...and your Shepherd's voice.
Verse for the week: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139.14
Prayer for the week: O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. Search me, O God, and know my heart! And lead me in the way everlasting; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen. (from Psalm 139)
Bible reading for the day: Genesis 3.1-13
Now the serpent was
more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had
made.
He said to the woman, “Did
God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And
the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the
garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of
the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you
touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to
the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God
knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman
saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and
that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its
fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with
her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were
opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves loincloths.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Prayer (based on the TRIP* method): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for sending Jesus to destroy the devil and all his crafty works. Daily defeat that old liar for us, deliver us from listening to his smooth voice and to our own words… otherwise we are left in our old hiding and blaming games. You are my creator, my Champion, and my sanctifier Lord; so come and keep on doing your work on my behalf, in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to the good fight of faith and our Champion in that fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68XlFK4UIiU
“Lead us not into temptation…”
What
does this mean?
God indeed tempts no one to
sin, but we pray in this petition that God would guard and protect us so that
the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or lead us into
false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins, and we pray that even
though we are tempted in these ways, we may finally prevail and gain the
victory. (from The Small Catechism,
by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)
*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 (
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.
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