Prayer Life - Part 2: Collective

Well, please turn in your Bibles back to that passage we've read in Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

! I'm going to read again from verse 23.

So when Peter and John were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them.

And when they heard it, they lifted up their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth,

and the sea, and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

Why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers are gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.

Truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus,

whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

Now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

while you stretch out your hand to heal,

and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken,

and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit,

and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Amen. This is God's word to us.

Let's bow our heads just for a moment in prayer to God.

Heavenly Father, as we turn our attention for a while this evening to a notion in your word of the importance of corporate prayer in the life of the church,

we cry to you, Father, that you would bless us in this.

Just as we were thinking last week about the prayer life of the individual Christian,

and how crucial that is to our whole relationship with you,

and all of the priorities that ought to inform our relationship with you,

help us tonight to see how our relationships with one another are interwoven into that relationship with you as well.

And so help us tonight to see how we can best bless one another,

how we can help one another in our pilgrimage in this world,

as we seek to live a life of shared prayer together,

and as we seek to pray not only for one another privately,

but with one another in our lives day by day.

We need, Lord, the Holy Spirit to guide us in this.

We're so conscious, Lord, of the weakness and the fragility of our own hearts.

Lord, I know tonight I'm really conscious.

Many brothers in particular who are in anguish over public prayer.

And I pray, Father, that they would be encouraged,

that they would be built up,

that they would not be grieved by what we consider tonight,

but rather that they would see ways to grow and to mature in your service,

and in how much they can bless the church.

I pray, Father, for others who are so anxious about praying with other believers

that they find it actually almost impossible,

just almost struck dumb when they gather.

I pray, Father, that you, by your Holy Spirit,

would teach us how we can bless one another

and encourage one another through praying together

and to be a blessing to one another in this way.

And so, heart, we pray tonight, Lord.

Shake our hearts.

We know the building was shaken after the apostles and their friends prayed

that day in Jerusalem.

Lord, we need our hearts to be shaken as well.

We need the Holy Spirit to come and work among us,

to inform us and enlighten us and change us,

and for the power of God to work in and through us in these things.

And so we ask all of this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

This evening, I want to, when I say continue, conclude, I suppose,

thinking about our prayer life as Christians.

If you cast your mind back to last week,

you think that was maybe about good habits

that should shape our private prayer life

and our priorities in prayer,

and how that's really tied up in our individual walk with God,

then this evening, it's about how priorities

that should shape how we corporately

work and pray together in God's service.

And so I think tonight, if anything, I want to just reiterate

that line from Derek Kidner that I was quoting last week,

that the greatest happiness

is to be in close agreement with God.

That would be true of us as a church.

It would be true of us as little fellowships within this church as well.

It's difficult, you know, with a church of more than almost 400 people

to speak meaningfully of us all having fellowship with one another.

We gather on a Sunday and have fellowship together.

But within the life of the church, there are little circles and fellowships

of believers that are gathered together,

family units that are clustered together.

In all of these contexts as well, I want us to be encouraged

about our walk with God and the joy that is to be found in harmony there

with God corporately as much as individually.

I have to say as well, last week, a few people have spoken to me

since last week's sermon.

And they've asked me about something I said that I was,

in a sense, I was being deliberately provocative.

What I said was, public prayer often means in people's minds

that I'm talking about the prayer meeting.

No, I mean corporate prayer because all Christians everywhere

should and do pray with other Christians.

And I think that was probably very controversial, as I said.

It is inconceivable, in fact, that you could be a Christian

and never pray with another Christian.

And what I want to do, first of all, tonight is back that up from Scripture.

I want to back it up from the teaching of the Bible

and take us to the Book of Acts, where our text is tonight,

and discover the things that Jesus...

Remember, this is a key to understanding what's going on in the Book of Acts.

The Book of Acts is what Jesus continues to do

and teach in the life of the church.

This is one of the great wonders of the Reformation, in fact,

that the Roman Catholic Church had built up so many centuries to tradition

and said all of these centuries of tradition

are what we build our hope on and the life of the church upon.

