’s God
In this week’s lessons we learn how David approached God in prayer when he experienced the terrible situation of being betrayed.
Scripture: Psalm 54:1-7
Yesterday we were describing the setting of Psalm 54. David had gone to the town of Keilah to rescue the city from the Philistines. But when David discovered that Saul was coming in pursuit, and that the city was going to deliver David over to Saul, David escaped and fled into the desert of Ziph.

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The Book of Psalms

Wednesday: Betrayed

Theme: God’s Name
In this week’s lessons we learn how David approached God in prayer when he experienced the terrible situation of being betrayed.
Scripture: Psalm 54:1-7

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The Book of Psalms

Thursday: Betrayed

Theme: The Fugitive’s Prayer
In this week’s lessons we learn how David approached God in prayer when he experienced the terrible situation of being betrayed.
Scripture: Psalm 54:1-7
After the opening cry of verse 1, which sets the theme for the psalm, David begins the prayer in which he asks Jehovah to rescue him in his forsaken situation. His prayer has the following five parts.

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The Book of Psalms

Friday: Betrayed

Theme: Man of Sorrows
In this week’s lessons we learn how David approached God in prayer when he experienced the terrible situation of being betrayed.
Scripture: Psalm 54:1-7

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The Book of Psalms

Friday: Prayer amid the Ruins of Jerusalem

Theme: Pleading for God to Act
In this week’s lessons we see the need for continual trust and worship, even during times of trouble and uncertainty.
Scripture: Psalm 74:1-23
Because God is in charge and because he has acted in the past, why should he not also act powerfully in the present to deliver and restore his people? This is where the psalm has been heading, and it is the question with which it ends. Verses 18-23 voice this final urgent plea.

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The Book of Psalms

Monday: Frailty Anchored in Eternity

Theme: Fervent Prayer in Great Need
In this week’s lessons, we learn how great suffering should turn us toward God, and then cause our prayers to also include God’s work in the lives of others.
Scripture: Psalm 102:1-28
One of the splendid delusions of the young is that they think they are immortal. No matter how recklessly they drive, no matter how many drugs they take or physical dangers they expose themselves to, they do not believe that anything bad can happen to them.

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The Book of Psalms

Tuesday: Frailty Anchored in Eternity

Theme: When Troubles Abound
In this week’s lessons, we learn how great suffering should turn us toward God, and then cause our prayers to also include God’s work in the lives of others.
Scripture: Psalm 102:1-28

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The Book of Psalms

Wednesday: Frailty Anchored in Eternity

Theme: Resting in God’s Sovereignty
In this week’s lessons, we learn how great suffering should turn us toward God, and then cause our prayers to also include God’s work in the lives of others.
Scripture: Psalm 102:1-28

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The Book of Psalms

Thursday: Frailty Anchored in Eternity

Theme: Praying for Others
In this week’s lessons, we learn how great suffering should turn us toward God, and then cause our prayers to also include God’s work in the lives of others.
Scripture: Psalm 102:1-28

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The Book of Psalms

Friday: Frailty Anchored in Eternity

Theme: Anchored in the Lord Jesus Christ
In this week’s lessons, we learn how great suffering should turn us toward God, and then cause our prayers to also include God’s work in the lives of others.
Scripture: Psalm 102:1-28
Today we continue our look at four separate things for which the psalmist prays.

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The Book of Psalms

Monday: Help of the Helpless

Theme: A Psalm of Prayer, Deliverance, and Thanksgiving
In this week’s lessons, we see how we are to approach God when we are in need, and what our response ought to be to his help.
Scripture: Psalm 116:1-19

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The Book of Psalms

Tuesday: Help of the Helpless

Theme: The Unchanging God
In this week’s lessons, we see how we are to approach God when we are in need, and what our response ought to be to his help.
Scripture: Psalm 116:1-19
In general, the first eleven (or nine) verses of the psalm tell what God did for the psalmist: God delivered him from the threshold of the grave. He speaks of this in a number of verses: 
The cords of death entangled me,the anguish of the grave came upon me;I was overcome by trouble and sorrow (v. 3).

