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The Upside Down World, Week 10, Day 4

by David Joynt on November 15, 2017


 LUKE 18:12-13 | ISAIAH 6:1-5 | JOHN 20:26-28


Praying is not boasting! There are many great prayers in scripture— none begin with a list of accomplishments that are being shared with God. God sees all our actions, and genuine prayers include praise, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, and silence, in order to listen.

When we really enter God’s presence, like Isaiah in the Temple, like Thomas in the locked room, our reaction will never be joy at our own virtue. God is holy and perfect, and the grace and truth revealed in His Son humbles us. In God’s presence, we feel inadequate, unable, and broken—the miracle is that we also feel loved, accepted, and embraced. In fact, the Pharisee doesn’t know anything about God, himself, or prayer. All prayer begins, continues, and ends in humility.


What do you include in your prayers?


Is there a place for reverent awe?


How does the tax collector pray?


FAMILY TIME— Look at the order of elements I describe in prayer. Why is this order helpful? How does praise and thanksgiving prepare us for confession and intercession?
Daily

Tags: prayer


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