The Name of Jesus for this week with Ann Spangler at Crosswalk.com
You may go HERE to find out more and follow along daily atCrosswalk. com with the devotional of Ann Spangler, "Praying the Names of Jesus"
[Though it does not seem like anyone is joining us and sharing on the Name of Jesus each week, we will continue to post this until the end of Ann Spangler's series on "Praying the Names of Jesus" (mid June). If Crosswalk continues with Ann Spangler, they will go to her other book, "Praying the Names of God", which Jill is doing over at Forever n Ever n Always.]
This week we were asked to reflect on Jesus as Priest and Prophet (words in green are from Ann Spangler).
Jesus is both Priest — the One who faithfully bears us into God's presence by virtue of his self-sacrifice — and Prophet — the One who perfectly communicates God's Word to us.
We are called to listen to him, to trust in his work, and to take our places as part of a kingdom of priests who in Christ Jesus offer ourselves on behalf of others.
TUESDAYWe are called to listen to him, to trust in his work, and to take our places as part of a kingdom of priests who in Christ Jesus offer ourselves on behalf of others.
Reflect On: Leviticus 16 and Hebrews 4:14 - 16.
Praise God: For sending us a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses.
Offer Thanks: For the forgiveness you have been granted.
Confess: Any tendency to believe that you alone can pay for your sins.
Ask God: To help you approach him with confidence because of Jesus.
WEDNESDAY
Reflect On: Hebrews 8:7 - 12; 9:11 - 14.
Praise God: For giving us a High Priest able to deal decisively with our sins.
Offer Thanks: For the way Christ has cleansed your conscience.
Confess: Any tendency to reject the forgiveness that Jesus offers.
Ask God: To help you begin and end each day with the assurance of his forgiveness.
THURSDAY
Reflect On: 1 Peter 2:9 – 10; 1 Corinthians 14:1 – 3.
Praise God: For giving you the privilege of becoming an intercessor.
Offer Thanks: Because Jesus has called you into service in his kingdom.
Confess: Any selfishness that impedes your prayers.
Ask God: To increase the power of your prayers and to give you a desire for the gift of prophecy.
"As Christians we know that our primary purpose in life is to imitate Christ. The goal is to become as much like Jesus as possible, expressing his heart to others. But did you know that becoming a “little Christ” also involves taking on certain of his roles? When it comes to Jesus’ role as Priest and Prophet, the New Testament makes it clear that believers belong to “a royal priesthood” and that we are all to desire the gift of prophecy."
As you pray to Jesus as both Priest and Prophet, ask Him to help you understand the deep meaning of these titles so that you can live out their truths in your life.
Real intercession, then, does not consist in presenting God with a laundry list of demands or requests. Instead it involves spending time in God’s presence, seeking his will, being guided by his Spirit as we offer up prayers on behalf of others. . . . Real intercession is not merely a petition but a piece of work, involving costly self surrender to God for the work he wants done on other souls."To intercede is to bear others on the heart in God’s presence. . . Intercession thus becomes not the bombardment of God with requests so much as the bringing of our desires within the stream of God’s own compassion. . . . The compassion of God flows ceaselessly toward the world, but it seems to wait upon the cooperation of human wills. This cooperation is partly by God’s creatures doing the things which God desires to be done, and partly by prayers which are also channels of God’s compassion.
Ask Christ to increase your desire to be like Him, to speak His Word with a pure heart, and to reflect His love by becoming an intercessor, taking others into your heart so that you can carry them into God’s presence through prayer."Since I am an intercessor and prayer warrior, then the words that Ann shared and her two books on "Praying in the Names of God/Jesus" are essential tools for me to apply in my prayer life and see the power of the Name of Jesus with a better understanding. In the 90s, I learned about praying God's Word, taking scripture and turning it into prayer. So that is why I have chosen to highlight or emphasize the above that stood out to me this week.
Yes, Jesus...I desire to be more like You, to speak Your Word with a pure heart and reflect Your love as I pray and intercede for others. May I have such a burden and love for others and their needs that my heart will lift them and carry them into Your Presence and place their needs before Your throne...
...this is the reason we established "The Lighthouse of Prayer" and this week, leading up to this Sunday, Pentecost Sunday is GLOBAL DAY of PRAYER (GDOP). The entire world will have people praying and interceding. Each of the 10 days preceding this PRAYER day, I have shared GDOP's prayers over at The Lighthouse of Prayer, because they are taken from the model for prayer, The Lord's Prayer, the Our Father...
So once more, Our Heavenly Father, has aligned what we are doing here and there with His Global concern for the church... to unite and stand together in prayer... He has called us to REPENT this year... not just for ourselves, but the sins of many and the whole world. Lord, lead us once more and teach us to pray in Jesus' Name.
Our Father, ... who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name,Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...
Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4