And the Reformers, Luther, Calvin in particular,

were saying, no, we go back to the Bible

and we build our expectations of the life of the church

on sola scriptura, on Scripture alone.

And so we go back to the Book of Acts and to the New Testament,

and there we see what the history of the New Testament church was like

and the pattern of the New Testament church.

You see it in Matthew chapter 6,

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

that passage we were looking at last Sunday morning.

The Lord's Prayer begins with the word,

Our Father.

Our Father.

So when Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray,

what he began teaching them was that you pray together.

The chief mode, in fact, of prayer in the New Testament

is not individual and private prayer.

The chief mode of prayer in the church is actually corporate prayer.

And that is the best expression of it,

that we would pray together towards our Father.

And it's interesting that when you go to the end of the book of the New Testament,

to the book of Revelation,

what you find there is, in fact,

a really fascinating pattern emerges in Revelation chapter 8

Revelation 8 · chapter mention

when the golden censer full of the prayers of the saints

rising up as incense before God is revealed

at the breaking of the final seal.

The prayers of the saints have come up before God.

It is the corporate combined prayer of the saints together.

The intercession of the body of believers.

Not as if all of these prayers are somehow individual prayers

that are going up to God on our own,

but that actually the activity of the church praying together

itself is an intercessory moment

that rises up before our God,

echoing what Jesus has said in Matthew chapter 6,

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

our Father.

So we ought, therefore, from the example of Jesus

and from the revelation,

to recognize prayer together is important.

It follows through in the book of Acts.

In Acts chapter 1, verse 14,

Acts 1:14

it's really interesting that the apostles

and the woman with them

were all gathered together,

devoted to prayer,

in the days between the ascension of Jesus and Pentecost.

You see it again in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

On the day of Pentecost,

there are about 3,000 people added to their number,

and they devoted themselves.

So this is what faith looks like.

They devoted themselves to corporate things.

The apostles' teaching,

to fellowship,

to breaking bread together.

That could be seen either as sitting together at the Lord's table,

breaking bread in remembrance of the Lord's death,

as he taught us,

or it could simply be just in having actual physical fellowship together,

meeting together and breaking bread together,

and being in a corporate setting like that.

But it's something that they do together.

And then the fourth thing that Luke tells us

is that they devoted themselves to prayer.

And again, the notion that that is something

that they then broke off and did individually

is not following through.

The pattern continues.

They come together under the apostles' teaching.

They come together in fellowship to encourage one another.

They come together breaking bread together.

And they prayed together.

Acts chapter 14,

Acts 14 · chapter mention

during Peter's imprisonment,

the church prays.

And there's a servant girl called Rhoda

who's present at that time of prayer together.

Rhoda goes to the door

when she hears someone knocking

and looks out to see,

and it's Peter.

And she kind of doesn't believe it's him.

She thinks it's a vision, an apparition.

And so she goes back in

to speak to everybody else,

leaving Peter standing out at the door.

It's quite a comical scene almost.

But again, you've got that impression

that she's there as part of the church

gathered together in prayer.

You've got, as you go on in the New Testament,

you go into the Corinthian church.

And there is a passage that is,

in some ways, very confusing.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 11,

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

it's the famous passage that talks about

women having head coverings.

And I know having grown up in the island,

I know that that's a passage

that for some of a certain generation

really obsesses their thought and their thinking.

But it's really interesting

what Paul actually says there.

Women cover their heads when they pray.

And prayer in the New Testament

is not something you do quietly,

privately.

And the point about head coverings

in these contexts is

it's not something that's done

in a corner in your own home.

It's in the gathered church.

Women were participating in that,

engaging in it.

You see it in 1 Timothy.

Paul talks to the men of Crete

that he wants Timothy to encourage and teach.

And he says he wants them,

men everywhere,

to lift up their hands in prayer.

And then he says,

likewise, women also

should adorn themselves

in respectable apparel

with modesty and self-control,

not with braided hair, gold,

or pearls, or costly attire.

