The sins upon the land–fornication

I’ve reflected on verse 5 and wondered if there is a conditional element–to the extent that the young men of the land marry their virgin brides, so is the land married. JW

Isaiah 62:4-5 (MSG)
No more will anyone call you Rejected,
and your country will no more be called Ruined.
You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight),
and your land Beulah (Married),
Because God delights in you
and your land will be like a wedding celebration.
For as a young man marries his virgin bride,
so your builder marries you,
And as a bridegroom is happy in his bride,
so your God is happy with you

Our Father in heaven,
We who claim to be the bride of Christ have violated Your godly principles and dismissed the chastity of the bride and groom as unimportant. Our brides and grooms are not virgins, and the church is defiled.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy upon my county and state, for we have sinned. We yearn for Your kingdom to come, Your will to be done in _______________ as it is in heaven. We cry out for godly courtships and marriages. Teach us how to pray for them. Teach us how to honor You in our dating customs. Teach us how to protect the courtships and marriages in our land.
Forgive my state and county for its past sins of fornication. Forgive me of my attitudes that are not in alignment with Your principles of godly courtship and marriage. We cry out for the Blood of Jesus over the land and declare blessings upon it. Bless my state and county. Bless the courtships and marriages, and bless the land. Amen.

The sins upon the land–adultery

Jeremiah 23:10 (NLT)
For the land is full of adultery,
and it lies under a curse.
The land itself is in mourning—
its wilderness pastures are dried up.
For they all do evil
and abuse what power they have.

Dear Heavenly Father,
My state and county, _________, are full of adultery. We have defiled Your covenant of marriage. Our ancestors have defiled Your covenant of marriage. How many curses lie upon the land?
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Take pity upon us. We yearn for Your kingdom to come, Your will to be done in _______________ as it is in heaven. We cry out for godly marriages. Teach us how to pray for marriages. Teach us how to honor You in our marriages. Teach us how to best support the institution of marriage in our land. Turn the hearts of our county and state leaders to support the institution of marriage.
Forgive my state and county for its past sins of adultery and for its laws that weaken the covenant of marriage. Forgive me of my attitudes that are not in alignment with Your principles of godly marriage. We cry out for the Blood of Jesus over the land and declare blessings upon it. Bless my state and county. Bless the marriages, and bless the land.
We thank You for Your great love for us. God, You are rich in mercy. You have made us alive with Christ when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace we have been saved. You have raised us up with Christ and seated us in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. We thank You for showing us the incomparable riches of Your grace and for Your kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Lent Prayers: Forgive what our lips tremble to name

Gracious God,
our sins are too heavy to carry,
too real to hide,
and too deep to undo.

Forgive what our lips tremble to name,
what our hearts can no longer bear,
and what has become for us
a consuming fire of judgment.

Set us free from a past that we cannot change;
open to us a future in which we can be changed;
and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image,
through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.

– from the Book of Common Worship

h/t Trevin Wax

Our pagan roots–sky

In the beginning God separated the Light from the darkness (Gen. 1:4), and He continues to desire to turn our darkness into light (2 Samuel 22:29). We once were darkness but now, as we believe in Christ, we are Light and we are to live as children of the Light. The fruit of the Light is found in all that is good and righteous and true, causing us to seek those things that please the Lord (Ephesians 5:8).
God is all Light. In Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. (I John 1:5-7).

Dear Heavenly Father,
How breathtaking is Your generosity. Your gifts reach beyond our comprehension through time and space. We thank You for the gift of light and life, for the sunlight, moon, and stars, for the gift of Your Son, the Bright Morning Star.
Jesus is the Light of the world. His righteousness fills the skies. May we worship Him as long as the sun shines and the moon gives light for ages to come.
We confess that in ages past, our Celtic, Roman, Viking, and tribal ancestors worshipped sun gods and sky gods. We leave them to Your judgment and mercy, dear Lord.
We ask You to pour out Your power upon Your Church that she might receive Your divine grace and blessing. If there be any residue of evil in the House of Windsor, the Church of England, the Anglican Communion, and the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury from the pagan worship of our ancestors, let it fly as darkness from light.
Bright Morning Star, come forth to Your bride, cast out devils and put sickness to flight. Cleanse Your people in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion from all uncleanness and all evil, so that no pestilence may abide, no hidden wiles of the enemy may remain, and so that they may live in peace and safety.
Arise, Sun of Righteousness, with healing in Your wings. Arise. Amen.

Invite the good guest after evicting the trashing tennants

Here is a useful prayer journal reflection by Christian leadership coach Dave Kraft.

His thoughts contain sound advice for spiritual warfare. Some additional thoughts from L&B:

Knowing our weaknesses, confessing them and repenting of them is an essential part of prayer.

