Day 8, Monday: Arise, My Soul, Arise

by Pastor Brian Petak

“For Jesus, prayer wasn’t simply talking with God, but involved a deep, abiding sense of reverent submission to Him.”

~ Henry Blackaby, Experiencing Prayer With Jesus, p. 31.

Meditation

Think about what Jesus did for you as you read this out loud:

“And it draws the powerful conclusion that through the curse, sin, and death of Christ we are blessed, that is, justified and made alive. So long as sin, death, and the curse remain in us, sin damns us, death kills us, and the curse curses us, but when these things are transferred to Christ, what is ours becomes his and what is his becomes ours. Let us learn, therefore, in every temptation to transfer sin, death, the curse, and all the evils that oppress us from ourselves to Christ, and, on the other hand, to transfer righteousness, life, and blessing from him to us.

Martin Luther, 16th Century Pastor, Author, Theologian, Bible Translator and Reformer

Call to Worship

Hear God call you to worship through his word:

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Romans 8:15-16

Adoration

Pray this praise to God:

Arise, my soul, arise,
Shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice
In my behalf appears;
Before the throne my surety stands;
My name is written on his hands.

He ever lives above
For me to intercede;
His all-redeeming love
His precious blood to plead;
His blood atoned for all our race
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds he bears,
Received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers,
They strongly speak for me;
Forgive him, oh forgive, they cry,
Nor let that ransomed sinner die.

My God is reconciled,
His pard’ning voice I hear;
He owns me for his child;
I can no longer fear;
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And Father, Abba Father, cry!

~ Charles Wesley, 18th Century British Preacher and Hymnwriter of over 6,000 hymns, England

Confession of Sin

Confess your sins to God:

I, poor sinner, confess myself before God Almighty, that I have gravely sinned by the transgression of his commandments; that I have done many things which I should have left undone, and I have left undone that which I should have done, through unbelief and distrust in God and weakness of love toward my fellow servants. God knows the guilt I have incurred, for which I am grieved. Be gracious to me, Lord. Be merciful to me, a poor sinner.  Amen.

~ Deibold Schwarz, 16th Century German merchant and writer, Augsburg

Assurance of Pardon

Receive these words of comfort from God:

³³ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Jeremiah 31:33-34

Prayer of Intercession

As you make your requests to God, pray this prayer:

Slay utterly, O Lord, and cast down the sin which does so easily beset us; bridle the unholy affection; stay the unlawful thought; chasten the tempter; regulate the spirit; correct the tongue; bend the will and the worship of our souls to you, and so sanctifuy and subdue the whole inward man, that setting up your throne in our hearts, to the dethronement of all our idols, and the things of earth we hold too dear, you may reign there alone in the fullness of your grace, and the consolations of your presence, till the time arrives when we shall reign with you in glory. Amen.

~ Richard Brooke, 17th London Puritan Pastor

Further Petition

Pray for:

• Personal: pray that the Lord will make you more dependent on Him, and less dependent on yourself today.
• Church: pray for The Ascent Church, that each will take up the towel and basin and wash the feet of those around us by serving others and taking the lowest position in love.
• Community: pray for all those in our community who are resisting the gospel – to soften their hearts, sense the prompting and leading of the Spirit and seek Jesus.
• World: pray for the church worldwide to grow in gospel-effectiveness, and that seekers would seek after Jesus and find hope in Christ through a local church.

Connect the Heart

Consider the following questions to better connect your head and your heart:

1. What did God show you about Himself through today’s devotional?
2. What did God show you about yourself through today’s devotional?
3. What is something you need to surrender to God today as you pursue greater intimacy with Him?

Benediction

As you close your time of meditation and devotion, receive by faith this blessing from God:

²³ Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

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_{Content for our 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting devotionals is adapted from several sources, books on prayer, meditations and liturgies, drawing heavily from O Sacred Head, Now Wounded by Jonathan Gibson (copyright 2024 by Crossway)}