Now, the question is,

what does the likewise apply to?

The likewise can only possibly apply

to that action of prayer.

That women, as they gather

with the church in prayer,

do so in an appropriate way.

And so the pattern

of the whole of the New Testament,

the thrust of it is

that all Christians

are men and women

who pray together.

And before we get tied and not,

then, about the context of that,

and we rush to the conclusion

of saying,

well, that just refers

to the prayer meeting.

What are we going to do

in the prayer meeting, Gordon?

I want us to think, actually,

about the fact that

the church, as a body,

not just what we do

on the few occasions

when we're actually gathered together

in the large group,

but that we continually

be people

who gather together

in the small group

and who pray together.

That's the emphasis.

The thrust of the New Testament

is that if you're a Christian,

you are someone who prays.

Whether you are an old Christian

or a young Christian,

whether you are a man

or a woman,

whatever your situation is,

you are part of a body of people

who pray.

So all disciples

are praying together.

Perhaps the most intimate

of that setting

is within your own family.

In fact, not even just

within your own family,

but with your spouse.

If you are a Christian

married to another Christian tonight,

the pattern of the New Testament

is that you pray together.

Paul's even very specific about it.

You can read the passage

in 1 Corinthians 7.

where Paul talks about

just how marriage works

and the flow

and the rhythm of marriage

when you set aside

time to pray together.

So there's a real emphasis

on that role of prayer

in the corporate life

of our families.

There is a pattern for it

within our family worship.

Again, I would encourage you

to reflect on this

and think about this

as Christians.

How do you conduct

prayer in the context

of your family home?

Is prayer a part

of what you do

with your kids?

Do you set them

an example of it

in how you pray with them?

You've got people

who do this

in evangelism as well.

The great example

that I find

is probably in Acts 17

where there's a group

of people

who are called

God-seekers

and among them

is Lydia

in Philippi.

And there isn't a synagogue

in Philippi

so these people

among whom

are the women

like Lydia

they've gone

to the riverbank

to a quiet place

a place where

they can see God.

And it's a place

of prayer.

And you've got

Lydia there

and Paul

and his team

of evangelists

go along

to this place

of prayer.

And in that place

of prayer

they share

the gospel.

And I think

it's a wonderful example

just in scripture

of the importance

of setting aside

time

to pray

with those

who are seeking.

And those of you

tonight

who are seeking

you know

those of you

who haven't yet

come to a place

of settled faith

in the Lord Jesus

I want to encourage

you tonight

to look for

people

Christians

who will pray

with you.

Perhaps tonight

you don't know

how to pray

and you don't need

a lecture

to tell you

how to pray

but what you

could best do

is actually

find Christians

who will show

you how to pray

who will set

an example

for you

of teaching

you how

to pray

to the living

God

how they come

to him

how you pray

for one another

how you encourage

people through that

how you bring

forth the blessing

of God

in people's lives

by praying

for them.

