Tag: amazing grace

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Wisdom Prayer

Stir Up Strife?

Stir Up Strife?

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who are dealing with people who stir up strife and are angry. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Imagine living with a person who makes comments designed to provoke others and incite conflict. Now add being around a person who has angry outbursts and violent behavior. Life can become unbearable.

Proverbs 29:22 (ESV) describes individuals with these characteristics and the results.

“A man of wrath stirs up strife,
and one given to anger causes much transgression.”

Those who make others suffer, as the proverb describes, can change.

John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace,” knew sinners could change from firsthand experience. He wrote “That saved a wretch like me.”

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Wisdom Prayer

Will You Sing to the Lord As Long As You Live?

Will You Sing to the Lord As Long As You Live?

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who will sing to you as long as they live. In Jesus’ name, amen.

John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” refers to a heavenly choir.

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.”

In Psalm 104:31-35 (ESV) God look causes the earth to tremble, and his touching mountains causes them to smoke. In verse 33, the psalmists and “Amazing Grace” have some ideas in common.

“May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!”

Choose to live a godly life. Allow yourself to freely worship God. Sing now and forever more.

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Wisdom Prayer

Preserve the Lives of Saints?

Preserve the Lives of Saints?

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who know you preserve the lives of the saints and deliver them from the land of the wicked. In Jesus’ name, amen.

God’s miraculous intervention in the lives of believers is not new. In Acts 16:25-34 Paul and Silas were in prison praying and singing after being beaten. When an earthquake struck, their bonds came loose and the doors opened. Paul and Silas and the prisoners stayed where they were and the jailer and his household came to believe in Jesus.

Psalm 97:10-12 (ESV) not only tells the faithful to hate evil, but that God preserves them, and they should rejoice.

“O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!”

The words of the song “Amazing Grace” are famous.

“Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see”

God, indeed, delivers us from the land of the wicked. Have you been delivered? If not, seek first the Kingdom of God.

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Wisdom Prayer

No Fear of God?

No Fear of God?

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who encounter evil. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Wrongdoing can become habitual. For criminals it is a way of life. Some prey on others, like those who hated David, the psalmist. He characterized them as having no fear of God.

Psalm 36:1-4 (ESV) paints a picture of such a person:

“Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.”

Beware. It is well to say away from such people. Yet, an evil person, with these character traits, is not beyond God’s saving grace. Thank you, Lord, for amazing grace. Thank you for saving a wretch like me.

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