Bible

A Prayer That Children Can Understand and Pray

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Three hundred years ago, Matthew Henry completed his Commentary on the Bible that is still used and respected today, known for its devotional insight, sound theology, and practical wisdom. But Matthew Henry considered another work to be so important that he stopped writing his Commentary to complete it. That work is his book on praying the Scriptures systematically.

The entire volume is a treasury of prayer, but this one he wrote for children is a favorite. Henry compiled a prayer full of Scripture, but able to be understood and memorized by children. Here is the prayer as edited and revised by O. Palmer Robertson in this edition of Henry’s work from Banner of Truth.

O Lord, you are my God. I will seek you while I am young. I will praise you. I will exalt you because you are my father’s God.

Who is a God like you? Who can do wonders like you? Who is glorious in holiness, awesome in praises like you?

Whom do I have in heaven apart from you? There is nothing on this earth that I desire more than you. When my flesh and my heart fail, you remain as the strength of my life and my most treasured possession forever. You made me for yourself to praise you.

But I am a sinner. I was sinful at birth. I was even sinful when my mother conceived me.

God, be merciful to me a sinner.

Deliver me from the wrath to come. Save me through Jesus, who died for me and rose again.

Lord, give me a new nature. Let Jesus Christ be formed in my soul. Let me live my life for Christ. Let death bring gain to me.

Lord, I was given to you in my baptism. Please receive me graciously and love me freely.

Lord Jesus, you have encouraged little children to come to you. You have said that the Kingdom of God belongs to children and to people who are like children. I now cons to you. Make me a faithful subject of your kingdom. like me up in your arms. But your hands on me and bless me.

Let me be redeemed by your grace from all iniquity. Especially deliver me from the vanity into which all children are led.

Lord, give me a wise and understanding heart. Let me know and do your will in everything. Help me so that I may not sin against you in anything. Deliver me from lips that lie.

Bless me from my childhood so that I may know the Holy Scriptures. Bless my parents and grandparents as they teach me. Graciously write your law in my heart. Let me remain faithful to the good things I have learned.

Be a father to me. Meet all my needs as my loving heavenly Father. Teach me. Guide me. Provide for me. Protect me. Bless me, O my Father.

Bless all my relatives. Bless my father, mother, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles. Give me grace to do my duty to all of them.

Lord, prepare me for death. Give me grace and wisdom to consider how my life will end.

Thank you for all your mercies to me. Thank you for life, health, food, clothes, and my education. Thank you for creating and preserving me. Thank you for all the blessings of this life. Above all, thank you for your great and infinite love, for the gift of Jesus your Son, and for the hope of glory.

I thank you, O my God, for the amazing gift of your Son. I lift my voice in praise for JESUS CHRIST. I desire Jesus alone. There is no one else I need apart from him.

Now to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that great name into which I was baptized, be honour and glory, dominion and praise, forever and ever. Amen.

A Way to Pray, pp. 221-222

Easter Reading: Moving from Judgment to Forgiveness

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A devotional writing from Jack Miller

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34a

We’re not called to judge or condemn people; we’re called to forgive and bless them. Through his death on the cross, Jesus has ushered in a time of mercy and love, forgiveness and intercession-a time of repentance. When he was crucified, the hearts of people were revealed in all their rebellion and sin.

“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11). God the Father has appointed Jesus to be judge. But that’s in the future. Jesus is not judging humankind in that final sense yet; rather he is now their intercessor and seeks to bring them to himself. Look at Jesus on the cross. He’s not standing over you in judgment; he’s taken your judgment day on the cross. In a real sense, the judgment day is over for the believer. We know with confidence that we’ll get through it because of Jesus’s work. You and I are not judges, either. Are you enthusiastically giving up your right to judge? Are you praying for people with compassion, perceiving their ignorance?

C. John Miller, Saving Grace, p. 105

Tim Keller’s 2021 Advent Video Series

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Also, don’t miss Tim Keller’s excellent advent book, Hidden Christmas.

Tim and Kathy Keller have released four excellent advent videos this year.

