Praying With Paul

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
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Joyful People, Joyful Pride

Passage

2 Corinthians 7:11-16

Prayer

Dear Father, who wills the good of all of your children, Give us great earnestness, eagerness to clear ourselves of evil, indignation over the hurts done to others, alarm over danger, longing for what is good, prudence about punishment for evil. Help us have a real zeal for each other's good, visible within our hearts to you, our righteous Judge. Let us find comfort in our forgiveness and acceptance of each other! Give us great joy in the pride we feel about each other! Grant that we may justify perfect confidence in each other! In the name of Jesus I come, asking according to his authority. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Excellence in Giving

Passage

2 Corinthians 8:1-7

Prayer

Dear Father, Show your grace to me and my family by giving us hearts so generous that we will share liberally with those who need our help. May we give ourselves first to you, and then to our brethren. Help us to give of our means, even beyond our means, and of our own free will. May we earnestly desire to relieve the needs of Christians who are poor and whose lives are burdened. Help us not only resolve to do good, but to complete the good we set out to do. Help us to excel in everything - in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all earnestness, in love of the brethren - but in this also, that we share our material wealth, a real measure of your gracious work within us. In the name of Jesus I humbly ask for your help in giving us a generous spirit. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Earnest Caregiving

Passage

2 Corinthians 8:16-23

Prayer

Dear Father, to whom all honor is due, Thank you for the earnest care you put into the heart of people like Titus. Thank you for people who respond to specific appeals to serve. They give glory to you and show the good will of your people. May your grace reach to me and make me such a person also. Thank you that such people act in ways that are above and beyond blame. They love not only what is good in your sight but also what is honorable in the sight of men. Thank you for making these people modern partners with your ancient apostles, partners and fellow-workers in your service, the messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. In the name of Jesus I thank you for the transforming power you show forth in the lives of your saints. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Generous for God's Glory

Passage

2 Corinthians 8:10-15

Prayer

Dear Father, It is you, my God, who supplies seed for the sower and bread for food. Multiply my resources and increase the harvest of righteousness for me and my family. Then give us hearts that are generous and willing to share with those in need around the world. May I be a trustworthy channel of your resources, and may you receive the glory and thanksgiving for all the goodness you distribute through me. May I glorify you, my God, by my obedience to the gospel and by my generosity based on its teaching: It is more blessed to give than to receive. Let your superlative and surpassing graciousness be seen in me! Thank you, Lord, for your inexpressible gift to me and all men, Christ Jesus, the cornucopia of blessings! Thank you, Abba, that my life can be lived in imitation of your sinless son! In his name I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Hearts of Love and Action

Passage

2 Corinthians 8:8-9

Prayer

Dear Father, Give us hearts of love, that refuse to say, "Go, be warmed and filled," but instead give what is needful to those full of need. Help us prove that our love is genuine, remembering that the Lord Jesus himself was very rich in heaven with you but for our sakes he became poor that by his poverty we might become rich. Thank you, Jesus, for this. Thank you, Father, for giving Jesus to us to show us the blessedness of giving to others. In the name of Jesus I humbly ask for your help in giving us a generous spirit. Amen.

[nChrist]

________________________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Committed Servants

Passage

2 Corinthians 8:24

Prayer

Dear Father, to whom all honor is due, Let your hand of power rest on your committed servants; sustain them and let them never grow slack or less devoted to principle. Help us honor them and to honor Christ by how we present ourselves to them. Help us demonstrate to them and to your church worldwide the genuineness of our love and commitment to our Lord Jesus. Fill your church with such servants. Fill us all with hearts of service. In the name of Jesus I thank you for the transforming power you show forth in the lives of your saints. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Bountiful Sowing

Passage

2 Corinthians 9:1-8

Prayer

Dear Father, righteous and gracious God, Create in me a holy readiness to give of that which you have given me, never as an exaction but as a willing gift. Help me to sow bountifully so that I shall reap bountifully. Let me make up my mind about what to give. Then let my giving be cheerful, not with reluctance or under compulsion. And why shouldn't I give, since you give to me without reservation. You are able to provide me with every blessing in abundance, and you will provide so that I will always have enough for myself and some to give away. In the name of Jesus Christ, the truly generous Savior of mankind, I raise these petitions to you. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Harvest of Righteousness

