O Lord. I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, O Lord, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.
Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, O Lord, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor.
May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me” AMEN. (Diary # 163).
www.sainttherse.com
What if the mercy prayer, “Lord, have mercy,” was not only the most prayed prayer in the Bible but in your life as well? Many Christians through the ages believed that this should be the case.
We have so much to learn from Christians who are different than us.
I grew up as a Southern Baptist. Then I spent eight wonderful years in a Presbyterian church. Today, I’m the pastor of an independent, interdenominational church. We aren’t officially associated with any particular denomination not because we believe the denominations are bad; rather, we desire to look back over the last two thousand years and see what we have to learn from all the different groups of people that have followed Christ. The different labels – Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Episcopal, Catholic, and the list goes on – simply represent the variety of ways and approaches others have taken in following Jesus.
One denomination has majored on the mercy of God: the Eastern Orthodox church. For almost two thousand years this segment of Christianity has made the mercy of God central to their understanding of the meaning of following Jesus – especially when it comes to prayer. They recognize that Daniel was right when he prayed,
We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. – Daniel 9:18
The Eastern Orthodox church is rather unknown to most Western Christians. These followers of Jesus are mostly located in Russia, Greece, the Middle East, and Africa. When it comes to understanding the most prayed prayer, we would do well to learn from them.
Table of contents
The Mercy Prayer in the Psalms
Their theologians first recognized our tendency to pray for God’s mercy. They were the ones to remark on how common it was for the people of God to cry out to Him for mercy in the Psalms:
Answer me when I call to You,
O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. – Psalm 4:1
Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. – Psalm 6:2
O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death. – Psalm 9:13
Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your Most Holy Place. – Psalm 28:2
To You, O Lord, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy. – Psalm 30:8
It was also the Orthodox that noticed that the one sentence spoken to Jesus more than any other was, “Kyrie eleison.” This branch of Christianity pointed out that all of us are in a line leading to God’s courtroom, and we all have one hope in that setting: that God is merciful.
They even began to ask, could it be that the closer you get to God the more you pray the mercy prayer? What if our closeness to Christ actually increases the frequency of our requests for His mercy?
We normally think the opposite – something like this: I was living a really bad life and was in need of mercy. But once I embraced Jesus and asked Him into my heart, He took the burden of sin off of me. Now I can leave behind the consequences of my sin, move on, and grow closer to God.
Our Mercy Prayer Intensifies the Closer We Get to God
Eastern Orthodox believers say the opposite is true. Our recognition of our need for mercy only intensifies the closer we get to God. It’s as if the cross awakens our appetite for His compassion. We actually desire God’s mercy more the closer we get to Him, not only because we see our shortcomings in light of His perfection but also because knowing God is knowing that He is merciful.
This is a lesson we can see illustrated in the tabernacle found in the Old Testament.
The architecture of this ancient worship space communicated the spiritual life in tangible reality. As worshippers walked into the tabernacle, they saw a large courtyard with a number of furnishings signifying different aspects of knowing God. The large basin of water represented cleansing. Burning incense signified the prayers of God’s people. Furthest away from the entrance, deepest within the tabernacle, was the Holy of Holies. To enter that space was to enter the presence of God. The closer one was to this most holy place, the closer one was to God’s glory. Very few people were actually allowed to enter this sacred room. But if you were to go in beyond the veil and enter, you would see the ark of the covenant – the throne of God. What was the name given to the throne? The mercy seat!
Watch The Mercy Prayer Video
Excerpted from The Mercy Prayer: The One Prayer Jesus Always Answers by Robert Gelinas, copyright Thomas Nelson, 2013.