The Christian’s Expectation of the Future

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Cornelius Venema writes about how Christians should anticiplate the future with hope:

This is the pattern of the believer’s expectation for the future: it is characterized by a hope nurtured by the Word. It is marked out by a lively expectation of the accomplishment of God’s purpose in Christ. The future does not loom darkly on the horizon as something to be feared. It is something eagerly expected and anticipated, something which the believer is convinced is bright with the promise of the completion and perfection of God’s saving work. It is true that many of the biblical exhortations relating to the future call God’s people to watchfulness and sobriety, warning them against being found unprepared at Christ’s coming (1 Pet. 4:7, 1 Thess. 5:6, Matt. 24:42-45). They often warn the church to remain faithful and steadfast in holding to the apostolic teachings and Word of God (2 Thess. 2:15, Heb. 10:23). In addition, the biblical descriptions of Christ’s coming starkly describe its frightening and terrible consequences for the wicked (2 Thess. 2:8, 2 Pet. 3:12, Rev. 18:10).

But the chief note sounded in God’s revelation regarding the future is one of hope. God’s people eagerly await Christ’s return because it promises the completion of God’s work of redemption for them and for the whole creation. The Christian’s approach to the future is always one of hope nurtured by the Word. The future is bright because it is full of promise, the promise of God’s Word.

(The Promise of the Future, Venema, p. 11)

Optimize Your Commute

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Years from now, historians will look back at our day and observe — among other things — the disproportionate amount of time we spent commuting to work. I’m blessed with a commute that is only about 15 minutes each way, but I know many whose daily traverse eats up hours each day. I’ve recently been convicted that these hours should not be squandered away, but can and should be exploited. Your morning commute can become a very productive part of your daily routine.

Here are a few suggestions for improving your commute:

1. Listen to Audiobooks

If you’re like me, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to read everything you want to. I’ve started taking advantage of several inexpensive (and even free) ways to listen to great books. I once listened to half of Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers on the drive into the mountains. Another time, I listened to Dostoevsky’s 800-page classic The Brother’s Karamozov in about three weeks during my daily commute.

Most public libraries now have audiobooks on CD you can check out for free. I’ve recently discovered the iPhone app OverDrive that allows users to check out and download audiobooks to their phones and listen for 21 days. The biggest selection of audiobooks is at Audible. They offer audiobooks with a no-hassle return policy. I buy 12 credits every year.

2. Listen to Podcasts, Sermons, Classes, and Teachings

I also regularly use my iPod to listen to sermons, teachings, courses, and podcasts that are specific to areas in which I want to grow. You can use your commute to sharpen yourself vocationally and socially, as well as spiritually. Consider areas of your life you’d like to grow, and look for resources you might be able to listen to. Personally, I’m always looking for wisdom on interpersonal communication, leadership, teaching, and writing, and I have discovered several great resources.

3. Listen to Scripture

Keep an Audio Bible in your car and listen to the Scriptures. I prefer the ESV Hear the Word Audio Bible. This has been a great aide to my study and teaching. I was once teaching a class on James at church and listened to the book upwards of 20 times as part of my preparation. It was a pretty easy way to become very familiar with the book. I recently committed to a focused study of the Prophets. I’m going to start it by listening through a few times. Reading through the Prophets feels daunting. Listening to them feels much less daunting.

4. Some Time Praying

The daily commute can be a good time to pray for your day. I spend many mornings praying over my deadlines and projects. It’s amazing how quickly prayer can disarm worries and anxieties. Many blog ideas and solutions to problems I’m dealing with have come to me during a prayerful commute. Coincidence? I think not. (Disclaimer: Boundless strongly recommends driving with your eyes open.)

5. Spend Time in Silence

As a general rule, our lives are too noisy. Some avoid the uneasiness of silence altogether, but we are wise to remember silence has long been considered a valuable spiritual discipline. I don’t do silence well or as frequently as I should. But I do recognize that regular times of silence are beneficial. Take a morning once and a while, and spend a portion of your commute in silence.

There are certainly other productive ways to optimize your commute, but most will find a little intentionality goes a long way. If there are audiobooks, podcasts, sermons, classes or other resources you’ve recently benefited from, please recommend them below. I’m always looking for new resources to add to my own commute queue.

