This resolution of Daily United Prayer is based on An Humble Attempt, originally put forward by Jonathan Edwards in 1748. Its design is to encourage God's people in the duty of united extraordinary prayer; setting aside some time every day to pray for the revival of His church and the advancement of Christ's kingdom in our homes, in our churches, in our nation, and in the world.
"What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD." Psalm 116:12-13.
It is natural for us to want to give something back to the Lord out of gratitude for all of His "benefits" toward us. Think of it, Christian. God has been so good to you. Even if we consider just what we call "common grace," God has been so good to us all. We live and breathe and have our being, and new are His mercies toward us every morning. We have a measure of health and strength and can enjoy the sunshine and even our food. Isn't the Lord good toward us? And then when we think of the exceeding great and precious promises that are ours because of Christ Jesus we can say that the Lord has given to us in "good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over." Luke 6:38. Truly, the goodness of God leads men and women to repentance.
So, what shall we render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward us? This Psalm teaches us that we GIVE to God by TAKING of the cup of salvation. The Lord commands all men everywhere to repent. What could be the best response of fallen man to a good and gracious God? TAKE the cup of salvation. But even as believers, what could be the best response to God's goodness toward us? TAKE the cup of salvation. That is, continue to take and appropriate to ourselves everything that Christ has purchased for us. Receive it by faith. Believe it. Take it. It goes against carnal reason but the spiritual man understands that the best way to GIVE to God is by RECEIVING from God. And the manifestation of this receiving is to "call upon the name of the Lord." Our prayers are an expression of appropriating the promises of God by faith. And this, my friend, is how we can render blessing to the Lord.
DAILY UNITED PRAYER unitedprayer.net
Mon-Fri @ 12pm EDT // Sat @ 10am EDT
We invite you to join our dedicated and earnest group of praying participants of all ages from around the world that meet every day over Zoom to pray. At the start of each prayer call, a different individual will bring a brief Scriptural meditation. Here's the most recent:
