Tag: devotional

Tools for a Life of Prayer: Paraphrasing Scripture as Meditation

On By CaitlynIn Prayer and Worship

I’ve always been a writer. For me, writing is how I best process and share ideas. It should come as no surprise that writing is one of the ways I study and meditate on Scripture!

One of the ways that I use writing to interact with Scripture is paraphrasing chapters. Whenever I find myself in a funk in engaging with the Word, paraphrasing is one of my top go-to tools to help me focus and talk to God through a passage. (My other go-to is singing the Word… I will post about that in a few weeks!)

Paraphrasing is a powerful way to digest Scripture. It forces you to take the verses in, mull them over, and understand them well enough to put them in your own words. You may have heard that the best way to learn something is to teach it; paraphrasing is like teaching yourself.

One of the most beautiful encounters I’ve ever had with God came through paraphrasing. God had been telling me that I was in a “Song of Solomon 2 season”, and I had an idea of what that meant, but as I started paraphrasing the words of the King to the Bride in that chapter, it became so personal. Layer after layer started unfolding, and as I wrote, it began to feel as if I was simply transcribing what the Spirit was whispering in my ear. The structure was still loosely Song of Solomon 2, but so many more images and references and Narnia quotes and poetic descriptions of literal things I had been going through started pouring out. That journal page is so precious to me, because as I wrote, the Word came alive.

When you paraphrase, it’s okay to highlight one layer of truth more than another. Scripture is so rich with meaning in every word; when we change the words, we are almost certainly going to lose some of the meaning. That’s okay! You can paraphrase it again with a different slant later if you want.

I asked some of my Facebook friends to paraphrase Psalm 23:1-2, and I got quite a range of responses! Below is just a sampling of some of them.

Psalm 23:1-2 ESV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.

Yahweh is my caretaker. He provides for me. He teaches me to rest. He keeps me safe. (Josh)

The Lord is my bro. He gives me everything I need. I find safety and peace when I’m with him. (Cherish)

The Lord sustains me. He calls me to rest in the finished works of the Cross. In His sovereignty, there is the peace of wholeness. (Bryce)

The Lord has all that I need and knows where I need to go to get it. He leads me there! He makes me rest and he refreshes me. (Christine)

God is my best friend, my confidant and my guide. He makes sure I have the best and safest place to rest. He always makes sure I have what I need. (Gregg)

God delights in taking care of me, and He is diligent in His care. I have everything I need to do His will. He gives me rest when he knows I need it, even when I might not want to. He brings me peace. (Marta)

These paraphrases all have some similarities, but I love how each one brings out a slightly different dimension of the verses! God’s word is like a thousand-sided gem, and every time you look at it, you’ll see something new.

Of course, your paraphrase is NOT Scripture itself, so it is still subject to the “test everything; hold fast what is good” rule of 1 Thessalonians 5:21. There have been times I paraphrased something only to revisit it later and realize that a few things were a little off. Don’t let the fear of missing it keep you from diving in, though. As long as you don’t treat your paraphrase like the direct, unquestionable Word of God, this can be a powerful tool to help you engage with the Holy Spirit as you dig into Scripture!

Let’s try this with the first four Beatitudes in Matthew 5. This is a great chapter to practice paraphrasing, because some of the phrases can become a bit overly familiar and merely poetic to our ears until we really try to dig into them.

Matthew 5:3-6

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

God blesses those who recognise their spiritual lack, and He will give them royal access into His kingdom.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

God blesses those who are grieved over their sin, and He will give them peace.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

God blesses those who choose humility, and they will be trusted with rulership alongside Jesus over the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

God blesses those who deeply long for holiness and the things of God. He won’t leave them empty, but will give them what they seek.

As I did this just now, it forced me to really consider what each phrase means, and find my own words to make it “real” and help it strike my heart. I also found that I was drawing on other Bible knowledge. How do I know that “mourn” relates to grieving in repentance over sin? Because of passages I’ve previously studied such as 2 Corinthians 7:10 – “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation…” Paraphrasing is an opportunity to weave these truths together. Often, I’ll think of different verses and find connections I never would have otherwise!

Occasionally, I’ve set out to paraphrase entire chapters. Certain friends of mine have even paraphrased entire books of the Bible. Often, though, I’ll take a chunk that I feel the Holy Spirit is highlighting to me and work through it slowly, asking Him for insight to help me catch a fresh glimpse of each verse. He loves to speak, especially about His word! Paraphrasing is a practical, precious way I can begin the conversation with Him.

Check out my paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13!

Have you ever paraphrased scripture as a way to meditate on it? What part of the Bible is your favorite to paraphrase? Tell me in the comments!

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Tools for a Life of Prayer: Using a Prayer List

On By CaitlynIn Prayer and Worship2 Comments

One of the simplest things you can do to strengthen your prayer life is simply to make a list of things you want to pray about. Many of us have experienced coming into a prayer time with great intentions, and then running out of things to say in about a minute and a half. A simple list, however short or long, can be extremely helpful in focussing your prayer time.

As with all of these tools, think of the prayer list as a launchpad, but it never needs to become a “law”! On some days, you may pray through your list quickly, and on others, the Holy Spirit may really catch your attention on one point in particular and you may just camp out there in a while. Some days you may have something else completely on your heart and never even get to the list. That’s okay! The goal is to connect with God.

As we talked about with scheduling time for prayer, even getting through your prayer list 70% or 80% of the time is way better than not even trying and doing 0%. I promise, if you make a list you WILL pray for those things more than if they weren’t written down anywhere at all.

What should be on your list? Broadly speaking, you might think about three categories:

Personal

  • spiritual growth
  • needs
  • future
  • ministry

People and places

  • family and friends
  • leaders in your life
  • people you lead
  • cities
  • churches/ministries
  • missions

Justice

  • government
  • abortion
  • racial issues
  • human trafficking
  • current events

What should you pray for these topics? The best advice is to pray biblically. Pray some of the key prayers of the Bible over these people, groups, and situations. A great resource is this list of apostolic prayers found in Scripture. I have a tattered copy of this sheet from 2012 always in my Bible. You can also check out this longer list of apostolic prayers.

Here’s a taste of the key themes and phrases of these prayers:

  • For wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God (Eph. 1:17)
  • For strengthening with might in the inner being (Eph. 3:16, Col. 1:11)
  • For love to abound (Phil. 1:9, 1 Thes. 3:12)
  • For the knowledge of God’s will (Col. 1:9)
  • That the Word of the Lord would run swiftly [rapidly spread and powerfully take hold] (2 Thes. 3:1)
  • To glorify God in unity, with joy, peace, and hope (Rom. 15:5-6, 13)
  • To preach with boldness and power (Acts 4:29-30)

These prayers can easily be adapted to any context, but sometimes for justice issues, I like to dig into the Psalms and prophetic scriptures:

  • “The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed…” (Ps. 9:9)
  • “O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will… do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed…” (Ps. 10:17-18)
  • “The LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives…” (Is. 61:1)

You can use my lists as a starting point, but as praying Scripture becomes a habit you will quickly discover your own favorite verses! I promise, using the language of Scripture will make praying through your prayer list come so much more alive.

I need to say this one more time… DON’T LET THIS OVERWHELM YOU!

Again, your list is a launching pad, not law. You do not have to limit your prayers to the topics you write down, and more importantly, you do NOT have to pray for all of it every single day! It may help to break your list into mini daily lists, so that you’re praying for just a handful of things each day. Praying Bible verses is a great idea, but again, don’t become so tied to it that you’re crippled if you can’t think of just the right verse.

Finally, find a way to work your prayer list into your daily routine. Use it as a bookmark and pray through it for ten minutes before you read your Bible, or tape it to your steering wheel and pray on your way to work. The goal of this tool, and in fact of all of the tools in this series, is to find what works for YOU to help YOU pray more. Adapt these ideas as you see fit, and happy praying!

Do you use a prayer list? What’s on yours, or what would be if you started doing this? Tell me in the comments!

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Tools For a Life of Prayer: Asking God Questions

On By CaitlynIn Prayer and Worship4 Comments


For all those who want to hear God speak to them, I have good news. It’s actually really simple. In my experience, there’s a major key that unlocks the door to hearing His voice.

Ask Him questions.

