What%20to%20Pray%20For%20-%20John%20Piper.pdfI recently stumbled on this short article by John Piper,

not sure if anyone has already shown it, but it is very good,

and is attached.

Recently I have been doing a study on God's Restraining Grace where God reaches out to unchristians and

Christians alike and at His discretion prevents one from committing sin.

Now that I have a better understanding of Restraining Grace I can see in my past where God has done

this for me. I think it goes along with "lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil."

So, here is another area in my life and in the life of others where I/we need to thank God.

I can praise and thank God, just like King Abimelech, that God does keep me from sinning in some areas.

 [3] But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” [4] Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? [5] Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” [6] Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.
Genesis 20:3-6

Colossians 4:2 "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."

So, I think this verse says, while in prayer be watchful.

My question, what are we to watch for?

Thanks

 Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said:

“Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.

Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all.

In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. (1 Chronicles 29:10-13 ESV)

Prerequisite for all who aspire to pray:

"Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God.

Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God,

so that the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a

house built for the name of the LORD.”

(1 Chronicles 22:19 ESV)

This prayer is written in old English, but don't let that dissuade you, it is very good.

Prayer of Anselm:

 
O wretched lot of man, when he hath lost that for which he was made! O hard and terrible fate! Alas, what has he lost, and what has he found? What has departed, and what remains? He has lost the blessedness for which he was made, and has found the misery for which he was not made. That has departed without which nothing is happy, and that remains which, in itself, is only miserable. Man once did eat the bread of angels, for which he hungers now; he eateth now the bread of sorrows, of which he knew not then. Alas! for the mourning of all mankind, for the universal lamentation of the sons of Hades! He choked with satiety, we sigh with hunger. He abounded, we beg. He possessed in happiness, and miserably forsook his possession; we suffer want in unhappiness, and feel a miserable long, and alas! we remain empty.

Why did he not keep for us, when he could so easily, that whose lack we should feel so heavily? Why did he shut us away from the light, and cover us over with darkness? With what purpose did he rob us of life, and inflict death upon us? Wretches that we are, whence have we been driven out; whither are we driven on? Whence hurled? Whither consigned to ruin? From a native country into exile, from the vision of God into our present blindness, from the joy of immortality into the bitterness and horror of death. Miserable exchange of how great a good, for how great an evil! Heavy loss, heavy grief heavy all our fate!

But alas! wretched that I am, one of the sons of Eve, far removed from God! What have I undertaken? What have I accomplished? Whither was I striving? How far have I come? To what did I aspire? Amid what thoughts am I sighing? I sought blessings, and lo! confusion. I strove toward God, and I stumbled on myself. I sought calm in privacy, and I found tribulation and grief, in my inmost thoughts. I wished to smile in the joy of my mind, and I am compelled to frown by the sorrow of my heart. Gladness was hoped for, and lo! a source of frequent sighs!

And thou too, O Lord, how long? How long, O Lord, dost thou forget us; how long dost thou turn thy face from us? When wilt thou look upon us, and hear us? When wilt thou enlighten our eyes, and show us thy face? When wilt thou restore thyself to us? Look upon us, Lord; hear us, enlighten us, reveal thyself to us. Restore thyself to us, that it may be well with us, --thyself, without whom it is so ill with us. Pity our toilings and strivings toward thee, since we can do nothing without thee. Thou dost invite us; do thou help us. I beseech thee, O Lord, that I may not lose hope in sighs, but may breathe anew in hope. Lord, my heart is made bitter by its desolation; sweeten thou it, I beseech thee, with thy consolation. Lord, in hunger I began to seek thee; I beseech thee that I may not cease to hunger for thee. In hunger I have come to thee; let me not go unfed. I have come in poverty to the Rich, in misery to the Compassionate; let me not return empty and despised. And if, before I eat, I sigh, grant, even after sighs, that which I may eat. Lord, I am bowed down and can only look downward; raise me up that I may look upward. My iniquities have gone over my head; they overwhelm me; and, like a heavy load, they weigh me down. Free me from them; unburden me, that the pit of iniquities may not close over me.

Be it mine to look up to thy light, even from afar, even from the depths. Teach me to see thee, and reveal thyself to me, when I seek thee, for I cannot seek thee, except thou teach me, nor find thee, except thou reveal thyself. Let me seek thee in longing, let me long for thee in seeking; let me find thee in love, and love thee in finding. Lord, I acknowledge and I thank thee that thou hast created me in this thine image, in order that I may be mindful of thee, may conceive of thee, and love thee; but that image has been so consumed and wasted away by vices, and obscured by the smoke of wrong-doing, that it cannot achieve that for which it was made, except thou renew it, and create it anew. I do not endeavor, O Lord, to penetrate thy sublimity, for in no wise do compare my understanding with that; but I long to understand in some degree thy truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. for this also I believe, --that unless I believed, I should not understand.

