Welcome to Week 27 of A 2020 Prayer Life!
What follows is a series of daily meditations and exercises to help us develop our prayer lives.
Do not short-circuit the process by reading ahead. Take one day at a time.
Also, do not short-circuit the process by reading only. Spend time in prayer. And allow your prayer time to be guided by each day's reflections and instructions.
What follows is a series of daily meditations and exercises to help us develop our prayer lives.
Do not short-circuit the process by reading ahead. Take one day at a time.
Also, do not short-circuit the process by reading only. Spend time in prayer. And allow your prayer time to be guided by each day's reflections and instructions.
July 1
For the past few weeks, we have considered the biblical image of the Lord as our Rock. This week, we pivot to the image of the Lord as a stone.
"Stone" and "Rock" are distinct terms in the Bible. The former typically refers to something smaller: perhaps a stone that can be picked up with a hand, or a stone that is dressed to be used in a building. The latter, on the other hand, typically refers to something larger: something too large to pick up or move, a ledge, an outcropping, or even bedrock itself.
The specific image to which we want to devote our attention this week originates in the Book of Psalms: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone." (Psalm 118:22 NASB)
Jesus cites that passage in reference to Himself (e.g., Mark 12:10), and Peter applies the passage to Jesus in both his preaching (Acts 4:10) and his writing (1 Peter 2:7). The image juxtaposes the judgment of human beings with the judgment of God. And the One whom human beings reject turns out to be chosen and exalted by God.
In your prayer time just now, meditate on the phenomenon of the Lord being rejected. Make a list of the times and ways in Scripture that you see Him being rejected.
Ask Him what each reveals about Him.
Ask Him what each reveals about human beings.
"Stone" and "Rock" are distinct terms in the Bible. The former typically refers to something smaller: perhaps a stone that can be picked up with a hand, or a stone that is dressed to be used in a building. The latter, on the other hand, typically refers to something larger: something too large to pick up or move, a ledge, an outcropping, or even bedrock itself.
The specific image to which we want to devote our attention this week originates in the Book of Psalms: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone." (Psalm 118:22 NASB)
Jesus cites that passage in reference to Himself (e.g., Mark 12:10), and Peter applies the passage to Jesus in both his preaching (Acts 4:10) and his writing (1 Peter 2:7). The image juxtaposes the judgment of human beings with the judgment of God. And the One whom human beings reject turns out to be chosen and exalted by God.
In your prayer time just now, meditate on the phenomenon of the Lord being rejected. Make a list of the times and ways in Scripture that you see Him being rejected.
Ask Him what each reveals about Him.
Ask Him what each reveals about human beings.
July 2
"The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone." (Psalm 118:22 NASB)
Yesterday, we pondered the phenomenon in Scripture of the Lord being rejected. Review the list that you made during your prayer time yesterday.
Now, today, we make the matter personal. Make a list of the times and ways in your own life that the Lord has been rejected.
Talk to Him about the items on your list. Which ones were occasional? Which ones are patterns? Ask Him what each reveals about Him. Ask Him what each reveals about you.
Yesterday, we pondered the phenomenon in Scripture of the Lord being rejected. Review the list that you made during your prayer time yesterday.
Now, today, we make the matter personal. Make a list of the times and ways in your own life that the Lord has been rejected.
Talk to Him about the items on your list. Which ones were occasional? Which ones are patterns? Ask Him what each reveals about Him. Ask Him what each reveals about you.
July 3
Today we expand what both the Psalmist and the Apostle said.
"The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." (Psalm 118:22-23 NASB)
"Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-- by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:10-12 NASB)
In your prayer time, ponder before the Lord what is revealed in these passages about Jesus. In the previous two days, we considered how Jesus has been discounted rejected. But today we consider who and what He really is.
Ask the Lord to reveal to you the fullness of the meaning of these verses from Psalms and Acts.
Then praise Him for who He is, and thank Him for what He does.
"The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." (Psalm 118:22-23 NASB)
"Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-- by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:10-12 NASB)
In your prayer time, ponder before the Lord what is revealed in these passages about Jesus. In the previous two days, we considered how Jesus has been discounted rejected. But today we consider who and what He really is.
Ask the Lord to reveal to you the fullness of the meaning of these verses from Psalms and Acts.
Then praise Him for who He is, and thank Him for what He does.