Asking Him specific questions helps narrow your focus and puts you in a posture of listening. Sit down, get quiet, close your eyes (or whatever your best listening posture is), and ask questions and follow-up questions— He is so eager and willing to speak when we take the time to let Him!

King David did this. Asking God questions was part of David’s all-consuming “one thing” desire:

“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”
(Psalm 27:4)

God has a LOT of thoughts and emotions, and He longs to share them with us. We could ask Him questions for the rest of eternity, and He would never run out of things to say.

“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.”
(Psalm 139:17-18)

So as we venture into asking God specific questions, here are a few different ways to begin the conversation:

1. Ask God about yourself.

This is maybe the most fun kind of question to ask. You probably have heard so many things from other people about how God sees you, and even read lots of Bible verses (which is great!) but there’s something powerful about just letting the Holy Spirit speak directly to your heart in the silence. Doing this has reshaped my perspective, brought me to tears, and caused me to fall more in love countless times. (I especially recommend asking God for a Bible verse, because we KNOW that’s truth no matter what!)

  • How do You see me?
  • What are You doing in my life right now?
  • What do You say about the pain in my past?
  • What do You want me to know about my future?
  • What Bible verse do You have for me right now?

2. Ask God about other people.

If you can do it for yourself, you can do it for other people; there’s no difference! Sometimes this is even easier than hearing God for yourself. God loves to use His church to encourage each other! You can do this while you’re praying for or talking to someone, or you can do it ahead of time and write a note for the person. Ask all of the exact same questions as above for them, and watch what God does! Seeing someone else through God’s eyes will give you an increased love for them, and hearing God’s thoughts spoken through you will touch and encourage them powerfully.

(Note: Often the word He gives you will be meant to be shared to encourage them, but sometimes God will want you to keep it private and just let it inform your prayers. Be sure to ask Him what to do with it, especially if it sounds sensitive.)

3. Ask God about God.

I love to ask God questions as I read the Bible. He was there for all of it! He remembers what light looked like the first time dawn broke over the waters. He remembers the exact expression on His face when the disciples asked Him who was the greatest. He remembers what His first thought was when He woke up alive in the tomb. I also love to ask Him the tough questions… about the intersection of justice and mercy, about how the Father feels about the Son, or about His greatest desires. Often, He will give me a peek behind the curtain and let me catch a glimpse of the deep places in His heart. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit loves to do:

“These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God… Now we have received… the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.”
(2 Corinthians 2:10-12)

One more thing…

You may be wondering if it’s a little sketchy to just close your eyes and take whatever comes into your mind as the word of God. That’s a healthy concern! Of course we recognise that all of this is very subjective. It does NOT merit the same weight as the authoritative, inspired word of God, but we still want to make room for subjective impressions like this, especially if they line up with Scripture.

“We know in part and we prophesy in part”
(2 Corinthians 13:9)

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:19-21)

For me, the breakthrough in hearing God’s voice came when I learned to silence the voice of doubt and receive in faith. I had to trust that I really do have the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:16) and that His sheep really do hear His voice (John 10:27). Plus, the Holy Spirit often works by reminding us of what we already know (John 14:26), so His voice will often sound like my own voice inside my head. In time, we will learn to recognise the internal “still, small voice” (1 Kings 19:12) of His whisper to our hearts.

Do you ask God questions? What’s your favourite question to ask Him? Tell me in the comments!

 

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Tools for a Life of Prayer: Scheduling Time for Prayer

On By CaitlynIn Prayer and Worship2 Comments

I’m going to say something fairly obvious, but super important: If you want to develop an actual prayer life, make time in your schedule to actually pray.

It’s the easiest thing in the world to just rush through life dominated by the “tyranny of the urgent” – giving priority to whatever pressing need or perceived need happens to be in front of you. That may be a work or school task, a family or relational obligation, or even simply, “I’m tired and what I need to do right now is watch five hours of Netflix.”

When we live like that, our times of prayer usually get crammed in around the edges, during car rides and in the shower, and at the end of the day, we realise we never gave God a real block of focussed attention.

It’s like when friends say “Let’s do coffee sometime!” and then “sometime” never comes because no one ever actually put it on the calendar. You want to be friends, and you certainly meant to do coffee… but at some point, someone has to actually initiate a time and a place or else it remains just a good intention, choked out by the million other demands on your time and attention.

