Grandpa Lake’s Weblog

I have prayed many prayers in my sixty plus years’ walk with my Lord Jesus.  Some of them stand out in my memory because the answers to them have been more important than I realized at the time that I first prayed them.  Additionally, I have had greater understanding of the wisdom in them.  Maybe praying them will be of help to you.

Lord, make me aware of any sin that I commit.

It’s a bit much to ask the Lord to live a sinless life here on earth.  It is written (in I John 1:9) that “If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  But if I have deceived myself into thinking that I was right in the sin that I committed, I will not confess it and will not avail myself of God’s cleansing.  Therefore, I pray that the Holy Spirit will always convict me of my sin.

Lord, I acknowledge that, because I am just a man, that I will never get to know You fully and completely.  But this one thing I ask.  Whatever I do learn about You, Your nature, Your desires and Your expectations of me, please let it be accurate.

There are a lot of people who have a lot of opinions about Who and what kind of Person God is.  To some people, He’s that great overindulgent grandpa in the sky Who likes to give us toys, but doesn’t care about our character or our behavior.  To others, he’s the stern, scowling parent Who is waiting just out of sight for us to make a misstep so He can clobber us with His club of judgmental tragedy.  And there are all shades of opinion in between.  Many people claim to get their view of who God is from the Bible.  If they did, they’d all have the same view of Him, but they don’t.  I’ve heard it said that we view God as an extension of our father.  Having known of some fathers’ behavior, I shudder to think of people getting their sense of who God is from them.  My ability to use my intellect to discern truth from error is just as faulty as anyone elses and my experience with father figures… Well, let’s just take a pass on that one.

How then, can I get to know what kind of Person God really is?  Can I honor or glorify Him if I don’t know the real Him?  No.  If I am going to give Him what He really wants from me (my love, my obedience and my worship), I must get to know Him as He is.  He reveals Himself in the Holy Scriptures, especially in the life of the Lord Jesus.  While His revelation of Himself is perfect, my receptor is tinged with sin.  Therefore I pray that His Holy Spirit reveal Himself to my spirit.

Lord, we (my wife and I) acknowledge that the love we have has been and still is a gift from You.  Therefore, we dedicate it to You, that you might have glory and pleasure in it.

I wonder what would happen if every Christian couple prayed that prayer every day and each time that they sensed a conflict coming?