Old Testment Disciple's Prayer

Tomorrow in church we will be studying the Lord's Prayer (really the disciples) from Matthew 6:5-15. So I began to wonder if the Old Testament had any similar prayers and as always Google did not fail to bring back some relevant finds on the first page.

The first Lord's Prayer can be found in the Pentateuch. Lancelot Andrews (1555-1626), an Anglican writer, paraphrased the Lord's Prayer from Old Testament passages:

Let thy name be called upon of us. (Genesis 4:26). Be thou our shield and our exceeding great reward (Genesis 15:1). What word so ever proceedeth from thee, Let it not be in us to speak aught against it, whether good or bad, (Numbers 24:13). Give us bread to eat and raiment to put on. (Genesis 2:8-20). And now pardon the iniquity and the unrighteousness of thy servants. (Numbers 14:19). And, O Lord, let us not think anxiously in our hearts all the day long. (Deuteronomy 28:32). And let no evils take hold of us, (Deuteronomy 31:17)

The second is a passage from Numbers 6:24-26. While not a complete duplicate it was close.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

A Sunday Prayer - Mt 5:17-20

Heavenly Father, your blessings to us are innumerable. When I begin to "Count [my] blessings, [and] name them one by one," I am surprised just how much you have done for me. May we always be grateful to you, for every blessing comes from you.

O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness or the sin we hide in our hearts. You cannot tolerate any sin in your presence. And yet you choose to dwell among us, creatures whose lives are but dirty rags before you. But you came so that we might know Christ who knew no sin so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Father thank you for giving us your Son, to be our savior, our righteousness.

Greatly are you to be praise O Lord. For you have clothed your Children with the garments of salvation. You have covered us with the robe of righteousness. Only you could have done this Father through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ is our the messiah. The Precious lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. May others see your Son as the their savior and ask Him to forgive them of their sin so you can cloth them in the Son's righteousness.

Because of your unfailing love, we can enter your house; We can worship at your temple with deepest awe. We can enter your into your presence with boldness and leave our requests and burdens at your feet.

Lead us in the right path, O Lord, or our enemies will conquer us. Make your way plain for us to follow as we seek to Glorify your name through Loving you and Loving others. May we "Reach our community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to Teach each other people to love and serve you more.

Heal and care for those in our church that are ill, Father. Let them rely on you as your body ministers unto them. May we continually be a blessing to them as your servants as they are to us.

Guide the feet of our pastors and missionaries as they seek to minster through your Word and the Wisdom that only you can impart. Place a hedge about them to protect them from the plans of the wicked. Bless the work of their hands.

Open our hearts father to be willing to give back to you what you so graciously have given to us. May we be wise stewards of all you have given us. Our homes, family, money, possessions - they all belong to you and we have them but only a brief time to use as talents on loan for the master. In our lives Father be glorified.

May we all take refuge in you O, Lord and rejoice in your love and provision for us.

In your Son's Most Holy name, Jesus.

Amen

Proverbs 28:20
Ephesians 1:3
Psalms 5:4, 7, 8, 11
2 Corinthians 5:21
Isaiah 61:10
John 1:29
Job 1:10
James 1:5, 3:17; 5:14
1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Eph 4
Matthew 25:14-30

How to pray in the midst of financial catastrophe

By Philip Yancey:

Historians will look at the year that just ended as a financial tsunami that left in its wake millions of foreclosed homes, bankruptcies, and lost jobs. As if competing to abandon the basic tenets of capitalism, governments threw money at banks, investment companies, and huge insurers in an attempt to restore trust and stanch the flow of capital.

During one of the most volatile periods, a week in which global stock markets declined by $7 trillion, I received a call from an editor at Time. "You wrote a book on prayer, right?" he said. "Tell me, how should a person pray during a crisis like this?" In the course of the conversation, we came up with a three-stage approach to prayer.

You can read the rest at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/january/29.80.html