There’s an old story that illustrates this point very well:

A professor of philosophy stood before his class with some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was full.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly and watched as the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The professor then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They chuckled and agreed that it was indeed full this time.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled the remaining open areas of the jar.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar signifies your life. The rocks are the truly important things, such as family, health and relationships. If all else was lost and only the rocks remained, your life would still be meaningful. The pebbles are the other things that matter in your life, such as work or school. The sand signifies the remaining ‘small stuff’ and material possessions. If you put sand into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks or the pebbles. The same can be applied to your lives. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are truly important.

(I borrowed this version from a short article by Julie Isphording, but it appears all over the internet in various forms.)

To me, the rocks are the core things I am called to: my relationship with God, growing in the callings and gifts He has given me, stewarding my relationships, etc. My default is usually to fill my jar with pebbles and sand, and over the months, I look back and wonder where my rocks went! Designated prayer time is usually the first rock to go, if we’re being honest. In fact, sometimes I think that God set me in the house of prayer so that I would be “forced” to talk to Him more!

If having an actual prayer life is a value to you, it’s vital to schedule it like an immovable boulder in your daily routine.

If having an actual prayer life is a value to you, it's vital to schedule it like an immovable boulder in your daily routine.
Even before I joined the house of prayer, the times my relationship with God was the strongest was when I had daily times set apart to meet with Him. For a while, it was every morning before class in my university prayer chapel. At home, it was often late at night after the rest of the family was in bed. I would sit on the floor with a mug of tea and my Bible and journal, and it was the highlight of my day.

Now, my scheduled times are mostly during my sacred trust times in the prayer room. I love the accountability and community of being part of a prayer room culture corporately.

Whatever it looks like for you, I highly encourage you to put those times in your schedule and treat it like an actual appointment. Give yourself enough time to slow down and not feel rushed, where you can quiet your mind and connect with the Holy Spirit. Keep that time sacred. Worship. Read a few Bible chapters, or maybe just one. Pray through a simple prayer list. As you develop a history of meeting Him in that secret place, it will become precious to you, and you’ll look forward to it and cherish those times with Him.

(Important note: To be realistic, you probably will not keep your schedule 100% of the time–but I guarantee that if you set a goal, you will keep it MORE than you would without a goal at all. Even keeping 70% or 80% of your prayer times is way better than not even trying and keeping 0%.)

Do you have a regular prayer schedule? What times work for you? Tell me in the comments!

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Incarnation: The Humility of Jesus

On By CaitlynIn Bible Stuff1 Comment


When we celebrate the Christmas story, there is a reality deeper than the quaint images of sheep in a stable and swaddling clothes in a manger. It’s the reality of the incarnation – that God, the Creator, the infinitely eternal Dreamer of Genesis 1, freely chose to become one of His creation. The Creator created Himself into a fragile body of flesh, and in doing so He proved Himself worthy of the highest exaltation.

To catch the wonder of this, we have to back up…. waaaay up.

HIGH

.     “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?…
.        when the morning stars sang together
.         and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
.     Or who shut in the sea with doors
.         when it burst out from the womb,
.     when I made clouds its garment
.         and thick darkness its swaddling band,
.     and prescribed limits for it
.         and set bars and doors,
.     and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
.         and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
.     Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
.         and caused the dawn to know its place…?
.     Have you entered into the springs of the sea,
.        or walked in the recesses of the deep?
.     Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
.         or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?”
.                    (Job 38:4-17)

In Job 38, God puts Job’s life in perspective by giving him a glimpse of what it’s like to be GOD, the eternal, sovereign Creator. He remembers the day when He created the universe out of nothing. He controls all the forces of nature like a puppet master. He is sovereign over it all.

Low

Psalm 113 shows the first step in the humility of God:

.     “The LORD is high above all nations;
.         His glory is above the heavens.
.     Who is like the LORD our God,
.         Who is enthroned on high,
.     Who humbles Himself to behold
.         The things that are in heaven and in the earth?”
.                    (Psalm 113:4-6 NASB)

God has to humble Himself to even LOOK at the things He has created! The universe itself is so far beneath Him that it’s as if He has to bend over and squint to even see it.

But He does.

