This great fire

Verse for the week: “Make me understand the way of your commandments, that I may meditate on your marvelous works.”           Psalm 119.27

Prayer for this week: “Almighty God, you set your Son over the works of your hands, so that even the rebellious spirits must obey him.  Give power to your word that your kingdom may grow and increase and all creation be delivered into the glorious liberty of your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (K.B. Ritter, Gebete für das jahr der Kirche, 2^nd  ed. Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1948, p.86 )

Bible reading for the day:  Deuteronomy 18.15-22 (Note: “Deuteronomy” means “second law.” Deuteronomy is a second confession, a renewed confession of the history of God’s living relationship with his people. A generation long after the Exodus, confesses in its own voice and time what it means to be the people of Yahweh. At the center of this relationship is God’s word, “this great fire,” his speaking to his people.)

¹⁵ “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— ¹⁶ just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ ¹⁷ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. ¹⁹ And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. ²⁰ But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ ²¹ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’—²² when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

Prayer (based on TRIP* method): Gracious and almighty Lord, thank you for the great fire of your word…thank you for not taming it…and for speaking it best in Jesus Christ for us.  Repent me and your whole church of playing with fire: liking our own words better than yours and of not heeding your voice.  See to it that what you want said gets said…even through the likes of us.  I ask this in the name of the one who is the Living Word, Jesus Christ our Lord.  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=9OCnHDoIN9U&ab_channel=St.MatthewLutheranChurch%26EarlyChildhood

Hallowed be thy name…

What does this mean?  God's name is indeed holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy also among us.

How is this done? God's name is hallowed when his Word is taught in its truth and purity and we, as God's children, lead holy lives in harmony with it. Grant this to us, dear Father in heaven! But whoever teaches and lives in ways other than what God's Word teaches dishonors the name of God among us. Prevent us from doing this, heavenly Father! (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther, © Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

Benediction: The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.  Phil 4.7

 

*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.