Passage

2 Corinthians 9:9-10

Prayer

Dear Father, righteous and gracious God, You are the God about whom it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor, his righteousness endures for ever. "You are the God who supplies seed to the sower, and gives the harvest of grain for bread, who multiplies my resources and increases the harvest of righteousness for me. How I thank you and praise you for this! In the name of Jesus Christ, the truly generous Savior of mankind, I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

My Perfect Weakness

Passage

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Prayer

Dear Father, Put your hand over my mouth to keep me from boasting about myself. Even if I were to have visions and revelations about you or to be caught up to Paradise and hear things too sacred to be told, let me boast only of my weaknesses. If you limit me, inflict pain on me, cause me to struggle and cry out for relief, let me come back to trusting you. Your grace is sufficient for me. Your power is made perfect in weakness. In the name of him who is my strength, Jesus Christ. Amen.

[nChrist]

________________________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Relying on God

Passage

2 Corinthians 11:29-31

Prayer

Dear Father, almighty God, "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things which show my weakness." My God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed one, ever-living, bear witness to the truth that you are teaching me. Thank you for showing me that my finiteness, my weakness, is part of your will. You have graciously set limits around me, so that I must depend on you. Isn't dependence on an all-powerful God better than having a limited independence? Your mighty arm can do things for me beyond what any army could do! To boast of my weakness is to boast of your power. To experience weakness is to learn about compassion. Thank you for all this, for in this you surely are teaching me how to love both my fellow man and you. In the name of Jesus I pray, earnestly beseeching you to teach me how to truly depend on you in all things. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Boasting in Weaknesses

Passage

2 Corinthians 11:6-10

Prayer

Dear Father, whose power is made perfect in weakness, Even though certain things are true, keep me from saying them if they would not be received in the right way-if people would think me out of place, perhaps mad, or if they might think more of me than I deserve. Sometimes there are things that I want, but one thing you have taught: Your grace is sufficient for me. Your power is made perfect in weakness. Help me therefore to boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, help me to put up with whatever I must bear, for when I am weak in him, then I am strong. Let me live according to your will, close to your heart of love. In the name of Jesus I pray, seeking the strength that comes only from being weak in you. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Unselfish Servants

Passage

2 Corinthians 11:16-21

Prayer

Dear Father, to whom our pure devotion is due, When someone seeks to make slaves of us, to prey upon us, to take advantage of us, to put on airs, or to strike us in the face, help us know that such a person does not represent you. For your emissaries don't do such things. Help us look to the examples of Paul, Peter, John, Barnabas, and others like them, who submitted themselves as servants. Help us be like them. In the name of Jesus, our greatest example, I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

________________________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Divine Jealousy

Passage

2 Corinthians 11:1-15

Prayer

Dear Father, to whom our pure devotion is due, Thank you for the divine jealousy that Christ feels for us, his church. How wonderful to know that we have been betrothed to him as a bride to her one husband. We wait with longing for the great wedding celebration that is to come. Help us not to be like Adam's bride, Eve, and be led astray by Satan's cunning. Help us have a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Help us avoid false apostles, deceitful workers, who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder they do this, for Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Please see to it, Lord, that their end corresponds to their deeds. In the name of Jesus, who is the truth, I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

________________________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Boasting in Christ

Passage

2 Corinthians 10:15-18

Prayer

Dear Father, Let me have pride in what I do, not in claiming someone else's work. Grant me to be active for you in new endeavors or new places, not boasting of work done in another person's field. Father, increase my faith, so that the sphere of the influence of your Good News may be greatly enlarged through me and passed on even to other lands. Let me boast, not of what I do, but of what you do through me. "Let him who boasts boast of the Lord." What I really want, Father, is not to commend myself, just talking a good story, but to have your approval, your acceptance, your commendation. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

________________________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

Christ, Our Measuring Stick

Passage

2 Corinthians 10:7-14

Prayer

Dear Father, source of our joy and our pride, Sometimes we are blind. We don't see what is right before our eyes. Help us to look that we may see, listen that we may hear. Thank you, Father, that Christ has purchased me and that I belong to him. Thank you for the authority I have in him to build others up. Never let me do anything that would tear down or destroy. Help me to be entirely honest. Let what I say about others in their absence be the same as I would say in their presence. Help me be self-critical and not to measure myself by what others say or do. Let me honestly measure myself by the Lord. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.