I heard a wonderful

example of this

actually just recently

I was talking

to some friends

who were in the

South Uist

and Mbecula

congregation

at one point

and they were

telling me about

the history

of that congregation

and one of the

most precious

things I have heard

said in a long

time

was you know

Gordon

we used to

pray people

into the kingdom

there

they would

basically

when Ian

McCaskill

was preaching

some of them

would be off

in the cafe

in the weak

space in the corner

one of the other

rooms in the building

and they would be

praying for the

congregation

who are there

listening to the

word being preached

and it reminded me

of something I'd read

actually about

the past

about Spurgeon's

ministry

ministry

in the

metropolitan

tabernacle

and Spurgeon's

ministry was

characterized by

that same thing

there was in fact

a group of people

when Spurgeon preached

who stayed aside

out in the

you know what we

say almost the

session room

or out in the

hall

and there they

would pray

and intercede

before God

for the blessing

of the word

and the people

who were gathered

there that night

and Spurgeon

called it the

engine room

of the church

it's really

interesting in fact

that that's the

pattern of the

New Testament

that prayer

and evangelism

go really

hand in hand

don't they

and when Paul's

talking about

the Christian's

armor

he talks about

us having

the sword

of the

spirit

which is the

word of God

but the other

weapon that goes

with it

is prayer

the offensive

weapons in the

armory of the

Christian

are the word

of God

and prayer

and they go

hand in hand

we should be

looking for the

preaching of the

word to be

accompanied by

prayer

earnestly seeking

God's blessing

on the preaching

of the word

as we go on

perhaps you'll

pray together

for missionaries

and one of the

great privileges

we have as a

congregation

is we support

Muriel

over in Cambodia

and other

missionaries

besides

and we take

time to stop

and pray

for their

ministry

and again

it's a context

where the church

comes together

to pray

for the blessing

of God

on that work

I've never

been to Korea

but some of you

have

and when you go

to a Korean

prayer meeting

it's very

different to

ours

Korean prayer

meetings are

characterized by

open prayer

prayer but

not just open

prayer where

one person

gets up after

the other

it's open

prayer where

everyone prays

there's just a

noise of people

lifting up their

voices to God

and interceding

for their nation

for their

community

for their

congregation

for the work

of the gospel

for the progress

of the kingdom

so prayer

together

men and women

young and old

it is completely

normal

it is completely

biblical

it is also

I would say

just as a couple

of asides

before we get

too far into

this as well

it's essential

for discipleship

young Christians

grow by being

in the company

of older Christians

and one of the

things that

older Christians

have an enormous

privilege to do

is to teach

younger Christians

how to pray

and often that

is done

simply by your

example

so as you

pray as an

older Christian

in the company

of younger Christians

you're setting a

pattern for how

they in turn

will pray as well

and so the

priorities that you

have as an

older Christian

are going to

really shape

the priorities

that younger

Christians have

and that's a

huge responsibility

on men and

women

something that

we need to

take very

seriously

if you've

got a skewed

or a misplaced

relationship with

God that is

reflected in

your prayer life

and you're

praying with

younger Christians

you're going to

pass that on

if there's no

closeness in

your walk with

God

when you pray

with others

that lack

of closeness

and familiarity

and confidence

before God

is going to

be passed on

and so it's

really important

that we think

about what we

are going to

do when we

pray with

others

it's important

that we have

biblical

priorities

it's important

that we allow

the example

that we set

to be shaped

by what

Jesus has

done

what the

apostles have

taught us

what the

Bible teaches

us throughout

it

so you know

for example

if

if you have a

habit of

addressing God

in the third

person

you know as if

your prayer is a

formal letter

written to a

distant sovereign

where you're

asking the

Lord to do

things and you

hope that the

Lord is going to

do this and

the prayer is

constantly never

addressed to

you Lord

even if you use

these and those

prayers in your

prayer but if

you simply

address your

prayer never

to you

personally to

God you

don't speak

directly to

God you

speak of him

in your

prayer but

never to

him something

like that can

be passed on

and be so

damaging in the

way younger

Christians growing

up think about

their relationship

with God

and so we have

to think

carefully about

how we speak

and what we

speak as we

speak to our

God in prayer

as well as

