Christian Commitments for the New Year

Introduction

Happy New Year to you all! I felt it would be appropriate to take a brief break from our exposition of Romans and talk about Christian Commitments for 2023.

It is a well-documented cultural reality that the New Year is a time to renew commitments. Whether to health, relationships, or work goals, the New Year, for many, is a great time for a new start. Christians are no strangers to this phenomenon, and many Christians take the New Year as an opportunity to renew their commitment to Christ and His church.

For me, I find the New Year to be a great time to develop and refine strategies for healthy Christian habits. So for our time together today, I will be giving you all an inside look at how I think through what to do, what to be committed to as a Christian, by way of regular daily habits, to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Foundation

If we want to talk about commitments and growth as Christians, we need to make sure we’re clear on our goal. Why are we here? What is our purpose?

God, in His power, could immediately beam us up to Him as soon as we receive Christ by faith. He doesn’t do that. He is infinitely sovereign, which means He could do that. He is infinitely wise, which means He would do that if it were the best thing for us and for Him. He doesn’t do that, which therefore means that He has a reason for not beaming us up as soon as we repent and believe.

What is that reason? What is the purpose for which we exist as Christians after being justified by faith?

That purpose is two-fold, and it is what I call the purpose of the disciple.

The purpose of the disciple comes from the Great Commission, in Matthew 28:16-20. Someone read that for me.

What is the singular purpose of the Christian, as Christ commissioned the first 11 of them? To make disciples.

How do we follow Christ’s program for disciple making? Baptizing and teaching as we go.

So the purpose of the Christian is to make disciples. Matthew’s implication, of course, is that you are already a disciple (vs 16). So really we can expand this out and say that the Christian life is a life of being a disciple and making disciples.

Mark Dever, in his fantastic little blue book, aptly titled “Discipleship,” says that the Christian life is one of discipleship, or being a disciple, and discipling, or making disciples.

The basic Greek word translated disciple in the New Testament is actually a generic word. It means nothing more than simply a learner or student. So there is a real sense in which every time you all enter this room, sit down, and listen to me teach, you are, in that moment, my disciples.

However, in the Biblical and Christian context, a disciple is more than just a student or learner, he or she is a student of Christ. This discipleship, therefore, is much more significant than your discipleship of me or of your favorite college professor or your favorite TV preacher or your favorite author.

To be a Christian disciple or a student of Christ then is to learn Christ. To know Him as He has reveled Himself to us.

But more than just knowledge, there is also a volitional aspect of our discipleship, because not only is the disciple being taught Christ, the disciple is being taught to obey all that Christ commanded.

Disciples know Christ, and they also obey Christ.

It’s important to clarify here what Jesus meant when He said disciple, and what Matthew meant when he recorded it.

A first-century conception of learning, being a student, and discipleship was very different from our modern conception of learning.

Learning in America today is transactional. A student pays the money, shows up to the class, listens to the lecture for an hour and 25 minutes, takes some tests, and moves on with their life.

Learning in Jesus’ day would have been relational. The student lives with the teacher, sometimes for years, receiving wisdom and teaching. The test is not on a piece of paper, but within your shared life together.

So when Jesus speaks of being a disciple, He intends for us to be in a learning relationship with Him.

And what constitutes the most basic building block of any good, working, healthy relationship? Communication.

But Jesus is no longer on earth with us as He was with the 11. So how do we communicate with Jesus? Through the Word and prayer.

Therefore, discipleship consists in being in a learning relationship with Jesus Christ through communicating with Him. That communication happens when we hear from Christ in His Word and when Christ hears from us in prayer.

But perhaps communication is too trite a way to put it, which is why the New Testament describes this type of relationship with a related, but more intimate word: communion.

Now, the purpose of this special session is not to deal with a Biblical theology of the Word or prayer. I trust that, at least for today, we can all agree that communing with Christ in these two ways is the essential foundation of what it means to be a Christian. I will simply offer two proofs and leave the detailed theological analysis for another time.

Proof 1: Hearing from God in His Word is essential to the Christian life because it was essential to David’s life.

This is seen in Psalm 119, which is not accidentally the longest chapter in the Bible. There David extols the Word of God, waxing eloquent about how central it is to his life and how desperate he is for God to be present in his life through His word. If we are to be men and women after God’s own heart, we ought also to be, like David, men and women after God’s Word.

Proof 2: Having God’s ear in prayer is essential because it is commanded 99 times in the New Testament.

Jesus Himself gives detailed instruction on prayer in the sermon on the Mount, the apostles exemplified lives of prayer in the book of Acts, and every epistle makes mention of prayer as integral to the life of the Christian.

Therefore we can say with great confidence that the two essential pillars of discipleship are communion with God in the Word and in prayer.

The question that so often occupies my mind then is this: how do we do this? How do we engage in communion with God? How do we hear from God in His Word and how does He hear from us in prayer? It is to those practical questions that I want to turn for the rest of our time together this morning.

The Framework of Habits

Before we get into the nitty gritty, I want to first discuss what I have found to be a critical framework for growth in discipleship. That is the framework of habits.

Many of think of habits as a bad thing. “That’s a bad habit, I need to break it.” “My life has become habitual, it’s boring, there’s no flavor anymore.”

I want to rethink that a little bit.

Habits are simply a platform. They’re not necessarily good or bad. A habit is simply an action that is repeated with great consistency, to the point where it becomes automatic. The bad rep that habits get comes in the automatic part. When you do something so much that it becomes automatic, you lose the joy and wonder that you had at first, because you are so used to the thing you’re doing. We’ve heard the phrase familiarity breeds contempt, and that’s what we see here.

In the Biblical context, this was the plight of the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2. They had lost their first love, and the implication is, Christ had become rote or routine or habitual, and that was what caused this loss of love.

But good habits, when done properly, become a vehicle for massive change in someone’s life when the consistent, repeated, automatic action is done with purpose and intent and focus.

We know this to be true both from the Scriptures and our own Christian experience. The Christian life is not a silver bullet, one-time blaze of glory situation where we get completely sanctified in one fell swoop. If we are to grow as disciples of Christ it takes consistent grace-fueled effort, with the Spirit of God working in our work, not a one-stop, one-shot, one-size-fits-all silver bullet.

