First thing first

"I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished ...

I saw, that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, whilst meditating, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord. I began therefore, to meditate on the New Testament, from the beginning, early in the morning."

Source: Autobiography of George Mueller, compiled by Fred Bergen, (London: J. Nisbet Co., 1906) pp. 152-4.

Seek First, then Understand

PROVERBS 2:4-5 - If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

Even a cursory reading of the above verse tells us something rather odd with the sequence. The rigor and intensity with which we seek the knowledge of God is a prerequisite of finding and understanding it. Often people think the other way. They want to understand it first, then assign a value to it in proportion to their understanding. But that's not the case here. Pursue God, then you will be glad to be found by and in him. The Bible uses lots of 'appetite language' (CS Lewis) or emotive words to describe this orientation: Long, thirst, faint, delight, love. The bottom line: Seek him earnestly, then you will be satisfied in him. 

God’s Greatest Adversaries Are His Gifts

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.
It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for
heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not
the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we
drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God
describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is
a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The
greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts.
And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but
for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an
appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable,
and almost incurable.

~ John Piper, Hunger for God, p. 14

A Minister's Preaching

This one is for those who preach the Word of God to His people, again from the Valley of Vision

---

My Master God,
I am desired to preach today,
but go weak and needy to my task;
Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth,
that an honest testimony might be borne for thee;
Give me assistance in preaching and prayer,
with heart uplifted for grace and unction.
Present to my view things pertaining to my subject,
with fullness of matter and clarity of thought,
proper expressions, fluency, fervency,
a feeling sense of the things I preach,
and grace to apply them to men’s consciences.
Keep me conscious all the while of my defects,
and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.
Help me to offer a testimony for thyself,
and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy.
Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people,
and set before them comforting considerations.
Attend with power the truth preached.
and awaken the attention of my slothful audience.
May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted,
and help me to use the strongest arguments
drawn from Christ’s incarnation and sufferings,
that men might be made holy.
I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness,
that I might be a pure channel of thy grace,
and be able to do something for thee;
Give me then refreshment among thy people,
and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way,
or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a redeemer,
or be harsh in treating of Christ’s death, its design and end,
from lack of warmth and fervency.
And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work.

A Disciple's Renewal

A heart-moving prayer from the Valley of Vision

A Disciple’s Renewal

O My Saviour, help me.
I am so slow to learn, so prone to forget, so weak to climb;
I am in the foothills when I should be in the heights;
I am pained by my graceless heart,
my prayerless days,
my poverty of love,
my sloth in the heavenly race,
my sullied conscience,
my wasted hours,
my unspent opportunities.
I am blind while light shines around me:
take the scales from my eyes,
grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief.
Make it my chiefest joy to study thee,
meditate on thee,
gaze on thee,
sit like Mary at thy feet,
lean like John on thy breast,
appeal like Peter to thy love,
count like Paul all things dung.
Give me increase and progress in grace so that there may be;
more decision in my character,
more vigor in my purposes,
more elevation in my life,
more fervor in my devotion,
more constancy in my zeal.
As I have a position in the world,
keep me from making the world my position;
May I never seek in the creature what can be found only in the creator;
Let not faith cease from seeking thee until it vanishes into sight.
Ride forth in me, thou King of kings and Lord of lords,
that I may live victoriously, and in victory attain my end.

Praying over Proverbs 30:7-9

Light these idle sticks

"God, I pray Thee,
light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee.
Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine.
I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus."

Jim Elliot, quoted in Shadow of the Almighty, page 247.

HT: Ray Ortlund

The works of thy hands

A beautiful prayer by Augustine, cited by Calvin in Institutes (3.17.14)

I do not say to the Lord,
Despise not the works of my hands;
I have sought the Lord with my hands, and have not been deceived.
But I commend not the works of my hands,
for I fear that when thou examinest them thou wilt find more faults than merits.

This only I say, this asks this desire,
Despise not the works of thy hands.
See in me thy work, not mine.
If thou sees mine, thou condemnest;
if thou sees thine own, thou crownest.
Whatever good works I have are of thee.