Yet it is vitally important that we be filled and re-filled as well. The evil one waits to reoccupy spiritually empty people:

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” (Matthew 12:43-45 ESV)

That’s the warning, but Jesus gives positive instruction as well:

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13 ESV)

Father, help us to evict the world, the flesh and the devil, who we’ve foolishly allowed as squatters in our souls. Send us your Holy Spirit to fill us with the life of Jesus, who stands at our door and knocks.

Thank you, Father, for the grace by which you make us into Temples of the Holy Spirit and transform us into living stones built on Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.

40 days for life

Lamentations 4:11-13 (NASB)

11 The Lord has accomplished His wrath,
He has poured out His fierce anger;
And He has kindled a fire in Zion
Which has consumed its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world,
That the adversary and the enemy
Could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
Who have shed in her midst
The blood of the righteous;

Lord, have mercy on my nation, where 54 million abortions have taken place.
Christ, have mercy on my denomination, which is a member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
Lord, have mercy on the prophets and priests who advocate abortion.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Day of Atonement

Today is Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jewish people traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer. They do not work on this day.

This Christian prayer of confession and repentance is from Byzantine Vespers:

The Lord my Creator took me as dust from the earth,
and formed me into a living being,
breathing into me the breath of life.
God honored me,
setting me as ruler upon earth over all things visible,
and made me companion of the angels.
But Satan the deceiver,
using the serpent as instrument,
enticed me by food–
parted me from the glory of God,
and gave me over to the earth and to the lowest depths of the earth.
But in compassion, O Savior, call me back again!

Job’s daughters

God’s anger burned against Job’s three friends. They offered a sacrifice to God, and Job prayed for them. The Lord accepted Job’s prayers and restored his fortunes. He had seven sons (not named) and three daughters.

Job 42:14-15 (NIV)
The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

Jemima–in Hebrew literally means “warm”, i.e. affectionate and hence it is taken to mean dove, which in Hebrew is also derived from the word for warmth.
Keziah–“cassia tree”. Cassia is the generic name for a variety of trees and shrubs, one of which produces cinnamon.
Kerenhappuch–horn or box of cosmetics.

The names of the three daughters reflect different bodily senses–tactile, gustatory and olfactory, and visual.

Father,
We know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Forgive us for not leaning on You, for not trusting You in all circumstances. Your ways are too wonderful for us to comprehend. We are of small account.
We bless those who have wounded us. Lord, hear our prayers. Amen.
Job 40:4,42:1-6

GC2012

2 Kings 22-23 (KJV)
10 And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
6 And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.
12 And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

Our Father in heaven,
We are arrogant. We claim to honor Your Holy Word. Yet, we only honor those portions that seem right to us, and we disregard that which doesn’t seem right to us. We honor ourselves.
Forgive us. We in the Episcopal Church have dishonored You, Lord. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
We have given place to Baal, Asherah, the host of heaven, and Molech.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Holy Spirit,
Stir in the hearts of participants at General Convention a hunger for Holy Scripture. At the appointed times, open their eyes to see what You would have them see; open their hearts to receive it.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, our Messiah,
You tread on the dust of these idols that Kings Asa, Hezekiah, and Josiah dumped in the Kidron Valley when You crossed to the Garden of Gethsemane. During General Convention, for those who in humility repent of false thinking, tread upon the rubble of these strongholds. Tear down these idols and crush them underfoot. Grant them the grace to say, ‘Not my will, but Thine be done. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in my life and in my church as it is in heaven.’
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Amen.

Note:
Asa–healer or physician
Hezekiah–God gives strength
Josiah–healed by Jehovah

Sorrow for the Episcopal Church

2 Kings 15:16 (ESV)
At that time Menahem sacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on, because they did not open it to him. Therefore he sacked it, and he ripped open all the women in it who were pregnant.

Menahem–the consoler or comforter
Tiphsah–ford or passage. It was an ancient town along the western bank of the Euphrates River.
Tirzah–she is my delight. In the Bible it is the name of a woman, one of the daughters of Zelophehad, who received hereditary rights to inherit property.

Father in heaven,
We thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Consoler. How many times have we in the Episcopal Church blocked the passage of the Holy Spirit crossing the “ford” into our spirits? How many times have we extinguished new life and squandered our inheritance?
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Bronze in King Solomon’s temple

1 Kings 7:46 (NIV)
The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan.

The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, “booth or tabernacle”, which is a walled structure covered with plant material. The sukkah is intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt.
The root of Zarethan means to pierce or puncture. The River Jordan backed up and Israel passed over into Canaan on dry ground near there (Joshua 3:16).