And as I see it, this consisted effort takes shape in the form of good habits. David Mathis, in his helpful little book titled Habits of Grace, calls these habits hearing God’s voice and having God’s ear - communing with God in His Word and in prayer.

So - we want to establish a consistent habit of communing with God in Word and prayer. How do we do that?

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, and so as Christians, we ought to think and plan carefully to implement these habits into our lives.

James Clear wrote the best and most comprehensive treatment of habits in his 2016 book Atomic Habits. While not a Christian book by any stretch of the imagination, the principles and practices Clear puts forth in his book have direct application to Christians who want to form a consistent practice of communing with God in Word and prayer.

Clear says that in order to create a consistent, repeated action, we need to make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying.

I won’t give you every detail of Clear’s book, but he provides many useful practical principles that have drastically changed how I approach communing with God in Word and prayer, and I would commend it to you today as a helpful resource.

I do, however, want to point out how Clear’s four laws of habit building help us formulate a foundation of habitual consistency in our efforts to commune with God.

First, make it obvious.

Put your Bible in a place where it is easily visible and easily accessible. No shelves, no desks in the spare bedroom. Put it on the kitchen counter. Put it on the coffee table in the living room. Put it on the table in the breakfast nook. Stick your prayer list to the fridge. Tape it to your bathroom mirror. Make a plan. This plan needs to be specific and tied to space and time. In other words, say something like this: I will commune with God through His Word and prayer at my kitchen table every morning at 5:30am.

Secondly, make it attractive.

Get yourself a high quality Bible. A Bible that feels good to your hands and looks good to your eyes is one that you will want to read. We’ll talk more about what Bibles I recommend in a moment. Buy a nice prayer notebook and a high quality pen. Nothing about a piece of yellow legal paper and a two cent Bic stick pen particularly invites you to write anything on it or with it.

Third, make it easy.

Remove barriers and distractions to your Bible reading. Silence your cell phone and put it in the other room. Same with your tablet and computer. Turn the TV off. Go somewhere quiet and alone. Get a Bible that’s easy to read. If English isn’t your first language, you probably shouldn’t be reading the King James. Make sure the print is large enough for you to read easily and effortlessly.

Fourth, make it satisfying.

Obviously we affirm that only God can truly satisfy you, and His Word in and of itself ought to be immensely satisfying. But our fallen minds often require assistance. We can make our Bible reading satisfying by linking it with something we like to do or need to do. For example, you might say “No breakfast until I read my Bible for 15 minutes.” Your spiritual satisfaction in the Word becomes directly associated with your physical satisfaction at breakfast. Or you might do what I did in college, and not allow yourself a morning cup of coffee until I had gotten through half of my scheduled Bible reading for the morning. Another way to make your Bible reading satisfying is to track it. Human beings love to see progress. They love either the reality, the perception, or both, of “winning.” I love Jerry Seinfeld’s method. In the 90s, when he was one of the most well-known comedians in the world, he determined to write one joke every day. Even if it was the worst joke of all time, he still wrote it down. And the way that he kept himself accountable to that goal was by using a big desk calendar and a red Expo marker. Every day that he wrote a joke, he would cross off that day on the calendar. This way, he was able to track the habit and track his progress over weeks, months, and years. We can apply the Seinfeld rule to our Bible reading. It could be as simple as his method, with nothing but a big red X every day you read your Bible, or it could be more complex, such as my own method which tracks which chapters of the Bible I’ve read on which days, and which people from the church directory I’ve prayed for. Finally, make sure you never miss a daily habit twice in a row. There’s no shame in missing a day of communion with God. Life happens. We live in a Genesis 3 world. Just make sure that you pray for God’s help, rest in His strength, and get back on track the next day.

So we’ve established that communion with God ought to be part of our daily rhythm and routine, and the way to implement that communion is through the creation of good, Godly, practical habits.

Hearing God’s Voice

I want to look today at 6 methods for engaging in and increasing our communion with God through the Word, or as David Mathis says, being in the habit of hearing God’s voice. Next week we will consider having his ear in prayer, and then how all of that is shared with our brothers and sisters through discipling.

Hear God’s voice through expository preaching in the context of the local church.

I have placed this method first because it is the most important and the most central. God has blessed the preaching of the Word in the context of the local church in a way that He has not blessed other means of receiving the Word. We are therefore bound to participate in the preaching event as our first and primary means of hearing God’s voice.

I have qualified the concept of preaching in two ways.

Preaching must be expository. By expository I mean opening up, explaining, or expounding the Word of God. Talking about the news is not expository preaching. Sharing your feelings is not expository preaching. Only the Word of God, opened, read, and rightly expounded, is preaching. Anything else is a Ted Talk. Which are fine in their own place. But the pulpit is the place of the plain and powerful proclamation of the Word of God.

Preaching must be in the context of the local church. Watching a sermon on YouTube or listening to a sermon on a podcast is not participating in the preaching event. Preaching is designed to be an in-person event in which preacher and hearers engage together in expository exultation, or what we might more simply call worship in the Word. This cannot happen if a screen separates preacher and hearer.

As those who participate in the preaching event primarily as listeners rather than as preachers, what can we do to ensure we hear God’s voice in the preaching event in all it’s power and glory?

Prepare by reading. Debbie sends out an email with the text that will be preached every week on Friday. Find that email, and read the text of Scripture that will be preached. I do this on Saturday evening. Read it through a couple of times and write down observations or questions. By preparing in this way, you are already anticipating what God will say to you through Pastor Scott or myself on a Sunday morning.

Prepare by praying. I would commend to you to pray at least along these lines on Saturday night or Sunday morning as you prepare to receive God’s Word. Pray for clarity and power for God’s mouthpiece, the preacher. Pray for receptive hearts for all those who hear. Pray that God’s Word would take root and bear fruit.

Prepare by resting. Go to bed! God honors rest. If you show up on Sunday morning in a frazzle because you didn’t go to bed til 2am, and you’re falling asleep in the pews, you’re demonstrating that being with God’s people in God’s house to hear God’s voice from God’s messenger is not a true priority for you. I implore you to guard that Saturday evening bedtime.

Participate by focusing. Distractions are rampant. Put the phone away. Grab a cup of coffee so you don’t fall asleep. Don’t whisper to your friend in the middle of the sermon.

