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This was part of my reading this morning and I’m still chewing on it:
Question: ‘If God’s providence ordains all things that come to pass according to the immutable law of his purpose, then what necessity is there for prayer? We cannot by our most fervent prayers alter God’s decrees. Our prayers cannot hasten or ripen his blessings before their time, or prevent or prolong the time fixed to bring afflictions to pass upon us.’ Divine providence does not only ordain what effects shall come to pass, but also by what means, what causes, and in what order they shall flow. God has appointed not only the effect itself, but the means to accomplish it. Prayer is a means to bring to pass that which God has determined shall be. We do not pray out of hope to alter God’s eternal purposes; but we pray to obtain that which God has ordained to be received by our prayers. We ask, that we may be fit to receive what God has from all eternity determined to give by prayer, and not otherwise. Therefore, when we lie under any affliction, or if we are pinched by poverty, prayer is necessary because, as God by his providence has brought these things upon us, so likewise possibly the same providence has also determined not to remove them until we earnestly and fervently pray for our deliverance. Prayer does not incline God to bestow that which before he was not resolved to give, but prepares us to receive that which God will not give otherwise. -Ezekiel Hopkins
TRUTH IN JESUS
Life-Giving God,
Quicken me to call upon thy name,
for my mind is ignorant,
my thoughts vagrant,
my affections earthly,
my heart unbelieving,
and only thy Spirit can help my infirmities.
I approach thee as Father and Friend,
my portion for ever,
my exceeding joy,
my strength of heart.
I believe in thee as the God of nature,
the ordainer of providence,
the sender of Jesus my Saviour.
My guilty fears discourage an approach to thee,
but I praise thee for the blessed news
that Jesus reconciles thee to me.
May the truth that is in him
illuminate me in all that is dark,
establish in me all that is wavering,
comfort in me all that is wretched,
accomplish in me all that is of thy goodness,
and glorify in me the name of Jesus.
I pass through a vale of tears
but bless thee for the opening gate of glory at its end.
Enable me to realize as mine the better, heavenly country.
Prepare me for every part of my pilgrimage.
Uphold my steps by thy Word.
Let no iniquity dominate me.
Teach me that Christ cannot be the way
if I am the end,
that he cannot be my Redeemer
if I am my own saviour,
that there can be no true union with him
while the creature has my heart,
that faith accepts him as Redeemer and Lord
or not at all.
from The Valley of Vision
Lord Jesus,
I am blind, be thou my light,
ignorant, be thou my wisdom,
self-willed, be thou my mind.
Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit’s voice,
and delightfully run after his beckoning hand;
Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,
make it alive to evil’s slightest touch;
When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,
and there cease to tremble at all alarms.
Be my good shepherd to lead me into
the green pastures of thy Word,
and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.
Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales
may ruffle the calm surface of my soul.
Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge,
Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean,
Thy death occurred to give me a surety,
Thy name is my property to save me,
By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,
but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love.
I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,
but thy cross has brought me near,
has softened my heart,
has made me thy Father’s child,
has admitted me to thy family,
has made me joint-heir with thyself.
O that I may love thee as thou has loved me,
that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord,
that I may reflect the image of heaven’s first-born.
May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith,
and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart,
for unless he move mightily in me
no inward fire will be kindled.
Every duty calls for more grace than I now possess,
but not more than is found in Thee, the divine treasure
in whom all fullness dwells.
To Thee I repair for grace upon grace,
until every void made by sin be replenished
and I am filled with all Thy fullness.
My my desires be enlarged and my hopes emboldened,
that I may honour Thee by my entire dependency
and the greatness of my expectation.
Do Thou be with me, and prepare me for all
the smiles of prosperity, the frowns of adversity,
the losses of substance, the death of friends,
the days of darkness, the changes of life,
the the last great change of all.
May I find Thy grace sufficient for all my needs.
On this first day of the new year, I have an internal feeling of standing on a precipice of the unknown. I know the potential of What May Be, and I admit that my gut responds in both fear and anticipation. My desire is to move forward without holding back; to not give in to fear; to joyfully embrace whatever lies ahead knowing that all things come from God’s gracious and tender hand. When I dwell on the truth that I have been given Jesus, all other things fall into their lesser place and I can live and work in the peace that can only come from him.
This was a portion of my reading this morning, and I echo Spurgeon’s prayer not only for myself but for you as well:
“Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, You are the present portion of Your people, favor us this year with such a sense of Your preciousness that from its first to its last day we may be glad and rejoice in You. Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus.” -Charles Spurgeon
Amen.