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The Book of Psalms

Thursday: Help of the Helpless

Theme: God’s Faithfulness in Life and in Death
In this week’s lessons, we see how we are to approach God when we are in need, and what our response ought to be to his help.
Scripture: Psalm 116:1-19

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The Book of Psalms

Friday: Help of the Helpless

Theme: Responding to God’s Goodness
In this week’s lessons, we see how we are to approach God when we are in need, and what our response ought to be to his help.
Scripture: Psalm 116:1-19

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The Book of Psalms

Monday: A Prayer before Retiring

Theme: An Evening Psalm
In this week’s lessons, we learn about David’s prayers, and how we, too, need to pray for God’s protection as we seek to live an upright life.
Scripture: Psalm 141:1-10

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The Book of Psalms

Tuesday: A Prayer before Retiring

Theme: Hindrances to Prayer
In this week’s lessons, we learn about David’s prayers, and how we, too, need to pray for God’s protection as we seek to live an upright life.
Scripture: Psalm 141:1-10
Why do we find prayer boring? There are a number of reasons.

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The Book of Psalms

Wednesday: A Prayer before Retiring

Theme: The Substance of David’s Prayer
In this week’s lessons, we learn about David’s prayers, and how we, too, need to pray for God’s protection as we seek to live an upright life.
Scripture: Psalm 141:1-10

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The Book of Psalms

Thursday: A Prayer before Retiring

Theme: Keeping Away from Evil
In this week’s lessons, we learn about David’s prayers, and how we, too, need to pray for God’s protection as we seek to live an upright life.
Scripture: Psalm 141:1-10
In today’s study we resume our look at verses 3 and 4 in which David asks God to “set a guard” over his mouth, his heart and his actions.

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The Book of Psalms

Friday: A Prayer before Retiring

Theme: Walk on the Upright Path
In this week’s lessons, we learn about David’s prayers, and how we, too, need to pray for God’s protection as we seek to live an upright life.
Scripture: Psalm 141:1-10

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The Book of Matthew

Monday: A Confusing Subject

Sermon: How to Pray
Scripture: Matthew 6:5-8
In this week’s lessons, we learn three great principles of prayer, and how we can pray with confidence.
Theme: A Confusing Subject
The second great example of godly living discussed by Jesus Christ in the second chapter of the Sermon on the Mount is prayer. It is an important subject, for prayer is at least partially confusing to us all.

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The Book of Matthew

Tuesday: Praying to God

Sermon: How to Pray
Scripture: Matthew 6:5-8
In this week’s lessons, we learn three great principles of prayer, and how we can pray with confidence.
Theme: Praying to God

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The Book of Matthew

Wednesday: Through the Lord Jesus Christ

Sermon: How to Pray
Scripture: Matthew 6:5-8
In this week’s lessons, we learn three great principles of prayer, and how we can pray with confidence.
Theme: Through the Lord Jesus Christ
In yesterday’s study we concluded by talking about the necessity of recognizing that when we pray we are coming into God’s presence.

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The Book of Matthew

Thursday: In the Holy Spirit

Sermon: How to Pray
Scripture: Matthew 6:5-8
In this week’s lessons, we learn three great principles of prayer, and how we can pray with confidence.
Theme: In the Holy Spirit

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The Book of Matthew

Friday: Praying with Confidence

Sermon: How to Pray
Scripture: Matthew 6:5-8
In this week’s lessons, we learn three great principles of prayer, and how we can pray with confidence.
Theme: Praying with Confidence

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The Book of Matthew

Monday: The Lord’s Prayer

Sermon: Our Father, Our Daddy
Scripture: Matthew 6:9
In this week’s lessons, we see how we are enabled to approach God in prayer because of the reconciling work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Theme: The Lord’s Prayer

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The Book of Matthew

Tuesday: Our Father

Sermon: Our Father, Our Daddy
Scripture: Matthew 6:9
In this week’s lessons, we see how we are enabled to approach God in prayer because of the reconciling work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Theme: Our Father
The first words of the Lord’s Prayer are an address to God as our heavenly Father. For Jesus said, “After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father, who art in heaven.” These words tell us who can pray and what the privileges of access are for them.