Participate by taking notes. This will help your retention and engagement in the Word of God. John MacArthur once said that he is most encouraged when he can’t see anyone’s faces while he’s preaching. The reason for this is that everyone’s head is down, looking at their Bible and their notebook. I feel the same way. Nothing encourages me more when I’m teaching or preaching than seeing someone furiously scribbling notes on a piece of paper.

Participate by following up. On the car ride home after church on Sunday, I always ask my wife one question: What did you take away from the message today? Thinking through and answering that question will help cement in your heart and mind the truth that was proclaimed to you. Just as we ought to ask our brothers and sisters where they’ve been in the Book, we also ought to ask them what they took away from the preaching of God’s Word. How did you hear God’s voice today?

The first and primary means of hearing God’s voice is by the expository preaching of the Word in the context of the local church.

Hear God’s voice by reading His Word broadly.

David Mathis says we read for breadth and we study for depth. We will address study in a moment, but for right now I want to address reading for breadth.

Pastor Albert Martin urged the ministry candidates he discipled throughout the latter half of the 20th century to read God’s Word in big chunks. This is wise and necessary for all Christians. Why is that? Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard a sermon series on Leviticus. How about Habbakuk? Haggai? Zephaniah? If you read the Bible slowly, you might never be able to mine the riches contained in these portions of God’s Word.

This can be hard for many people, but I promise you that it will be beneficial. You want to read quickly and in large swaths, especially early on as a Christian. You want to consume massive quantities of God’s Word. Your goal here is not deep study, nor is it mastery of the text. The goal is familiarity with as much of God’s Word as possible.

To this end, I have actually created my own Bible reading system. It is a combination of the Grant Horner Bible Reading system, created by Dr. Grant Horner at the Master’s University, and the Six Ribbon system from G3 Ministries. I believe Debbie has copies of the full system in the back, as well as some bookmarks to help you keep your place. Let me explain it briefly.

The base system is 10 chapters a day, one each from the following categories:

The Law (Gen - Dt) The Histories (Jos - Est) The Wisdom Literature (Job, Ecclesiastes, SoS) The Psalms The Proverbs The Prophets (Isa-Mal) The Gospels Acts Major epistles (Romans, 1-2 Co, Heb, Rev) Minor epistles (Prison, Pastoral, General)

Now this will seem daunting to you. Most people have never tried to read ten chapters in a day. When I started this plan 6 years ago, I said the same thing. Then I actually tried it. The key is to not stop, even if something is confusing or you’re unsure of something, just keep going. Why? Once you get to the end of the list, you just start over at the beginning of that list, only now you’ll have a ton more knowledge from all the other chapters you read. Even if you only read on weekdays, that still means you’ll get through the Law books in 6 months, the Psalms in 4 months, Proverbs in 4 weeks, Gospels in 4 months, Acts in 4 weeks, and major epistles in 10 weeks. The other three categories are significantly longer, and will take you closer to a year to get through.

Some people will say “Oh, I’m a slow reader, I can’t read that much in a day, it will take me 5 hours.” I read a lot and I like to think of myself as a fast reader. So a few weeks ago I timed myself. According to national averages, I’m just that: average. And this 10 chapter plan takes me about 45 minutes to get through in the morning. I promise you it’s not as much as you think.

Here’s why this plan works, and why it works better than a Bible in a year or chronological plan.

First, it’s not time based. If you miss a day, you’re not behind.

Secondly, it helps keep you sane through some of the tougher portions of Scripture. Think Leviticus. Reading one chapter of Leviticus a day is not that difficult when you also get to read one Psalm, a chapter of Proverbs, a chapter about Christ’s life, a chapter about the early church, and a chapter from Paul with it.

Thirdly, it quickly gets you a massive amount of exposure to every part of God’s Word.

Fourth, it helps you see the interconnectedness of God’s Word. You might go years without knowing that there’s a connection between Proverbs 8 and John 1. But if you started reading with this plan today, on March 11th and 12th, you would realize that John appropriates Solomon in a profound way to make a point about who Jesus is.

Now if ten chapters is too much, I’ve modified the plan with 4 and 6 chapter variations, and if you say I can do more than 10, there’s also a 14 chapter variation. You can get all the details of each plan as well as some further thoughts on this topic on my newsletter, which you can subscribe to using the sheet in the back.

There are other Bible reading plans are great as well. The Robert Murray M’Cheyne plan is the ideological predecessor to mine, and is a great place for any Christian to start reading their Bible for themselves.

The John MacArthur plan is a little bit different, and I would classify it more under the “study for depth” category rather than the “read for breadth category,” but it’s worth mentioning here. Essentially you take a book of the Bible that you want to study, and every day you read 7 chapters of it, or the whole thing if it’s less than 7 chapters. The next week, you move on to the next 7 chapters, so on and so forth, and read those same chapters every day for that week. I used this plan in high school, and it really helped develop a deeper familiarity with the books I chose to read. The repeated readings will cause you to notice things that you didn’t notice before, and build up a close familiarity with that individual book as you read through it repeatedly.

Now as we consider this discipline of reading God’s Word broadly, I want to offer a few pieces of practical advice.

First, get yourself a high quality Bible. Now I recognize that a pew Bible or a basic Thinline from Crossway will do the trick. The power of the Word is in the Word itself, not the paper it’s printed on and the cover it’s bound with. But there is something to be said about the feel of a high quality Bible in your hand that makes the experience of reading God’s Word richer and more meaningful. I have a few Bibles from my own collection here with me this morning that you can pass around and look at. My personal favorite type of Bible is a single column, verse by verse preaching Bible. This type of Bible does not have two columns of text per page, but only one. It has no notes and no cross references, and only one verse per line instead of multiple. It’s great for preaching and person study. You can get this type of Bible from Steadfast Bibles, who publishes the LSB and some versions of the NASB, or from Crossway, who publishes the ESV. If you’re looking for a high quality Bible, I would recommend the Schuyler Quentel series, which you can get in KJV, NASB, ESV, NIV, and NKJV, or the Crossway Heirloom series which is available exclusively in the ESV.

