Prayer Changes Things (Pastor's Corner)

            Have you ever been surprised in an answer to prayer? Perhaps you prayed for something, and were shocked that it actually happened. In the book of Acts Chapter 12, that exact thing happened. Peter is arrested and the authorities were ready to execute him for preaching the gospel. The Church was still in shock from the death of James, the brother of John. They prayed, (Acts 12:5) but knew Peter was likely headed for the same fate.

            Yet, in the middle of the night, like a dream, an angel of God frees Peter from prison and Peter decides to visit a group of Christians who at that moment were praying, probably for his release (Acts 12:12). The servant girl is so shocked he leaves Peter at the door knocking and tells the praying Christians who don’t believe her! (Acts 12:15) When they finally opened the door, Scripture says “they saw him and were amazed.” (Acts 12:16)

            There is much to love in this story. First, the humor of Peter showing up and being left knocking at the door. But also, it is amazing to see the church pray for something they seemed not to believe would be answered in the way they desired. Perhaps this shows that the strength of the faith of our prayer is not the factor, but the strength of the One to Whom we pray is what counts! Certainly, God does not always answer us exactly how we want. Jesus prays to avoid the cross if possible, praying “may this cup pass from me” but ultimately submits to His Father, that His Father’s Will be done: “not my will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) Our prayers, for the sake of our good and God’s glory must sometimes be answered: “no.”

            That fact, however, should not lead us to abandoning prayer because it would “not change anything.” God is sovereign, yet still God sovereignly decided that prayer would change things humanly speaking. God loves to use means (our confession of faith even says so! WCF 3.1). God does not have to use the means of his Word to convert, yet God uses that secondary means. God also does not have to use the means of prayer to affect events, yet God ordains the prayers and events of history at times to aid our faith, and even advance the gospel. Stephen prayed for Saul, and Saul was converted. The church prayed for Peter’s release, and Peter was released. Hezekiah prayed not to die, and God gave him 15 more years. God answers prayers, for our benefit, and sometimes intervenes in ways that would be different if not for our prayers because God wills that prayer be the deciding factor. Prayer becomes a means of our peering into the graciousness and mercy of a Father who listens to His beloved children.

            One such prayer, that changed all of our lives, was uttered by Christ on the cross. “Father, forgive them.” Although God does not answer all of our prayers “yes” he does answer the prayers that are best for us. We can thank God then for a “no,” such as the Father answered Jesus’ prayer that the cup pass from Him, so that God could answer “yes” to the prayer: “Father, forgive them.”

Prayers of a Mother (Pastor's Corner)

            Prayer is powerful. It is powerful not because prayer itself is powerful, but because the God to Whom we pray is powerful and “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.”[Ephesians 3:20] We might hear that, but does it actually happen?

            Aurelius Augustus (popularly known as “Augustine”) was a saint, as all are who believe in Christ, but if you read his life in his autobiography “Confessions,” your first reaction would not be to call him holy. Augustine recalls his “hedonistic” days when he stole for the fun of it, was a womanizer, and followed every new worldly philosophy he encountered.

            This was not how Monica, his mother, raised him. She had as her desire that he would get married, live near her, and most of all to be a faithful Christian. But as Monica watched Augustine shacking up with various women, follow teachers and philosophers around and even move hundreds of miles away – she did more than watch. She prayed. A lot.

As Augustine wrote his autobiography, the narrative is the form of a prayer to God as he sees the hand of God on his life, and God seeking him, even when Augustine was not seeking God. Soon, Augustine met a Christian friend and listened to a preacher named Ambrose and picked up the Scriptures after hearing a child’s voice playing, saying “Tolle Lege!” or “Take and Read!” Augustine read a section of Romans about the evils of sin and glories of Christ and was convicted, turning to Christ. The first thing he did was tell his mother, whom he knew was praying for him. He wrote:

“From there we went in to my mother, and told her. She was filled with joy. We told her how it happened. She exulted, feeling it to be a triumph, and blessed You [God] who ‘are more powerful to do more than we ask or think’ [Ephesians 3:20]. She saw that you had granted her far more than she had long been praying for in her unhappy and tearful groans.” [1]

Our Confession calls prayer a “means of grace.” Yet, prayer is unique since the grace for whom it may be a means may not even be the one who is praying. Prayer was a means of grace for Saul as Stephen prayed for his soul. Prayer was a means of grace for Augustine as Monica prayed for her son’s soul. Prayer can be a means of grace as we pray, “offering up our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies”[2] as we pray for grace for our family, friends and even enemies to know the God of grace.

