Prayer based on Song of Solomon 2

Father God, You have a wonderful plan for Your Son and His bride. There is a great celebration coming soon. There are moments of intimacy in the days ahead. Our Husband comes bounding across the mountains for us. Is there a Lover who truly loves us with such wonderful holiness and with perfect power? Are we truly the beautiful one of Your Son? Is it His voice that we hear in Your Word calling to us? Suddenly a new and glorious world has been born in us and all around us, and there is hope. We belong to Your Son, O God. We are His and He is ours.

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 1

Glorious Lord, You love us. Grant to us a glimpse of the passion of Your love day by day. Our souls love You as well. Show us how to follow You as those who know that there is One worth staying very close to. Come near to us even now, O God. Are we beautiful to You? Surely Your Son is beautiful to us.

Prayer based on Esther 10

Lord God, we thank You for the way that You bless a man like Mordecai, who was used by You to help preserve the life of Your people so many centuries ago. Far more glorious is our Redeemer Jesus Christ. He is forever great among Your covenant people. He has delivered us from the hand of a vicious adversary. He continues even now to speak peace to all those who have drawn near to You through the blood of the Lamb.

Prayer based on Esther 9

O God, Your great Day is surely coming. A large and angry league of enemies would suppose that their victory is at hand. You will never allow this to be the final story for Your beloved bride. You will bring those who hate her to justice in a most surprising way. Your judgments against the wicked are not just for one or two days. Your justice is eternal. Because we know that Your Day is surely coming, even now we celebrate with gladness, for Your promises are very certain. It will not go well for the wicked, but we who are righteous in Christ will be kept in Him forever. Teach us to celebrate even now, though at the present moment an enemy would seem to be too close for our comfort.

Prayer based on Esther 8

Father God, though the enemies of Your people may suppose that they own the world, the fact remains unchangeable that the meek shall inherit the earth. The calamities that the evil plan against Your children are twisted and troubling. In our own strength and wisdom we could never deliver our souls from the hand of wicked men and angels. On that day when Your Son returns with His great and powerful host, He will take vengeance upon Your enemies. We will be rescued forever. In our hearts we shall be filled with perfect light, gladness, and joy. Grant us a taste of that victory by faith even now, lest we become weary in Your service.

Prayer based on Esther 7

Lord of Glory, do You listen to our earnest requests even now? Grant us our lives and the lives of our people who are called by Your Name. Wicked men continually seek to bring distress and death upon Your children. You are a very powerful Father. You will not stand by forever when an enemy would seek the eternal destruction of Your elect. You will deliver them at just the right time. The trouble that Your enemies have planned for us will fall on their own heads.

Prayer based on Esther 6

Sovereign Lord, You will never forget our acts of faithfulness, for they are gifts of Your own free grace. Even if we simply give a cup of cold water to a child in Your Name, this small work of mercy and decency will be remembered by You. What great things You have planned for Your servants! We do not yet see all the glories of the age to come, but we know that there is much good that is planned for Your elect. You will bring about our vindication at just the right time.

Prayer based on Esther 5

Lord God, thank You for Your special providence in the history of Your church. Surely we have found great favor in Your sight because of the love and faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Give us wisdom as we face the challenges that seem to come upon us with such intensity in this current age. We know that we are to be as gentle as doves, but we must also be as wise as serpents. Father, we trust that You will not allow the plans of Your enemies to succeed, for they are committed to our destruction.

Prayer based on Esther 4

Father, what can we do to express our grief concerning the persecution of Your church throughout the world? We mourn in Your presence for the attacks against Your kingdom. The details of the plans of the wicked are deeply disturbing to us. We bring our plea for help to You. We know that we have a duty to pray for our brothers and sisters who are in distress. Help us to do this work with diligence. We will not keep silence. Perhaps we have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. If we perish at the hands of Your enemies, we perish. Our bodies and souls are always in Your hands, and we trust You.

Prayer based on Esther 3

Lord God Almighty, within the courts of earthly power there are many who would stand against You and Your people. Despite their angry threats and commands, we will not bow down to them in worship. We trust You with our lives. Though there are some who would desire to see our destruction decreed, we know that You have given a sure Word for our eternal life. Your promise to bring about all things for our good is very secure. It will never be changed. Help us to rest deeply in Your Word. May we not be unduly moved by the confusion and intrigue all around us.

Prayer based on Esther 2

Father God, Your special care for Your church, Your royal bride, is most wonderful and gracious. Teach us the way to be pleasing to You through Christ. May we grow in the beauty of holiness. Lord God, the time of our remaining days here may be very brief. Show us how to live in wisdom and righteousness throughout our lives. We have heard from Your Word that You delight in us. May we always win favor in Your sight because of the work of Your Son on our behalf. You give us so many gifts through Your royal generosity. We want to serve You with diligence. We seek the honor of Your Name. We pray that all those who hate You would be stopped in their evil plans through Your perfect knowledge and power.