Secondly, don’t use a study Bible. What do I mean by a study Bible? A study Bible is a Bible that has commentary notes embedded with the text of Scripture. Common study Bibles are the ESV study Bible, the MacArthur study Bible, the Reformation Study Bible, or if you’re old school, the Ryrie Study Bible. Now some of you in the room may be confused, because you may have a study Bible or I may have even recommended that you use a study Bible in the past. So let me qualify this. The only category of people that I would recommend use a study Bible are brand new believers. Here’s why. The Bible can be a complex and confusing book for those who are unfamiliar with it. A study Bible can become a trusted teacher and companion during those early days of reading God’s Word for yourself. But after those early months and perhaps years of your Christian walk, once you have become familiar with the word of God and you have a basic grasp of the doctrines of the Bible and general chronology of it, drop the study Bible, and start using a Bible that is only the text of God’s Word. Here’s why. A study Bible can become a crutch. Rather than sweating it out and doing the hard work of determining what the text means, you can just hop down to the bottom of the page and see what John MacArthur or JI Packer or RC Sproul had to say. You start leaning on the human teacher rather than on the divine teacher. You start leaning on the minds of men rather than on the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

Third, use an engagement strategy. What do I mean by this? You don’t want to just look at the words on the page and forget them as soon as you’re done. You need to engage with the text a little to help it stick. Now we don’t want to go too far with this, because our goal with this discipline is to read broadly. We don’t want this to take too much time. Nevertheless, we still want to retain it. So here’s what I suggest. As you read, take a piece of paper or a notebook and a good pen, and as you read, write something out of or in response to the chapter you just read. Typically I suggest doing one of the following: a summary, a question, a praise, or a prayer. Let me give you some examples. It’s January 1, you’re going to write a quick summary of the chapters you’re reading for today. Genesis 1, God created the heavens and the earth and all that they contain in six days, and on the seventh he rested. Joshua 1, Joshua is commissioned to lead God’s people into the promised land. Job 1, God allows Satan to tempt His righteous servant Job. Psalm 1, God blesses the man who turns away from evil and walks according to God’s Word. Proverbs 1, a father encourages his son to walk according to God’s wisdom. Isaiah 1, God pronounces judgement on Israel for their sins. Matthew 1, Matthew shares the lineage of Jesus to demonstrate that he is of the house of Israel and the house David, proving that He is the rightful King of the Jews. Acts 1, Jesus commissions the disciples to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. Romans 1, Paul introduces the gospel and demonstrates that the whole world needs it. Galatians 1, Paul condemns the Galatians for distorting the gospel and defends his own ministry. Maybe you want to praise God. Genesis 1, God I praise you for your creative power. You brought the whole universe into existence with a word. Joshua 1, God I praise you that you are omnipresent and omnipotent, that you are with us, giving us strength and courage wherever we go. Job 1, God I praise you that you are sovereign and rule over all things, even over Satan himself, and that nothing comes to me except from your hand. Psalm 1, God I praise you for your abundant blessings toward all who walk in the light of your word and plant themselves by your precepts. Proverbs 1, God I praise you that you are the God of all wisdom and that you have revealed that wisdom to me through your word. Isaiah 1, God I praise you that you are just and that you will not allow wickedness to go unpunished. Matthew 1, God I praise you that you were faithful to fulfill your promise to Abraham and to David in Christ. Acts 1, God I praise you that you sent your gospel through the apostles to the ends of the earth, and that you sent it to me. Romans 1, God I praise you for the gospel and for making it your power to save wretched sinners like me. Galatians 1, God I praise you for your jealousy, that you do not allow your character, your truth, and your gospel to be distorted. As you can see here, just a brief sentence to help you engage with the text of God’s Word will help your memory and retention, as you seek with David to hide God’s Word in your heart.

Fourth, begin your time in the word by praying a stanza of Psalm 119. I must confess that Psalm 119 vexed me in my Bible reading system for many years. It’s 176 verses, and if you try to read it in one go as you’re working through the program, you’ll need upwards of an hour to get all the reading done. I’ve tried breaking it down by stanza, and reading each stanza as it’s own standalone Psalm, but that gets confusing after a while. Finally, this summer, I realized the best way to incorporate Psalm 119 into your daily Bible reading. Keep a bookmark there, and before you start your reading, read a stanza and pray it. You can pick any one you want and I promise it will work to pray it out loud. This little discipline has ignited my heart for God’s Word more than any other strategy I’ve tried.

We need to read God’s Word broadly. Ingest it, feast on it, fill ourselves up with it.

Hear God’s Voice by Listening to God’s Word.

Another method I have found to be incredibly helpful is to listen to God’s Word. Some people have trouble reading for one reason or another. I’ve known folks with dyslexia or other neurological disorders that have trouble reading. Listening to the Bible is for these Christians.

There is something unique about listening to the Word being read as opposed to just reading it off the page. It provides a freshness, a unique perspective, and often helps things stick better than just reading them off the page.

Additionally, listening to the Bible can be a convenient way to redeem the time while commuting to work, exercising, or doing chores around the house.

The principles from discipline 2 generally apply here as well, so I’ll just make a few recommendations.

The ESV Bible app has a remarkable audio Bible built-in to it, that is read by Kristyn Getty, whose songs we sing regularly on Sunday morning. She has a lovely Irish accent, and is a master of what I call expository reading, in other words, reading the Bible with affective pathos to impart a greater sense of understanding to the words as you hear them read. The app and audio are completely free on the Apple and Android app store, as well as online at ESVBible.org.

Another great app is called Dwell Bible. This is a much more powerful and complex app. Some have called it the Spotify of audio Bibles, and I would affirm that. It has tons of features, including dozens of readers from around the world, reading in every major English translation of the Bible. There are daily verse mixes to listen to, themed playlists centered around doctrines and theological topics, Bible reading plans based on some of the most popular plans available today including some that we’ve already looked at today, and it also has a custom playlist option so you can create your own listening plans. I love this app, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It is a paid app, it costs $27/year or $140 to purchase it outright with no subscription fee. Either way you go, I promise it is worth the investment. There is no better audio Bible available today.

Hear God’s Voice by Studying God’s Word Deeply

As we’ve seen, broad consumption of God’s Word is crucial. But so also is deep mining of God’s Word. John Piper once said, raking is easy, but all you get is leaves. Digging is hard, but you might find gold. As Christians, therefore, we must rake our Bibles, but we must also dig into them.

