Praying With Paul

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Striving Together

Passage

Romans 15:30-33

Prayer

Dear Father, giver of joy and refreshment,Help us strive together in our prayers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, for every person who is proclaiming your word in difficult circumstances and places.Be with them. Deliver them from their enemies. Let them find full acceptance among your holy people. Let them find joy and refreshment in their company.In the name of Jesus we ask, praying with all our hearts that Israel according to the flesh will come to faith in your Son. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Blessings of the Faithful

Passage

Romans 16:1-27

Prayer

Dear Father, my strength,I bless you for the multitudes of believing people who have gone before me, for those named in the Bible whose examples of love and loyalty to you I would like to imitate.Help me to be a helper, to work hard and to be approved like they were. Never let me be among those who create dissensions and difficulties, in opposition to the doctrine of your word.Help me be wise about what is good and guileless about what is evil, that through you Satan can be crushed under my feet.Let the grace of the Lord Jesus be with me. O God, be my strength! To you, the only wise God, be glory forevermore.In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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No Lack in God

Passage

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Prayer

Dear Father, my faithful God,Thank you now and forevermore for the grace which you gave in Christ Jesus. In every way you have enriched me in all speech and all knowledge - even as the testimony of Christ has been confirmed before my eyes - so that I am not lacking in any spiritual gift, as I, along with all my brethren, wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.You are my faithful God. It is you who have called me into fellowship with your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.I have confidence that you will sustain me to the very end and present me guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.I put my trust wholly in you, my holy God, for you are wholly trustworthy.In the name of Jesus, who was faithful to you and is always faithful to me. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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United in Christ

Passage

1 Corinthians 1:10-13

Prayer

Dear Father, the one and only God of your one holy people,Help me never to be part of any division within the body of Christ. Let me be perfectly united in mind and heart with all who follow you. Help me not be some kind of -ite, -ist, or -anian. Keep me from misplacing my loyalties with this man or that!Christ, of whom I am part, is not divided. He is of one mind. So let me and all his people be together and in agreement. Let us be like-minded, having the same love, one in spirit and purpose.Help us do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility help us count each other better than ourselves. Let us look out for the interests of each other, not just our own.In the name of Jesus Christ, the Source of our unity and salvation, I ask these things. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

The Attitude of Christ

Passage

1 Corinthians 1:10-13

Prayer

Dear Father, to whom I owe full obedience,Let my attitude be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who made himself nothing and obeyed you, even in the matter of dying.May I humbly and obediently exalt Jesus, even as you have exalted him and given him a name that is above every name, that every knee should bow and every tongue confess - to your glory, our God and our Father.In the name of Jesus Christ, the source of our unity and salvation, I ask these things. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

The Power of the Cross

Passage

1 Corinthians 1:17

Prayer

Dear Father, author of all true wisdom,Thank you that you do not send your emissaries out as mere recruiters. They are not just to baptize but to preach the Good News about Jesus, that he doesn't just want us to \"join his club\" but he wants us to be like him, yes, to be him, to be his body, in the world.Thank you for not appealing to us with elegant ideas or eloquent speech, lest the message of the cross be emptied of its power. For while this word of the cross is utter folly to those who are perishing, to us who are being saved by it, it is your power.Grant me the courage and strength to trust you when worldly wisdom sounds convincing.In the name of the one who empowers me to live according to his righteousness, I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

The Wisdom of the Cross

Passage

1 Corinthians 1:18-21

Prayer

Dear Father, author of all true wisdom,You have said, \"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart.\"Where is the wise man? Where is the debater of this age? I thank you, Father, that you made foolish the wisdom of this world.For in the wisdom of your plan, mere \"wisdom\" has never enabled anyone to know you.People were looking for something great, as they understood greatness. It pleased you, rather, by the \"foolishness\" of what we preach, to save all of us who put our trust in you and your manifested love.May I never try to impress anyone with my wisdom. Instead let me impress them with my faith in your wisdom.In the name of Jesus and by his wisdom and authority I ask these things. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

The Authority of the Cross

Passage

1 Corinthians 1:22-25

Prayer

Dear Father, confounder of worldly wisdom,What you have caused us to preach is \"Christ crucified,\" a stumbling block to tradition-followers, like the Jews, and folly to philosophy-lovers, like the Greeks. But to us who are called, he is your power and your wisdom. For we believe that your foolishness is wiser than our wisdom, and your weakness is stronger than our strength.I am thankful that you have taken most of us from the lower echelons of society. Not many of us are wise according to worldly standards, not many are powerful, not many are of noble birth.You chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, what is weak to shame the strong, what is low and despised, even things that don't yet exist, to bring to nothing the things that are.May my weakness and foolishness be transformed into usefulness through your strength and wisdom. In the name of Jesus and by his wisdom and authority I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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No Room for Boasting