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The Book of Matthew

Wednesday: God’s Children

Sermon: Our Father, Our Daddy
Scripture: Matthew 6:9
In this week’s lessons, we see how we are enabled to approach God in prayer because of the reconciling work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Theme: God’s Children
Yesterday we said that during the time of Jesus, the distance between God and man seemed to be widening, such that the names of God were increasingly withheld from public speech and prayers.

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The Book of Matthew

Thursday: Abba, Father

Sermon: Our Father, Our Daddy
Scripture: Matthew 6:9
In this week’s lessons, we see how we are enabled to approach God in prayer because of the reconciling work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Theme: Abba, Father
Yesterday we concluded with the tense exchange between Jesus and his opponents in John 8, in which we saw that not everyone who was related to Abraham by birth was truly a child of God.

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The Book of Matthew

Friday: My Daddy

Sermon: Our Father, Our Daddy
Scripture: Matthew 6:9
In this week’s lessons, we see how we are enabled to approach God in prayer because of the reconciling work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Theme: My Daddy

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The Book of Matthew

Monday: What God Desires

Sermon: Hallowed Be Thy Name
Scripture: Matthew 6:9
In this week’s lessons, we learn more of who God is, and what it means to hallow His name.
Theme: What God Desires

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The Book of Matthew

Wednesday: God’s Names

Sermon: Hallowed Be Thy Name
Scripture: Matthew 6:9
In this week’s lessons, we learn more of who God is, and what it means to hallow His name.
Theme: God’s Names

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The Book of Matthew

Friday: None Like Him

Sermon: Hallowed Be Thy Name
Scripture: Matthew 6:9
In this week’s lessons, we learn more of who God is, and what it means to hallow His name.
Theme: None Like Him
And what about that greatest name of all, the Lord Jesus Christ? In Him all other names are combined. In Him all of the characteristics of God are made manifest. One hymn writer has written:
O could I speak the matchless worth, 
O could I sound the glories forth 
Which in my Savior shine,

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The Book of Matthew

Thursday: Creator and Redeemer

Sermon: Hallowed Be Thy Name
Scripture: Matthew 6:9
In this week’s lessons, we learn more of who God is, and what it means to hallow His name.
Theme: Creator and Redeemer

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The Book of Matthew

Monday: God’s Kingdom

Sermon: Thy Kingdom Come
Scripture: Matthew 6:10
In this week’s lessons, we learn what the kingdom of God is and how it manifests itself on earth.
Theme: God’s Kingdom

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The Book of Matthew

Friday: Thy Coming Kingdom

Sermon: Thy Kingdom Come
Scripture: Matthew 6:10
In this week’s lessons, we learn what the kingdom of God is and how it manifests itself on earth.
Theme: The Coming Kingdom
Now it should be evident from the imperfect nature of the kingdom of God, as we see it today, that there is yet to be a kingdom in which the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ is totally recognized.

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The Book of Matthew

Monday: Many Wills

Sermon: Your Will, Or God’s?
Scripture: Matthew 6:10
In this week’s lessons, we learn what it means to pray that the Lord’s will be done, rather than ours.
Theme: Many Wills

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The Book of Matthew

Tuesday: When Wills Collide

Sermon: Your Will, Or God’s?
Scripture: Matthew 6:10
In this week’s lessons, we learn what it means to pray that the Lord’s will be done, rather than ours.
Theme: When Wills Collide
Yesterday, we concluded by looking at the first two expressions of Satan’s will over against God. Today, we begin by addressing the other three.