J.I. Packer on Salvation and Repentence

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These are some of the most important words J.I Packer ever wrote:

To the question; ‘what must I do to be saved?’,

the old gospel replies: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

To the further question; ‘what does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?’,

its reply is: it means knowing oneself to be a sinner, and Christ to have died for sinners; abandoning all self-righteousness and self-confidence, and casting oneself wholly upon him for pardon and peace; and exchanging one’s natural enmity and rebellion against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ through the renewing of one’s heart by the Holy Ghost.

And to the further question still, ‘how am I to go about believing on Christ and repenting, if I have no natural ability to do these things?’,

it answers: look to Christ, speak to Christ, cry to Christ, just as you are; confess your sin, your impenitence, your unbelief, and cast yourself on his mercy; ask him to give you a new heart, working in you true repentance and firm faith; ask him to take away your evil heart of unbelief and to write his law within you, that you may never henceforth stray from him. Turn to him and trust him as best you can, and pray for grace to turn and trust more thoroughly; use the means of grace expectantly, looking to Christ to draw near to you as you seek to draw near to him; watch, pray, and read and hear God’s word, worship and commune with God’s people, and so continue till you know in yourself beyond doubt that you are indeed a changed being, a penitent believer, and the new heart which you desired has been put within you. The emphasis in this advice is on the need to call upon Christ directly, as the very first step . . . So do not postpone action till you think you are better, but honestly confess your badness and give yourself up here and now to the Christ who alone can make you better; and wait on him till his light rises in your soul, as scripture promises that it shall do. Anything less than this direct dealing with Christ is disobeying the gospel. Such is the exercise of spirit to which the old evangel summons its hearers. ‘l believe – help thou mine unbelief’: this must become their cry.

(J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness)

Easter Reading: Fifty Reasons Christ Came to Die

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Each year during Easter week, I try to intentionally carve out space for extra reading, thinking, meditating and praying about what Jesus accomplished for us through His death and resurrection. While I try to think well during these times, my primary goal is to stir up stronger feelings and affections. Even as the Scriptures instructs us to:

In a sense, I want to be wrecked again by the high price Christ paid to atone for my sins and to overflow with love for and faith in our Savior.

This year, I’ve been reading through John Piper’s short book Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Piper offers 50 biblical reasons why Jesus died for us. This Easter, take time to meditate on all Christ accomplished for you through His death and resurrection. May a deeper knowledge, faith and love be yours in Christ Jesus.

Christ Suffered and Died…

  1. To Absorb the Wrath of God
  2. To Please His Heavenly Father
  3. To Learn Obedience and Be Perfected
  4. To Achieve His Own Resurrection From the Dead
  5. To Show the Wealth of God’s Love and Grace for Sinners
  6. To Show His Own Love for Us
  7. To Cancel the Legal Demands of the Law Against Us
  8. To Become a Ransom for Many
  9. For the Forgiveness of Our Sins
  10. To Provide the Basis for Our Justification
  11. To Complete the Obedience That Becomes Our Righteousness
  12. To Take Away Our Condemnation
  13. To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation
  14. To Bring Us to Faith and Keep Us Faithful
  15. To Make Us Holy, Blameless and Perfect
  16. To Give Us a Clear Conscience
  17. To Obtain for Us All Things That Are Good for Us
  18. To Heal Us from Moral and Physical Sickness
  19. To Give Eternal Life to All Who Believe on Him
  20. To Deliver Us From the Present Evil Age
  21. To Reconcile Us to God
  22. To Bring Us to God
  23. So That We Might Belong to Him
  24. To Give Us Confident Access to the Holiest Place
  25. To Become for Us the Place Where We Meet God
  26. To Bring the Old Testament Priesthood to an End
  27. To Become a Sympathetic and Helpful Priest
  28. To Free Us From the Futility of Our Ancestry
  29. To Free Us From the Slavery of Sin
  30. That We Might Die to Sin and Live to Righteousness
  31. So That We Would Die to the Law and Bear Fruit for God
  32. To Enable Us to Live for Christ and Not Ourselves
  33. To Make His Cross the Ground of All Our Boasting
  34. To Enable Us to Live by Faith in Him
  35. To Give Marriage Its Deepest Meaning
  36. To Create a People Passionate for Good Works
  37. To Call Us to Follow His Example of Lowliness
  38. To Create a Band of Crucified Followers
  39. To Free Us from Bondage to the Fear of Death
  40. So That We Would Be With Him Immediately After Death
  41. To Secure Our Resurrection From the Dead
  42. To Disarm the Rulers and Authorities
  43. To Unleash the Power of God in the Gospel
  44. To Destroy the Hostility Between Races
  45. To Ransom People From Every Tribe and Language
  46. To Gather All His Sheep From Around the World
  47. To Rescue Us From Final Judgment
  48. To Gain His Joy and Ours
  49. So That He Would Be Crowned With Glory and Honor
  50. To Show That the Worst Evil Is Meant by God for Good

