"And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love." Ps. 119:47
Suggested Format for the Prayer Time
Praise (approximately 10 minutes)
- Begin your prayer time by praising God for who He is (His character). He is all comfort, the Restorer, etc.
- Thank God for Jesus, who showed us what it means to have the joy of obedience.
- Thank God that there is joy and peace and happiness in obeying Christ.
Confession and Claiming Victory Over Sin (approximately 5 minutes)
- Ask God to show you which sins you need to confess privately. Claim His victory over those sins.
- Pray for forgiveness for times when sadness and gloom marked your Christian walk.
- Thank God that He forgives you according to 1 John 1:9.
Supplication and Intercession (approximately 35 minutes)
- Are you happy to do what God asks you to do? Pray that God will give you the willingness to obey Him and joy to do whatever He asks.
- Pray that the young people in your church will discover the joy of obedience.
- Pray that church leaders (your local pastor, conference, union, division, and General Conference leaders) will gladly do whatever God is asking.
- Pray for God's love to be perfected in His church.
- Pray for increased emphasis on the wonderful doctrine of biblical creation—that our earth was created in six literal, consecutive days by the word of the Lord.
- Pray for a tremendous increase in spiritual support for Seventh-day Adventist young people who attend public campuses. Pray that they become vibrant missionaries who serve others at public universities and colleges worldwide.
- Pray for strong cooperation and unity between the church organization and supporting ministries in the evangelistic outreach of our church.
- Plead with the Lord to nurture and provide Godly, teachable, and humble church leaders for the future who will exemplify Christ-centered leadership as His church fulfills its heaven-born mandate to the world in proclaiming the three angels' messages with Christ's righteousness at the core.
- Mission to the Cities—Pray for the North American Division: New York, Calgary, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland, Tampa, Oklahoma City. Pray also for the Northern Asia-Pacific Division and the cities they are trying reach: Tokyo, Daegu, Daejon, Wuxi, Ulaanbaatar, Taipei. Pray for God's Spirit to work powerfully in these cities.
- Pray that church members and the public will understand the importance of health reform as part of the loud cry restoring humans to the image of God through Christ's righteousness. Pray that a healthy lifestyle and temperance are accepted by all and that our bodies may be treated as temples of the Holy Spirit, allowing us to more fully receive important impressions from God.
- Pray that the seven (or more) people on your list will see their need and open their hearts for the Holy Spirit.
- Pray for any personal needs you have.
Thanksgiving (approximately 10 minutes)
- Thank God that through Christ you can say, "I delight to do thy will" (Ps. 40:8).
- Thank God that He has His people in every city who are wistfully looking to heaven!
- Thank God that He is raising up Godly, humble, and teachable leaders for the future.
Suggested Songs to Sing
"Trust and Obey" (SDA Hymnal #590); "Blessed Assurance" (SDA Hymnal #462); "It Is Well With My Soul" (SDA Hymnal #530); "Wonderful Peace" (SDA Hymnal #466); "There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today" (SDA Hymnal #470).
The Joy of Obedience
"And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love." Ps. 119:47
The Lord has determined that every soul who obeys His word shall have His joy, His peace, His continual keeping power. Such men and women are brought near Him always, not only when they kneel before Him in prayer, but when they take up the duties of life. He has prepared for them an abiding place with Himself, where the life is purified from all grossness, all unloveliness. By this unbroken communion with Him, they are made colaborers with Him in their lifework. (Heavenly Places, p. 53)
When Christ dwells in the heart, the soul will be so filled with His love, with the joy of communion with Him, that it will cleave to Him; and in the contemplation of Him, self will be forgotten. Love to Christ will be the spring of action. Those who feel the constraining love of God, do not ask how little may be given to meet the requirements of God; they do not ask for the lowest standard, but aim at perfect conformity to the will of their Redeemer. With earnest desire they yield all, and manifest an interest proportionate to the value of the object which they seek.
It is the submissive, teachable spirit that God wants. That which gives to prayer its excellence is the fact that it is breathed from a loving, obedient heart. (My Life Today, p. 7)
If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15, KJV)
The man who attempts to keep the commandments of God from a sense of obligation merely—because he is required to do so—will never enter into the joy of obedience. He does not obey. When the requirements of God are accounted a burden because they cut across human inclination, we may know that the life is not a Christian life. True obedience is the outworking of a principle within. It springs from the love of righteousness, the love of the law of God. The essence of all righteousness is loyalty to our Redeemer. This will lead us to do right because it is right—because right doing is pleasing to God. (Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 97, 98)
We are in this world to be a help and a blessing to one another, uniting with Christ in the effort to restore the image of God in man. In order to do this work, we must learn of Jesus. "Take My yoke upon you," He says, "and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." In this promise there are no "ifs." Those who have experience in wearing Christ's yoke of restraint and obedience know that it means to have rest and peace in Him. In obedience there is joy and consolation. Holy angels hover round about the obedient to keep them in paths of peace. (Atlantic Union Gleaner, Sept. 9, 1903)
There is no saving faith in Christ only as it is revealed by obedience. Every human being is under a solemn responsibility to obey God. His present and eternal happiness depends upon his willing obedience to the divine requirements. Man's will and inclination are to be wholly yielded to God. When this is done, man will co-operate with God, showing, by precept and example, that he has chosen to be, in all his ways, under the control of his Maker. God rejoices when, like Moses, his children choose rather to serve him than to enjoy the pleasures of this world. Could the curtain be rolled back, could men behold the angelic host as they glorify God with songs of gladness and rejoicing, they would realize that obedience ever causes joy, and disobedience, sorrow. God and the angels rejoice over every victory gained by the Christian; but when temptation overcomes the soul, there is sorrow in heaven. (Review and Herald, Dec. 14, 1897)
We give the lie to the truth, and glorify Satan, when we walk in sadness and gloom because we think more is required of us in the Christian life than we can perform. Your Redeemer loves you, and He presents to you eternal joys in a life of obedience. There is no one who has ever tasted the joy of full and willing submission to God, who has not felt peace, happiness, and assurance in His love. (Review and Herald, Jan. 13, 1891)
Questions for Personal Reflection
1. Are you experiencing the joy of obedience to Christ?
2. Does anything hinder you from having joy in obeying your loving Savior?
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Monday, January 11, 2016
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