---

[1] Augustine. Confessions. chapter VIII.xii

[2] Shorter Catechism Question 98

A Minister's Prayer

O my Lord,

Let not my ministry be approved only by men,

or merely win the esteem and affections of people;

But do the work of grace in their hearts,

Call in thy elect,

Seal and edify the regenerate ones,

And command eternal blessings on their souls

Save me from self-opinion and self-seeking;

Water the hearts of those who hear thy Word,

That seed sown in weakness may be raised in power

Cause me and those that hear me

To behold thee in the light of special faith,

And hereafter in the blaze of endless glory;

Make my every sermon a means of grace to myself,

And help me to experience the power of dying love,

For thy lood is balm,

Thy presence bliss,

Thy Smile heaven

Thy cross the place where truth and mercy meet

Look upon the doubts and discouragements of my ministry

And keep me from self-importance;

I beg pardon for my many sins, omissions, infirmities

As a man, as a minister;

Command thy blessing on my weak, unworthy labors

And on the message of salvation given;

Stay with thy people

And may thy presence be their portion and mine

When I preach to others let not my words be merely elegant and masterly,

My reasoning polished and refined,

My performance powerless and tasteless,

But may I exalt thee and humble sinners.

O Lord of power and grace,

All hearts are in thy hands

All events at thy disposal,

Set the seal of thy almighty will upon my ministry.

-from Valley of Vision (A Minister's Prayer) pg 338

Valley of Vision: Prayer on Confession

"Holy Lord, I have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, of failure to find Thy mind in Thy Word, of neglect to seek Thee in my daily life. My transgressions and short-comings present me with a list of accusations, but I bless Thee that they will not stand against me, for all have been laid on Christ. Go on to subdue my corruptions, and grant me grace to live above them. Let not the passions of the flesh nor lustings of the mind bring my spirit into subjection, but do Thou rule over me in liberty and power.

I thank Thee that many of my prayers have been refused. I have asked amiss and do not have, I have prayed from lusts and been rejected, I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness. Go on with Thy patient work, answering 'no' to my wrongful prayers, and fitting me to accept it. Purge me from every false desire, every base aspiration, everything contrary to Thy rule. I thank Thee for Thy wisdom and Thy love, for all the acts of discipline to which I am subject, for sometimes putting me into the furnace to refine my gold and remove my dross.

No trial is so hard to bear as a sense of sin. If Thou shouldst give me choice to live in pleasure and keep my sins, or to have them burnt away with trial, give me sanctified affliction. Deliver me from every evil habit, every accretion of former sins, everything that dims the brightness of Thy grace in me, everything that prevents me taking delight in Thee. Then I shall bless Thee, God of jeshurun, for helping me to be upright."

-From Valley of Vision

Great Prayer

At the end of Morning Prayer, Rite Two, of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer is this prayer which I think is a great opening to a day of ministry:

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Valley of Vision editor

I had wondered a few times about the compiler of "Valley of Vision," a book of Puritan prayers that has been personally rewarding and our church sometimes uses for worship. Justin Taylor has posted a short biography of the man, Arthur Bennett, that was an evangelist to the homeless and greatly ministered to by the early puritan movement, especially in the piety of prayer.

"Who is Arthur Bennett?"

Prayers for the Sick

Throughout my time as a Chaplain this summer, I have prayed, multiple times a day, with the sick. Although I do not read my prayers from a prayer book or the Bible, I also don't think my own words are so grand as not to be helped by Scripture and wise holy men's prayers. Here are a few that I read occasionally and use to form my own prayers with patients:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

-2 Corinthians 1:3-5

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in
time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and
relieve thy sick servant N. for whom our prayers are desired.
Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with
a sense of thy goodness; preserve him from the temptations
of the enemy; and give him patience under his affliction. In
thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead
the residue of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant
that finally he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

- Prayer for a sick person, Book of Common Prayer.


Strengthen your servant N., O God, to do what he has to doand bear what he has to bear; that, accepting your healing
gifts through the skill of surgeons and nurses, he may be
restored to usefulness in your world with a thankful heart;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

-Prayer before Operation. Book of Common Prayer.


Depart, O Christian soul, out of this world;
In the Name of God the Father Almighty who created you;
In the Name of Jesus Christ who redeemed you;
In the Name of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you.
May your rest be this day in peace,
and your dwelling place in the Paradise of God.

or

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your
servant N. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of
your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your
own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy,
into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the
glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the
mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

-A Commendation at the Time of Death. Book of Common Prayer

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
- Psalm 23

Prayer of Calvin

Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast been pleased to set before us an example of every perfection in thine only-begotten Son, we may study to form ourselves in imitation of him, and so to follow not only what he has prescribed, but also what he really performed, that we may prove ourselves to be really his members, and thus confirm our adoption; and may we so proceed in the whole course of our life, that we may at length be gathered into that blessed rest which the same, thine only-begotten Son, hath obtained for us by his own blood. Amen.

