By every word...

Verse for the week:  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zech 9.9

Prayer for the week:  “Almighty God and Lord, come to us with all your power and help us who are anxious and troubled.  Send us the Savior, that he may enter our hearts, and with your light illumine our night, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 1^st ed.  Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1933, p.35.)

Bible reading for the day:  Deuteronomy 8.1-10 (Note: “Deuteronomy” means “second law”… this book is a second confession, a renewed confession of the history of our people’s living relationship with God. To a generation that would not hear the prophets, the Deuteronomist confesses what it means to be the people of Yahweh.)

¹“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. ² And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. ³ And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. ⁶ So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, ⁸ a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, ⁹ a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. ¹⁰ And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, amidst all the daily bread you provide, you feed us the bread of life in the forgiveness of our sin in Jesus Christ. Thank you! Deliver us from pride and the forgetfulness of arrogance that hears only our own words. Humble me and your whole church that we may live by every word that comes from your mouth. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Music: follow this link to a beloved classic which gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJAlZ7F7n1o

“Hallowed be thy name…”

What does this mean? God’s name is certainly holy in itself, but we ask in this prayer that we may keep it holy for ourselves.

When does this happen? God’s name is hallowed whenever his Word is taught in its truth and purity and we as children of God live in harmony with it. Help us to do this, heavenly Father.    But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to the word of God, dishonors God’s name among us. Keep us from doing this, heavenly Father. (from “The Small Catechism,” by Martin Luther)

Benediction: And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you this day.  To him be the power forever and ever.  Amen. (1 Pet 5:10) 

*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.