He bends down to look

.     at the universe…

.          at the Milky Way…

.               at our solar system…

.                    at Earth…

.                         at each nation…

.                              at each individual human heart.

The fact that He would even acknowledge your existence, the speck within a speck within a speck within a speck, is huge. It takes fathomless humility to even know your name.

Take three minutes and watch this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfSNxVqprvM

lower

Then came the incarnation. The Word made flesh. God not only looks at and interacts with Earth from His distant throne… He chose to step off His throne above the edge of the universe and become one of us.

Breakable, squishy, ugly-bags-of-mostly-water, time-locked, skin-locked, needy, temporary, finite little humanity.

In my opinion, no passage in Scripture captures this descent as well as Philippians 2:5-11.

“…Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
(Philippians 2:5-8)

It begins with Jesus in the form of God. In Greek, this word for “form” doesn’t mean appearance or shape. It means His very essence, His very nature. At His core, to His DNA, Jesus WAS God. He had equality with God; not that He was equivalent to God, but He was equal to God. From the beginning, Jesus = God.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
(John 1:1-3)

Yet, He didn’t choose to grasp tightly onto His status as God. He willingly let go of His position and rights as God. In the NIV, “something to be grasped” is translated “something to be used to his own advantage”. He had every right to simply rest on His own divinity, but He chose to forsake His own rights and empty Himself.

So He was born in the likeness of men… in human form. He who was in the form of God took on human form. God-nature took on human nature. Deity became humanity. The infinite became finite.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”
(John 1:14)

This is a staggering descent. It’s literally immeasurable. If you or I became an ant, it would be a huge downgrade, but it would be theoretically possible to measure the differences between a human and an ant. God is so completely Other that it is impossible to measure just how different He is. For God to become human is an infinite descent.

In being born, Jesus had to first be in the womb of Mary for 9 months. GOD was once the size of a grapefruit… and an apple… and a paperclip… and microscopic. When the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, the Son of God was conceived as a single cell.

God was once a single-celled organism. Fully God, fully human… microscopic in the womb of a young woman.

lower

Of course, the most powerful men on Earth started as only one cell. Jesus went lower even than that.

He took the form of a servant.

“…the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve…”
(Matthew 20:28)

ludoproject.com
He could have come as a great human king, and even that would have been infinitely beneath Him! Instead, He chose to be born in the most humble of ways– to a poor couple from a disreputable town, largely uncelebrated in a stable, then worked as an unassuming carpenter until He was released into ministry… when He set the example by washing His disciples’ feet.

.     “For he grew up before him like a young plant,
.         and like a root out of dry ground;
.     he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
.         and no beauty that we should desire him.”
.                   (Isaiah 53:2)

But then…

lowest.

He came lower still.

He became obedient to the point of death.

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
(Luke 22:42)


The Author of life… died. More than that, He didn’t peacefully pass away quietly, but He was executed in the most gruesome form of torture ever devised.

The Author of life, clothed in light, who from the dawn of creation has had ceaseless adoration rising around His throne…

…died on a tree, naked, with blood and spit dripping down His body, with angry insults and blasphemies clamouring around Him.

.     “He was despised and rejected by men,
.         a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
.     and as one from whom men hide their faces
.         he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
.     Surely he has borne our griefs
.         and carried our sorrows;
.     yet we esteemed him stricken,
.         smitten by God, and afflicted.”
.                   (Isaiah 53:3-4)

Despised and rejected.

Despised by the ones He knew and loved so deeply.

Rejected by the very ones He came so infinitely low to rescue.

This is the crux of the incarnation. This is Jesus, the King of Glory, at His lowest.

The ultimate, deepest humility.

BUT.

H I G H E S T

Philippians 2 turns a sharp 180° on one word–

“THEREFORE.”

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
(Philippians 2:9-11)


As quickly as Jesus came so low, He shoots up again to be “highly exalted”. There’s something unique about this exaltation, though. It’s not just the glory He had with the Father before the incarnation; this is exaltation as a human. This is the promise of His future exaltation as the Son of David, the prophesied Davidic King of the earth. One Day (capitalisation intended) He will be publicly and fully recognised as the sovereign authority of the planet, when He returns and establishes His Kingdom from Jerusalem.

