I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters in the midst of the congregation I will praise you." (v21-22) "From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
#The red prayer book full
Jesus prays the first verse of Psalm 22 (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me), knowing full well how that Psalm changes in tone after the sorrow and suffering: When we proclaim that Jesus "descended into hell" in the Apostles Creed each week, we confess that Jesus endure that divine divorce a fate far worse than any fire or brimstone or darkness that we could ever imagine.Īnd yet, this is not a story without hope. He became abhorrent to his Father, and there was a divorce in the Godhead - a separation of the Trinity that lasted for three days. At the moment of crucifixion, therefore, Jesus took upon himself all the sin that ever was or ever will be. On the cross, God "imputed" our sin upon Jesus, and Jesus' righteousness upon us. Jesus is not speaking in hyperbole he has been forsaken by his Father. Instead of comfort, Jesus hears only an awful silence. No voice from heaven proclaims "You are my Son, the Beloved with you I am well pleased", and no "angels waited on him" as occurred at his baptism and after his temptation in the wilderness. In the account from Mark 15:25-39, Jesus cries out to his Father, and for the first time, hears nothing in response. However, we need more than the occasional prayer in the "big" sins of our lives following Jesus requires us to live a life of confession, constantly bringing our flaws to light and allowing our Father to restore to us the joy of his salvation. Scripture promises that, "if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9). In the midst of our own struggles with sin, we too need a clean heart, and a new and right spirit. In this Psalm, David says,Īnd put a new and right spirit within me.Īnd do not take your holy spirit from me. You can find the full account of that story in 2 Samuel 11-12.Īfter the prophet Nathan confronts David, the king has a change of heart overwhelmed with his regret, sorrow and shame, David prays Psalm 51. David's most famous exploit involved committing adultery with Bathsheba, then murdering her husband, Uriah (one of David's 30 closest friends) to cover up his sin. And, when David sinned, he did so in proportion to that same capacity. King David was a "man after God's own heart." As King, he had immense capacity to work good for his people and his God. How can these two ideas help you wrestle with your own "unanswered" prayers? Our prayer requests must always be filtered through the lenses of God's sovereignty and God's provision for he will give us only "good gifts," whatever we may ask of him. Jesus says, "To sit at my right and at my left is not mine to grant but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." Again, while God will respond to our prayers, and while he involves us in his plan of redemption, the Father never allows us to endanger his larger design for salvation.
James and John also discover that their prayer has collided with God's plan. Like with James and John, God's unwillingness to grant our requests is often rooted more in his love and protection of us than in our perception of the Lord's distance and indifference. How often do we make requests of God without knowing the full significance of what we ask? I imagine we do this daily. He replies, "You do not know what you are asking." They say, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." Jesus' response is telling. In Mark 10:35-45, James and John, sons of Zebedee, approach Jesus with a request.