Seeking God's Glory - praying with the Church

It is a blessing to be able to pray alongside God's people through the ages. Sometimes their words are what we wanted to say, but we couldn't express it ourselves. Sometimes their words are the words that we should be praying, but we didn't even realize it. God uses others' prayers to shape us and our prayers. This prayer is attributed to W. Perkins in A.W. Pink's book The Lord's Prayer. I'm also including a quote from that book from Pink himself that ends with a prayer. May God kindle our prayers and our lives as we pray with these brothers. 

O Lord, open our eyes that we may know Thee aright and may discern Thy power, wisdom, justice, and mercy; and enlarge our hearts that we may sanctify Thee in our affections, by making Thee our fear, love, joy, and confidence; and open our lips that we may bless Thee for Thine infinite goodness; yea, O Lord, open our eyes that we may see Thee in all Thy works, and incline our wills with reverence for Thy name appearing in Thy works, and grant that when we use any one of them, that we may honor Thee in our sober and sanctified use thereof. Amen

(W. Perkins quoted by A.W. Pink in The Lord’s Prayer). 

“It is now obvious why this is the first petition in the Lord’s Prayer, for it provides the only legitimate basis for all our other requests. The glory of God is to be our chief and great concern. When we offer this petition to our heavenly Father, we are saying, ‘Whatever comes to me, however low I may sink, no matter how deep the waters be through which I may be called to pass, Lord, magnify Thyself in and through me.’” (A.W. Pink. in The Lord's Prayer)

Seeking God's Glory - praying the Psalms

It is one thing to read a psalm; it is another to pray it. There are so many psalms that pray seeking God's glory, including Psalm 29 which we focused on this past Sunday. Here is Psalm 96, part of which is also found in its context in 1 Chronicles 16:22-33 when David brought the ark of God to Jerusalem.

Psalm 96 (1 Chronicles 16:23-33)

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth.

² Sing to the Lord, praise his name;

proclaim his salvation day after day.

³ Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

⁴ For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

he is to be feared above all gods.

⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols,

but the Lord made the heavens.

⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

⁷ Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

⁸ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

bring an offering and come into his courts.

⁹ Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;

tremble before him, all the earth.

¹⁰ Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;

he will judge the peoples with equity.

¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

let the sea resound, and all that is in it.

¹² Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;

let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

¹³ Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,

he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Seeking God's Glory - Mining the Catechism

I love the way the Heidelberg Catechism treats "hallowed be your name" by talking both about knowing God (which then necessarily pours into honoring, glorifying, and praising) and directing our lives. When we truly know God, hallowing his name will be the response we desire, and then the prayer to shape our lives in that direction recognizes the Holy Spirit's work in our lives of overcoming sin that stands in the way of good desires. We have an important role in hallowing God's name, and God is necessary in that role from start to finish.

Lord’s Day 47

Q & A 122

Q. What does the first petition mean?

A. “Hallowed be your name” means:

Help us to truly know you,¹
to honor, glorify, and praise you

for all your works
and for all that shines forth from them:

your almighty power, wisdom, kindness,
justice, mercy, and truth.²

And it means,

Help us to direct all our living—

what we think, say, and do—

so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us
but always honored and praised.³

¹ Jer. 9:23-24; 31:33-34; Matt. 16:17; John 17:3

  ² Ex. 34:5-8; Ps. 145; Jer. 32:16-20; Luke 1:46-55, 68-75; Rom. 11:33-36

  ³ Ps. 115:1; Matt. 5:16

Seeking God's Glory - praying the Scriptures

In keeping with our weekly pattern as we draw near to God in prayer, today we focus on prayer guided by Scripture. Scripture not only guides us in our conversations with God, but also open us up in both our speaking and our listening. A great guide is Matthew Henry's Pray the Bible online. Henry has several Scripture-saturated prayers (or prayer pieces) that help us focus on and understand seeking God's glory by praying "hallowed be your name." May these serve to help us draw near to God our Father in prayer and in life.

Our Father - learning from others

One of the blessings God gives us is the wisdom of those around us and of those who have gone before us. I spend a fair amount of time each week gleaning from that wisdom. Here is a short reflection from John Calvin from his commentary on Matthew 6:9 - 

Our Father who art in heaven – Whenever we engage in prayer, there are two things to be considered, both that we may have access to God, and that we may rely on Him with full and unshaken confidence: his fatherly love toward us, and his boundless power. Let us therefore entertain no doubt, that God is willing to receive us graciously, that he is ready to listen to our prayers, — in a word, that of Himself he is disposed to aid us. Father is the appellation given to him; and under this title Christ supplies us with sufficiently copious materials for confidence. But as it is only the half of our reliance that is founded on the goodness of God, in the next clause, who art in heaven, he gives us a lofty idea of the power of God. When the Scripture says, that God is in heaven, the meaning is, that all things are subject to his dominions, — that the world, and everything in it, is held by his hand, — that his power is everywhere diffused, — that all things are arranged by his providence. David says, “He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh at them,” (Psalm 2:4); and again, “Our God is in heaven: he hath done whatever he hath pleased,” (Psalm 115:3).

May these words kindle our lives and prayers.

Our Father - rooted in Scripture

One of the most evocative passages for me to understand a heavenly Father is the parable of the lost son - also known as the prodigal son. In The Prodigal God, Tim Keller writes, 
"The word 'prodigal' does not mean 'wayward' but, according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 'recklessly spendthrift." It means to spend until you have nothing left. This term is therefore as appropriate for describing the father in the story as his younger son. The father's welcome to the repentant son was literally reckless, because he refused to 'reckon' or count his sin against him or demand repayment... Jesus is showing us the God of Great Expenditure, who is nothing if not prodigal toward us, his children. God's reckless grace is our greatest hope."

On Sunday morning I showed a video of the interpretation of the story from The Jesus Storybook Bible. You can watch that video here. 

The story itself as Jesus told it is found in Luke 15:11-32. As you pray "Our Father," contemplate the prodigal nature and unfathomable grace of our heavenly Father.

The Parable of the Lost Son
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”
The New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Print.

Our Father - singing our prayers

The songs we sing are oftentimes actually prayers put to words, and at other times they are truths that inform our prayers. One of the great things about songs is the way they stick with us and pop into our heads throughout the day. These two songs reflect on God our Father. One is more contemporary, the other more traditional. I've included a couple of youtube links in  case you would like to listen in addition to reading (and there are many more versions of each available). One of these is from last Sunday's worship service.

“He Knows My Name”

Tommy Walker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC8puwexBBo

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

“Children of the Heavenly Father”

(Psalter Hymnal 440)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmJI9-0BKPI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfDcxZ5iwME

Children of the heavenly Father

safely in his bosom gather;

nestling bird nor star in heaven

such a refuge e'er was given.

God his own shall tend and nourish;

in his holy courts they flourish.

From all evil powers he spares them;

in his mighty arms he bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever

from the Lord his children sever;

for to them his grace revealing,

he turns sorrow into healing.

God has given, he has taken,

but his children ne'er forsaken;

his the loving purpose solely

to preserve them pure and holy.

Text: Caroline V. Sandell Berg, 1855; tr. Ernest W. Olson, 1925, alt. Copyright (c) 1978, Board of Publication of the Lutheran Church in America, Augsburg-Fortress Publishers, Minneapolis,  MN 55440