Praying With Paul

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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The Body of Christ

Passage

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Prayer

Dear Father, great, good and generous giver,Thank you for making me part of the body of Christ, his church. Thank you that there are no unimportant parts to the body. Thank you that all of us are interconnected and interdependent.We have a variety of gifts from you, but all have the same spirit.We have varieties of service, but all have the same Lord, Jesus Christ.We have various ways of working, but it is you, O God, who inspires all of it. Your spirit apportions your gifts as he wishes.Thank you for every manifestation of your power and goodness. And thank you for every graciousness shown to me personally.In the name of Jesus, the head of the body, I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Waiting on Each Other

Passage

1 Corinthians 11:33-34

Prayer

Dear Father, giver of bread and wine,Give each of us perfect courtesy toward others, even more, perfect love. When we come together, may we wait on each other.May each of us satisfy our hunger at home rather than behave as gluttons in the assembly of your people!May we come together not to be condemned, but to build each other up, and to be nourished by that bread which is life indeed, Jesus Christ.In the name of Jesus, who is the daily bread and wine of our lives, I ask. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Examining Myself

Passage

1 Corinthians 11:27-32

Prayer

Dear Father, giver of bread and wine,May I never eat the bread or drink the cup in an unworthy manner, lest I profane the body and blood of the Lord. Teach me to examine my heart and mind thoroughly before I eat of the bread and drink of the cup.Keep me from eating or drinking judgment upon myself by failing to discern the body of the Lord, and thus become weak and ill, or fall asleep.May I judge myself truly, so that I will not be condemned.Most of all, help me submit to your judgment, Lord, by which you chasten us so that we will not be condemned along with the world. In the name of Jesus, who is the daily bread and wine of our lives, I ask. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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The Qualities of Love

Passage

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Prayer

Dear Father, give me love!May I one day possess fully all the qualities of love, as did your son, Jesus, the Messiah!May I be patient and kind, not jealous or boastful, not arrogant or rude, not insisting on my own way, not ever irritable or resentful.May I rejoice always in what is right, never in anything that is wrong.Help me to bear all things and endure whatever I must, to trust in all circumstances, and to be hopeful in all trials.By Jesus's authority I come to you, asking. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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The Greatest Is Love

Passage

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Prayer

Dear Father, O God of love,If I could speak in all the languages of men and angels, and did not have love, I would be no more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.If I had all prophetic powers, and could understand all mysteries and all kinds of knowledge, and had all faith, so as to remove mountains, and did not have love, I would be nothing.If I gave away all that I possessed, and delivered my body to be burned, and did not have love, it would profit me nothing.Dear Father, Loving God, give me love!In the name of Jesus, who gave himself for me, I ask. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Order Out of Confusion

Passage

1 Corinthians 14:1-12

Prayer

Dear Father, God of intelligibility and peace,Thank you for reversing the curse of Babel when you poured out your Holy Spirit on believers in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.Even in the confusion of many tongues you proclaimed your Good News to every tribe and nation under heaven, with every person hearing it in his or her own language.Thank you too for the gift of prophecy in the common language, believers speaking to one another for their mutual encouragement and consolation, a gift greater than tongues (unless the unknown language is interpreted), because understandable speech builds up your church.Help us to manifest your Spirit in all things. Help us to strive zealously for whatever builds up the church.In submission to you and in Jesus' name, I ask. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Love Never Ends

Passage

1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Prayer

Dear Father, O God of love!Let me possess love, for love never ends. I know that prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will pass away, for they are all incomplete and unfinished.When the complete and perfect comes, everything incomplete and unfinished will be gone.Enable me to put away the things of childhood - the way I reasoned, the way I spoke - and help me become mature. Now I see through a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall understand, even as I have been fully understood.Faith, hope, and love are the truly enduring qualities, but you proclaim love the greatest. Fill me with love! In the name of the loving Jesus and by his authority I come to you, asking these things according to his will. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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All Things in Order

Passage

1 Corinthians 14:26-33

Prayer

Dear Father, God of intelligibility and peace,When we come together and each of us has something to contribute, may everything be done to build up the body. Let us do things one by one, or by pairs or triplets at most, so that all may learn and be encouraged.For you, our God, are not like the pagan gods, a god of confusion and hysteria, but are a god of peace. Let us honor you by doing things decently and in order.Submitting to your commands of peace and order, I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Speaking Truth

