Posts Tagged ‘Isaiah 59:16’

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

April 3, 2011

My Daily Prayers and Readings for 3/30/2011

< >< My Prayer >< >

Help me to become one ‘who worships You and who lives in holy relationship to You’; help me to ‘get into the real work of intercession’ through and in prayer, ‘and remember it is a work, a work that taxes my every power; but a work which has no snare.’ Help me to realize that even when I am threatened, attacked or insulted to intercede in prayer for my attacker through conscious awareness of Your presence and the power of ‘worship and intercession’.

Abba Father in the name of Christ Jesus who lives within me through the Holy Spirit I pray that You create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me, for my one walk in and with Jesus today. Asking that You bless me and mine in fulfillment of Your will and keep us from evil and pain; and if we get nothing else done this day, let us spend it loving You and others as You love us. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

< >< My Utmost for His Highest >< >

HOLINESS V. HARDNESS Towards GOD

“And He . . . wondered that there was no intercessor.” Isaiah 59:16

The reason many of us leave off praying and become hard towards God is because we have only a sentimental interest in prayer. It sounds right to say that we pray; we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial, that our minds are quieted and our souls uplifted when we pray; but Isaiah implies that God is amazed at such thoughts of prayer.

Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means that we rouse ourselves up to get the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray. Too often instead of worshipping God, we construct statements as to how prayer works. Are we worshipping or are we in dispute with God – “I don’t see how You are going to do it.” This is a sure sign that we are not worshipping. When we lose sight of God we become hard and dogmatic. We hurl our own petitions at God’s throne and dictate to Him as to what we wish Him to do. We do not worship God, nor do we seek to form the mind of Christ. If we are hard towards God, we will become hard towards other people.

Are we so worshipping God that we rouse ourselves up to lay hold on Him so that we may be brought into contact with His mind about the ones for whom we pray? Are we living in a holy relationship to God, or are we hard and dogmatic?

“But there is no one interceding properly” – then be that one yourself, be the one who worships God and who lives in holy relationship to Him. Get into the real work of intercession, and remember it is a work, a work that taxes every power; but a work which has no snare. Preaching the gospel has a snare; intercessory prayer has none.

< >< Today in the Word Devotion >< >

LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells. Psalm 26:8

Scripture is honest with us about the reality of the spiritual life. A great high point of fellowship with God might be followed by a drift away from our commitment to serve Him. Do you have a sustained passion for the work of God, or have you grown complacent about things in your life that contradict a life of faith? If you resemble Eliashib, who let Tobiah into the temple, repent and return to your commitment to the Lord. Pray to have Nehemiah’s zeal for the things of God.

< >< Today’s Mass Readings >< >

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Matthew 5:17-19

< >< Today’s Video Reflection >< >

Nothing but self-will can separate us from God. — St. Alphonsus Liguori

< >< Today in the Word >< >

End Times: The RaptureListen now

John Walvoord begins talking about the Rapture and what it will entail – Program Notes & Quotes

< >< Online Sources for Devotion Scripture References & Daily Mass Readings >< >

Link to Devotion Scriptures unless noted from New International Version BibleGateway.com

Links for today’s readings from USCCB using the New American Bible or

Links for today’s readings from EWTN using the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

For audio link to today’s readings from USCCB using the New American Bible click:

http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_03_26.mp3

For link to today’s video Reflection http://www.usccb.org/video/reflections.shtml

< >< Bible Online >< >

BibleGateway.com

just1word.com

YouVersion.com

< >< Other sources of inspiration on God’s Word >< >

Christianity – Faith in God and Jesus Christ

EWTN

Light Source – Christian Video Broadcasts and Ministry Television Online

Moody Ministries – From the Word to Life

Moody Radio Online

Sermon Index

Today in the Word Radio Online

Today in the Word

Today in the Word Devotional

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See what I’m thinking, listening and reading visit www.RichardAngulo.com follow me on Twitter @richardangulo

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