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The Book of Matthew

Wednesday: God’s Word

Sermon: Your Will, Or God’s?
Scripture: Matthew 6:10
In this week’s lessons, we learn what it means to pray that the Lord’s will be done, rather than ours.
Theme: God’s Word
Now someone will say, “That is all very well and good, but what does that have to do with me?” Well, it has everything to do with you. For happiness and joy will come to your life only as you allow God to bend your will to His.

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The Book of Matthew

Friday: Thy Will Be Done

Sermon: Your Will, Or God’s?
Scripture: Matthew 6:10
In this week’s lessons, we learn what it means to pray that the Lord’s will be done, rather than ours.
Theme: Thy Will Be Done

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The Book of Matthew

Monday: Our Willing God

Sermon: What to Pray For
Scripture: Matthew 6:11
In this week’s lessons, after first praying for God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will, Jesus also taught us how to pray for things that pertain to our own interests.
Theme: Our Willing God

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The Book of Matthew

Tuesday: The Need to Be God’s Child

Sermon: What to Pray For
Scripture: Matthew 6:11
In this week’s lessons, after first praying for God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will, Jesus also taught us how to pray for things that pertain to our own interests.
Theme: The Need to Be God’s Child

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The Book of Matthew

Wednesday: Our Daily Bread

Sermon: What to Pray For
Scripture: Matthew 6:11
In this week’s lessons, after first praying for God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will, Jesus also taught us how to pray for things that pertain to our own interests.
Theme: Our Daily Bread
When we say that this prayer is a simple prayer for the things that we have need of every day and that God invites this type of praying, certain great truths emerge from it.

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The Book of Matthew

Thursday: Spiritual Necessities

Sermon: What to Pray For
Scripture: Matthew 6:11
In this week’s lessons, after first praying for God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will, Jesus also taught us how to pray for things that pertain to our own interests.
Theme: Spiritual Necessities
We must not leave this request for our daily bread without pointing out that we need spiritual nourishment also. This is the third point. We need to feed spiritually on God.

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The Book of Matthew

Friday: Praying for Others

Sermon: What to Pray For
Scripture: Matthew 6:11
In this week’s lessons, after first praying for God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will, Jesus also taught us how to pray for things that pertain to our own interests.
Theme: Praying for Others

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The Book of Matthew

Monday: Our Need for Forgiveness

Sermon: Forgiveness Guaranteed
Scripture: Matthew 6:12
In this week’s lessons, we see the connection between the Christian’s continuing need of forgiveness from God, and our need to forgive others who wrong us.
Theme: Our Need for Forgiveness

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The Book of Matthew

Tuesday: Forgiveness for Believers

Sermon: Forgiveness Guaranteed
Scripture: Matthew 6:12
In this week’s lessons, we see the connection between the Christian’s continuing need of forgiveness from God, and our need to forgive others who wrong us.
Theme: Forgiveness for Believers

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The Book of Matthew

Wednesday: Assurance

Sermon: Forgiveness Guaranteed
Scripture: Matthew 6:12
In this week’s lessons, we see the connection between the Christian’s continuing need of forgiveness from God, and our need to forgive others who wrong us.
Theme: Assurance

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The Book of Matthew

Thursday: Forgiveness in Advance

Sermon: Forgiveness Guaranteed
Scripture: Matthew 6:12
In this week’s lessons, we see the connection between the Christian’s continuing need of forgiveness from God, and our need to forgive others who wrong us.
Theme: Forgiveness in Advance

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The Book of Matthew

Friday: Debtors

Sermon: Forgiveness Guaranteed
Scripture: Matthew 6:12
In this week’s lessons, we see the connection between the Christian’s continuing need of forgiveness from God, and our need to forgive others who wrong us.
Theme: Debtors

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Monday: Deliverance from Temptation