Passage

1 Corinthians 14:13-25

Prayer

Dear Father, God of intelligibility and peace,Let our praying, singing, and preaching be aimed at informing the minds and spirits of others, that they may be built up and respond, \"Amen.\"Give us the attitude of Paul, who said, \"I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.\"Let us be babies when it comes to evil, but not in our thinking. In our thinking, may we be mature, and may we speak your message in such a way that those who hear will be called to account, will have the secrets of the heart disclosed, will fall on their faces to worship you, and will declare that you are really among us.Submitting to your commands of peace and order, I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Christ in My Heart

Passage

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Prayer

Dear Father, God of the living,Thank you that Christ's revelation of himself within my soul as Lord of my life and as the living Spirit of truth and holiness testifies that he is not dead but alive forevermore.Thank you that he lives in my heart.By your grace, and by my faith in what you did, I am what I am. The resurrection is preached and I believe it. Thank you, Father! Thank you that I don't have to believe that death ends it all either for Jesus or for me!In the name of Jesus I come, thanking you for your resurrection power and asking that I may live so as to always have hope of sharing in it. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Eyewitnesses

Passage

1 Corinthians 15:5-10

Prayer

Dear Father, God of real history,Thank you for the testimony of eyewitnesses who saw Christ alive after his crucifixion: Cephas, the twelve, more than five hundred brethren, and James. Thank you for the testimony of the apostles and for Paul.I am grateful that I am not following cleverly devised myths, but the reality of history! I believe their testimony! And yours!In the name of Jesus I come, thanking you for your resurrection power and asking that I may live so as always to have hope of sharing in it. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Life through Christ

Passage

1 Corinthians 15:21-23

Prayer

Dear Father, worthy God,You have declared that just as death came through the sin of one man, so life comes through one man's resurrection from the dead. As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ first, then at his coming we who belong to him.Thank you, Father, for the assurance you gave by raising him up. Thank you that his resurrection is our resurrection! Thank you for this revelation of the order in which it will come.In the name of Jesus I offer you this thanksgiving and praise for the most wonderful events of history, Christ's resurrection and ours. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Resurrection Hope

Passage

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Prayer

Dear Father, confirmer of truth,Strengthen me against all that Satan and the world can bring against me. Confirm my understanding of what you did in resurrecting Jesus and what you will do in resurrecting me and all your saints.If there is no resurrection, I know that the gospel is false, my faith is in vain, I am still in my sins, those who have fallen asleep have perished, and you have been misrepresented as having raised Jesus from the dead.If we Christians have hope only for this life, then we are to be pitied - for our suffering is for nothing. But we know that you have raised Christ from the dead, as the first fruits of them who have fallen asleep.In the name of Jesus I offer you this thanksgiving and praise for the most wonderful events of history, Christ's resurrection and ours. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Lessons from Nature

Passage

1 Corinthians 15:35-46

Prayer

Dear Father, rewarder of all who diligently seek you, Thank you for the lessons in nature that teach truths about your kingdom. Help me to learn from these examples so that I might understand more about you. Just as bare kernels of grain sown in the ground do not germinate and become plants unless they first \"die,\" so too my old nature must die before your new life can germinate in me. And so it is with the resurrection of believers. We are perishable, but you will raise us to be imperishable. We are dishonorable, but you will raise us up in glory. We are weak, but you will raise us in power. We are sustained by nature, but you will raise us to be sustained by your spirit.At last we will have learned to live in total dependence on you! Prepare us for this future time by teaching us to totally depend on you now! We praise you, Almighty Father, for you intend to make us immortal and to share your good things with us forever, because you love us.Thank you, Father, thank you. In the name of Jesus I lift this prayer. Amen.

[nChrist]

____________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Perseverance

Passage

1 Corinthians 15:29-34

Prayer

Dear Father, rewarder of all who diligently seek you,Thank you for Jesus, whose life not only taught us how to live, but whose resurrection proved that you have power over death. Thank you for the assurance of resurrection, for without it we would have no reason to persevere.His resurrection is why I believe in my own future resurrection. All my hopes are pinned on him. Were it not for this, I would live as do unbelievers, who say, \"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.\"May I live according to Christ's righteousness through the power that raised him from the dead. And may I never forget the promise of resurrection.In the name of Jesus I lift up this prayer. Amen.