HT: Justin Taylor

A Fountain of Pollution Within

Heart Corruption
A Prayer from the Valley of Vision






O God, may Thy Spirit speak in me that I may speak to thee.
I have no merit, let the merit of Jesus stand for me.
I am undeserving, but I look to Thy tender mercy.
I am full of infirmities, wants, sin; Thou art full of grace.

I confess my sin, my frequent sin, my wilful sin;
all my powers of body and soul are defiled:
a fountain of pollution is deep within my nature.
There are chambers of foul images within my being;
I have gone from one odious room to another,
walked in a no-man's-land of dangerous imaginations,
pried into the secrets of my fallen nature.

I am utterly ashamed that I am what I am in myself;
I have no green shoot in me nor fruit, but thorns and thistles;
I am a fading leaf that the wind drives away;
I live bare and barren as a winter tree, unprofitable,
fit to be hewn down and burnt.
Lord, dost Thou have mercy on me?

Thou hast struck a heavy blow at my pride, at the false god of self,
and I lie in pieces before Thee.
But Thou hast given me another master and lord, Thy Son, Jesus,
and now my heart is turned towards holiness,
my life speeds as an arrow from a bow towards complete obedience to Thee.
Help me in all my doings to put down sin and to humble pride.
Save me from the love of the world and the pride of life,
from everything that is natural to fallen man,
and let Christ's nature be seen in me day by day.

Grant me grace to bear Thy will without repining,
and delight to be not only chiselled, squared, or fashioned,
but separated from the old rock where I have been embedded so long,
and lifted from the quarry to the upper air,
where I may be built in Christ forever.

Mother's Day Prayer

I asked the following prayer, which is part of a prayer called Family from the Valley of Vision, to be included in the church bulletin yesterday as we celebrated Mother's Day. The second paragraph is particularly outstanding to me. We prayed yesterday for our mothers, those of us who have mothers who do not yet believe in Christ Jesus, those who are not in good terms with their mothers, those who have lost their mothers, those who long to be mothers, and those who are about to be mothers (there are three in our congregation - one actually delivered today!), and those who receive the gift of singleness hence never become biological mothers but be mothers to many in Christ.

O God, I cannot endure to see the destruction of my kindred.

Let those that are united to me in tender ties

be precious in thy sight and devoted to thy glory.


Sanctify and prosper my domestic devotion, 
instruction,
discipline, example,
 that my house may be a nursery for heaven,

my church the garden of the Lord,
 enriched with trees
of righteousness of thy planting,
 for thy glory;


Let not those of my family who are amiable, moral,
attractive,
fall short of heaven at last;

Grant that the promising appearances of a tender conscience,

soft heart, the alarms and delights of thy Word,

be not finally blotted out,
but bring forth judgment
unto victory in all whom I love.

When Quiet Time is Too Quiet

I love getting tips on how to sustain our spiritual discipline. Here is a good set offered by Pam Farrel. Among the twenty tips she mentioned on how to awaken our quiet time, these are the ones I like best. Read the entire twenty in the Discipleship Journal article.

1. WRITE A LETTER TO GOD about your life. Give it to a friend to mail hack to you in three months. In the letter, talk to God about the areas of your life that are bothering you. Write about how you'd like to grow and what attribute of His you'd like to see more clearly.

2. WRITE OUT AND PERSONALIZE Scripture by inserting your name into promises relevant to your life or current struggles. For example, I would personalize Ps. 84:11 in this way: "No good thing does God withhold from Pam when she walks uprightly." Many of the Bible's promises come to life and seem more powerful and relevant when personalized in this way Spend some time meditating and praying over verses that you personalize. I once copied a set of verses and strung them together as a personalized love letter from God's heart to my own. I have it framed and hanging in my room. Those personalized verses help me keep a trig view of God.

8. WRITE OUT a Phil. 4:8 list. What is lovely to you, worthy of praise, excellent, etc.? Hang the list in a place where you tend to be grumpy, such as above the washer and dryer or on the dashboard of your car for that frustrating commute!

11. PRAISE JESUS FROM A TO Z. For example, "Jesus, You are amazing ... Jesus, You are beautiful...." This activity will challenge you to think deeply about who Jesus is and why you love and serve Him. As you praise Jesus using each letter of the alphabet, spend some time meditating on each word you use to describe Him. Thinking deeply about Him is more important than racing through each letter of the alphabet as fast as you can.