Passage

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Prayer

Dear Father, you of whom we boast,Why have you chosen the weak, the foolish, the despised? You have done this so that no human being can boast. And we do not! We cast our lives at your feet. You alone are worthy!You are the source of our lives in Christ Jesus, whom you made to be everything to us. He is our wisdom and our righteousness. He is our sanctification and our redemption.Therefore, as it is written, \"Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord\" - and we do!In the name of Jesus, by his wisdom and authority, I ask these things. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

God's Simple Message

Passage

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Prayer

Dear Father, God of all true wisdom, power, and glory,When I set about to share your Good News about Jesus with other people, keep me from using lofty concepts or high-sounding words. Let me speak of nothing except Christ and him crucified.Help me to understand that it is okay for me to show my own weakness, fear, and trembling. Let my words demonstrate your Spirit and power, so that the faith which germinates will rest not in my wisdom but in yours.In the name of Jesus, by his authority, and according to his will I lift up this petition to you. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

God's Secret Wisdom

Passage

1 Corinthians 2:6-10

Prayer

Dear Father, revealer of secret wisdom,Thank you for revealing to us what has been hidden, the wisdom which you decreed before the ages concerning our salvation and glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.Thank you, Father, that you intend to glorify us along with your Son, Jesus.But you, O gracious God, have told us your secret - you mean to give us all things in glory with the Lord of Glory! As it is written, \"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,\" you have disclosed to us through your Spirit.Thank you for this precious promise! Thank you for this hope! Thank you for your love!In the name of Jesus, by his authority and according to his will, I lift up this petition. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Supernatural Wisdom

Passage

1 Corinthians 2:11-16

Prayer

Dear Father, giver of your Holy Spirit,All praises to your blessed name, to you, our God! You have disclosed incredibly wonderful things to us through your Spirit, for your Spirit searches everything, even the deep things within you.No one comprehends your thoughts except your Spirit, just as no other person truly knows my thoughts as my own spirit does.But, all thanks to you, we have not received the spirit of the world but you have given us your very own Spirit, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by you.In the name of Jesus I give you thanks for the supernatural wisdom you have bestowed on me by reason of my faith. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Spiritual Discernment

Passage

1 Corinthians 2:14-16

Prayer

Dear Father, who gives us the mind of Christ,The natural person cannot understand us or you, or what you are doing in us, for these things are spiritually discerned, and he cannot receive your gifts.Natural people cannot judge us, but you enable us to judge everything. \"For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?\" But we understand, for you have given us the very mind of Christ!How wonderful it is! How great and merciful you are to give us this precious gift! I love you, Lord.Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.In the name of Jesus I give you thanks for the supernatural wisdom you have bestowed on us by reason of our faith. Amen.

[nChrist]

____________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Spiritual Wisdom

Passage

1 Corinthians 2:13

Prayer

Dear Father, giver of your wisdom,You have graciously imparted your wisdom to us. Thank you. You taught us not by words but by your Spirit, who interprets spiritual truths for those of us who believe.Only to those who live out your wisdom of the cross, who know the sweetness of true dedication to you, do you give understanding.Thank you for being our God, for giving us Jesus, for granting your Spirit to us, and for making us understand your purpose for our lives!In the name of Jesus I give you thanks for the supernatural wisdom you have bestowed on us by reason of our faith. Amen.

[nChrist]

____________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

The One Foundation

Passage

1 Corinthians 3:9-13

Prayer

Dear Father, designer of destiny,Thank you for your concern for us. We are the field that you tend, the building that you build. You build us as living stones upon the one foundation, Jesus Christ. No other foundation is provided. No other is adequate.But Father, I am concerned. As I build on this foundation, and as I am built on it, may the quality of my life be such that it will survive the purifying fire of judgment. I don't want my life to be like wood, hay, or stubble. I want it to be like gold, silver and precious stones, so that when my work is tested by fire, it will be proven to be durable, wrought in you and not in my own vanity. Make all of us into what you want us to be, for such is our blessedness.In the blessed name of Jesus I ask. Amen.