July 4
While the Apostle Paul does not cite the passage from Psalm 118 directly, he does employ the image of Christ as the cornerstone. "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:19-22 NASB)
In your prayer time, meditate on the imagery that Paul uses. Recreate in your mind the mental image that Paul has in his. As you do, express to the Lord what is revealed in this passage. Lord, what do I learn here about You? And what do I learn here about myself?
In your prayer time, meditate on the imagery that Paul uses. Recreate in your mind the mental image that Paul has in his. As you do, express to the Lord what is revealed in this passage. Lord, what do I learn here about You? And what do I learn here about myself?
July 5
"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:19-22 NASB)
Throughout this year, we have focused on employing Scripture's relational titles for God -- that is, titles for God that reveal something about our relationship with Him. In this passage from Ephesians, we discover that even "stone" becomes a relational title.
In your prayer time, give expression to the relationships that are implied by:
1) "being fitted together" and "being built together"
2) "being built together into a dwelling of God"
3) "having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets"
4) Christ being the corner stone of "the whole building"
Throughout this year, we have focused on employing Scripture's relational titles for God -- that is, titles for God that reveal something about our relationship with Him. In this passage from Ephesians, we discover that even "stone" becomes a relational title.
In your prayer time, give expression to the relationships that are implied by:
1) "being fitted together" and "being built together"
2) "being built together into a dwelling of God"
3) "having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets"
4) Christ being the corner stone of "the whole building"
July 6
When Jesus cites the passage from Psalm 118, He adds to it a new layer of imagery: "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'What then is [the meaning of] this that is written: "The [very] Stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief Cornerstone"? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken and shattered in pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.'" (Luke 20:17-18 AMP)
In your prayer time, talk to the Lord about the meaning of His teaching. What does it mean to 'fall on that stone'? What does it mean to have that stone fall on someone? Am I faced with the choice of either one or the other? Is either one desirable? Is either result good? Lord, what should be my relationship to that Stone?
In your prayer time, talk to the Lord about the meaning of His teaching. What does it mean to 'fall on that stone'? What does it mean to have that stone fall on someone? Am I faced with the choice of either one or the other? Is either one desirable? Is either result good? Lord, what should be my relationship to that Stone?
July 7
As we conclude Week 27, contemplate these lyrics by Lari Goss:
Jesus is the Cornerstone,
He came for sinners to atone;
Tho’ rejected by His own,
He became the Cornerstone.
O Jesus is the Cornerstone.
When I am by trial oppressed,
On the Stone I am at rest;
When the seeds of truth are sown,
He remains the Cornerstone.
Jesus is the Cornerstone.
O Rock of Ages oh cleft for me,
Oh let me hide myself in Thee;
O Rock of Ages so secure,
And for all time it shall endure;
Till the children reach their home,
He remains the Cornerstone.
The first two verses are written as testimony, as affirmation, with Jesus spoken of in the third-person. In the third verse, the songwriter turns it into a prayer, in which Jesus is addressed in the second-person.
Follow the lead of the songwriter in your own prayer time. Begin by making affirmations about Jesus as the stone revealed in our meditations this week (e.g., rejected, exalted, saving, foundational, judging). And then, with those affirmations in mind, let them turn your heart to Him in prayer, in humility, in confession, in thanksgiving, and in praise.
Jesus is the Cornerstone,
He came for sinners to atone;
Tho’ rejected by His own,
He became the Cornerstone.
O Jesus is the Cornerstone.
When I am by trial oppressed,
On the Stone I am at rest;
When the seeds of truth are sown,
He remains the Cornerstone.
Jesus is the Cornerstone.
O Rock of Ages oh cleft for me,
Oh let me hide myself in Thee;
O Rock of Ages so secure,
And for all time it shall endure;
Till the children reach their home,
He remains the Cornerstone.
The first two verses are written as testimony, as affirmation, with Jesus spoken of in the third-person. In the third verse, the songwriter turns it into a prayer, in which Jesus is addressed in the second-person.
Follow the lead of the songwriter in your own prayer time. Begin by making affirmations about Jesus as the stone revealed in our meditations this week (e.g., rejected, exalted, saving, foundational, judging). And then, with those affirmations in mind, let them turn your heart to Him in prayer, in humility, in confession, in thanksgiving, and in praise.