Welcome to Week 25 of A 2020 Prayer Life!
What follows is a series of daily meditations and exercises to help us develop our individual prayer lives. This represents a one-day-at-a-time process. Don't short-circuit the process by reading ahead. Simply read and do each day what is offered for that day.
What follows is a series of daily meditations and exercises to help us develop our individual prayer lives. This represents a one-day-at-a-time process. Don't short-circuit the process by reading ahead. Simply read and do each day what is offered for that day.
June 17
We hear this exhortation from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah: "Trust in the LORD forever, for in God the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock." (Isaiah 26:4 NASB)
In your prayer time, talk with the Lord about the meaning of the exhortation and your response to it. Talk with Him about these matters:
In your prayer time, talk with the Lord about the meaning of the exhortation and your response to it. Talk with Him about these matters:
- What is the relationship between my trusting You and Your being an everlasting Rock?
- Help me to make the connection between my "forever" and Your "everlasting."
- What is the significance of being able to say that "we have" an everlasting Rock?
June 18
"Trust in the LORD forever, for in God the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock." (Isaiah 26:4 NASB)
The underlying Hebrew word, which we translate "trust," carries these meanings and connotations:
In your prayer time, offer each of those meanings to God in prayer. For example, "I will be confident in You forever, for in You I have an everlasting Rock." Talk to Him about each one -- what it means to you and how it applies to your life, your experience, and your relationship with Him.
The underlying Hebrew word, which we translate "trust," carries these meanings and connotations:
- trust
- be confident
- be bold
- be secure
- feel safe
In your prayer time, offer each of those meanings to God in prayer. For example, "I will be confident in You forever, for in You I have an everlasting Rock." Talk to Him about each one -- what it means to you and how it applies to your life, your experience, and your relationship with Him.
June 19
Later in the Book of Isaiah, the Lord declares, "Do not tremble and do not be afraid; have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none." (Isaiah 44:8 NASB)
In your prayer time, meditate on this verse, with particular focus on the final two sentences.
This is the Lord's own word to His people. Ask Him what He meant by it. Ask Him what He wants you to hear and to know from this word.
In your prayer time, meditate on this verse, with particular focus on the final two sentences.
This is the Lord's own word to His people. Ask Him what He meant by it. Ask Him what He wants you to hear and to know from this word.
June 20
"Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock?" (Isaiah 44:8 NASB)
This line from the text is a classic example of Hebrew parallelism. Indeed, the sentence could almost be read as a kind of mathematical equation, with each phrase on one side of the equation or the other. Hence:
"Is there any" = "or is there any"
"any besides Me" = "any other"
And by that approach, we discover that "God" = "Rock."
Talk to the Lord about that equivalency. Ponder the attributes that make Him the one and only Rock. Praise Him for those attributes, and thank Him for your experience of those attributes.
This line from the text is a classic example of Hebrew parallelism. Indeed, the sentence could almost be read as a kind of mathematical equation, with each phrase on one side of the equation or the other. Hence:
"Is there any" = "or is there any"
"any besides Me" = "any other"
And by that approach, we discover that "God" = "Rock."
Talk to the Lord about that equivalency. Ponder the attributes that make Him the one and only Rock. Praise Him for those attributes, and thank Him for your experience of those attributes.
June 21
"Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock?" (Isaiah 44:8 NASB)
The statement that we evaluated mathematically yesterday is actually a question. The Lord is asking His people a question about Himself.
In your prayer time, take it as a question that He is asking you -- a question that you are answering directly to Him. Perhaps your response might take these forms:
The statement that we evaluated mathematically yesterday is actually a question. The Lord is asking His people a question about Himself.
In your prayer time, take it as a question that He is asking you -- a question that you are answering directly to Him. Perhaps your response might take these forms:
- The answer of my head is __________.
- The answer of my heart is __________.
- The answer of my living is __________.
June 22
"Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none." (Isaiah 44:8 NASB)
Interestingly, after asking the question, the Lord Himself answers it.
It's hard to imagine that a human being might answer a question differently than God does: that we would claim to know something He doesn't know.
In your prayer time, confess the times and ways that you have answered the question differently. That is to say, when have your lived, acted, reacted, and decided as though there were "any other Rock"?
We have noted that the "rock" image connotes things like safety, shelter, refuge, reliance, strength, security, trust. Talk to the Lord about each of these words. Tell Him which you have come to associate with Him. Talk to Him about the other people, places, and things that define those words for you.
Interestingly, after asking the question, the Lord Himself answers it.
It's hard to imagine that a human being might answer a question differently than God does: that we would claim to know something He doesn't know.
In your prayer time, confess the times and ways that you have answered the question differently. That is to say, when have your lived, acted, reacted, and decided as though there were "any other Rock"?
We have noted that the "rock" image connotes things like safety, shelter, refuge, reliance, strength, security, trust. Talk to the Lord about each of these words. Tell Him which you have come to associate with Him. Talk to Him about the other people, places, and things that define those words for you.
June 23
As we conclude Week 25, we want to meditate on a poem by Vernon Charlesworth.
The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide
A shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide
A shelter in the time of storm.
A shade by day, defense by night
A shelter in the time of storm;
No fears alarm, no foes affright
A shelter in the time of storm.
The raging storms may round us beat
A shelter in the time of storm;
We'll never leave our safe retreat
A shelter in the time of storm.
O Rock divine, O Refuge dear
A shelter in the time of storm;
Be Thou our helper ever near
A shelter in the time of storm.
The simple hymn is part testimony, part reminder, and part prayer.
The central, recurring affirmation is that the Lord is "a shelter in the time of storm." Talk with Him about that affirmation. When have you found that to be true? Are you in some storm now? Are you making Him your shelter?
Then, pray through the other parts of the poem (which is slightly adjusted below to make the poem consistently a first-person address to God in the second-person):
You are my Rock, in You I hide,
Secure whatever ill betide.
A shade by day, defense by night,
No fears alarm, no foes affright.
The raging storms may round me beat;
I'll never leave my safe retreat.
O Rock divine, O Refuge dear,
Be Thou my helper ever near.
The Lord's our Rock, in Him we hide
A shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide
A shelter in the time of storm.
A shade by day, defense by night
A shelter in the time of storm;
No fears alarm, no foes affright
A shelter in the time of storm.
The raging storms may round us beat
A shelter in the time of storm;
We'll never leave our safe retreat
A shelter in the time of storm.
O Rock divine, O Refuge dear
A shelter in the time of storm;
Be Thou our helper ever near
A shelter in the time of storm.
The simple hymn is part testimony, part reminder, and part prayer.
The central, recurring affirmation is that the Lord is "a shelter in the time of storm." Talk with Him about that affirmation. When have you found that to be true? Are you in some storm now? Are you making Him your shelter?
Then, pray through the other parts of the poem (which is slightly adjusted below to make the poem consistently a first-person address to God in the second-person):
You are my Rock, in You I hide,
Secure whatever ill betide.
A shade by day, defense by night,
No fears alarm, no foes affright.
The raging storms may round me beat;
I'll never leave my safe retreat.
O Rock divine, O Refuge dear,
Be Thou my helper ever near.