Prayer B.A.G.

Henry Francis Lyte, 1847

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.When other helpers fail and comforts flee,Help of the helpless, O abide with me.Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;Change and decay in all around I see;O Thou who changest not, abide with me.Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,Familiar, condescending, patient, free.Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.I need Thy presence every passing hour.What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Matthew 18:18-20 (NIV)

Dealing With Sin in the Church

¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Matthew 18:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Corrie ten Boom is often credited with asking, "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?"

The Greek word for "bind" is deō, to tie up or fasten. "Loose" is lyō, to untie or set free.

Unforgiveness ties people up.

John Wesley organized the early Methodists into groups "united in order to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love" (Wesley, "General Rules").

Matthew 18:19 (NIV)

¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

Greek symphōnēsōsin is translated "agree."

Psalm 133 (NIV)

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹ How good and pleasant it iswhen God’s people live together in unity!² It is like precious oil poured on the head,running down on the beard,running down on Aaron’s beard,down on the collar of his robe.³ It is as if the dew of Hermonwere falling on Mount Zion.For there the LORD bestows his blessing,even life forevermore.

Matthew 18:20 (NIV)

²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

synagō, the root of "synagogue." The form here, synēgmenoi, is passive: "having been gathered."

Jewish teachers of that time had a saying: when two sit together and the words of the Torah pass between them, God's presence, the Shekhinah, rests among them (Pirkei Avot 3.2).

Henry Francis Lyte wrote, while dying of tuberculosis in 1847, "Abide With Me"

Acts 4:24 (NIV)

The Believers Pray

²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.

Oswald Chambers wrote, "Prayer does not fit us for the greater works; prayer is the greater work" (Chambers)Prayer is the game.

"Pathways to A Praying Church" Tuesdays at 9:30am & Wednesdays at 6pmTex Eargle 4th Ave Classroom.