Prayer based on Esther 1

Majestic King, You are greater than all the rulers of the earth. You have provided us with such riches from Your royal glory even in this current age. What wonders will there be when we go to be with Your Son? How much better still will be the blessings of the coming age of resurrection? Every command that You give to Your subjects is completely good. It is right for us to obey You immediately and with the greatest joy. Yet we have done great wrong against You and against all lawful authority. Please forgive us. We pray that we will not bring any more trouble upon those around us because of our former days of rebellion. We pray that You would break the chains of evil that may ensnare us from the wickedness of generations now in the grave. Please teach us to happily give honor to those who are due honor. Lawlessness can never be the answer for us, for we have committed our lives to You.

Prayer based on Deuteronomy 34

Glorious God Almighty, the day of each man’s death approaches. Beyond this day is the coming of all of Your good plans for life. Grant us a glimpse each day of the age to come. In light of that new vision, teach us to live in the sure hope of the coming age. Fill us with Your heavenly Spirit, and use us for Your good purposes even in the land where we now live. We thank You for Your holy Law that came through Moses. Even more than this, we thank You that grace and truth have come to us through Your Son Jesus Christ.

Prayer based on Deuteronomy 33

Father God, please speak wonderful words of blessing upon Your church day by day. You know all things, and You have chosen to reveal many wonderful things to us. Teach us to hear Your great promises with faith. Surround us with Your love, and grant to us many good gifts of the earth and its fullness. Give to us even the blessings of heaven, for we have been made alive by Your Spirit. Your Son, the greatest descendant of Judah is our King. He will reign forever and ever. He has come to His people even beyond the borders of Israel. Your plan is good. We are Your people, saved by Your power and Your grace. Surely You will win the battle against any enemy who would dare to challenge You.

Prayer based on Deuteronomy 32

Lord God Almighty, the heavens and earth are witnesses of Your glory and Your greatness. Your justice is perfect, but we have sinned against You. There is a better way for us, the way of heartfelt shame in the face of such abounding blessing. There is a way that is wonderful in gratitude. We consider Your power, and the greatness of Your gifts to our fathers. How could it be that we would forsake You and provoke You to anger? Thank You for Your Son’s faithfulness and for the wonder of Your plan of grace, even for the Gentiles. Our Father, we pray that You would use this extravagant gift to us to make many jealous who were marked with the sign of Your covenant in earlier days. Call many back to Your mercy and goodness. Vindicate Your people. Even more, vindicate the glory of Your Name and the power of Your plan for salvation. There is no other God but You. Who can survive if You come in judgment? Surely there is more cause for rejoicing still, for there are yet those who are being drawn near to You through Jesus Christ. May Your church hear Your Word, not as some empty sounds with no meaning, but as the very Word of life and our only hope. Father God, even Your servant Moses sinned against You, but with You there is amazing forgiveness.

Prayer based on Revelation 22

Our Father in Heaven, we long for You and for the place of Your glory. We rejoice in Your promises. Your Word is trustworthy and true. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon. We wait in hope for the age of resurrection. Teach us to worship You day by day, for the time is near. Your Son is the Alpha and the Omega. Bring us into Your holy city through Him. He is the One Gate, the Son of David, the Bright Morningstar. Please do not cast us off forever! We are Your children! Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Prayer based on Revelation 21

Great God and King, we long for the new age that is coming. What a joy it is to contemplate what we will soon see: the new heavens, the new earth, the holy city, the glorious bride, the perfect Husband, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain. We are so thoroughly blessed by You wonderful love. You will dwell with us forever. Can it be – death shall be no more? Yes, You are making all things new. You will bring all Your gracious plans to the most perfect fulfillment. There will be a complete separation of the righteous and the wicked. O God in heaven, embrace us forever in Your perfect grace. Keep us in Your holy new Jerusalem. Knit us together in love even now. This new city is surely coming with all of its beauty and wonderful glory. What gates! What walls! What streets of gold! What light is there forever! What a temple is ours in Christ the Lord! We thank You O Lord forever and ever.

Prayer based on Revelation 20

Father God, You have been victorious over Satan through the cross of Christ. This enemy is restrained even now, that the Word might be proclaimed to all the nations. Thank You for this day of gospel opportunity. Thank You also for the privilege of dying for the truth of Your Son. Though Satan is restrained, yet His fury is known and felt by Your church. Before Your Son returns, we understand that a day of the most intense trouble will come. Yet then Your Son will return and put away the devil and his allies. Father, our names are written in the book of life. Our unrighteousness has been overwhelmed by the glorious life and death of Your Son.

Ezekiel 45

Ezekiel 44

Ezekiel 43

In the 37^th chapter of Ezekiel we have recorded a famous resurrection vision. The prophet is taken to a valley of dry bones and questioned about whether these old dry bones can live. The answer is modeled before his eyes as he is told to prophesy to the bones. The bones are brought together, and eventually clothed with muscle and skin. Still there was something missing. The bones were not alive as they needed to be. Ezekiel was told to prophesy to the spirit/breath in order to bring the spirit back into the body so that the resurrection picture would be complete.

