Last night I attended what was (for me) an unusual Good Friday service. Certainly the message was about the death of Christ. On the cross, Jesus declared "It is finished (τετελεσται)" (John 19:30). Jesus accomplished all that is necessary not only for my salvation, but also for my freedom from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1). It is time for me to repent of my sins and live a life full of the Holy Spirit. The service was unusual in that it ended with the congregation praying individually, freely and audibly until each was satisfied with the grace from the Lord, without there being a set ending.
As I prayed in response to the message, my prayers were two-fold.
First, I prayed for forgiveness of my sins, as I recollected them -- the sins that I had not hitherto confessed. This was not to repent again of the same sins that I had previously confessed. For Jesus declared as He washed His disciples' feet, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean." (John 13:10). Then I went on to pray for the sins of my family, my town and city, my nation (USA), and my people (Koreans of North and South Korea).
Second, I prayed for my total transformation. I wanted to be after God's heart, pleasing Him, just as David was. I prayed that my eyes will be focused on the kingdom of heaven and, when looking at the world, be filled with God's tears; that Jesus' heart will be transplanted into me, so that I may feel the same way as He does; that whatever I see, hear, smell, think, and do may be in accordance with His will; that the Spirit of wisdom and revelation will fill me, so that I may know the hope of my calling, the riches of my inheritance, and the power that raised Jesus from death. I prayed to be filled with the character of the Holy Spirit, armed with the full armor of God, bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and empowered with the power of the Holy Spirit.
What is it to have God's tears in my eyes and feel the same way as Jesus? I remembered that in Romans 8:34, it is written that Jesus sitting at the right hand of God is interceding for us. The Spirit Himself also intercedes for us, with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26) If I am to feel the same way as Jesus, I should be grieving and praying for all the peoples and nations going down the path of destruction and damnation, without knowing the true Savior, Jesus Christ. In praying intercessory prayers, I wanted to embrace not only the city of Columbus, the state of Ohio, or the nation of the United States, but also the world and the people in it. I was opening my mouth wide, in the sense of Psalm 81:10.
Praise the Lord, for His mercy is endless and enduring.
Praise the Lord, for He has awakened me to pray in the morning.
Praise the Lord, for He reminds me to pray in the evening.
Praise the Lord, for He is not ashamed to call me His own and fill me with His Spirit of revelation and wisdom.
Praise the Lord, for He gives me a heart to grieve for the dying souls.
Praise the Lord, for He gives me a heart to offer up prayers of intercession.
Praise Him on earth! Praise Him in the highest! Amen.
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