Welcome to Week 50 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.
December 9
Through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, the Lord said to His people, "I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 43:3 NIV)
The Lord identifies Himself as Savior. It is not just what a human being calls Him; this is what He calls Himself. And so we want to devote some days exploring this part of His identity by meditating on that title.
In your prayer time just now, make "Savior" your title for God. Make that part of how you address Him during your prayer time this week. And as you do, talk with Him about these questions.
(1) What does "Savior" reveal about You?
(2) What does "Savior" reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How could my calling you "Savior" impact and influence my relationship with You?
The Lord identifies Himself as Savior. It is not just what a human being calls Him; this is what He calls Himself. And so we want to devote some days exploring this part of His identity by meditating on that title.
In your prayer time just now, make "Savior" your title for God. Make that part of how you address Him during your prayer time this week. And as you do, talk with Him about these questions.
(1) What does "Savior" reveal about You?
(2) What does "Savior" reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How could my calling you "Savior" impact and influence my relationship with You?
December 10
Unlike some other biblical titles for God (e.g., Father, Friend, Teacher), "Savior" is not a term routinely used in daily life. We can positively identify people's fathers. "Friend" is a term we employ commonly. And tens of thousands of individuals are officially known as teachers.
"Savior" is different. We do not use the term as an official title (like father or teacher), and we do not use is commonly (like friend). Yet we do use it occasionally. And so, for several minutes during your prayer time, you are invited to contemplate how people do use -- or might use -- the title "savior" to apply to other human beings.
With pen and paper at hand, make a list of times when you have referred to someone (other than the Lord) as your savior.
Add to that list the times when you have heard some other person refer to you or someone else as their savior.
Finally, imagine and jot down a half-dozen situations in which a person might say to another person, "You are my savior!"
With those lists before you, talk to the Lord about what you have learned about the role of savior:
"Savior" is different. We do not use the term as an official title (like father or teacher), and we do not use is commonly (like friend). Yet we do use it occasionally. And so, for several minutes during your prayer time, you are invited to contemplate how people do use -- or might use -- the title "savior" to apply to other human beings.
With pen and paper at hand, make a list of times when you have referred to someone (other than the Lord) as your savior.
Add to that list the times when you have heard some other person refer to you or someone else as their savior.
Finally, imagine and jot down a half-dozen situations in which a person might say to another person, "You are my savior!"
With those lists before you, talk to the Lord about what you have learned about the role of savior:
- what the word means
- what feelings lie behind the use of the word
- what kinds of things "saviors" do
- why people need "saviors"
December 11
As with so many of the biblical titles for the Lord, "Savior" is not a stand-alone term. It is a relational term; it implies a relationship with someone else. And so, when we use "Savior," like any other of the relational titles for God, we imply some counterpart titles for ourselves.
If you call Him "Shepherd," you identify yourself as "sheep." If you call Him "Father," you recognize yourself as "His child." But what about "Savior"?
"Savior" does not have the sort of single, immediate counterpart title that "Shepherd" and "Father" do. But inasmuch as "Savior" implies a relationship -- specifically, a relationship with us -- it is important for us to consider what counterpart titles may apply to us.
In your prayer time just now, make a list of the titles that may apply to you if the Lord is your "Savior."
Then, with those titles before you, talk with your Savior about these questions.
(1) What do these counterpart titles reveal about me?
(2) What do these counterpart titles reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How might these counterpart titles impact and influence my relationship with You?
If you call Him "Shepherd," you identify yourself as "sheep." If you call Him "Father," you recognize yourself as "His child." But what about "Savior"?
"Savior" does not have the sort of single, immediate counterpart title that "Shepherd" and "Father" do. But inasmuch as "Savior" implies a relationship -- specifically, a relationship with us -- it is important for us to consider what counterpart titles may apply to us.
In your prayer time just now, make a list of the titles that may apply to you if the Lord is your "Savior."
Then, with those titles before you, talk with your Savior about these questions.
(1) What do these counterpart titles reveal about me?
(2) What do these counterpart titles reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How might these counterpart titles impact and influence my relationship with You?
December 12
As we have affirmed throughout the year, any relationship comes with certain implicit or explicit expectations. In a marriage, for example, we make the expectations of love, faithfulness, and commitment explicit in the wedding vows. And we go through each day of married life with implicit expectations of things like attention, concern, communication, and such.
