Prayer: From Faith for Faith

I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, for as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’  Romans 1:16-17

Almighty and Everlasting Father,

You are high.  We cannot attain it.  And surely we gravely underestimate your love for us.  Lord, physical maladies cause many of Your children to have heavy hearts today.  Sunday after Sunday the saints call on Your healing powers on behalf of the infirm and the many who are daily debilitated by pain.  Yet we confess oftentimes our hardships are self-induced.  Year after year, decade upon decade, we choose unnourishing food and refuse to move until our poor, neglected temples finally begin to crumble.

Lord, You have been clear: In this world there will be trials.  We know the hard times tether us more tightly to You.  And even Brother Paul mourned his weak flesh, confessing to the church in Rome:  15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  Romans 7:15-20

Merciful Father, I lift all my physically ailing brethren up to You, asking for spirit-inspired strength and resolve.  Any and every time they are tempted to sabotage their temples may they claim Brother Paul’s words to the Roman Church:  16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’  Romans 1:16-17

In those moments of weakness, Lord, help them to focus higher.  Take their eyes off the tantalizing treat and lift their hearts to You.  We all claim we want abundant lives, yet day after day we abuse the only body we are allocated.  It is like someone who sows garden seeds in the spring, anticipating their summer salad harvest, yet never tends again.  In this world, bounty requires tending!

Oh Father, lift up the struggling saint with Paul’s profound reminder that the righteousness of God is revealed “from faith for faith.”  We have to have faith to have faith. We must have faith to rebuke and rebuff Satan’s lies and lures.  Only through faith can we receive Your everlasting help in times of need.  Faith is a gift of Your grace.  Help us in our unbelief.

Almighty God, Your Good News, the gospel of Jesus, is our only source of salvation and healing. Help us to remember Your power is perfected in our weakness, that we are but branches and You the vine.  You are the Potter and we are a pot in production.  May we give every moment of every day to Your control and care.  Give us courage through Your Holy Spirit to defy Satan’s sabotage.  His mission is to steal, kill and destroy, continually tempting us with lusts of the flesh that ravage our bodies that you fearfully and wonderfully made.  We truly do want the abundant life Jesus promised.  Pester us doggedly to tend to our temples.  Fill us with faith for faith.  We seek Your righteousness by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

In Jesus’ name,

Miss Grace