Friday, January 3, 2014
Isaiah 35:2 The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God.
• DAY 4 BIBLE READING
Matthew 25-28, Mark 1-3
• DAY 4 PRAYER DEVOTIONAL
Isaiah 35:2
LET THE FATHER’S GLORY BE OUR CHIEF OBJECT IN PRAYER
Andrew Murray says ‘That the Father may be glorified in the Son; it is to this end that Jesus on His throne in glory will do all we ask in his name.’ See John 14:13 ‘Every answer to prayer he gives will have this as its object; when there is no prospect of this object being obtained, He will not answer. It follows as a matter of course that this must be with us, as with Jesus the essential element of our petitions; the glory of the Father must be the aim and end , the very soul and life of our prayer.
It was so with Jesus when he was on earth, ‘I seek not mine own honour: I seek the honour of Him that sent me; in these words we have the keynote of His life. In the first words of the high priestly prayer He says: Father glorify your son that your Son may glorify you .’I have glorified you on earth, glorify me with yourself.’ The ground on which he asks to be taken up into the glory he had with the Father, is the twofold one: He has glorified Him on earth; He will still glorify Him in heaven. What he asks is only to enable Him to glorify the Father more. It is as we enter into sympathy with Jesus on this point, and gratify Him by making the Father’s glory our chief object in prayer too that our prayer cannot fail of an answer. There is nothing of which the Beloved Son has said more distinctly that it will glorify the Father than this, His doing what we ask; He will not, therefore, let any opportunity slip of securing this object. Let us make his aim ours: let glory of the Father be the link between our asking His doing: such a prayer must prevail.
This word of Jesus comes indeed as a sharp two-edged sword piercing even to dividing of soul and spirit, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. Jesus in his prayers on earth, in His intercessions in heaven, in His promise of an answer to our prayers from there makes this His first object - the glory of His Father. Is it so with us too? Or are not in large measure self-interest and self-will the strongest motives urging us to pray? Or if we cannot see that this is the case, have we not to acknowledge that the distinct conscious longing for the glory of the Father is not what animates our prayers? And yet it must be so.
• Lord may the glory of the Father be the aim and the end , the very soul and life of my prayer. I yield my self-will, my own fleshly desires to you and say may your will be done and your kingdom come in and through me. … for it is all about your glory, Lord. I yield to you this day. May more of your glory Father and more of your splendour be revealed this day as I pray.
Murray, A With Christ in the School of Prayer 49, 143, 144,145
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Thank you. We have been feeling challenged recently about motivations for our actions: for whom do we act? Are even our professions of godliness an attempt to seem better than others? Do we pray because we want the Father to do things that will vindicate us and prove the worth of our ventures, or do we pray for his glory and his purposes? Do we pray because we want him to act for our benefit or because we delight in him and want to see others do so? I love Jesus' response upon Judas' arrival: "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?" (Matthew 26:53-54) Jesus can call on his Dad in this moment for rescue to serve his own will, but he chooses not to. Jesus chooses the way of the cross because that is the way that will bring the Father the most glory. I want to learn to be like him: to pray in ways that seek God's glory, avoiding asking for things that serve my own will above His. Thank you for the reminder of what it means to "yield" to God at the start of a day and surrender ourselves to be used for the revelation of his splendour!
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