Your REAL estate

 Verse for the week: You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  Psalm 16.11

Prayer for the week: “Almighty God, draw our hearts to you, guide our minds, fill our imaginations, control our wills, so that we may be wholly yours.  Use us as you will, always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.” (Prayer for Self-Dedication, Lutheran Book of Worship #203, Minister’s Edition, p. 111). 

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 90 (Psalm 90 is a communal lament. A lament is a holy complaint or cry of distress addressed to the Lord. This is very different from the whining, complaining, and blaming we often hear or do ourselves. The congregation is gathered to call on the Lord in prayer. Led by the priest, the congregation confesses and laments the dusty transitoriness of human life… And it’s longing for the Lord to satisfy them in the morning with his steadfast love.)

Lord, you have been our dwelling place, our refuge
    in all generations.
² Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³ You return man to dust
    and say, “Return, O children of man!”
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night.

⁵ You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
    like grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶ in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it fades and withers.

⁷ For we are brought to an end by your anger;
    by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.

⁹ For all our days pass away under your wrath;
    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰ The years of our life are seventy,
    or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.
¹¹ Who considers the power of your anger,
    and your wrath according to the fear of you?

¹² So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.
¹³ Return, O Lord! How long?
    Have pity on your servants!
¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    and for as many years as we have seen evil.
¹⁶ Let your work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands!

Prayer (based on TRIP* method):  Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: in Christ Jesus you have taken pity on your beloved servants and given us our true home, our real estate. In this dusty life repent me and your church from setting our hearts and lives on any other but Christ. Teach us the wisdom that fears, love, and trusts you above all else… So that we may live our numbered days as your servants and dwell in eternity with you. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKP_XxCBDZY&ab_channel=MartijndeGroot

“Thy kingdom come.”

What does this mean?

The kingdom of God comes indeed by itself, without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may also come to us.

How is this done?

God's kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we believe his holy Word and live a godly life now and in eternity.  (from The Small Catechism by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

Benediction: Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21) 

 

*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.