One of the greatest things we can learn from the apostle Paul is how to pray. As we begin our journey through Philippians by focusing on one of Paul's heart-felt, Gospel-motivated, God-glorifying prayers, I thought I would repost a short collection of some of Paul's prayers. Pick some passages and pray them for Redeemer. Pick some other passages and pray them for some other churches. Romans 15.5-6 5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15.13 13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Ephesians 1.16-19 15For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 3.14-21 14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 1.3-11 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1.9-12 9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

2 Thessalonians 1.11-12 11To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13.20-21

(I realize Paul’s authorship of this letter is contested but I couldn’t leave this prayer out of the short list.) 20Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Fasting And FeastingAs I was preparing for Malachi I sensed something that as a church will be unique for us, a corporate fast. My hope is that as a church we will see individuals, by God's grace, fast throughout the entire 7-week series. In other words, that at least one individual will fast every day from the start of the series on April 25th until we end the series with a feast on June 6th.

To prepare for the fast I found the following summary by John Piper helpful in focusing my affections and my mind towards some Biblical aims of fasting. Here are six aims Piper provides for reasons to fast:

1. For Jesus to come back Matthew 9:14-15: Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast

2. For help in a new venture in ministry Matthew 4:1-2: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.

Acts 13:3: Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

3. To avert some danger or threat Ezra 8:21: Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.

2 Samuel 12:16: David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.

4. To express sorrow and loss 2 Samuel 1:12: They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword

1 Chronicles 10:12: All the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh, and they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. 5. To express repentance and grief for sin Joel 2:12-13: “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.

6. Not for the praise of men Matthew 6:16-18: Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

In reflecting on my prayer time and preparation for Malachi over the last year there are a number of reasons that fasting seems of the Spirit and exceedingly appropriate for a study like Malachi. I imagine all of the Biblical aims Piper summarized above will come into play through our study of Malachi. Perhaps the biggest aim I sense in fasting, is the practical discipline of willingly removing things that often curb our hunger for God so we can learn to feast on Him as The Only One who can truly satisfy. For now consider praying and asking God if you should participate in this corporate fast and to what extent. Some may choose to fast multiple days throughout this series, others may be led not to fast  (for medical or other reasons) but to pray for those that are. If you are going to fast I strongly recommend John Piper’s book, “A Hunger For God” as a helpful and inspirational book on what it means to desire God through fasting and prayer.

Let me end this brief call to fast with Matthew 6.16-18. Jesus says; “16And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” As you prepare to fast this passage would be a good one to memorize. Jesus’ words teach us that fasting when rightly understood and practiced is not a gloomy and sad experience but a joyful time of enjoying the Father more than anything else. What could be a more glorious in fasting than feasting on the Father’s reward? My prayer for our church is a deeper hunger for God and a lessening thirst for the things of this world. For God’s glory and our satisfaction in Him, Amen.

The following list of prayers is not exhaustive but will hopefully aid and encourage you to pray Scripture over others. By following Paul's example of how he prayed we learn to pray with boldness, theological precision, and with confidence, convinced that what we pray is in agreement with God’s will as these prayers are God’s Word. I have included with some of these prayers a few verses of context which may not be a specific prayer as much as the motivation and ground for the prayer. After you spend some time using Paul’s prayers consider praying through whole books of the Bible. A few books that may be good to start with would be Colossians or Ephesians. Additionally, the prayers recorded throughout Nehemiah (esp. chapter 1), Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9, and the Christocentric and Christotelic Prayer Book of The Church, The Psalms, make for incredible prayers to memorize and pray.

May you become a person who can say to others, “I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day” (2 Timothy 1.3b) and that you “struggle in prayer for your people” as Ephaphras did in Colossians 4.12.

Romans 15.5-6 5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Roamans 15.13 13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Ephesians 1.16-19 15For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 3.14-21 14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 1.3-11 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1.9-12 9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

2 Thessalonians 1.11-12 11To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13.20-21 (I realize Paul’s authorship of this letter is contested but I couldn’t leave this prayer out of the short list.) 20Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.