Source: 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper

J.C. Ryle: Watch and Pray

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I’ve often pondered what Christ meant when he called us to be watchful. What is the difference between the Christian who is watching and the Christian who isn’t watching? I’ve found great help from J.C. Ryle. Over a hundred years ago, he provided great wisdom on how to watch and keep ourselves in a state of readiness for Christ’s return.

Here are Ryle’s words in their entirety:

I exhort you to watch against everything which might interfere with a readiness for Christ’s appearing. Search your own hearts. Find out the things which most frequently interrupt your communion with Christ, and cause fogs to rise between you and the sun. Mark these things, and know them, and against them ever watch and be on your guard.

Watch against SIN of every kind and description. Think not to say of any sin whatever, “Ah! that is one of the things that I shall never do.” I tell you there is no possible sin too abominable, for the very best of us all to commit! Remember David and Uriah. The spirit may be sometimes very willing — but the flesh is always very weak. You are yet in the body. Watch and pray!

Watch against doubts and unbelief as to the complete acceptance of your soul, if you are a believer in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus finished the work He came to do — do not tell Him that He did not. The Lord Jesus paid your debts in full — do not tell Him that you think He left you to pay part. The Lord Jesus promises eternal life to every sinner that comes to Him — do not tell Him, even while you are coming, that you think He lies. Alas, for our unbelief! In Christ you are like Noah in the ark, and Lot in Zoar — nothing can harm you. The earth may be burned up with fire at the Lord’s appearing — but not a hair of your head shall perish. Doubt it not. Pray for more faith. Watch and pray!

Watch against inconsistency of walk — and conformity to the world. Watch against sins of temper and of tongue. These are the kind of things that grieve the Spirit of God, and make His witness within us faint and low. Watch and pray!

Watch against the leaven of false doctrine. Remember that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light. Remember that bad money is never marked bad — or else it would never pass. Be very jealous for the whole truth as it is in Jesus. Do not put up with a grain of error — merely for the sake of a pound of truth. Do not tolerate a little false doctrine — one bit more than you would a little sin. Oh, reader, remember this caution! Watch and pray!

Watch against slothfulness about the Bible and private prayer. There is nothing so spiritual, but we may at last do it formally. Most backslidings begin in the closet. When a tree is snapped in two by a high wind, we generally find there had been some long hidden decay. Oh, watch and pray!

Watch against bitterness and uncharitableness towards others. A little love is more valuable than many gifts. Be eagle-eyed in seeing the good that is in your brethren — and dim-sighted as the mole about the evil. Let your memory be a strong-box for their graces — but a sieve for their faults. Watch and pray!

Watch against pride and self-conceit. Peter said at first, “Though all men deny You — yet I never will.” And presently he fell. Pride is the high road to a fall. Watch and pray!

Watch against the sins of Galatia, Ephesus, and Laodicea. Believers may run well for a season, then lose their first love, and then become lukewarm. Watch and pray!

Watch not least against the sin of Jehu. A man may have great zeal to all appearance — and yet have very bad motives. It is a much easier thing to oppose Antichrist — than to follow Christ. It is one thing to protest against error — it is quite another thing to love the truth. So watch and pray!

Oh, my believing readers, let us all watch more than we have done! Let us watch more every year that we live. Let us watch, that we may not be surprised when the Lord appears.

Let us watch for the world’s sake. We are the books they chiefly read. They mark our ways, far more than we think. Let us aim to be plainly-written epistles of Christ!