Lord God Almighty,
What woeful sinners we are. We thank You for the Holy Spirit that pierces our hearts. We thank You for the Holy Scripture that shapes our hearts. We thank You for the gift of repentance.
Our spirits are fragile dwellings. Cast our minds into the mind of Christ that they be set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to You, fit and ready for any good work. Amen.
Philippians 2:5, 2 Timothy 2:21

Prayers based on the Seven Words from the Cross (Project Canterbury)

[a repost from 2007 & 2009]

Prayers based on the seven words on the Cross

Filed under: Meditations & Devotions, Lent 2007, Lent Prayers — Karen B.

Below, I posted a series of meditations from Project Canterbury based on Jesus’ Seven Words from the Cross.

Since the whole text is long, however, I thought it might be profitable to post the prayers or exhortations which conclude each of the seven meditations to aid in our Good Friday devotions.

First Word.
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Blessed Jesus, as we behold Thee being nailed to the cross, and listen to Thy words, we pray Thee that we may evermore be unselfish, mindful of others in all our trials and afflictions, be they never so severe; ever ready to forgive and to seek forgiveness; and ever guided and governed by the Holy Spirit in striving to speak and to do only that which is right, and the influence of which may be for the good of others.

***

Second Word.

“Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”

Merciful and adorable Jesus, Thou who when dying didst promise Paradise to the dying, penitent thief, kneeling at the foot of Thy cross this day, we ask Thee to look upon us just as we are; there is no sin that we would keep back from Thee, for we desire that all may this day be forgiven, and we desire that we may be willing here after to suffer and to have our faith tried even as Thou wilt; if so be we may at the last be with Thee in Paradise, it matters not through what we pass in going thither.

***

Third Word.
“Woman, behold thy Son. Behold thy Mother.”

O blessed Jesus, our Lord and our God, help us so to hear Thy words and the words of Thy Father, that we may be enabled to fulfill all the duties which Thou wouldst have us fulfill towards all those whom Thou hast given to us. Let us not love father or mother, husband or wife, brother or sister, child or friend more than Thee; but ever mindful of Thy word and example, let not even our love for Thee, nor any thing, make us forgetful of the love and duty which we owe to others.

***

Fourth Word.
“My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”

Let us then, brethren, while careful to check and control and put away, so far as possible, desponding thoughts, and watchful over our imaginations, not suffering them to fancy difficulties, obstacles, troubles, and failures, if like many saints before us and even like our Divine Master Himself, we have sometimes to pass through a cloud in the journey of life, not be afraid. If we sometimes have to feel that we are left, deserted, let us look up to Him and listen to His word which He has uttered for our consolation, our hope, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

***

Fifth Word.
“I Thirst.”

But the same lips that said “I thirst,” said also, “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness.” And into those lips no doubt is it that David put the words: Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks, so longeth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God; so that as there was a longing for something to slake the natural thirst, so there was a thirst which was a longing for the souls of men, a hunger and thirst for righteousness and for the accomplishment of the perfect will of God. And, brethren, know we anything of this sort? Is there with us any desire for the higher life, for holiness, for attaining to the righteousness which God would have us reach; any desire for extending Christ’s kingdom for winning souls to Him; any desire to do all that in us lies for the missions and in the missionary work of the Church, answerable to the craving of the bodily appetite of thirst? O Blessed Jesus, that it might ever more be so! that we might be athirst for Thee, athirst for likeness to Thee, athirst for the saving of souls for which Thou didst hang this day upon the shameful tree.

***

Sixth Word.
“It is Finished.”

Let us then, dear brethren, now lift up our hearts to the Blessed Master and say: Hereafter may we strive, even in the very pettiest details of our daily life, and especially in all that we are to do in working out our own salvation, in the least as well as in the greatest of our secular duties, and in the least as well as in the greatest of our religious duties, to be more and more mindful, and more and more influenced by this Thy word upon the cross, “It is finished.”

***

Seventh Word.
“Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”

And as we look up to Him with adoring love and gratitude, and with the echo of these last words still sounding in our ears, what is the use that we shall make of them? What is the resolution that we shall form from them for the future, whereby to testify our love and gratitude for all that was accomplished for us as on this day, whereby to manifest our desire to be like in all things unto Christ our Master and example? Shall we resolve in all things hereafter to strive to be more resigned to the will of our Heavenly Father–to give up ourselves utterly and forever, body, soul, and spirit into His hands–to be content and to desire that He should rule and direct all that concerns us, from the least thing to the greatest–to see His hand in all things–living and dying to have no wishes and no will but His? Shall we resolve that our last words at night, as our eyes close in sleep, shall be none other than Thine, Blessed Jesus–Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit? That ever as we draw near to the altar to commemorate Thy most precious death, we will repeat them, as Thy saints of old have been wont to do? And that, with our expiring breath, when we too shall be dying, we will strive to make them our last utterance! All this may we indeed do. But may we not fail our life long to do that which we doubt not will be most honorable, most acceptable unto thee–even that which Thou by the mouth of thine apostle Peter hast bidden us, viz.: daily in well-doing to commit the keeping of our souls to God as unto a faithful creator. Be this our resolution, at Thy cross this day, daily hereafter, in well-doing, in daily striving to follow the blessed steps of Thy most holy life, to commit the keeping of our souls to God as unto a faithful creator.