16. SPEND A PERIOD OF TIME FASTING from food, TV, or a hobby to spend more time with God. If you're able, combine your fast with a day at a quiet retreat center, the beach, the mountains, or even tucked away in a library to reflect upon God's Word and His hand in your life.

Which ones are your favorites?

Sunday Prayer

A prayer I wrote in Indonesian recently for the Sunday service at the church where I serve:

Ya Allah, kebahagiaan sempurna ada dalam diri-Mu.
Namun Kau ingin ciptaan-Mu mengalami nikmat itu bersama-Mu.
Benar, Engkaulah sumber kebahagiaan ciptaan-Mu, Ya Allah Penciptaku.

Engkau menenun aku dalam kandungan ibuku.
Engkau menyelamatkanku, memeliharaku, dan menjagaiku.
Engkau mati bagiku ketika aku masih menjadi musuh-Mu, ya Yesus
Engkau setia ketika aku setia, dan Engkau tetap setia ketika aku tidak setia, ya Bapa
Engkau mengerti segala jeritan batinku dan tangisan hatiku, ya Roh Kudus

Mampukan aku untuk hidup bagi-Mu.
Selamatkan aku dari diriku ya Allah agar ku tak lagi hidup bagi diriku sendiri.
Bawa aku naik lebih tinggi tuk mengerti, bahwa kepuasan hidupku ada pada-Mu,
Dan hanya pada-Mu.
Karena saat aku puas didalam-Mu, kepuasan-kepuasan palsu disekitarku
Menjadi nyata bagi hatiku.

Tatkala aku menatap salibmu, mari ya Allah,
Getarkan jiwaku,
Usik lah hatiku,
Remukkan ego-ku
Sampai kasih Kalvari itu melingkupi aku untuk taat kepada-Mu,
Sehingga ketaatanku pada-Mu menjadi kesukaanku tiap-tiap hari.

Jika orang lain menganggap imanku sebuah ketololan,
Kelemahlembutanku sebuah cacat karakter,
Cintaku pada-Mu sebuah kefanatikan,
Pengharapanku sebuah mimpi kosong,
Kuatkan aku untuk berbagian dalam penderitaan bagi-Mu.

Aku ingin dapat mengingini-Mu.
Aku rindu selalu merindukanMu.
Tak pernah puas dengan kemajuan imanku,
Terus rindu serupa Kristus.
Bertumbuh setiap saat semakin sepadan dengan Injil-Mu,
selaras dengan karakter-Mu, dan seirama dengan kehendak-Mu.
Dengarlah ya Allah, permohonan hariku. Dalam nama Yesus, Amin.

How should one pray during financial crisis?

During one of the most volatile periods of the current economic crisis—a week in which global stock markets declined by $7 trillion—Philip Yancey received a call from an editor at Time magazine. The editor's question was simple: "How should a person pray during a crisis like this?" Here is a summary of what Yancey shared in response:

The first stage is simple, an instinctive cry: "Help!" For someone who faces a job cut or health crisis or watches retirement savings wither away, prayer offers a way to voice fear and anxiety. I have learned to resist the tendency to edit my prayers so that they sound sophisticated and mature. I believe God wants us to come exactly as we are, no matter how childlike we may feel. A God aware of every sparrow that falls surely knows the impact of scary financial times on frail human beings. . .

If I pray with the intent to listen as well as talk, I can enter into a second stage, that of meditation and reflection. Okay, my life savings has virtually disappeared. What can I learn from this seeming catastrophe? . . .

A time of crisis presents a good opportunity to identify the foundation on which I construct my life. If I place my ultimate trust in financial security or in the government's ability to solve my problems, I will surely watch the basement flood and the walls crumble. . .

A friend from Chicago, Bill Leslie, used to say that the Bible asks three main questions about money: (1) How did you get it? (Legally and justly or exploitatively?); (2) What are you doing with it? (Indulging in luxuries or helping the needy?); and (3) What is it doing to you? Some of Jesus' most trenchant parables and sayings go straight to the heart of that last question. . .