Sermon: How to Defeat Temptation
Scripture: Matthew 6:13
In this week’s lessons, we learn what temptation is, where it comes from, and what we are to do in order to defeat it.
Theme: Deliverance from Temptation
At the very end of the sixteenth century, after the Protestant Reformation in Europe and the wars that had followed upon it, an anonymous Christian wrote some lines that aptly summarize much of what the Bible has to say about temptation. He wrote: 
In all the strife of mortal life,

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Tuesday: Types of Temptation

Sermon: How to Defeat Temptation
Scripture: Matthew 6:13
In this week’s lessons, we learn what temptation is, where it comes from, and what we are to do in order to defeat it.
Theme: Types of Temptation
In yesterday’s study, we concluded by saying that the word “temptation” can have two meanings. It can denote a tempting to sin—which is what we commonly understand by the word—or it can refer to the idea of a trial, ordeal, or testing.

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Wednesday: Submit and Resist

Sermon: How to Defeat Temptation
Scripture: Matthew 6:13
In this week’s lessons, we learn what temptation is, where it comes from, and what we are to do in order to defeat it.
Theme: Submit and Resist

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Thursday: The Lord’s Example

Sermon: How to Defeat Temptation
Scripture: Matthew 6:13
In this week’s lessons, we learn what temptation is, where it comes from, and what we are to do in order to defeat it.
Theme: The Lord’s Example
I want to give you one final example of how temptation can be resisted, and the best example I can give is the account of the temptation of Jesus Christ recorded in Matthew 4.

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Friday: Our Confidence

Let me ask the question again that I asked yesterday. How did Jesus resist the temptations that are recorded in Matthew 4? Well, in the first place, He had just spent forty days in fasting and in prayer. In the second place, He replied to the devil in every instance by quoting Scripture.

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Our Gracious God

Monday: God’s Nature and Our Prayers

If a young man wants to ask his father for something, he will pattern his request on the nature and the temperament of his father. If the father is ill-tempered and stingy, the young man will ask for little. He will take care to present his need in the most winsome and unobjectionable manner. If the father is good-natured and is generous, the child will present his need openly and with great confidence.

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Our Gracious God

Tuesday: God’s Children

If we are to exercise the spiritual discrimination and judgment that Christ was talking about in verse six (“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine”), then we must apply verses 7-11 to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ only. We must read the verse this way: “Ask [you who are born again], and it shall be given you [who are born again]; seek [you who are born again], and you [who are born again] shall find; knock [you who are born again], and it shall be opened unto you [who are born again].” Prayer is for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ only.

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Our Gracious God

Wednesday: Asking

The second obvious teaching of these verses is that even if we are Christians, we must ask for the thing that God promises. This section of God’s Word contains the positive statement of the principle (“Ask, and it shall be given you”). James 4:2 contains the negative statement (“Ye have not, because ye ask not”). But the teaching of both texts is identical. God delights to give good gifts to His children. Hence, if we do not have them, the fault does not lie in God. It lies in our failure to ask things of Him.

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Our Gracious God

Thursday: Prevailing Prayer

What else do we need in our churches that we are not receiving? Do we lack suitable candidates for church office? Or those for missions? Do we lack Sunday school teachers or church workers? If so, it is because we are not asking. Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into the harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38).

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Our Gracious God

Friday: God’s Spirit

I know that there is something about the idea of prevailing prayer that, at least on the surface, seems contrary to a Calvinistic way of thinking, but the conflict is only superficial. In two of the parables of the Lord Jesus, there is the story of a person who prevailed in a request by means of perseverance. In Luke 11:5-10, there is the story of a man who lacked food to feed a guest who arrived at his home at midnight. He went to his neighbor. At first the neighbor did not want to be bothered, but at last he gave the things that were needed because of the man’s persistence.

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Help of the Helpless

Wednesday: Help of the Helpless

As we noted in yesterday’s study, verses 10 and 11 are hard to understand, and the result has been somewhat different translations in the versions. Roy Clements spells out four possible translations before settling finally on the NIV rendering. We looked at the first two possible translations yesterday, and continue with the second two in today’s study.