one other

quick point as

well just to

think about is

that prayer

corporately is

a covenanted

activity it is

an activity of

a covenanted

people by a

covenanted

people what I

mean is a

people who

have been

bought by

the blood

price of

Christ's blood

shed for

us and

where we are

brought through

that into a

new relationship

relationship with

a triune

God and so

when we think

about prayer we

need to understand

it as having a

relationship with

God our

father but we

do so as a

body of people

who are united

with Christ

and we are as

a body indwelt

by the Holy

Spirit which is

why I think that

passage that we're

looking at tonight

in Acts 4 is so

crucial when they

had prayed they

were filled with

the Holy Spirit and

they continue to

speak the word of

God with boldness

so the presence of

a triune God is

there they've

addressed prayer to

the father they've

been told that the

main point of the

prayer is actually

about proclaiming

the name of the

son proclaiming the

name of Jesus and

the person who

operates in them is

the Holy Spirit who

comes and gives them

boldness to go on

preaching fills the

church with boldness

as they go on we

are as a body

children of the

most high God we

come to him as a

father we come to

him clinging the

the royal promises

of Jesus and we

come also to the

hope and power of

the Holy Spirit and

so because of that

it's helpful to think

of prayer corporately

as a pact you know

a pact is an

agreement that we

make with one

another and when we

pray together it's

good to have a

thought about what

we're doing in that

pact that consignment

of of intention

towards one another

as we pray and one

of the small things

and this is a very

incidental thing it's

about the language

that we use when we

do it I mean plenty

of people will quote

scripture in their

prayers and if the

scripture you're

familiar with is the

King James version

it's fine under these

contexts I think to

quote scripture in

that way but very

few people today

fluently speak 16th

century Elizabethan

language and when

you try to contort the

way you speak to God

into that because you're

not familiar with it

yourself sometimes what

comes out is gibberish

and so we should try

and the confession

teaches us this we

should try to speak in

the ordinary language of

the people around us

when we're engaged in

these activities

together so the

language we use is

important because of

not reverence for God

that we think we're

emulating but because

of respect for the

people around us who

we're seeking to be

blessed when we pray

together and it's that

sense of a community

bound together through

the blood of Jesus

under the sovereignty of

God connected by the

Holy Spirit uniting us

and binding us together

in the love of Christ

that we should seek to

be a blessing towards

one another so what

does this pact look

like the first thing

is that there's praise

you see it in the

prayer here in Acts

4 when the disciples

and their friends come

together they begin

their prayer by saying

sovereign Lord maker of

heaven and earth and so

on and what they're

doing by that is

elevating their

perception of who God

is and the majesty of

God and you see it in

plenty other places in

scripture I've got an

example for you the

notes tonight the

bulletin have these

cross references you can

go and read them when

you when you go home

perhaps if you want

Solomon's prayer of the

dedication of the

temple he begins his

prayer by saying oh God

God of Israel there is

no God like you he calls

out the uniqueness of

God the marvel of God

the the the blessedness

of God's connection to

his people and he is

leading the people as he

prays into praise for God

that's one of these things

to remember as you pray

with others you're

privileged as you pray

with others to bring them

into the presence of God

with you you have an

opportunity to bring the

people you're praying

with to see and marvel

and wonder at a God who

loves them a God whose

care for them sent his

son into this world to die

in their place a God who

seeks to indwell within

them and bless them through

his presence and his power

administered through the

power and working of the

Holy Spirit and that's true

in every context in which

you can pray with others

so it is of course true in

the context of prayer with

your spouse with your

husband with your wife

when you pray with them

it's it's easy it's

tempting I know from my

you know from from from

married life you know

sometimes the problems and

the things that you're

wanting to pray about are

so overwhelming and so

pressing you would almost

rush towards the shopping

list of things you want to

pray about but but how

good it is to bless your

husband your wife your

spouse that when you come

in prayer you draw them

into the praise of God

it's the same with your

kids you're having family

worship bring them into

the praise of God with

you with your Sunday