The same week that global wealth shrank by $7 trillion, Zimbabwe's inflation rate hit a record 231 million percent. In other words, if you had saved $1 million Zimbabwean dollars by Monday, on Tuesday it was worth $158. This sobering fact leads me to the third and most difficult stage of prayer in crisis: I need God's help in taking my eyes off my own problems in order to look with compassion on the truly desperate. . .

What a testimony it would be if, in 2009, Christians resolved to increase their giving to build houses for the poor, combat AIDS in Africa, and announce kingdom values to a decadent, celebrity-driven culture. Such a response defies all logic and common sense — unless, of course, we take seriously the moral of Jesus' simple tale about building houses on a sure foundation.

Read the full-text Christianity Today article here.

Psalm 139

Fasting and Prayer Service

Today we didn't have our usual Indonesian evening service. Instead, we had a combined service for fasting and prayer organized by the Presbyterian Church Victoria, Church and Nation Committee. The church was nearly full with approximately 500 people from various Presbyterian churches in Victoria. Several Christian Members of Parliament were in attendance, so were key officers in the Presbyterian Church Victoria.

Several messages were highlighted in the service. Among the most important ones were the need for the church of Jesus Christ to be awaken from a long sleep while the nation is going further and further away from God's revealed truth in the Scripture. The other point was the urgency and importance for the church of Jesus Christ to teach and nurture each individual Christian to have an all-embracing Christian worldview which helps them to acutely aware that there is no area in this life that does not belong to Christ.

These two points are crucial in my opinion to be entertained in the church's agenda at all times lest we become to preoccupied with the internal business of the church that does not contribute to the advancement of the kingdom of God. As important as it may be to exhort the believers to be steep in doctrinal and devotional matters, the church must not neglect the third matter that is the cultural reformation mandated by God.

The service was punctuated often with prayers for the nation, community, government at all levels, politicians, and the church. Of particular concerns were the Abortion Law that was recently passed in Victoria (see my previous post on Abortion Law) and the the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Bill (ART) that was going to be passed in the next few weeks by the Victorian State Government. The latter puts the rights of an adult and their wish to conceive using modern technology called Assisted Reproductive Treatment. Under the bill, eligibility for Assisted Reproductive Treatment is no longer based on medical infertility; singleness or homosexuality are considered valid reasons for this treatment. This practically means that single people, gay men, lesbian woman, heterosexual de facto couples can choose to have a child. On the other hand, a child may end up having two mothers or two fathers legally recognised. In fact, this technology allows a surviving partner to conceive a child from a deceased spouse.

Sitting at the very back (which is somewhat a luxury for me as I always sit in front in typical Sundays) reading passages like Exodus 20 and Romans 13 and praying for the above issues, I cannot help thinking the grave importance of the Christian politicians and their roles in shaping and influencing such society-changing policies. We should pray for them more often, that they may see with the eyes of their hearts the glory, justice, mercy, love, holiness, and majesty of God so clearly that their decisions and actions are completely bound by them.

I do hope that as people humbled themselves before the Lord in prayers, there is a continued sense of awe for God that we carry within which slowly but steadily transforms the way we see things, set priorities, make decisions, and take actions, for the sake of Christ.

Prayer for Obama

Ligon Duncan offers a few important points of prayer for President Barack Obama:

We will pray that God would change President-Elect Obama's mind and heart on issues of crucial moral concern. May God change his heart and open his eyes to see abortion as the murder of the innocent unborn, to see marriage as an institution to be defended, and to see a host of issues in a new light. We must pray this from this day until the day he leaves office. God is sovereign, after all.

For those Christians who are more dismayed than overjoyed about the prospects of an Obama presidency, there should be a remembrance that as our President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14). Thus, again, we are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2). We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2). We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7). We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).