Let us watch for our own sakes. As our walk is — so will be our peace. As our conformity to Christ’s mind — so will be our sense of Christ’s atoning blood. If a man will not walk in the full light of the sun, how can he expect to be warm?

And, above all, let us watch for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake. Let us live as if His glory was concerned in our behavior. Let us live as if every slip and fall was a reflection on the honor of our King. Let us live as if every allowed sin, was . . .
one more thorn in His head,
one more nail in His feet,
one more spear in His side!

Oh, let us exercise a godly jealousy over thoughts, words, and actions — over motives, manners, and walk! Never, never let us fear being too strict. Never, never let us think we can watch too much. 

(Are You Ready for the End of Time? J.C. Ryle)

On the night our Lord was betrayed, He asked his disciples three times to watch and pray and each time they fell asleep (Matt. 26). And consequently, they weren’t ready for what was coming upon them. They failed Christ in His greatest hour of need.

Likewise, Jesus calls us to “stay awake” and watch for His return. Let this be a mark of true Christians in our time, that we are watchful and prayerful. May the Lord find us finishing the work He’s given us to do with hearts burning, “Come Lord Jesus!”

Spurgeon: Ready for the Return of Christ

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C.H. Spurgeon describes how two groups of people will expereince the return of Christ.

But who can endure the day of his coming . . . ?  (Malachi 3:2)

Christ’s first coming was without external pomp or display of power, and yet in truth there were few who could endure its test. Herod and all Jerusalem with him were stirred at the news of the wondrous birth. Those who supposed themselves to be waiting for Him showed the fallacy of their professions by rejecting Him when He came. His life on earth was like a winnowing fan that sifted the great heap of religious profession, and only a few could survive the process. But what will His second coming be? What sinner can endure to think of it? “He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4). In Gethsemane when He said to the soldiers, “I am he,” they fell backward. What will happen to His enemies when He will reveal Himself more fully as the “I Am”? His death shook earth and darkened heaven. What will be the dreadful splendor of that day when as the living Savior He will summon the living and the dead before Him? O that the terrors of the Lord would persuade men to forsake their sins and kiss the Son in case He is angry! Though a lamb, He is still the lion of the tribe of Judah, tearing the prey in pieces; and though He does not break the bruised reed, yet He will break His enemies with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel. None of His foes shall stand before the tempest of His wrath or hide themselves from the sweeping hail of His indignation. But His beloved blood-washed people look for His appearing with joy; in this living hope they live without fear. To them He sits as a refiner even now, and when He has tested them they shall come forth as gold. Let us examine ourselves this morning and make our calling and election sure, so that the coming of the Lord may not be the cause of fearful expectations. O for grace to discard all hypocrisy, and to be found of Him sincere and without rebuke on the day of His appearing.

(Morning by Morning, Spurgeon, 10/15)

J.C. Ryle on Growing in Holiness

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“A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not only live the life of faith in Him, and draw from Him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labour to have the mind that was in Him, and to be “conformed to His image.” (Rom. 8:29). It will be his aim to bear with and forgive others, even as Christ forgave us – to be unselfish, even as Christ pleased not Himself – to walk in love, even as Christ loved us – to be lowly minded and humble, even as Christ made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself. He will remember that Christ was a faithful witness for the truth – that He came not to do His own will – that it was His meat and drink to do His Father’s will – that He would continually deny Himself in order to minister to others – that He was meek and patient under undeserved insults – that He thought more of godly poor men than of kings – that He was full of love and compassion to sinners – that He was bold and uncompromising in denouncing sin – that He sought not the praise of men, when He might have had it – that He went about doing good – that He was separate from worldly people – that He continued instant in prayer – that He would not let even His nearest relations stand in His way when God’s work was to be done. These things a holy man will try to remember. By them he will endeavour to shape his course in life. He will lay to heart the saying of John, “He that saith he abideth in Christ ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked” (1 John 2:6); and the saying of Peter, that “Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow His steps.” (1 Peter 2:21). Happy is he who has learned to make Christ his “all,” both for salvation and example! Much time would be saved, and much sin prevented, if men would oftener ask themselves the question, ‘What would Christ have said and done, if He were in my place?'”

(J.C. Ryle, Holiness)