school class I hope the

Sunday school teachers are

not afraid to pray with

their Sunday school

classes it's a good place

to teach them to bring

them into the presence of

God if you're with a

seeker and you're opening

up the Bible together and

you're wanting to read

scripture together in a

one-on-one Bible study

again you've got an

opportunity there to pray

with them it's always good

to pray before we open the

word anyway but to pray

with them and draw them

into the presence of God

and worship and praise

with a Kirk session with the

deacons court finance

subcommittee with the

vacancy committee with the

group that are praying for

Muriel and Cambodia you

know these are practical

things that we think we

need to pray about the

practicalities yes there are

practicalities to pray for

but lead people into the

praise of God bring them

with you to the adoration of

our God and Father maybe it's

with your prayer triplet a lot

of Christians have

accountability structures like

that people that you're close

with and you walk with God

you meet with them regularly

you pray with them remember

in that place praise of God

is so crucial you don't know

how much of a blessing you'll

actually be to the others

who are there perhaps you're

confused and you're thinking

well they're confused and

thinking I don't know where

God is in all of this life that

I'm going through just now and

I haven't even shared with this

people I'm praying with and

yet the fact that you can lead

them to a place of praise is

such a blessing maybe it's with

your businessman's lunch or with

a road to recovery group or

with a WFM or maybe it's a

same grace before you eat your

dinner but in all of these

contexts there's an opportunity

to praise God and to bring

others into that praise

perhaps it's a funeral perhaps

perhaps it's when you go to visit

people who are grieving

perhaps it's when you're going to

hospital to see someone who's

battling an incurable cancer

there is no context where the

praise of God is not relevant

there's no context where it's not

needed it's not necessary it is a

right place for us to bring people

into the awe of God and so we we begin

with praise secondly there's also

admission I see the time is very much

tramping on again it's a big topic I'm

sorry there's a place of an admission

of sin a recognition of sin that the

disciples when they pray in Acts 4 they

talk about the death of Jesus and they

recognize that there is a sense in

which it has happened under the

planning and the foreknowledge and the

predestination of God but they don't

say the Gentiles did it they don't

point the finger at Herod and

Pontius Pilate although they

recognize Herod and Pontius Pilate

and the Gentiles had a role to play

it was a Roman execution detail that

killed Jesus but they also say also

the peoples of Israel and they

include themselves in that if you're

familiar with the opening chapters of

the book of Acts they see themselves

themselves as Israel and so they put

themselves into the heart of that

confession that's why I highlighted

Daniel 9 as a great example of this

Daniel is acknowledging the sins of his

people of his nation and he includes

himself in that we have sinned we have

done wrong we are responsible for the

exile that has now come to us we are

responsible for the fact that we are

separated from the place of the temple

where we can worship our God we did

this and one of the great practical

applications of this is that when we

come to confession of sin when we're

praying with others we need to own it

we need to own it and very often when

we come to confession of sin we're we're

really thinking about confession of sins

of our community of our nation a good

example would be abortion the steadily

worsening abortion laws that our

country is enacting and a situation

that seems to be just slipping away

into worse and worse outcomes all the

time and it's almost as if we might

want to point the finger

and yet it's us

we're not admitting the sins of others

we are confessing our sin our nation's

sin our need of God's grace our nation's

need of God's grace

it's a place to confess

not a place to complain

it's not a place to complain about the

things we don't like in the church

I'd say this when you're gathering with

your brothers and sisters in Christ

your private opinions stay at the door

if you don't like the church's church

planting policy the gathering of the

saints is not a place to just rant about

that it's a place to pray it's a place

to intercede it's a place to seek God's

blessing

and so remember prayer together it's a

place for confession

not a place for just generally complaining

about what's going on

and so we come and confess

it's a place as well for calling out to

God so we have praise we have

acknowledgement of our sin it's a place

for calling to God for requesting his

help and his blessing second chronicles

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20 Jehoshaphat calls for God's