How do we do that? That is far too massive a question to answer here, but I do have class notes available upon request from a 12 week class I did on the topic a number of years ago, and perhaps when we are done with Romans, I could rework that class for this group.

Acknowledging that methods for deep study are far beyond the scope of our time together today, I do want to point you in the right direction regarding some methods, tips and tricks for deeper personal Bible study.

First, use a formal equivalence Bible translation. What do I mean by this? You want to use a translation for deep study that has as close to a one to one equivalency to the original Hebrew and Greek as possible. You want to be as close to the original author’s wording as you can be. The best formal equivalence translations available today are, from my least favorite to my most favorite, the ESV, the KVJ, the NASB, and the LSB. These are the best Bibles to use for deep study because these are the closest to the wording of the original languages.

Second, practice sentence diagramming. We all did this in junior high, and tragically I suspect many of us have forgotten how to do it. We affirm that the Bible is the perfect word of God, without error in the original autographa or manuscripts. Therefore, the Bible will hold up to the most intense scrutiny. It will yield treasures unknown if we take the time to break it down word by word and dig into what it says and what it means. The best way I have found to do this is sentence diagramming. Get a piece of paper, a pen and some highlighters or markers. Write out the verses or sentence you want to diagram. Using your markers or highlighters, mark out verbs, nouns, conjunctions, adjectives, etc. until you’ve got the train of thought pretty well worked out. Here’s an example from 1 John 1:5.

Third, ask investigative questions. We all learned the great investigative questions as kids: who, what, where, when, why, and how? Ask these questions persistently of your verse. This will help with your sentence diagramming as well. Go back to 1 John 1:5.

Fourth, familiarize yourself with the historical, cultural, and theological background of your verse. The best way to do this is with a basic Old Testament or New Testament introduction. There are many of these, and some will lead you astray, so read with discretion. However, I have found that the best introductions to the Old and New Testament are published by Kregel and are called What the Biblical Authors Really Cared About. These volumes are accessible while still being full of great information on the historical, cultural, and theological background of each book of the Bible. Another great way to do this is to dust off your study Bible that you had as a new believer, and read the book introductions. I’ve found that the ESV study Bible has great, concise book introductions that will help you understand historical, cultural, and theological questions regarding to your book and your verse.

Deep study ought to always accompany broad reading. In my life, I typically do my broad reading in the morning, and I do my deep study at night.

Hear God’s Voice by Reading Bible Commentaries

Another great way to hear God’s voice is to read good Bible commentaries.

What is a commentary? It is a book designed to explain, verse by verse, the text of Scripture. Oftentimes a commentary is simply a printed sermon series.

Now, you may be asking, how do I use a commentary to hear God’s voice? Here are a few thoughts.

Remember that a commentary is just that, a commentary. It is not God’s Word. Commentaries must be subjected to to God’s Word, and be tested against it. We are therefore to read with discernment, and take the commentary for what it is: a human explanation of God’s Word.

Read a commentary like a book. Many people want to use a commentary to answer a question they have about a passage. I have found that commentaries are actually better suited to be read start to finish, cover to cover. This way you can trace the commentator’s argument, the Biblical author’s argument, and understand it the way it was meant to be understood.

Read a commentary in conjunction with a Sunday sermon series. In addition to reading the section of Scripture to be preached from the pulpit on Sunday, it’s also a great idea to read a commentary on those same verses. This will help you become further familiar with the passage prior to hearing it preached, and it will help prepare your mind and heart for what will be taught on Sunday.

Now, like with our background studies, commentaries can be good or bad, but I have found these four sets to be superb in their handling of God’s Word and in their focus on applying God’s Word to our lives.

Preaching the Word Commentary - Edited by Dr. R. Kent Hughes, and treating over half the Bible, this commentary is Biblical faithful and easy to read, because it’s just lightly edited sermon series. This is pastor Scott’s go-to commentary series and for good reason. It will help shed light on the Biblical text, and help you apply it to your life in meaningful ways.

St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary - These commentaries are edited manuscripts of RC Sproul’s Sunday morning sermons at St. Andrew’s Chapel, from the founding of the church in 1999 until his death in 2017. He covers the gospels, Acts, Romans, Galatians, and 1-2 Peter. These books represent an older, wiser, more pastoral Sproul. His love for God’s people shines forth in these pages, while still retaining the Sproul flavor we all know and love - theologically robust, historically aware, and intellectually engaging, and at the same time simplifying even the most complex topics into language that everyone can understand.

Lectio Continua Commentary Series - This series is published by Reformation Heritage Books, edited by Dr. Joel Beeke, and, like the others I’ve mentioned so far, are edited sermons from Godly, Biblically faithful Reformed pastors around the globe. The series currently covers Romans, Revelation, Ephesians, 2 Timothy, Philippians, 1 Corinthians, and Hebrews. These commentaries are easy to read and are full of strong application points to help clarify the text of God’s Word for our lives.

The MacArthur New Testament Commentary - this series contains commentaries on every book of the New Testament, again edited from sermons John MacArthur preached in the late 80s through the early 2000s. MacArthur’s signature simplicity combined with pastoral depth and a remarkable understanding of the Greek New Testament make this series a valuable companion to the study of any New Testament book.

The ESV Expository Commentary - this series is the newest and most complex of the ones that I have listed, and is the only series here that was not originally preached as a sermon series. This is also the only set I’ve listed that covers every book of the entire Bible. There are 12 volumes in this set, and the last volume comes out later this year which shows you how new it is. This is one of my personal favorites, and for the student of Scripture who is eager to go even deeper than we might ever be able to in a Sunday sermon, this series is a great help.

Hear God’s Voice by Sitting Under the Old Masters

I got this phrase from Pastor Albert Martin, and it’s kind of poetic and it has stuck with me. What do I mean by sit under the old masters? Simply put, I mean that you should read good, old Christian books.

Why? Let me provide a few thoughts on the value of reading good Christian literature.

