... it's actually to our advantage when he does.
Verse for the week: “Not by might, nor by
power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” Zech 4.6
Prayer for the week: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of
the almighty God, send your Holy Spirit into our hearts through your blessed
word, that he may rule and guide us according to your will; strengthen us in
every trial and need; and lead us, past all error, into your truth; that we may
stand fast in faith, increase in love and all good works, and by the sure hope
of your grace, which you have obtained for us by your death, be saved
eternally; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever
and ever. Amen. (Viet Dietrich in Otto Dietz, Die
Evangelien-Kooekten des Viet Dietrich, p. 57)
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to
you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he
will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear
witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
5 “I did not say these things to you from
the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But
now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where
are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to
you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I
tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do
not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I
go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he
will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and
judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not
believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I
go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning
judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to
you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit
of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not
speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he
will declare to you the things that are to come.14 He
will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.15 All
that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is
mine and declare it to you.
What does this mean?
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength
believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called
me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and
preserved me in the true faith. In the same way, he calls, gathers, enlightens,
and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and preserves it in unity
with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church, he daily
forgives abundantly all my sins and the sins of all believers. At the last day,
he will raise me and all the dead and will grant everlasting life to me and to
all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true. (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 (Alexandria,
MN). 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.
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