Lent Prayers – John Donne: A Prayer of Penitence

Act of Penitence

Forgive me, Lord, my sins

The sins of my youth,

The sins of the present;

The sins I laid upon myself in an ill pleasure,

The sins I cast upon others in an ill example;

The sins which are manifest to the whole world,

The sins which I have labored to hide from mine acquaintance,

            From mine own conscience,

            And even from my memory;

My crying sins and my whispering sins,

My ignorant sins and my willful;

Sins against my superiors, equals, servants,

Against my lovers and benefactors,

Sins against myself, mine own body, mine own soul,

Sins against thee, O almighty Father, O merciful Son,

            O blessed Spirit of God.

Forgive me, O Lord, through the merits of thine Anointed, my Savior, Jesus Christ.

John Donne

hat tip:  The Rector’s Corner

A Lenten Resource & Discipline: The Scrutinies

I’m not sure I’d ever heard of the Scrutinies until reading the March 11 Lenten Devotional at Anglican Mainstream.

The full entry gives much broader context, but here is the suggested Lenten discipline related to the Scrutinies (traditionally linked to the Third Sunday in Lent):

LENTEN DISCIPLINE –  Consider reviewing the liturgical text of the Scrutinies for this day at http://www.crookston.org/DOC_Worship_and_liturgy/index_htm_files/RCIAScrutinies1-3.pdf .

They contain a series of prayers and reflections that are worthy of the baptized faithful considering on their spiritual journey. For those of us who are already baptized, the scrutinies invite us to embrace the same spirit of self-searching and repentance. At Easter we renew our baptismal promises as we see the catechumens baptized. So during Lent we renew our repentance as we see the catechumens scrutinized.

The full devotional at Anglican Mainstream is here.

The Scrutinies are here.

There is much here I found useful for reflection and self-examination.  I particularly appreciated this section of the Liturgy as a Lenten intercession. [I’ve changed the “they / their” (this is a prayer for catechumens) to “we / our”]

That [we] may ponder the word of God in [our] hearts and savor its meaning more fully day by day, let us pray to the Lord:
R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That we may learn to know Christ, who came to save what was lost, let us pray to the Lord:
R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That [we] may humbly confess [ourselves] to be sinners, let us pray to the Lord:
R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That [we] may sincerely reject everything in [our] lives that is displeasing and contrary to Christ, let us pray to the Lord:
R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That the Holy Spirit, who searches every heart, may help [us] to overcome [our] weakness through his power, let us pray to the Lord:
R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That the same Holy Spirit may teach [us] to know the things of God and how to please him, let us pray to the Lord:
R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That [our] families also may put their hope in Christ and find peace and holiness in him, let us pray to the Lord:
R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That we ourselves in preparation for the Easter feast may seek a change of heart, give ourselves to prayer, and persevere in our good works, let us pray to the Lord:
R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That throughout the whole world whatever is weak may be strengthened, whatever is broken restored, whatever is lost found, and what is found redeemed, let us pray to the Lord:
R. Lord, hear our prayer.

Amen!

Lent Prayers: A Prayer for the Second Sunday in Lent

This was posted a few days ago by Christine Sine at the Godspace blog, which is always a good source for resources and reflections during major liturgical seasons.

Righteous God, compassionate and generous one,

Who forgives our sins and always has mercy.

Shine your light on our faces,

Fill our hidden darkness with your healing light,

Breathe on us afresh and grant us life.

God you are always ready to forgive,

Bend down and hear our prayers.

Respond to our repentant cries,

Purify our hearts and cleanse our souls, 

That we may honour and serve you in all our ways.

God you are a covenant making God,

Who gives assurance of salvation and faithfulness.

May we see your signs in the wilderness,

Believe your promises in the midst of temptation,

And willingly follow your call into the kingdom.

Lord of life, touch and transfigure us,

Let your love grow strong and deep within us.

May your compassion bloom in us,

Your righteousness bear fruit,

Your generosity encourage us to share.

Amen

You can find all Godspace blog’s Lent meditations and resources here.