- John Calvin. Prayer in reflection on Jeremiah 23:11

_
O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who raised Him from the dead and has blessed us in Christ, with every spiritual blessing. To You, oh Father, we give praise for Your plan of our redemption, a work that out shines creation. Oh Father, draw us to your Son, as that is our only hope. Give us assurance that He died for us, for me. That He rose according to the Scriptures and that in that resurrection is our justification before You.

Glorious, Loving Father we bring you nothing but our sin and filth, as You cloth us by, and unite us to, Your Son by Your Spirit. May we marvel at such an awe-inspiring truth. May our witness be to the truth of your Gospel, that You Father planned, Your Son executed, and Your Spirit applies to us. For that, may all our best, if insufficient words of praise and glory go to You, the God of our salvation. Amen

Puritan Prayer: The Broken Heart

The Broken Heart

O LORD,
No day of my life has passed that has not proved me guilty in Thy sight.
Prayers have been uttered from a prayerless heart;
praise has been often praiseless sound; my best services are filthy rags.

Blessed Jesus, let me find a covert in Thy appeasing wounds.
Though my sins rise to heaven Thy merits soar above them;
though unrighteousness weighs me down to hell,
Thy righteousness exalts me to Thy throne.

All things in me call for my rejection, all things in Thee plead my acceptance.
I appeal from the throne of perfect justice to Thy throne of boundless grace.
Grant me to hear Thy voice assuring me:
that by Thy stripes I am healed, that Thou wast bruised for my iniquities,
that Thou hast been made sin for me that I might be righteous in Thee,
that my grievous sins, my manifold sins, are all forgiven,
buried in the ocean of Thy concealing blood.

I am guilty, but pardoned, lost, but saved,
wandering, but found, sinning, but cleansed.

Give me perpetual broken-heartedness, keep me always clinging to Thy cross,
flood me every moment with descending grace,
open to me the springs of divine knowledge, sparkling like crystal,
flowing clear and unsullied through my wilderness of life.

-Valley of Vision pg 150

Herbert: Prayer

Prayer (I)
by George Herbert from "The Church"


PRAYER the Church's banquet, Angels' age,
____God's breath in man returning to his birth,
____The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav’n and earth ;
Engine against th’ Almighty, sinner's tower,
____Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
____The six days world-transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear ;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
____Exalted Manna, gladness of the best,
____Heaven in ordinary, man well drest,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
____Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood,
____The land of spices, something understood.

Lord's Prayer: Forgive us, as we forgive

This is a great discussion on the petition in the Lord's Prayer:

"Forgive Us Our Trespasses as We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us"

Martin Luther on this petition:

The Fifth Petition.
85] And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

86] This part now relates to our poor miserable life, which, although we have and believe the Word of God, and do and submit to His will, and are supported by His gifts and blessings, is nevertheless not without sin. For we still stumble daily and transgress because we live in the world among men who do us much harm and give us cause for impatience, anger, revenge, etc. 87] Besides, we have Satan at our back, who sets upon us on every side, and fights (as we have heard) against all the foregoing petitions, so that it is not possible always to stand firm in such a persistent conflict.

88] Therefore there is here again great need to call upon God and to pray: Dear Father, forgive us our trespasses. Not as though He did not forgive sin without and even before our prayer (for He has given us the Gospel, in which is pure forgiveness before we prayed or ever thought about it). But this is to the intent that we may recognize and accept such forgiveness. 89] For since the flesh in which we daily live is of such a nature that it neither trusts nor believes God, and is ever active in evil lusts and devices, so that we sin daily in word and deed, by commission and omission, by which the conscience is thrown into unrest, so that it is afraid of the wrath and displeasure of God, and thus loses the comfort and confidence derived from the Gospel; therefore it is ceaselessly necessary that we run hither and obtain consolation to comfort the conscience again.

90] But this should serve God's purpose of breaking our pride and keeping us humble. For in case any one should boast of his godliness and despise others, God has reserved this prerogative to Himself, that the person is to consider himself and place this prayer before his eyes, and he will find that he is no better than others, and that in the presence of God all must lower their plumes, and be glad that they can attain forgiveness. 91] And let no one think that as long as we live here he can reach such a position that he will not need such forgiveness. In short, if God does not forgive without ceasing, we are lost.

