Who shall dwell with the Lord?

Verse for the week: For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— Ephesians 5.8

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, temperance, purity, large-heartedness, 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:  Psalm 15

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

² He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
³ who does not slander with his tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
⁴ in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵ who does not put out his money at interest
and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

prayer(based on the TRIP** method): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: because of Jesus’ work on the holiest of hills – Golgotha – a sinner like me may dwell with you. Thank you!  Today and every day, make me wholly yours: convert my steps, my words, my eyes, my will, my purse for your use… that I may not be moved away from you.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Hymn:  follow this link to a beloved hymn that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew3yXqdMF1o

benediction:    May the God of peace himself grow you in his will entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.  Amen.  I Thess 5.23

*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 www.dailytext.com).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:

T: thanksgiving

                                                          R: regret (repentance)

                                                          I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)

                                                          P: plan or purpose

Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.