Praying With Paul

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
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A Channel for Your Word

Passage

Romans 15:14-21

Prayer

Dear Father, I pray that I may be full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct others who want to know about your salvation. Give me a share in the priestly service of your Good News to the world. May I as a believer make (and be!) an acceptable offering, sanctified by your Holy Spirit. Help me to make it my ambition to speak of Jesus Christ everywhere to everyone. Let me love your word so much that I will either go or help others go to places where it has not yet been proclaimed. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

[nChrist]

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

Abounding in Hope

Passage

Romans 15:1-13

Prayer

Dear Father, who welcomes all into your family, Help us to welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed us, for your glory. For you taught us that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show your truthfulness - in order to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, and in order that we who were not Jews might glorify you for your mercy. May you, our Father and God, fill us with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound in hope. In the name of Jesus and according to his command. Amen.

[nChrist]

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

Imitating Christ

Passage

Romans 15:1-8

Prayer

Dear Father, God of steadfast love, May the strength you give us be used to bear with the failings of those who are weak, not to please ourselves, but to please our neighbor for his good, to build him up. In this let us imitate Jesus, your Son, who did not please himself, but lived as it was written of him, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." May you, our Father, the God of steadfastness and encouragement, grant us Christians to live in such harmony with one another, in full accord with Jesus Christ, that together we may with one voice glorify you, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus and according to his command. Amen.

[nChrist]

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

Pursuing Peace

Passage

Romans 14:17-23

Prayer

Dear Father, giver of brotherly love, How wonderful that your kingdom, your rule in people's lives, is not a matter of food and drink, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. May I, in serving Christ this way, be acceptable to you and approved by others. Let me and all the members of your family pursue what makes for peace and for mutual uplifting. Let none of us, for the sake of personal rights, destroy your work of grace in someone else. Help us to appreciate our rights, but help each of us understand that it is wrong to make others fall by insisting on them. Guide us to see that it is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that would make a brother or sister stumble. The faith that I have, let me keep between you and me. Let me find happiness in having no reason to judge myself for what I approve. May I never do anything from the basis of doubt, because not acting from conviction is sin. In the name of Jesus I pray all this, asking that you will give me love for my brothers and sisters. Amen.

[nChrist]

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

Walking in Love

Passage

Romans 14:13-16

Prayer

Dear Father, to whom all will bow, Help me not pass judgment on others or despise them. Let me look to myself in view of the fact that I will have to give an account for my own self. You have said, "As I live every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God." Let me praise you now before the day of your judgment. Let my praise be willing and not forced. Help me never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother or sister in Christ, and especially of some young person. Don't let me injure anyone by exercising my rights. Let me rather walk in love toward. Don't let my right to do something cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. Do not let what is good to me be evil spoken of. In the name of Jesus I ask for the love and wisdom to so live. Amen.

[nChrist]

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

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.

[nChrist]

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

Giver of Life, Grower of Grace

Passage

1 Corinthians 3:8-9

Prayer

Dear Father, growth-giving God, Both the planter and the waterer are equal and shall receive their wages according to their labor. But you give life! You are the giver of growth! Your servants are just fellow workers for you. Our allegiance is not to them but to you. We are your field, your building. Build us into a magnificent temple! Grow us into luxuriant plants! Show your creativity, your power, your wisdom, your bounty in us! In the name of Jesus, the foundation of our lives, I ask all this. Amen.

[nChrist]

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

Genuine Spirituality

Passage

1 Corinthians 3:1-7

Prayer

Dear Father, growth-giving God, Help me to be a genuinely spiritual person in Christ. Let me grow beyond having to be fed like a baby on soft food and milk. May I strive for maturity so I will be able to digest solid food. Keep me from being jealous and full of strife, from acting as mere human beings act - carnal! Help me to understand the equality of all your servants, and not to put one above another, or to claim special discipleship to any! Help me to see that it is not a question of who waters and who plants, for it is only you, God, who gives the increase. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

[nChrist]

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

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
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

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
Free By RSS News From Heartlight
________________________________

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]

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

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]

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

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]

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

The Proper Time for Judgment

Passage

1 Corinthians 4:5

Prayer

Dear Father, who drives away all the darkness, Keep me from passing judgment before the proper time, before the Lord comes, for he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of every person's heart, including mine. And so everyone will receive appropriate commendation from you. Let me be concerned about "this day" and "that day." Let me do my best to serve you "this day" - today, that I may stand before you on "that day" - your day of reckoning! It is by Jesus' authority and in his name that I offer up this prayer. Amen.

[nChrist]

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

Stewardship

Passage

1 Corinthians 4:1-4

Prayer

Dear Father, judge of all mankind, Help me be a profitable slave to you and good steward of your mysteries. As a steward may I be found trustworthy. May I not be concerned about being judged by human beings or by any human court. May I not even set in judgment on myself. Only you do that. I am not aware of anything against myself, but that, I understand, in and of itself, does not acquit me before you. You are my judge. You can condemn. And you can and will make me stand. It is by Jesus' authority and in his name that I offer up this prayer. Amen.