First, old is gold, and deader is better. There are theological and practical reasons that some Christian authors, writers, and thinkers, though dead, still speak. Theologically, I believe God grants the blessing of lasting influence to those men who guided their hearers and readers closest to the heart of God. Therefore, the old books and writings that we still possess today, we might say have the blessing of God, simply because they still exist. A more practical reason is simply because they are well-written and substantive. We can’t begin to imagine all the thoughts and ideas that have been written down over the years. The ones that last, last because they’re good, and the longer they last, the more worth our time they are. We often have a tendency to engage in what CS Lewis called chronological snobbery. We assume that because something is old, worn, and not innovative, that it is not valuable, when usually, in reality, the opposite is true.

Second, we stand on the shoulders of giants. We carry the torch of 2000 years of family history. That history is rich with the thoughts and experiences of Godly men and women, who by the grace of God wrote those things down, that we might benefit. How precious to be able to see God through the eyes of those who have gone before us. Like sitting on the knee of your great-grandfather as a child, hearing the stories of his life and the lessons he learned, there is great value in sitting on the figurative knee of our forebears in the faith, hearing of their life and their lessons.

Third, reading provides accelerated perspectives. What do I mean by this? There is a lot you could learn in life in general, and specifically in the Christian life, just by living it. But it will take a long time, and your lessons will be very limited because you’re only one person. But if you read, your perspective on the Christian life is profoundly accelerated. I have known teenagers whose mastery of the Word, and sound doctrine, and Christian ethics, would put many older Christians to shame. How did they become so mature so quickly? They read broadly and deeply of the old masters, drinking from the well of church history. This practice accelerates Christian growth and serves as a helpful support to our Christian growth.

Fourth, reading the old masters keeps us from historical heresies. A study of church history shows that there have many Satanic attacks upon the Bible and what it teaches over the course of the years. As it has been said, those who do not know the past are doomed to repeat it. It is therefore immensely helpful for the Christian in all times of history to look back with the mind of a learner to the past so that we might better understand the errors of the past, and guard ourselves and our churches from those errors today and in the future.

So what should you read? As I’ve said before, there is much good, but also much bad, when it comes to books that carry the label Christian. A good rule of thumb, as I mentioned before, is this: old is gold, deader is better. To phrase it differently, the closer you get to the modern day, the more careful you have to be.

With that being said, here are some books that ought to be on every Christian’s shelf, and that ought to be read and re-read regularly.

Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms: Reader’s Edition - Edited by Chad Van Dixhoorn. This collection of historic Christian creeds, confessions, and catechisms helps the modern Christian understand what the church has historically believed from the days of the apostles onward. These historic documents are valuable as guardrails for the Christian. They provide secondary support to our study of Scripture to help keep us from straying into false and unbiblical beliefs.

A Way to Pray by Matthew Henry. This is topical collection of Bible verses, translated by Matthew Henry from the original Greek and Hebrew, into prayers. He covers a broad range of prayer topics, falling under the categories of praise, confession, intercession, thanksgiving, and supplication, along with a section on prayers for special occasions and an expositional study on the Lord’s Prayer. We will look at this book in more depth next week as we discuss having God’s ear in prayer.

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This is the most widely printed, distributed, and read book in the English language outside the Bible, and for good reason. It paints a beautiful, poetic picture of the Christian life in the form of allegory. Many Christians, myself included, have found themselves in the midst of Christian’s journey, with enemies like the Giant Despair, and friends like Hopeful and Faithful.

If you’re here this morning and you’re saying “I’m not a reader, the Bible is good enough for me,” I urge you to reconsider because you’re missing out, but please at least own and read these three books.

Now, moving into deeper waters.

There are two series that I have found to be incredible in introducing Christians to the old masters, both from Crossway Publishing.

The first is called the Crossway Short Classics Series. These are books that can be read in one or two sittings, and represent the best of what the teachers and shepherds of the church over the course of the ages have written down for our benefit.

There are presently 9 volumes in this series, and Crossway regularly releases more. They include:

The Freedom of the Christian by Martin Luther, the famed German Reformer. This is a classic treatise on God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in salvation and in the operations of the world.

Selected Sermons from Lemuel Haynes. Haynes was born in Connecticut shortly after the death of Jonathan Edwards and carried on his legacy of powerful and affective Biblical preaching. He was the son of a slave, was later freed, and became a minister of the gospel in the early days of the United States. Known as “The Black Puritan,” he was the first African American in the United States to be ordained as a minister. His sermons are powerful and have the same theological flavor as many of the other great Puritan writers.

The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way by Francis Schaeffer. Some of you in the room are old enough to remember Francis Schaeffer, the eccentric but brilliant and Biblical faithful Christian philosopher. In this book, he encourages pastors, students, and church members to live as consecrated people, working humbly for God’s approval instead of human praise.

The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal. This book was originally a letter written by Scottish Puritan Henry Scougal to a friend who was walking away from the faith. It has become an enduring classic on the Christian life and is worth the time anyone takes to read it.

The Emotional Life of Our Lord by BB Warfield. This book serves as a great introduction to the thought of Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, the Lion of Princeton, and in my estimation second only to Jonathan Edwards in the category of greatest theologians born on American soil. In this book he looks at the life of Christ and seeks to demonstrate that Christ’s humanity was essential for our salvation.

Fighting for Holiness by J.C. Ryle. This volume is adapted from J.C. Ryle’s most famous book, Holiness, and charges Christians to take up their armor and fight for holiness in their day to day lives. It is a great introduction to the man Charles Spurgeon called “an evangelical champion” and the “bravest and best of men.”

Encouragement for the Depressed by Charles Spurgeon. We are all familiar with Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, but what many people do not know is that Spurgeon battled depression for his entire life. In his later years, having been continually comforted by the gospel, he preached a series of sermons on the topic which have been adapted here. For the Christian who is suffering from depression, this is a fantastic book and a great introduction to the Prince of Preachers.

The Expulsive Power of a New Affection by Thomas Chalmers. This fantastic little booklet encourages Christians to expel sin from their lives, not by legalism or rote obedience, but by having such a large and powerful love for Christ that all lesser loves are expelled.

Heaven is a World of Love by Jonathan Edwards. Edwards is known for many things, usually his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, his Resolutions, or his deep philosophical work. But many people forget that he preached one of history’s most beautiful sermons on heaven, encouraging his church to look with hope and joy toward the eternal love of heaven between God and believers and believers and one another.

These 9 volumes are fantastic little introductions to the lives and writings of some of the great men of church history, and can be read in one or two sittings.

