Prayer for the week: “Lord God, whose strength is sufficient for all who lay hold on it,
grant us in you to comfort our hearts and be strong. Humility, meekness, temperance, purity,
largeheartedness, sympathy, zeal – grant us these evidences of faith, servants
of hope, fruits of love; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our strength, our
righteousness, and our hope of glory.
Amen. (Christina Rossetti, quoted in Fox, A Chain of Prayer, p.161).
Bible reading for the day: Matthew
15.21-28
21 And
Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and
Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from
that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of
David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But
he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him,
saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He
answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him,
saying, “Lord, help me.”26 And he answered, “It is
not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She
said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their
masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered
her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you
desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
prayer(based on
the TRIP** method): Gracious and almighty
Father, thank you for the dogged, faithful persistence of this dear woman and
for including her story in the Book.
Make me and your whole church repent of independent, fair-weather faith
that fails to call on you, gives up quickly, and goes away. Grant me and all your disciples a humble,
hungry faith that begs for you…that fears, loves, and trusts you above all
else. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hymn: follow
this link to sing a beloved classic hymn which gives further voice to today’s
conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGKLmThF2to
benediction:
The Lord will keep you from all
evil; he will keep your life.
The
Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
From
this time on and forevermore. Ps 121.7-8
*There are many patterns for devotions. This pattern has been followed by God’s
people for centuries.
**The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin
Luther prayed and taught others to pray. It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid
Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria MN
T:
thanksgiving
R:
regret (repentance)
I:
intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P:
plan or purpose
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