Praying Through the Scriptures: Galatians 6

October 1, 2018

Over the years it has been my practice, learned from others, to offer up praises and petitions framed by a passage of Scripture. Some of these passages were read in preparation for preaching, others offered material for meditation in daily devotion; still others were plundered specifically for the purpose of finding fresh material for prayer. As I continue to learn how to pray I have shared a few prayers with my family and friends for their use or adaptation. The Alliance has asked me to share some with you too. Here are the prayers we have considered so far followed by the next prayer in this meditative series:

Genesis 1

Genesis 2

Galatians 6

Gracious Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, and humbled be our own. We come to set your name above all others, for you alone are God; yours is the power and the glory and the honour. You are worthy of all praise and adoration for the glory of your character, for the goodness of your actions, for the grace of your salvation.

And so we ask, O Lord, that you would keep us from bragging. Keep us from thinking that we are really something, when we are nothing. Let us each test our own work, bear our own load, and correct fellow transgressors with a spirit of gentleness, keeping a watch on our own selves. Support us in doing good to everyone, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Prevent us from growing weary; prompt us to remember that in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

And even as we ask that you would make us better servants, we beg that you would keep us from boasting. Stop us from boasting in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to us, and us to the world. Make his suffering the talk of our day, his sorrows the source of our joys, his work, and not our own, the comfort of our hearts. Help us to walk by this rule. And may your peace and mercy, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, be our salvation in this life of trouble, our consolation in times of discouragement, and our aspiration as we seek to be like him through the help of your Holy and powerful Spirit.

This we ask for our own sakes, so that we would be encouraged; and we ask if for Christ's sake, so that he would be glorified, and you in him. AMEN.

*This is the tenth post in a series on "Praying Through the Scriptures."
Dr. Chad Van Dixhoorn (PhD, Cambridge University) is a Professor of Church History and the Director of the Craig Center for the Study of the Westminster Standards at Westminster Theological Seminary. He also serves as an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.