92] It is therefore the intent of this petition that God would not regard our sins and hold up to us what we daily deserve, but would deal graciously with us, and forgive, as He has promised, and thus grant us a joyful and confident conscience to stand before Him in prayer. For where the heart is not in right relation towards God, nor can take such confidence, it will nevermore venture to pray. But such a confident and joyful heart can spring from nothing else than the [certain] knowledge of the forgiveness of sin.

93] But there is here attached a necessary, yet consolatory addition: As we forgive. He has promised that we shall be sure that everything is forgiven and pardoned, yet in the manner that we also forgive our neighbor. 94] For just as we daily sin much against God, and yet He forgives everything through grace, so we, too, must ever forgive our neighbor who does us injury, violence, and wrong, shows malice toward us, etc. 95] If, therefore, you do not forgive, then do not think that God forgives you; but if you forgive, you have this consolation and assurance, that you are forgiven in heaven, not on account of your forgiving, for God forgives freely and without condition, out of pure grace, because He has so promised, as the Gospel teaches, but in order that He may set this up for our confirmation and assurance for a sign alongside of the promise which accords with this prayer, Luke 6:37: Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Therefore Christ also repeats it soon after the Lord's Prayer, and says, Matt. 6:14: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, etc.

97] This sign is therefore attached to this petition, that, when we pray, we remember the promise and reflect thus: Dear Father, for this reason I come and pray Thee to forgive me, not that I can make satisfaction, or can merit anything by my works, but because Thou hast promised and attached the seal thereto that I should be as sure as though I had absolution pronounced by Thyself. 98] For as much as Baptism and the Lord's Supper, appointed as external signs, effect, so much also this sign can effect to confirm our consciences and cause them to rejoice. And it is especially given for this purpose, that we might use and practise it every hour, as a thing that we have with us at all times.

Prayer of Confession

O Lord,
No day of my life has passed
that has not proved me guilty in Your sight,
Prayers have been uttered from a prayerless heart;
Praise has been often praiseless sound;
My best services are filthy rags.

Blessed Jesus, let me find a hiding place in Your appeasing wounds.
Though my sins rise to heaven Your merits soar above them;
Though unrighteousness weighs me down to hell,
Your righteousness exalts me to Your throne.
All things in me call for my rejection,
All things in You plead for my acceptance.
I appeal from the throne of perfect justice
to Your throne of boundless grace.

Grant me to hear Your voice assuring me;
that by Your stripes I am healed,
that You were bruised for my iniquities,
that You have been made sin for me
that I might be righteous in You,
that my grievous sins, my many sins,
are all forgiven,
buried in the ocean of Your concealing blood.
I am guilty, but pardoned,
lost, but saved,
wandering, but found,
sinning, but cleansed.
Give me perpetual broken-heartedness,

Keep me always clinging to Your cross,
Flood me every moment with descending grace,
Open to me the springs of divine knowledge,
sparkling like crystal,
flowing clear and unsullied
through my wilderness of life.

-A Prayer from Valley of Vision

Learning to pray the Lord's Prayer

Someone once made a satire of fundamentalist eccentricities in Catechism form. Among the questions was included this:


25. Q: What doth the Lord's Prayer teach us?
A: The Lord's Prayer teacheth us that we must never memorize a prayer, or use one that hath been written down.

Though many Christians may see the Lord's Prayer as a "vain repetition" it was originally given as an "anti-vain repetition" prayer. It is the example prayer given by Jesus when asked for a way to pray. Study of it, therefore, should not be ridiculed as silly, but studied as instructive and edifying. An impediment to that, however, is that we often recite the KJV wording, which is fine for corporate knowledge and worship, but a new wording and translation can be helpful for seeing what is being communicated and petitioned. For my Sunday School class, I offered my own translation to accompany a study of the seven petitions of the Lord’s prayer. What we may not realize, due to the archaic wording, is that the Lord’s prayer contains seven imperatives directed towards God the Father. Imperatives are used not because God is commanded to do something, but are used as seven requests it is appropriate to ask God for. Here is a my translation to help:

Our Father, Who is in the heavens

Cause your name to be treated as Holy
Bring your Kingdom
Make it come to pass that Your will is done on earth, like it is in heaven
Give us bread for today
Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those in debt to us
Do not bring us into temptation
But Rescue us from the evil one

As we now see the seven requests, we may be aided further in reading Questions 100-106 on the Lord’s Prayer in the Smaller Catechism (the SC combines the sixth and seventh due to their similarity):

Q. 100. What doth the preface of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
A. The preface of the Lord’s Prayer, which is, Our Father which art in heaven, teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us; and that we should pray with and for others.