Another great way to introduce yourself to the best of the old masters is through another series from Crossway called Theologians on the Christian Life. These volumes are a bit bigger and more comprehensive than the short classics, but still easy to read overall. It is composed of 16 paperback volumes, looking at the life and teaching of the following figures from church history: Augustine of Hippo, Herman Bavinck, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, C.S. Lewis, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Martin Luther, John Newton, John Owen, J.I. Packer, Francis Schaeffer, Charles Spurgeon, John Stott, B.B. Warfield, and John Wesley. You could just read these 16 writers alone for the rest of your life and be thoroughly filled and nourished. This set serves as a great introduction to Christian thinkers and their writings as applied to the practical life of the Christian, looking at figures from the 4th century all the way to the 21st.

Conclusion

I want nothing more for West Hills Church in 2023 than for each of us to commune deeply and habitually with God through His Word. May we be committed to engaging in the expository preaching event here at our local church. May we be committed to reading God’s Word broadly. May we be committed to listening to it. May we be committed to studying it deeply. May we be committed to reading good commentaries that further open the riches of the Word to our hearts and minds. May we be committed to sitting under the old masters, learning from their lives and experiences.

Having God’s Ear

We’ve established that the first part of communion with God is hearing God’s voice. I’ve placed this part first intentionally. We always want to ensure that, like Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, our posture is always to come to God to listen first, and speak later. His authority as God predicates that this ought to be our posture and approach to communion with God.

But as we hear God’s voice we also want to have God’s ear through prayer, and so I want to spend a few moment discussing some practical approaches to enrich and enliven your prayer life.

I think many Christians may have a hard time praying because they don’t have a plan or a system in place to help them pray well. I know this has been the challenge for me in the past.

So what I hope to share with you today are some practical guidelines to help you come up with a prayer plan, a prayer system, as it were.

The Foundation

First, we need to establish some foundational concepts about prayer.

Jesus commands and exemplifies prayer at least 50 times across the four gospels. At most points in the gospels, Jesus operates on the assumption that prayer is already a central part of the life of the disciple. He often uses phrases not commanding prayer, but something along the lines of “when you pray, do this or that.” So Jesus assumes a posture of prayer in the life of the disciple.

Paul is even more explicit. Romans, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, and Philemon all contain multiple “prayer imperatives.”

Time forbids us from looking at every example of Old Testament figures regularly engaging in prayer, figures like Abraham, David, Job, Daniel, and Jeremiah.

Needless to say, both by example and command, the Bible is full of encouragement for the Christian to pray.

The question becomes: how do I pray? What do I pray for?

The Teaching of Christ

I believe we can look to 3 places for instruction in this area. First, we can look to the Lord’s Prayer, more rightly known as the Disciple’s Prayer. Second, we can look to Paul’s examples of prayers for churches in his letters. Third, we can look to the Psalms for examples and encouragement on how to pray. From these three places in God’s Word I believe we can see with clarity what it is that God would have us pray for.

The Lord’s Prayer

We are all familiar, I hope, with the Lord’s Prayer. It is recorded for us in Matthew 6:8-13

Matthew 6:8–13 LSB

“Therefore, do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

Contextually, this is part of the sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is giving the bulk of his instruction on what the life of a disciple ought to look like.

We can make a couple observations here that teach us about the content and priorities of our prayers.

Our prayers are to be God-centered. The Lord’s Prayer starts off by intentionally placing God first. The pattern of the prayer subtly reflects the pattern of the Ten Commandments. The first half deal with man’s relationship to God, and the second half with our relationship to other people. It’s very easy for us to slip into this mindset that God is a genie and praying is rubbing the magic lamp, and we just go to Him with needs. My friend is sick, she needs healing. I don’t have a job, I need to work. God help me. Prayer becomes a kind of 24 hour emergency help hotline for our problems. Now we affirm that we are to cast all our cares on Him in prayer, that we are to take everything to Him in prayer, but we cannot forget that if we are following the pattern Christ sets for us, before we ever get to our physical needs, we need to center our prayers on the person, character, and work of God.

Our prayers acknowledge God as Father. We address God as Father when we pray. We acknowledge that He is the giver of every good gift, and when we come to Him as His children in Christ, He hears and honors our prayers. We pray therefore not as slaves but as sons, knowing that God provides His children with all they need.

Our prayers acknowledge God as holy. By addressing God as our Father in heaven, we acknowledge that He is apart from and outside of us, that His existence is completely other, completely pure, and completely perfect. So while we rejoice that we can come to Him as Father, we tremble as we remember how high and how holy and how exalted He is, and this is so important for Jesus that He restates it when He instructs us to praying for the hallowing or the sanctifying of God’s name. Our prayers are to be acts of joyful trembling, coming to God as Father but knowing that He is also the high and holy King of the universe. Our prayers, therefore, ought to extol and magnify and put forth the holiness and glory of God.

Our prayers are in pursuit of God’s kingdom and God’s will. We must pray not first about our own desires, but about the desires of God. We pray therefore for God’s kingdom to come. By praying this we acknowledge that His kingdom has come, at the incarnation of Christ, it is coming as more and more people believe upon Christ and acknowledge His rule and reign, and it will come when He returns in glory. So we pray for that. We pray for more and more people to bow the knee to Christ the King. We pray that His will would be done, that God would accomplish all that He intends to accomplish for us and for our world and for redemptive history. We pray that His people would be obedient, that they would pursue His will in faithful obedience to His revealed Word. And finally we pray with hope, praying for the day when heaven and earth are made one, and the perfection of heaven breaks into the brokenness of earth and transforms it, fully and finally, in the new heavens and the new earth.

Our prayers are for our needs, both physical and spiritual. Praying for our daily bread hearkens back to the nation of Israel wandering in the wilderness, where God provided manna for them that was sufficient for that day alone. There He provided for them their daily bread. So also we pray for our daily needs. We pray that God would supply exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. And Jesus will clarify later in His ministry that our needs are not only physical. We do not only need daily bread to fill our stomachs, we need true bread and true drink to fill our spirits. So to pray for our daily bread is to pray with Paul, that God would supply all our needs according to His riches in glory, both physical needs and spiritual needs.