The whole text can be found here.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: A Prayer

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
To remind us that you are the God from whom all blessings flow
For we often take things for granted, and live as if we are capable of being truly self-sufficient
We boast our achievements, and forget it is you who give us the power to make wealth

The truth is we can only ask "Give us O Lord..." like a beggar begging for mercy
For our daily needs are supplied each day by your loving provision
The food we eat, coffee we brew, jeans we wear, house we live in
The health and sanity we hold dearly, job we work, friendship we treasure,
The broadband we surf the net with, and... ah, Lord, you know our ever-growing list of needs

For what do we have that we did not receive you; we have no reason to boast ourselves
As you provided manna from heaven for your children for forty long years
so are our daily needs given by a gracious Father to whom we owe our lives

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
To make us be a contented person daily as you supply our needs, not wants
You wants us to live one day at a time, not be anxious about the future

So we individually pray o Lord: Give me neither poverty nor riches
Feed me with the food that is needful for me,
Lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

Indeed you can give me abundantly should you choose to do so
Serving me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.
And the overflowing cup of blessings that tastes heaven
But other times you want me to go through times of need
To tear down my pride and self-absorbed tendency

Help me learn in whatever situation to be content.
Help me learn the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
So I can say "I can do all things through him who strengthens me"
Freely submits to and delights in the Father's wise disposal in every circumstance

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
So that when we pray for our needs, that is done solely for one three-pronged purpose
that should become our primary concern, our preoccupation in life:
Hallowed be thy name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth
When we pray for our needs which are temporal, may we do it in view of the eternal

We pray for health, not so that we can continue living in sin, but so that we can serve you with all our might
We pray for food, not so we can satisfy our tastebuds, but so that we have the stamina to carry on your will in our lives
We pray for our partners, not so that they love us more, but so that they love you more than anything or anyone else in their lives
We pray for our kids, not so they can grow up to be nice and smart kids, but so that their lives are spent for the sake of God's kingdom
We pray for the degree we are doing, not so that we can graduate with honour, but so that it equips us to redeem the field we will be working in after we graduate
We pray for our business, not so that we become like Buffett or Gates, but to be able to give more to the Lord's work and to do the business in God's way and for God's glory
We pray for promotion, not so that we can gain top dollars, but so that we can be more effective salt and light in the new position
We pray for a new house, not so we can boast about it nor live in it like a king, but so that we can show hospitality to others
We pray for a new car, not so we can enjoy comfort at the next level, but so that we can assist those without transport to church
We pray for all our needs, so that God's name be hallowed, God's kingdom come, God's will done on earth

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
To remind us that we can’t say the Lord’s prayer in first person –
Saying I, me, my, mine, myself and be enslaved by that desire
For we can only say 'us, us, and us", remembering those around us
And the millions in the world who go to bed each night hungry and helpless

Everytime we pray "Give us today our daily bread", remind us of our world
Where 923 million people are hungry.
Where every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger; one child every five seconds. 
Where 1.4 billion people lived below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25 per day.
Where every year about 9.7 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday

We pray o Lord for the world where everyone has the basic needs fulfilled
And until that happens, help us to never stop fighting on their side
In prayer and action, in thoughts and deeds, speaking for those who can't speak for themselves
In our respective God-given capacity and according to God's given talents

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
To remind us that our needs will never be satisfied by the bread of this world
Our needs for companion in friendships
Our needs for happiness in marriage
Our needs for meaning and purpose in life
Our needs for a sense of security in our jobs
Our needs for a sense of belonging and acceptance by others
Our needs for a sense of achievements and success
All those needs, once fulfilled, only lead us to deeper hunger and thirst
For those needs are pointers to our deepest need, o Lord, that is you
Only the Bread of Life can satisfy our deepest longing

Amen.

Doa bersama dan untuk Anak

Trevin Wax di blog-nya mensharingkan waktu doa yang ia lakukan bersama anaknya setiap malam. Untuk mendorong anaknya berdoa, dia membuat variasi doa yang saya kira sangat baik:

1. Apostles’ Creed (with motions)
2. May the Lord Almighty grant us and those we love a peaceful night and a perfect end.
3. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:8)
4. Confession: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you, through our own fault, in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. For the sake of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive us all our offenses, and grant that we may serve you in newness of life, to the glory of your name, Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)
5. Gloria: Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever, Amen.
6. Bible Memorization: Choose a psalm or a Bible passage you want your kids to know by heart. Quote it here for a few weeks.
7. The Lord’s Prayer: We use the ESV.
8. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit, for you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth. Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings. (Psalm 17:8, 31:5)
9. Personal, spontaneous prayers: Each member of the family prays for a minute or two whatever is on our hearts.