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How to Pray

Monday: A Difficult Subject

People ask me when they should pray and how they should pray. Sometimes they even ask, “Why should I pray?” Well, it’s with questions like these that we want to deal, and many of them are answered when we realize that prayer is basically talking with God. Therefore it should be as natural for us to pray as for a child to come to his parents for guidance, for consolation, help, or merely sharing the day’s experiences. If you are a child of God—as the Bible says you are if you have admitted that you are a sinner, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, and committed yourself to Him—then there need be no restrictions on the time, place or manner in which you speak to Him.

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How to Pray

Tuesday: To God, Our Heavenly Father

In yesterday’s study, I said that people sometimes ask me questions such as when they should pray, how they should pray, or even why they should pray. Now all these questions have been asked by others, and they were asked in Christ’s day. So when Jesus began to teach about prayer, He dealt with them—sometimes by direct teaching, and at other times by example, as in the Lord’s Prayer, one of His most helpful teachings about prayer. Jesus said, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy room, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the pagans do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye, therefore, like unto them; for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him” (Matt. 6:5-8).

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Our Gracious God

Tuesday: God’s Children

If we are to exercise the spiritual discrimination and judgment that Christ was talking about in verse six (“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine”), then we must apply verses 7-11 to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ only. We must read the verse this way: “Ask [you who are born again], and it shall be given you [who are born again]; seek [you who are born again], and you [who are born again] shall find; knock [you who are born again], and it shall be opened unto you [who are born again].” Prayer is for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ only.

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Our Gracious God

Wednesday: Asking

The second obvious teaching of these verses is that even if we are Christians, we must ask for the thing that God promises. This section of God’s Word contains the positive statement of the principle (“Ask, and it shall be given you”). James 4:2 contains the negative statement (“Ye have not, because ye ask not”). But the teaching of both texts is identical. God delights to give good gifts to His children. Hence, if we do not have them, the fault does not lie in God. It lies in our failure to ask things of Him.

Keep Reading
Our Gracious God

Thursday: Prevailing Prayer

What else do we need in our churches that we are not receiving? Do we lack suitable candidates for church office? Or those for missions? Do we lack Sunday school teachers or church workers? If so, it is because we are not asking. Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into the harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38).

Keep Reading
Our Gracious God

Friday: God’s Spirit

I know that there is something about the idea of prevailing prayer that, at least on the surface, seems contrary to a Calvinistic way of thinking, but the conflict is only superficial. In two of the parables of the Lord Jesus, there is the story of a person who prevailed in a request by means of perseverance. In Luke 11:5-10, there is the story of a man who lacked food to feed a guest who arrived at his home at midnight. He went to his neighbor. At first the neighbor did not want to be bothered, but at last he gave the things that were needed because of the man’s persistence.

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Monday: Peter’s Arrest

The church had suffered relatively little persecution since the period of persecution that followed the death of Stephen. But in chapter 12 we read about another: “It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them” (v. 1). As a result of the last persecution, the Christians were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria and carried the Gospel to those areas. At this point the church will begin to expand again, this time by the missionary journeys of Paul which we are told about beginning with chapter 13. We are to understand that, however intently the church is persecuted, the result is always the extension of the faith into new areas.

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Wednesday: The Church in Prayer

After leaving prison, Peter was now out on the streets of Jerusalem in the middle of the night. He had been delivered from prison, but he knew that he would have to leave the city since those who had arrested him would certainly arrest him again. Should he leave at once? Peter was unwilling to leave without relating his deliverance to those he knew would be concerned for him.

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Thursday: How to Pray

What is involved in this particular example of prayer is not individual prayer, important as that may be, but what we would call “united prayer,” Christian people meeting together to pray in harmony. There is great value in that! The value is in the unity of mind and spirit that corporate prayer brings.

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The Alliance is a coalition of believers who hold to the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed faith and proclaim biblical doctrine in order to foster a Reformed awakening in today’s Church.

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