Our prayers are for forgiveness. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors is framed in the context of humility and is dovetailed into the concept of spiritual needs. Our greatest spiritual need is to be forgiven our sins against the high and holy God of the universe. So as much as we are forgiven, we forgive others. Woven within this is the concept of church unity. A church can be united and moving forward in it’s mission only when it’s members are forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave them.

Our prayers are for deliverance. We pray that God would not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. There are tones of Psalm 23 here: yea though I walk the valley of the shadow of death and evil and temptation, I will not fear because God is with me to deliver me.

So we see here, as Christ teaches His disciples and us to pray, what the content of our prayers should be. Our prayers should be God-centered, focused on Him as our Father and as the high and holy king of heaven. They should be focused on His will and His kingdom and accomplishing His purposes here on earth. We are to pray for provision in both the physical and spiritual sense, acknowledging with humility our reliance on Him for everything we need. We are to pray for forgiveness, knowing that it is our greatest spiritual need. And we are to pray for deliverance from temptation and from evil, knowing that this is the greatest hardship Christians will face.

There is much to learn about the content and posture of prayer from Christ’s instruction here.

The Example of Paul

We can also look to Paul as an example specifically of how to pray for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Almost all of Paul’s letters contain a record of how he prays for the church that he’s writing to. So it’s Bible drill time. We’re going to look at Paul’s letters and see how he prays for his brothers and sisters in Christ, and sets the example for how we also ought to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Romans 1:8–12 LSB

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how without ceasing I make mention of you, always in my prayers earnestly asking, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be strengthened; that is, to be mutually encouraged, while among you, by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

We can make 4 observations:

Paul thanks God for the Roman church.

Paul prays that he would be able to be physically present with this church.

He prays that he may be a means of grace and blessing to them.

He prays that they would be strengthened.

He prays that he and they would be encouraged by one another when they are together again.

This is a great way to pray on Sunday as you’re preparing to come to church. We ought to be praying, asking God that we would be able to be a means of blessing and grace to our church, that we would be strengthened and encouraged every time we are together. Do we pray that way?

Also notice Paul’s points of emphasis here. He is thankful for this church not because they’ve been a blessing to him, though they have. He is thankful for this church because their faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. Paul’s gratitude is God-centered, not him-centered and not even Rome-centered. Here then Paul gives us a practical demonstration of praying for the kingdom and will of God to be done.

1 Corinthians 1:4–8 LSB

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all word and all knowledge, even as the witness about Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, beyond reproach in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here Paul prays for 4 spiritual blessings for the Corinthian church:

That they would be enriched in Christ in word and in knowledge

That they would not lack any gift

That they would eagerly await the revelation or second coming of Christ

That they would be confirmed or preserved until the end in Him

Again we ask: do we pray like this? Do we pray for our brothers and sisters that they would be enriched in Christ? That they would not lack any gift? That they would wait eagerly for the coming of Christ? When was the last time you prayed that for someone else?

Again Paul’s prayers reflect the pattern of Christ’s instruction: Eagerly awaiting His kingdom come, delivered from temptation so that they will be above reproach in the day of Christ.

2 Corinthians 13:7–9 LSB

Now we pray to God that you do no wrong, not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak but you are strong. This we also pray for, that you be restored.

Now this is a different type of prayer. We need to understand the context of 2 Corinthians. This is a wayward church, a church that has some problems and some issues. We know that not all Christians and not all churches have it all together 100% of the time, and so sometimes our prayers have to be for restoration and for a return to obedient and holy and good behavior.

Ephesians 1:15–21 LSB

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the full knowledge of Him, so that you—the eyes of your heart having been enlightened—will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength, which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is actually pretty simple, it’s just two parts:

He prays that God would give the Ephesians the Spirit of wisdom and revelation and knowledge

He prays that they would know God

Do we pray that our brothers and sisters would know God? We sing it often: I want to know you, Jesus my Lord. Do we pray that for each other?

Ephesians 3:14–21 LSB

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that He would give you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being firmly rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or understand, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Paul prays here for the following:

Spiritual strength and power

The indwelling of Christ

Firmly rooted and grounded in love

Comprehension of Christ’s love

What richness! Think of the spiritual power that would descend on this place if we prayed for one another like this!

Philippians 1:9–11 LSB

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in full knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and without fault until the day of Christ, having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul prays for 3 major items here:

That love would abound

That excellent things would be approved and pursued

That the fruit of righteousness would fill their lives

What a great thing to pray for our brothers and sisters.

Colossians 1:9–12 LSB

For this reason also, since the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and multiplying in the full knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Four prayers:

That the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of His will

That the Colossians would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord

That the Colossians would be strengthened with God’s power

That the Colossians would give thanks to God for qualifying us to share in the inheritance of the saints

Can you imagine if we started praying for West Hills Church every day like this? God, fill West Hills Church with a knowledge of Your will. Help them walk in a manner worthy of you. Strengthen them with your power. Cause them to give thanks to you. Can you imagine the energy and vigor and vitality of this place if we prayed for one another like that every day?

1 Thessalonians 3:11–13 LSB

Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you, and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you, so that He may strengthen your hearts blameless in holiness, before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

Again we see Paul’s heart for physical togetherness, for the love of the saints and the churches, and for spiritual strength and holiness.

2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 LSB

To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill all your good pleasure for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 basic lines of prayer here:

That God will count you worthy of your calling

That the name of Jesus would be glorified in you

Philemon 6 LSB

and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the full knowledge of every good thing which is in you for the sake of Christ.

Paul here prays for effective fellowship, that the brotherhood that we have together as Christians would have it’s intended and desired effect.

You have a small half-page handout in front of you today, and I want you to take that out now.

There you will find each of the prayer’s of Paul that we just read and discussed. On the other side, you will find a list of five blank lines. I want each of you to look around the room and write down the names of five people you see in the room there on your sheet.

Now once you’ve written those names down, I want you to take that sheet and put it in your Bible.

Now repeat after me:

This week

I will pray

a prayer of Paul

for these five people.

So there. You’ve made the commitment, now go and do likewise.

I also want you to notice something. You may not have some specific prayer request from one of the people you wrote down. The beauty of praying the Scriptures for them is that you don’t need a specific request. You can pray what Paul prayed and you can rest assured that God knows exactly what they need and will bless them in just such a measure as He has designed for them.