Don’t miss this– the Davidic King has to be actually human. Jesus didn’t just temporarily put on a human costume and shed it when He ascended. He became permanently, irrevocably human forever. In heaven now, He has a glorified human body, similar to the glorified human bodies believers will have one day. When He sits on the throne in Jerusalem forever, He will do so as a human King: a literal, physical descendant of David.

What stunning humility.

To me, the most fascinating part of this Philippians 2 passage is in the THEREFORE. He is exalted because He was obedient to the point of death. His extravagant humility which led Him all the way to the cross is directly why He is worthy to rule as King.

This THEREFORE is all over Scripture.

.     “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
.         and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
.     because he poured out his soul to death
.         and was numbered with the transgressors…”
.                   (Isaiah 53:12)

.     “Worthy are you to take the scroll
.         and to open its seals,
.     for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God…”
.                   (Revelation 5:9)

He is worthy to open the scroll, release the plans of God, and rule the earth because He was slain.

Because of His great humility, He has proven His worthiness.

This is a King we can fully trust– the one who came so low for us. He has proven His love.

This is how we can trust that He won’t be a cruel or selfish or distant dictator. He has withstood every test and temptation. He has proven His love, humility, and commitment to us by His birth, life, and death. And God has vindicated and affirmed Him by His resurrection.

When we look at the baby in a manger, we can see the God who came so, so low to demonstrate His love by taking on flesh and dying on a tree, and the coming King who proved His trustworthiness to rule.

To me, that is breathtakingly beautiful.

God, You became a man
You took on flesh
You’re so beautiful

“One Found Worthy” by Justin Rizzo

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What I’m Praying: Lift Up Your Heads, O Gates

On By CaitlynIn What I'm Praying

Continuing my semi-regular/whenever-I-get-around-to-it series on What I’m Praying: the past few weeks, I’ve been singing through Psalm 24:7-10. A couple of months ago I was praying this chapter from a different angle, focussing mostly on verse 1, “The earth is the Lord‘s and the fullness thereof,” and the reign of the King of glory in supersession of the kings of the earth, in conjunction with Psalm 2:6’s proclamation “I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” While I was singing that, a part of me kept getting distracted by this theme of opening the gates in Psalm 24:7-10.

“Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory!”
(Psalm 24:7-10)

One of my favourite things about studying the Bible is getting a little bit familiar with the whole story so when I read a passage, my brain can automatically fill in imagery from other passages and I get a bigger picture of what’s happening. So when I read this passage, I immediately think of Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem when He returns to earth and comes to claim His throne.

I’m not going to cite all the references for this, but here’s the scenario in my head: Jesus has come in the clouds at the 7th trumpet and “raptured” the saints, then marched through the land setting captives free (mostly unsaved Jews who were being persecuted by the antichrist) and releasing the final bowl judgments of Revelation 15-16. (Isaiah 63:1-6, Revelation 19:11-16, Habakkuk 3:3-16) He comes to the eastern gate of Jerusalem with an army of resurrected saints behind Him, at which point the remaining Jewish leaders in Jerusalem actually recognise who He is and welcome Him in as King. That’s the moment that Psalm 24 finds us in.

So as I’ve been singing this in my sets, I’ve been meditating on the glory of Jesus as the conquering King, and also on the prophecy that Israel WILL welcome Him as King.

Jesus Himself prophesied that He would not return to Jerusalem until its leaders recognised and welcomed Him. Every time I read it, I can feel the yearning in Jesus’ heart for His people to know Him:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! …For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”
(Matthew 23:37-39)

This same longing in Jesus’ heart is so clear also in Zechariah:

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”
(Zechariah 2:10-12)

That phrase “and you shall know” gets me every time. “At last, you’ll believe. At last, you’ll accept Me.”

Later, Zechariah prophesies of the repentance that will grip Israel when they see Jesus on that Day:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
(Zechariah 12:10)

That Day when Israel–and specifically Jerusalem, the Holy City, the City of the Great King– finally, FINALLY accepts Him as their own Messiah is so near and dear to Jesus’ heart. Every time I sing these verses I feel my heart get so tender and I end up just prophesying over Jerusalem and praying for them to recieve their Messiah.