Also, as we have noted, relational expectations depend heavily upon the quality of the other person involved. We reasonably have higher expectations of a good boss than we do of a bad one, of a good friend than we do of a poor one. And earlier this week, we meditated on the attributes of a good maker.
With all of that before you, then, ponder this question: What can I reasonably expect from a good Savior in my relationship with Him? Jot down what comes to mind.
Now, in prayer, talk to your Savior about what you have learned. Talk to Him about your understanding of your reasonable expectations. Thank and praise Him for these. And talk to Him about your experience in relation to Him as your Savior.
Also, as we have noted, relational expectations depend heavily upon the quality of the other person involved. We reasonably have higher expectations of a good boss than we do of a bad one, of a good friend than we do of a poor one. And earlier this week, we meditated on the attributes of a good maker.
With all of that before you, then, ponder this question: What can I reasonably expect from a good Savior in my relationship with Him? Jot down what comes to mind.
Now, in prayer, talk to your Savior about what you have learned. Talk to Him about your understanding of your reasonable expectations. Thank and praise Him for these. And talk to Him about your experience in relation to Him as your Savior.
December 13
At the beginning of this week, we heard the Lord speak through the prophet Isaiah and identify Himself as "Savior." Later in that same chapter, the Lord adds this word: "I even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior." (Isaiah 43:11 NIV)
In your prayer time, talk to the Lord about what He said about Himself:
In your prayer time, talk to the Lord about what He said about Himself:
- What do You mean when You say that there is no savior apart from You?
- What does that mean for me?
- What does that mean for the world around me?
December 14
The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah lived in tragic times. Time and again, he cries out to the Lord from a place of anguish. And along the way, the prophet gives voice to this pained question: "O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only a night?" (Jeremiah 14:8 NIV)
In this poignant moment, Jeremiah also calls God "Savior," but it a different sort of affirmation. This is followed by a question mark rather than an exclamation point. Yet, still, it is an affirmation of faith, for even in his pain, Jeremiah is declaring the truth about who God is. The Lord's identity is not in question: only His activity and timing.
In your prayer time, talk to the Lord about Jeremiah's experience and expression. If you are you at a moment in your life where Jeremiah's words and circumstances resonate with you, make his prayer your own. Or, if you can think of an earlier time in your life when you had the same question, talk with the Lord about that time, about His role at that time, and your reflections on it now after the passage of time.
In this poignant moment, Jeremiah also calls God "Savior," but it a different sort of affirmation. This is followed by a question mark rather than an exclamation point. Yet, still, it is an affirmation of faith, for even in his pain, Jeremiah is declaring the truth about who God is. The Lord's identity is not in question: only His activity and timing.
In your prayer time, talk to the Lord about Jeremiah's experience and expression. If you are you at a moment in your life where Jeremiah's words and circumstances resonate with you, make his prayer your own. Or, if you can think of an earlier time in your life when you had the same question, talk with the Lord about that time, about His role at that time, and your reflections on it now after the passage of time.
December 15
Joseph was understandably confused and troubled by the discovery that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant. But then, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said to him: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:20-21 NASB)
In our English translations, the meaning of the angel's words are not as clear. In the language of Joseph, however, there was a natural connection. The Hebrew word for "savior" was yasha, and the Hebrew name being given to Jesus was yeshua. The noun and the name shared the same basic root in Hebrew, and the meaning of the root was "save." In short, Jesus' revealed identity from the start was as Savior.
In your prayer time, reflect back on the first six days of this week. Talk to the Lord about what you have learned about "Savior." Then talk to Him about what that teaches you about Jesus.
In our English translations, the meaning of the angel's words are not as clear. In the language of Joseph, however, there was a natural connection. The Hebrew word for "savior" was yasha, and the Hebrew name being given to Jesus was yeshua. The noun and the name shared the same basic root in Hebrew, and the meaning of the root was "save." In short, Jesus' revealed identity from the start was as Savior.
In your prayer time, reflect back on the first six days of this week. Talk to the Lord about what you have learned about "Savior." Then talk to Him about what that teaches you about Jesus.