Q. 101. What do we pray for in the first petition?
A. In the first petition, which is, Hallowed be thy name, we pray that God would enable us, and others, to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known; and that he would dispose all things to his own glory.

Q. 102. What do we pray for in the second petition?
A. In the second petition, which is, Thy kingdom come, we pray that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened.

Q. 103. What do we pray for in the third petition?
A. In the third petition, which is, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven, we pray that God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven.

Q. 104. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?
A. In the fourth petition, which is, Give us this day our daily bread, we pray that of God’s free gift we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them.

Q. 105. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
A. In the fifth petition, which is, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, we pray that God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins; which we are the rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others.

Q. 106. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
A. In the sixth petition, which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, we pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted.

A Prayer of Francis

"O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

-from the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Prayer

Keep, we beseech thee, O Lord, they Church with thy perpetual mercy; and because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us ever by things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer 1928. 15th Sunday after Trinity.)

Why Bother with Trinitarianism?

The most often heard denigration of the doctrine of the Trinity (and really for all Theology) is that it may be true, but it doesn’t matter. There’s no application in our daily lives.

There are actually three problems with this:

1) It is false, the doctrine of the Trinity does have application
2) A concern for application is good, but not when everything has to benefit me in areas separate from Who God is, then the problem in the question is not the “problem” but the questioner.
3) It is telling of our lack of concern for God, who is supposed to be the object of our desires. If we truly do not care Who God is, it means our love for God is lacking or absent.

Though I do believe the doctrine of the Trinity has application for our daily lives, I will leave those concerns for last; because of first priority should be the third point: our need to worship a God we know. Imagine telling your wife how thankful you are to her for giving birth to you. The idea is absurd. You should not thank your wife for the gift of your mother! Yet, in worship and prayer we often do this very thing thanking the Father for dying for us, or the Son for converting us.

WORSHIP

The question has arisen, “Who should we worship in the Trinity?” Should our praise be centered on the Father as Jesus told the woman at the well that the Father is seeking worshippers? (John 4:23) While the Father is often the object of our worship, both tradition and Scripture reveal that the other members of the Godhead also are to be worshipped. The Nicene Creed tells us the “Holy Spirit…with the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.” And in the book of Revelation 22:3, of Jesus it is said: “the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship Him.” Many of the hymns in [good] hymnbooks reflect this concern, with verses dedicated to the Father, then to the Son, then to the Spirit. If your hymnal does not do this, consider this one that does:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Hymnal
http://www.gcp.org/products_b.asp?id=987663333&cat=A

PRAYER

This might also be extended to our prayer life. We often pray to the Father, ending with an appeal to the Son (in Jesus name). The Father is traditionally the object of our prayers in worship, often with us thanking the Father for His only-begotten Son and for the Spirit He sent. This formula originates in the very earliest liturgies of the church:

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf07.html

While the Father may be object of the Lord’s Prayer, this should not restrict us to prayer only to the Father. However, we should be conscious of which Person we are praying to. Paul prays (speaks) directly to Christ in his conversion. Much of the worship of Christ in Revelation is in the form of prayer. Also, tradition has developed liturgical prayers with this very concern in mind. Puritans often had Trinitarian petitions in their prayers beginning with “O Father” or “O Son” depending on the object of that prayer or petition. For examples see: the Valley of Vision.

HUMAN IDENTITY

Scripture tells us that man is made in God’s Image. More than that, Scripture tells us that man is made up of two parts, male and female. Anyone concerned about the equality and diversity of gender should take notice here. This “Image of God” and the knowledge that God is Triune, informs our idea of the relationship between men and women. Scholar Bruce Waltke says as much about relationship in his commentary on Genesis writing, “Relationship is modeled after God who does not exist in isolation but is a trinity, surrounded by a heavenly court” When the model for marriage is given in Genesis 2:24, the man and woman are said to come together and become “one” or “echad.” This is the same word used in Deuteronomy 6:4 when God tells us He is “one.” This truth stands beside the truth of God’s diversity in the Persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The fact is that the Son has equal worth as the Father, even though the roles may differ. As we consider the difference of roles between men and women, the fact that the two (men and women) are one mankind, tells us that while we may differentiate the roles, if we denigrate the worth of women, a similar action to the denigration of Christ is occurring.

There are more implications for the doctrine of the Trinity, but for our purposes, and my time, I can only leave you with the exhortation to give closer thought and study to the doctrine of the Trinity. It has implication for our lives, but more importantly, it is the nature of the object that should be our greatest desire, because the Triune God is the highest good, our highest good and our greatest joy is found in Him.