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Lord’s Day Schedule‡

  • Sabbath School—9:45 a.m.
  • Morning Worship—10:45 a.m.
  • Afternoon Worship—2:00 p.m.
  • ‡ Regular schedule temporarily suspended.
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Notes from Sabbath School: WLC #183

Notes from Sabbath School on the Larger Catechism, Q&A #183: For whom are we to pray?
WLC #183 — Q: For whom are we to pray?
A: We are to pray for the whole church of Christ upon earth;1 for magistrates2 and ministers;3 for ourselves,4 our brethren,5 yeah, our enemies;6 and for all sorts of men living,7 or that shall live hereafter;8 ….

  1. We should pray for the whole of Christ’s Church:

    • We should pray especially for our own congregation, and our own denomination, but the Scriptures require us to pray for the whole of Christ’s Church around the world.

  2. Magistrates and Ministers:

    • Both civil and the ecclesiastical rulers receive their authority from God and must exercise their respective authority according to His will and for His glory in ways He has revealed as appropriate to their respective callings.
    • It is our duty to pray for both our civil and ecclesiastical rulers, not only that they would honour God in their calling, but that we may live quiet and peaceable lives in the spirtual prosperity of godliness and honesty.

  3. We are to pray for ourselves:

    • that we may have legitimate temporal blessings (food, clothing, shelter, material success in our occupations, etc.) so far as these accord with God’s glory and our true spirtual good, and
    • that we may bountifully experience every spiritual blessing God has appointed for His people (the fruit of the Spirit, ever deeper knowledge of the Triune God in and through His ordinances, etc.).

  4. We are to pray for our enemies.

    • We are to pray for the salvation of our enemies, that they should bow the knee to Christ.
    • So far as they are our personal enemies, we are to “turn the other cheek,” to forgive them, and to bless them. This does not interfere with other obligations we have to protect our life and the life of others. “To pray for our enemies means chiefly to pray for their repentance, conversion to Christ, and salvation. It may also be our God-given duty to resist their aggressions or injustice. If possible this is to be done by appeal to law; but if this is not possible, it may be our real duty to resist violence by force.” (Vos, The Westsminster Larger Catechism, A Commentary, p. 527)

  5. It is our duty to pray for all sorts of men living or that shall live hereafter.

    • Humans are made for the glory of God and we are to pray that all humanity would willingly yield to this calling.
    • We are to pray for the ingathering of the elect in our own day as well as in future generations.

  1. Eph. 6:18. … praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Ps. 28:9. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever. ↩

  2. 1 Tim. 2:1-2. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of hanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. ↩

  3. Col. 4:3. … withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds. ↩

  4. Gen. 32:11. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. ↩

  5. James 5:16. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. ↩

  6. Matt. 5:44. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. ↩

  7. 1 Tim. 2:1-2. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of hanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. ↩

  8. John 17:20. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. 2 Sam. 7:29. Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, has spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever. ↩

Posted: 09|21|08 at 1:39 pm. Filed under: Sabbath School.
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