The Nurse Theologian

Question 104: What do we pray for in the fourth petition? Answer: In the fourth petition, which is, "Give us this day our daily bread," we pray, That of God's free gift we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them. Dear Neighbor, We all have needs; both physical and spiritual needs. We need to be feed by the Word and we need to be feed with food for our stomachs. I man is both a physical and spiritual being. With our daily bread we will die. Some are starving, they are receiving a portion of bread but it is not enough. The bread that I speak of is both physical and spiritual. To be truly alive and healthy we need physical bread for the body and spiritual bread for the soul. Some are physically fat but are spiritually starved. We should pray and ask God to give us what we need and give thanks to God for the good things that he has blessed us with.  Proverbs 30:8-9 says: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me n

Question 103: What do we pray for in the third petition? Answer: In the third petition, which is, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," we pray, That God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven. Dear Neighbor, When we pray, we should not pray for our will, but for God’s will, as the Lord Jesus Christ did during the night preceding his suffering and death. Jesus prayed to the Father God: “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Lk. 22:42) We should petition God, not for our will, but for his will to be done. All are saved by the grace of God alone, through faith, in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Of ourselves we can do nothing good. The apostle Paul wrote: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” (Rom. 7:18) Therefore, we must pray for Go

Question 102: What do we pray for in the second petition? Answer: In the second petition, which is, "Thy kingdom come," we pray, That Satan's kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and the kingdom of glory may be hastened. Dear Neighbor, The coming of the kingdom of God is the greatest and deepest desire of my heart. It was not always my deepest desire but has been since the day God gave me a new heart, with a new desire.  In his book, City of God , Augustine wrote about the reality of two kingdoms. There are two kingdoms side by side. There is the kingdom of man, ruled by Satan, and the kingdom of God, ruled by Jesus Christ. A day and hour is coming in which God will judge the world in righteousness through Jesus Christ. Satan will be vanquished and the kingdom of man will be no more. As believers, we are to pray for the advancement of God’s kingdom. Some have said that it is sin to

Dear Neighbor, This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. We are to rejoice, not in our circumstances, but we are to have joy in the Lord Jesus Christ because he has redeemed us from death unto life. The promise of God is eternal life and the life is in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died, who was buried, who rose again, who ascended, who will come to judge the earth. All honor and glory belong to God our Farther, and the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been asked to teach a lesson in our Sunday morning Bible Study. I am currently reading A. W. Pinks, The Gospel of John.  In that book, Pink said:  The Bible teacher who becomes a substitute for diligent study on the part of those who hear him is a hindrance and not a help. The business of the teacher is to turn people to the searching of the Scriptures for themselves, stimulating their interest in the Sacred Word, and instructing them how to go about it. Therefore, I plan to write a lesson plan that turns p

Dear Neighbor, Question 101: What do we pray for in the first petition? Answer: In the first petition, which is, "Hallowed be thy name," we pray, That God would enable us and others to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known; and that he would dispose all things to his own glory. It is for the glory of God and the Lamb that we pray. What is the purpose of all things? The purpose for all things is the glory of God. The very first question and answer in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: Question 1: What is the chief end of man? Answer: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever. Man was created to glorify God, and to enjoy God forever, but man sinned and fell short of his glory. However, it is for the glory of God, that God justified man. We are justified as a gift, by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone, for the glory of God alone, as it is written in Scripture alone. (cf. Rom. 3:10-26) We who are redeemed

Dear Neighbor, Question 100: What doth the preface of the Lord's prayer teach us? Answer: The preface of the Lord's prayer, which is, "Our Father which art in heaven," teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us; and that we should pray with and for others. When Jesus meet Mary Madeline in the garden, he said to her: “G o to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” (Jn. 20:17b) This indicates a change in covenant, for God’s covenant name in Israel was Yahweh or Jehovah, but we should understand God, not as the God who took us out of slavery in Egypt, but as a loving Father who elected us and Jesus Christ as a loving brother who died for us. Therefore, when you pray, pray to your Father who loves you, for he elected you before the foundation of the earth and adopted you as a son or daughter of God. However, we should not think of God a

Dear Neighbor, Question 99: What rule hath God given for our direction in prayer? Answer: The whole Word of God is of use to direct us in prayer; but the special rule of direction is that form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called The Lord's Prayer. Yesterday I mentioned that the pastor of Sylvania Church often reads Puritan prayers from The Valley of Vision . He also does something else that I think is very interesting; he prays from the psalms. He will take one of the psalms and pray it aloud, adapting it to the congregation for which he is praying. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, says: “ All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Therefore, the Westminster Puritans are correct in their assertion that the whole Word of God is useful to direct us in prayer. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, (cf.  Luke 11:1-4)