[16] Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?

 [17] And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, O LORD God!

[18] And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant.

[19] For your servant's sake, O LORD, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.

 [20] There is none like you, O LORD, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

 [21] And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and awesome things, in driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt?

[22] And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O LORD, became their God.

[23] And now, O LORD, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken,

 [24] and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.

 [25] For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you.

 [26] And now, O LORD, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.

[27] Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O LORD, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”
(1 Chronicles 17:16-27 ESV)

The following appeared in my Church Bulletin last Sunday, I thought it important enough to put on the Pray Network:

Ian and Darlene
Ministry to Muslims

In out last journal we hinted at some new relationships God has put in our path: a loose network of Underground Christians, the fragile shoots of a new Church growing in extremely hostile soil.

These Underground Christians face opposition on two fronts: external and internal.

Externally, their conversion is illegal. The government does not allow members of their race to convert away from Islam; if discovered, the believers themselves could be arrested, locked away in 'Religious Rehabilitation Centers', their children confiscated and given to foster families where they will be raised in the 'right path'.

Internally, this group faces opposition and discouragement from Christians (mostly western missionaries) who want them to continue in the Islamic faith. This is a new missions philosophy broadly known as the Insider Movement, which teaches new converts from Islam that they should not call themselves Christians, that they should not form churches, that they should continue to worship in the mosque, and when asked, to identify themselves as Muslim 'followers of Jesus'.

Our new friends, convicted by scripture, have rejected this advice. They are the Underground Christians, not part of the Insider Movement. They want to form a Church. They want to be identified with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And they are counting the cost right now.

Last week religious police invaded a local church and caught a group of Insider Movements converts worshipping there. Fifteen have been arrested. A lawyer has been provided for them, and he is happy to take the case as long as they deny their faith in Jesus Christ. Twelve have already accepted the deal. The church where they were meeting has declared in the newspaper that their denomination does not participate in evangelizing Muslims.

This has cast our whole network of Underground Christians into turmoil. It seems that these Insider Movements converts are ready at any moment to deny their Savior. Now what will keep them from naming names in the Underground Church, betraying those who have worshiped with them, discipled them, served them, prayed with them?
And how can these Underground Christians sustain a proper Church when the legal churches in this nation will not stand up with them when they get caught?

Please pray. Pray that God will provide godly lawyers who will fairly represent these believers in court. Pray that those arrested will not deny Christ. Pray especially for our network of believers. Unlike Inside Movement converts who are taught to call themselves Muslims in order to avoid persecution, our friends in the Underground Church are conscience-bound to proclaim Christ when asked – which virtually guarantees them time behind bars in this country.

When you come to God in prayer, do you come trembling before the Living God?

Or do you come boldly?

We are admonished to do both. Yes we are to come boldly, but not glibly, insincerely, or superficially.

But with respect, with reverence, with humility, with awe at the incomprehensible God.

And when you start your prayers, do not start with a laundry list of requests

 It is better to first, spend some time in confession, in praise, in worship and thanksgiving.

But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2b ESV)

 
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 ESV)

And they sing the song of Moses, 

the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!

Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Revelation 15:3-4 ESV

[16] In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

 [17] and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 

 [18] praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

[19] and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

[20] for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Ephesians 6:16-20 ESV

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

And have mercy on those who doubt;

save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garmen] stained by the flesh.

Jude 1:20-23

[10] Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

[11] Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.

[12] Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

 [13] And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

(1 Chronicles 29:10-13 ESV)

Pray for the Holy Spirit to convict the world of Sin, and Righteousness and Judgement

[4] But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.

 [5] But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’

 [6] But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

 [7] Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

 [8] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

 [9] concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;

 [10] concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;

[11] concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

John 16:4-11:10 ESV

Hannah's Prayer

 [2:1] And Hannah prayed and said,
 “My heart exults in the LORD;
 my horn is exalted in the LORD.
 My mouth derides my enemies,
  because I rejoice in your salvation.

 [2] “There is none holy like the LORD:
 for there is none besides you;
 there is no rock like our God.

 [3] Talk no more so very proudly,
 let not arrogance come from your mouth;
 for the LORD is a God of knowledge,
 and by him actions are weighed.

 [4] The bows of the mighty are broken,
 but the feeble bind on strength.

 [5] Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
 but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
 The barren has borne seven,
 but she who has many children is forlorn.

 [6] The LORD kills and brings to life;
 he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

 [7] The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
 he brings low and he exalts.

 [8] He raises up the poor from the dust;
 he lifts the needy from the ash heap
 to make them sit with princes
 and inherit a seat of honor.
 For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's,
  and on them he has set the world.

 [9] “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
 but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
 for not by might shall a man prevail.

 [10] The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces;
 against them he will thunder in heaven.
 The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
 he will give strength to his king
  and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

1 Samuel 2:1-10 ESV