Praying With Paul

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Open Statement of Truth

Passage

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Prayer

Dear Father, powerful sustainer, You have called me to minister your mercy to the world, so let me never lose heart or give up! May I renounce disgraceful, underhanded ways in all forms and refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with your word. Let me state truth plainly and thereby commend myself to every one's conscience in your sight. Even if the message of Good News is veiled to some, it is veiled only to those who are perishing! Open the eyes of those whom the god of this world has blinded. May they see the light of the Good News, the glory of Christ, your very likeness. May I not put forth myself, but Jesus Christ, for I am your servant, your slave, for Jesus' sake! For you have said, "Let light shine out of darkness." I invite you to shine out of my heart so that others will see the light of your glory, the face of Jesus Christ, in my life. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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A Glorious Transformation

Passage

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Prayer

Dear Father, transformer of my life, Lord God, I thank you for your Spirit, for the Lord, and for the freedom I have in them. Thank you that I, with unveiled face, can look freely and intently on the glory of the Lord, and be changed into his likeness, from one degree of glory to another. Help me remember that such transformation comes, not by my inherent wisdom or efforts, but only from the Lord who is the Spirit. Make me like Jesus! Help me want to share in his sufferings so that I can also share in his glory and his resurrection life! In the name of Jesus and because it is his will, I make these requests. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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A Dispensation of Glory

Passage

2 Corinthians 3:7-16

Prayer

Dear Father, What a glorious splendor Christ's gospel has! It is a dispensation of glory! And why shouldn't the dispensation of the Spirit be attended with greater splendor than that of the letter! How much more splendid than the temporary glory of Moses is the permanent, new covenant, the dispensation of righteousness through faith by your grace! I am so full of hope because of what you have done! I have such boldness! For in Christ the veil of secrecy and misunderstanding is taken away. What you were intending in the Old Covenant becomes clear, for your Holy Spirit reveals the Lord Jesus Christ as the hidden meaning in it all. Christ the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. In the name of Jesus and because it is his will, I pray. Amen.

[nChrist]

____________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

My Life, God's Message

Passage

2 Corinthians 3:3-6

Prayer

Dear Father, all-sufficient God, Let me be a letter from Christ written to people who need to hear the Good News, written not on paper with ink but on hearts with my loving attitudes and actions. I claim no self-sufficiency, but I believe the sufficiency of your grace qualifies me to serve as a spokesman for your new covenant. I hope through Christ that you might use me this way. Grant me this sufficiency as I rely totally on you. Thank you that the covenant itself is not a written code that kills but a life-giving communication of the Spirit. In the name of Jesus, confident of his sufficiency, I make these requests. Amen.

[nChrist]

____________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

God's Treasure Revealed

Passage

2 Corinthians 4:7-12

Prayer

Dear Father, powerful sustainer, Thank you for putting your treasure in a cracked clay pot like me so that it will be evident that the treasure is from you, the transcendent and powerful God, and not from me, the container. Thank you for upholding all who serve you. When I am afflicted in every way, I am not crushed; when perplexed, I am not driven to despair; when persecuted, I am not forsaken; when struck down, I am not destroyed. Reveal your immortality through my mortal body. May unbelievers see the glorious work you are doing in my life. I come as your humble servant, in the name of your only Son. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Following His Example

Passage

2 Corinthians 6:1-11

Prayer

Dear Father, blessed bestower of grace, As your servant I commend myself to you as your will may require: Through great endurance, if need be - afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, staying awake, hunger! Through goodness - purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, and truthful speech. Through the power of God - with weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left. In disparity - in honor and dishonor, in ill-repute and good-repute, treated as an impostor and yet true, as unknown and yet well-known, as dying, yet behold I live, as punished but not yet killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing everything! In the name of Jesus, who suffered for us, I ask for the grace and will-power to live according to his example. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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All-encompassing Compassion

Passage

2 Corinthians 6:1-11

Prayer

Dear Father, blessed bestower of grace, Let me work together with you to entreat people not to reject or ignore your offer of grace, or to accept it in vain. Since today is the acceptable time, since today is the day of salvation, may I never - nor anything about me - be an obstacle in the way of someone else's acceptance. Let my mouth be open to all who will listen. Help my heart be as wide as all humanity. In the name of Jesus, whose compassion reached to every human being. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Compelled by Love

Passage

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:21

Prayer

Dear Father, invisible but absolutely real, May I be compelled by the love of Christ, convinced that he died that I might no longer live for myself but for him, the one who died for me. So let me not regard Christ from a worldly point of view. I am in Christ. I am a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come! I am reconciled to you, my Father, through your Son Jesus. Thank you for what you did for me - through him! In the name of Jesus I praise and thank you for all your great mercies and your continuing and constant grace. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Weight of Glory


Passage

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:21

Prayer

Dear Father, invisible but absolutely real, Let me not lose heart. I know from your word that my light and momentary troubles are working for me an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all. Help me fix my eyes not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Help me to live by faith and not by sight. I want to trust you completely. In the name of Jesus I praise and thank you for all your great mercies and your continuing and constant grace. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Spirit of Faith

Passage

2 Corinthians 4:13-15

Prayer

Heavenly Father, giver of life and faith, Thank you for the spirit of grace which enables me to believe. May I have the same spirit of faith as he who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke." I believe too, and so let me speak! I believe (I know!) that you, the God who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise me with Jesus and bring me into his presence. As your grace extends to more and more people may they pour out their thanksgiving - to your glory!In the name of Jesus, who intercedes for me, I praise you for such wonderful blessings. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

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
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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
____________________

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]

____________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

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]

____________________
Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

Holy People, Holy Pride

Passage

2 Corinthians 7:2-10

Prayer

Dear Father, who wills the good of all of your children, May all your holy people open their hearts to each other. Let us wrong no one, corrupt no one, take advantage of no one. Let us have great confidence and pride in one another. Let us comfort one another. Even in affliction, fill us with joy!Let us be honest with each other, correcting as necessary. And if we grieve each other, let mourning be turned to joy because of a change of attitude flowing from godly grief. Let our godly grief produce changed hearts and changed lives, bringing salvation without cause for regret. In the name of Jesus I come, asking according to his authority. Amen.