Thanks, Trevin. I will try to apply the above with my kids.

Doa untuk sebuah kerinduan

Saat ini kami berdiam diri dihadapanmu, ya Tuhan.

Memisahkan diri dari putaran rutinitas hidup kami
yang menguras tenaga dan pikiran kami
Berhenti dari segala hiruk pikuk dunia yang
berbagai ekpektasinya membuat kami selalu kelelahan
Kami ingin datang kepadaMu yang pernah berjanji
bahwa kepada yang letih lesu dan berbeban berat,
Engkau akan memberi kelegaan.

Karena seringkali saat kami letih lesu,
kami mencoba mencari hiburan,
meng-entertain diri kami dengan makan dan minum,
dengan musik dan film, dengan sport dan games,
dengan acara santai dan rilex.

Kami berkata kepada diri kami sendiri:
“Hai jiwaku, ada padamu banyak hiburan, nikmatilah semua itu,
beristirahatlah, makanlah, minumlah, bersenang-senanglah!
Tidak heran ya Tuhan, jika Engkau memanggil kami orang bodoh, orang bebal.
Karena jiwa kami tidak akan pernah dipuaskan oleh barang dan jasa dari dunia ini.

Mungkin lidah kami menari-nari dengan makanan dan minuman yang lezat,
mata dan telinga dijamu dengan suara musik dan tayangan film,
sel-sel otak kami disegarkan oleh sport dan games,
dan tubuh kami dimanjakan dengan berbagai cara untuk rileks.

Namun semua itu hanyalah kepuasan tubuh, bukan kepuasan jiwa.
Semua itu kepuasan sementara yang datang begitu cepat dan pergi begitu cepat,
bukan kepuasan yang memberi kami stamina menghadapi hidup yang keras ini.
Semua itu kepuasan yang dicari oleh orang-orang yang tidak mengenal-Mu,
bukan kepuasan yang Engkau janjikan kepada orang-orang yang mencari Engkau.

Saat ini kami berdiam diri dihadapan-Mu, ya Tuhan.
Kami ingin datang kepada Engkau yang mampu memberi
kelegaan jiwa kepada kami yang letih lesu dan berbeban berat.
Kelegaan jiwa dari Mu itulah, dan hanya itulah, yang memampukan kami
untuk memikul dengan sukacita dan sukarela Kuk yang Engkau pasang

Bahkan Tuhan kami datang dengan kerinduan bukan untuk mendapat
kelegaan dari-Mu, melainkan untuk mendapatkan Engkau sendiri.
Tolong kami untuk melihat bahwa lebih berharga dari segala berkat
yang Kau limpahkan pada kami adalah DiriMu sendiri Sang Pemberi Berkat.

Saat mata rohani kami tertuju pada Mu semata,
saat hati kami sungguh terpaut akan keindahanMu,
semua kenikmatan dunia tidak lagi menarik hati kami.

Saat kami terpesona dengan kemuliaan-mu ya Allah yang nampak
dalam wajah Kristus, tipuan manis dosa tidak lagi memikat hati kami.
Kami tidak lagi melihat dosa menggairahkan karena
Engkau jauh lebih memuaskan dan menyenangkan kami.

Itulah kerinduan kami ya Tuhan. Kami ingin memiliki kerinduan
itu senantiasa sepanjang sisa umur hidup kami.
Perbuatlah apa yang baik menurut kehendakMu ya Allah,
gar kerinduan tersebut tinggal dalam hati kami.

Spurgeon's Prayer of Consecration

Charles Spurgeon was saved on January 6, 1850, and on February 1 he wrote the following prayer of consecration:

O great and unsearchable God,
who knows my heart, and tries all my ways;
with a humble dependence upon the support of Your Holy Spirit,
I yield up myself to You;
as Your own reasonable sacrifice, I return to You Your Own.
I would be for ever, unreservedly, perpetually Yours;
whilst I am on earth, I would serve You;
and may I enjoy You and praise You for ever!
Amen.