Jerusalem, open up your gates, and welcome your King! Who is this King of glory? Who is this warrior coming up with bloodstained garments? He is YHWH, your Messiah, the Son of David. Welcome Him as a firstborn son. Weep over the wounds in His hands and feet. He’s here to establish His kingdom and fulfill every promise. Invite Him in.

Jesus, thank You for Your faithfulness to all of Your promises. Come quickly and establish Your kingdom from Jerusalem. Save Your people Israel. Let them know You. Even now, would You bring many Jewish people to repentance. Remove the veil from their hearts and let them see You as You are– their King, their Messiah, their God. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and do everything You want to do.

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they [Israel] may be saved.”
(Romans 10:1)

Rapid Fire Prayer Topic

At the end of every set, everyone in the room lines up at the mic to pray short “rapid fire” prayers on a certain topic, usually related to something happening within the ministry. Right now, our topic is:

For Revive Texas to get $290,000 to pay for all the volunteers’ meals during the 50 days of outreach.

Every day for 50 days, tens of thousands of believers across DFW are going to gather at ten host churches to get equipped and fellowship together, and from there they will go out to the streets to share the gospel. Revive Texas plans to feed everyone at these host locations every day, but they need financial breakthrough to make that happen. We’ve been praying that God would in a moment put it on someone’s heart to write a check for $290,000!

God, provide for Revive Texas. You’ve been so faithful to meet every need thus far– do it again! Break in and give us this $290,000 for the meals.

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What I’m Praying: Psalm 37

On By CaitlynIn What I'm Praying5 Comments

I’d like to kick off a regular series on my blog called What I’m Praying. I spend 30 hours a week in the prayer room, and most of the daily testimonies I’m experiencing are prayer-related. I want to bring you into the journey of what God is speaking to me and putting on my heart to speak back to Him, as well as the intercessory burdens that we’re carrying corporately as a ministry.

This week, I’ve often been singing through Psalm 37:4-6 when I lead my devotional worship sets.

“Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.”
(Psalm 37:4-6)

The context of this passage is basically the frustration of the righteous living in a generation of the wicked, and the psalmist’s encouragement to trust in God because He will one day turn the tables and set everything right. There’s a lot to be said eschatologically about promises like “The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever” (v 29) when the wicked are permanently cut off (both ideas are repeated several times in this one passage), but for the purpose of my devos I’ve been singing these verses with a much more personal application.

God, I choose to delight myself in You. I choose to make You my joy. You are my greatest treasure and highest pleasure. I intentionally turn my gaze and choose to rejoice in You and simply enjoy You.

I believe You will fulfill the desires of my heart that You’ve placed in me. If You’ve put them there, You care about them even more than I do. You are always faithful to Your promises, no matter how long it takes.

I commit my way to You; I acknowledge You in all my ways. (Prov 3:6) I surrender the right to control my own life. I want You to direct my steps. I trust that You will act. Your plans and Your timing always work out better than me trying to make things happen on my own, anyway.

As I wait, as I stay in the tension of trusting You even when I can’t see what You’re doing, You’re making my righteousness shine. You’re making me look like You. Even as Jerusalem’s righteousness will one day shine with Your glory, (Is 62:1) You are literally preparing me for an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17) in a resurrected body that will shine like the stars to one degree or another depending on how I live in this age. (Dan 12:3, Matt 13:43, 1 Cor 15:35-49) Every little moment by moment choice I make to trust You and delight myself in You will be rewarded, and I will shine.

Rapid Fire Prayer Topic

At the end of every set, everyone in the room lines up at the mic to pray short “rapid fire” prayers on a certain topic, usually related to something happening within the ministry. Right now, our topic is:

For the Lord to move on people’s hearts to join Sacred Trust and that it would grow back to 100 before Revive Texas.

Our Sacred Trust is the commitment that people make to join at least one two-hour prayer meeting a week. We’re asking God that more people would make such a commitment, so that when we’re doing 24/7 prayer and worship for the 50 days of Revive Texas, we would have enough people to sustain that schedule. We currently have just over 75 people on the Sacred Trust, so we’re praying for at least around 25 more over the next few months!

God, bring people who would commit to pray with us weekly! Put the vision for 24/7 prayer on many hearts and strengthen Your house of prayer.

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