help on behalf of the people

we don't know what to do in this

situation he says

but our eyes are on you

that's one of the great privileges of

praying together as a church as

individuals gathered together as

people who want to pray to God in

all of these different contexts that

I've already mentioned one of the

great privileges that we have is of

expressing our dependence on a

covenantal God

do you not think that God who did not

spare his only son

will he not now bless you

abundantly more than you can ask or

think

that means we pray big

and with this I am nearly done

it means we pray with boldness

we pray with boldness and confidence

in a God who holds the entire cosmos in

his hands

and that's one of the things that I fear

when the church prays together

I always fear that we we forget how

great our God is and how bold we can be in

coming to him in prayer the great

things that we can ask for the wonderful

things that we can request the marvel of

his grace we can ask for those who are dead in

their sins to come to life

you see it in the way the disciples do it

here when they pray they pray about the

persecution they're facing they pray about the

the affliction that they are under the

threats that they have received

but they're not rushing to pray for

something small

what they're rushing to pray for is the

mercy of God

not judgment over all those who are

opposing them

and over the preaching of the word and

for all of the countless hundreds and

thousands of people

who are still there to hear the gospel in

Jerusalem

let us be bold in how we pray

let us also be indicative

let us be deliberate about what we pray

for

you know when we're praying with one

another we can pray specifically for

the matters at hand

we don't need to be vague

our God is big enough to hear our

specific prayers

in fact that's part of God's condescending

he comes down to the level at which we

are at

and he hears the specific things that

we're praying for

and the things that we're interceding for

and we can be such a blessing to one

another with specific prayer

and to encourage one another along

that way is

a covenanted community praying to God

and the other thing about being praying

big is also not just to be bold and

indicative in what we pray for but to

be God glorifying

you know there's often a feeling

perhaps that

God will not be glorified if we pray

for things that we want

but actually if we want God's glory

we will be satisfied with the things

that glorify God

and that is what we'll pray for

and so let us have that kind of boldness

that John Piper speaks of

that God is most glorified in us

when we are most satisfied

in him

that's what it means to pray with

hearts alight

for God

burning with a passion for the glory of God

and the things that we are asking for

and the intercessions that we are raising

acknowledging God's great mercy

and the blessing that he will give

the final thing just is thanksgiving

praise

acknowledgement of sin

calling out for God's blessing

and doing so with thanksgiving

Ezra's

public confession

and the renewal of

the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem

there in Nehemiah as well

actually you can read in both passages

but

but Ezra is heavy

his prayer is heavy with confession

but

but he also acknowledges God's mercy

and his preservation

and he goes through the whole history of the nation

and all of the things that God has done

to preserve Israel

and he just pours out thanks

that's what we do

that's how we're going to conclude our worship just now

praising God

for the certainty of his mercies

and the enduring grace that he shows

and how firm and sure that is

to all eternity

that is our God

that is a God that we can come to

with praise and thanksgiving

and so let us bow in prayer to him just now

for just a moment

heavenly father

we want to come before you this evening

and seek your blessing upon us

lord

we thank you for the privilege

of being able to come before you in prayer

as a church

as a gathering tonight

and we pray father that as we do so

we would be reminded of just how glorious a God you are

you are worthy of our praise

because you have loved us

and you have sent a salvation for us

and you have glorified your name

and redeeming us

through the blood of Jesus

and I pray tonight father

that that would be

what we make most of

what we rejoice in

where we find our hope

and our confidence

and why we remember

that we have every reason

to be bold

in coming to you in prayer

because you have done so much

in working out our salvation

for us

we thank you that you are a God who hears

we thank you that all of us tonight

can perhaps speak of times

where we have cried out to you

and you have answered

and so we pray father

that you would continue to show yourself

as a God who is faithful and merciful

abundant in mercy in fact

and may that overflow

in our lives

and be seen in how we glorify

and exalt you continually

help us Lord

to bless one another then

as we would seek to pray together

multiply Lord

the opportunities that we have

to pray together

as a congregation

as individuals

with in our families

help us to cultivate good patterns

and practices

and how we do that

help us not to be ashamed

or afraid of praying together either

but to have boldness

in how we come to our God

and to see the fruit

of that prayer

to see the answers to prayer

to the praise of your glorious name

and we ask these things

for Jesus' sake

Amen

we're going to sing in conclusion

in the Scottish Psalter

Psalm 136

the second version of the Psalm

page 428

in the Blue Book

page 428

we're going to sing

verses 1-4

so just two stanzas

to the tune St. John

praise God

for he is kind

his mercy lasts foray

give thanks

with heart and mind

to God of God's always

for certainly

his mercy's durer

most firm and sure

eternally

let's stand and sing

two stanzas

please

please

God, while he is kind, his mercy lasts foray.

Give thanks with heart and mind to God of God's glory.

For certainly his mercy's due, most perman should eternally.

The Lord of Lords, praise ye, his mercy still endure.

Faith wanders only he, that work by his great hand.

For certainly his mercy's due, most perman should eternally.

Now the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit be with each one of you now and always. Amen.

Amen.