Ezekiel 42

Ezekiel 41

Prayer based on Revelation 12

Father God, Your Son has come as a Child of the Old Covenant community. This Son of Mary is also Your only-begotten Son. Blessed be Your Name! He faced the greatest tribulation for our sake. Bring us through this current period of birth pains as we wait for the fullness of the New Covenant community. There is a warfare going on that we do not fully see. You must carry us through the evil day. The devil and his angels have been cast down upon the earth, and there is much hatred against Your church. Protect us, O Lord! Reign over this accuser of our brothers. His time is measured and will swiftly come to an end. Give us wings to fly to safety through all kinds of trouble, and give us strength and courage as we fight the battle that You have ordained for us in this life. It does help us to know that our trials are not accidental, and that You, who gave Your Son for us, can never be defeated.

Prayer based on Revelation 11

Great God, You will fulfill Your every Word concerning the glory of the age to come. At the return of Your Son, You will bring Your judgment upon the false church and the world. You have warned us that this current age is a period of tribulation, yet You have promised us that You know how to rescue Your servants and to bring them to Your side even now. How we thank You Father that even when Your servants die today, they do not have to wait for millennia to see You. Today they are with You and Your Son in paradise. Nonetheless, we long for the day when we will hear the announcement that You reign in glory over all the earth. Father, if Your temple in heaven were open to our eyes at this moment, what would we see? Grant us faith to believe all of Your promises. Something very good is surely coming, for You do not lie.

Ezekiel 40

Fourteen years after the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, Ezekiel was brought in visions of God to behold a New Jerusalem. We have the privilege of contemplating this vision since it is recorded for our benefit in the Scriptures. It is fitting that after our consideration of the Lord’s judgment upon the world that we would be able to rejoice in His full plan of salvation for the church. Here is a new Israel seen from on high with the benefit of a heavenly guide. Here was something for the eyes, the ears, and the heart to truly behold, and then for the mouth of the gospel messenger to declare to all of the Lord’s people so that they would not lose heart in the midst of their grieving.

Ezekiel 39

God is sovereign over everything. He is the Ruler over not only His blessings, but also His curses. He uses whatever means He has ordained in order to accomplish His perfect purposes. When He speaks in the prior chapter of one symbolic leader of evil called “Gog” of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, it first seems that this may be another instance of the Lord using the nations (like Assyria and Babylon) to discipline His people. It is clear that the Lord is in charge of this wicked ruler, and that Gog’s time of waging war together with all his warrior host is surely appointed by God. By the end of Ezekiel 38 and as we move into chapter 39 it becomes very clear that the tables will be suddenly turned, and that the Lord will rescue His church and bring an overwhelming end-of-the-world kind of judgment against the world system and all who are in league with it, especially Satan and his horde on earth who lures others into the worship of some impressive Gog.

Ezekiel 38

Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel 36

There are times when the Lord addresses inanimate objects as if they were persons. Sometimes they are called to be witnesses to something that someone is saying or doing. Here God speaks to the mountains of Israel, as if they needed relief from the evil talk of the nations or the sinful activity of God’s people. We hear of this kind of thing when the Lord’s speaks of giving rest to the land through the exile of the people, since Israel would not follow the Sabbath year regulations. The Lord loves even the mountains of Israel, and will defend them from outside attack or the corruption of the inhabitants of the land. Why does God speak this way? Perhaps we are reminded of God’s special purposes for every detail of creation. Everything has a role to play, and it is all moving toward a good end. In the case of the land of Israel, through God’s care for the land we are reminded that we will one day be in a place of new creation. God loves the land of heaven, and He will not allow any enemy to destroy it. This is a comforting thought.

Prayer based on Acts 13

Father God, we thank You for the preachers and teachers that You have given to Your church. We pray that You will lead them to the precise places that You have for them to go, that they might serve You in fruitful work according to Your plan. Help these men to be forthright in their speech, for men-pleasers will not be helpful to the progress of the truth. Help these servants to see this life in a right way, so that they will not fall into the many temptations that so easily ensnare those who are called to be servants of the Word. Grant that these preachers and teachers would have an accurate understanding of the Old and New Testaments. May they be in the Word day by day in ways that are helpful for their own souls, and for the understanding of those who will hear them. Help them to see Christ, His atoning work, and His glorious resurrection as the very center of Your living Word. What a joy it is to see Your Son as the surprising fulfillment of the Word given to Your people even under the period of the Law! We have been freed from sin by the message and power of Christ. We pray that the ministry of Your Word would be powerful in both truth and boldness in our day. How can this happen if the men that You call as Your servants are trapped by worldliness and idolatry? Sanctify Your church, including her ministers, and grant all of Your assemblies a strong hope of eternal life and the fullness of joy even now through the Holy Spirit.