* * *
Your Turn
How has your understanding for your need for mercy changed as you’ve grown closer to God? As you’ve sought His face has it intensified? Come join the conversation on our blog! We would love to hear from you!
www.faithgateway.com
1. Oh Lord of mercy: By your mercy hearken to my voice and give me testimonies, in the name of Jesus.
2. Oh Lord,by your mercy, my ladder of greatness shall not break, in the name of Jesus.
3. Anything planted in my life scaring my helpers away: Be destroyed by fire, in the name of Jesus.
4. My prayer altar receive fresh fire, in the name of Jesus.
5. Every evil cage that has refused to let me go: be destroyed by fire, in the name of Jesus.
6. Every satanic violence set up against the mercy of God for my life: Scatter by fire, in the name of Jesus.
7. Every power robbing me of the mercy and favor of God: Your time is over release me and die, in the name of Jesus.
8. By the mercy of God: I decree that the hand of the enemy shall not prevail over my life, in the name of Jesus.
9. You wicked power delaying the manifestation of my divine mercy: be destroyed in the name of Jesus.
10. Every enemy of my progress within and without: I’ve obtained the mercy of God therefore: die in shame in the name of Jesus.
11.By the mercy of God: I receive supernatural breakthroughs, in the name of Jesus.
12. Any wicked power delegated to waste my destiny, be wasted by fire, in the name of Jesus.
13 Wherever the enemy has knocked me down: Mercy of God lift me up and restore me, in the name of Jesus.
14. Every arrow of wickedness preventing my rain of mercy: Be destroyed by fire, in the name of Jesus.
15. If ‘am behind my heavenly ordained destiny: Mercy of God move me forward to where ‘am suppose to be, in the name of Jesus.
16. By the mercy of God I shall not fish in the Dead Sea, in the name of Jesus.
17. By the mercy of God: Let there be a way for me in the wilderness, in the name of Jesus.
18. By the mercy of god let every valley in my life bring forth water, in the name of Jesus.
19. By the mercy of God: I shall not build for another to inhabit, in the name of Jesus.
20.By the mercy of God: I shall not labor for another to enjoy, in the name of Jesus.
21. by the mercy of God: I shall not plant for another to harvest, in the name of Jesus.
22. By the mercy of God: I shall not be unseated from my place of blessing/fulfillment, in the name of Jesus.
23. by the mercy of God: I shall not be a negative example in the house of God, in my family, in my community to the nation at large, in the name of Jesus.
25. by the mercy of God: I shall obtain uncommon favor in the name of Jesus.
27. by the mercy of God I shall not see disgrace, I shall not see shame, and I shall not see disappointment, in the name of Jesus.
27. By the mercy of God: I shall be watered from the garden of the Lord all the days of my life, in the name of Jesus.
28. By the mercy of God: I shall live in abundance and in good health all the days of my life, in the name of Jesus.
29. By the mercy of God: I shall be blessed and highly favored all the days of my life, in the name of Jesus.
30. By the mercy of God: Where others have failed I shall succeed , in the name of Jesus.
prayerpoints001.blogspot.com
What if the mercy prayer, “Lord, have mercy,” was not only the most prayed prayer in the Bible but in your life as well? Many Christians through the ages believed that this should be the case.
We have so much to learn from Christians who are different than us.
I grew up as a Southern Baptist. Then I spent eight wonderful years in a Presbyterian church. Today, I’m the pastor of an independent, interdenominational church. We aren’t officially associated with any particular denomination not because we believe the denominations are bad; rather, we desire to look back over the last two thousand years and see what we have to learn from all the different groups of people that have followed Christ. The different labels – Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Episcopal, Catholic, and the list goes on – simply represent the variety of ways and approaches others have taken in following Jesus.
One denomination has majored on the mercy of God: the Eastern Orthodox church. For almost two thousand years this segment of Christianity has made the mercy of God central to their understanding of the meaning of following Jesus – especially when it comes to prayer. They recognize that Daniel was right when he prayed,
We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. – Daniel 9:18
The Eastern Orthodox church is rather unknown to most Western Christians. These followers of Jesus are mostly located in Russia, Greece, the Middle East, and Africa. When it comes to understanding the most prayed prayer, we would do well to learn from them.
The Mercy Prayer in the Psalms
Their theologians first recognized our tendency to pray for God’s mercy. They were the ones to remark on how common it was for the people of God to cry out to Him for mercy in the Psalms:
Answer me when I call to You,
O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. – Psalm 4:1
Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. – Psalm 6:2
O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death. – Psalm 9:13
Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your Most Holy Place. – Psalm 28:2
To You, O Lord, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy. – Psalm 30:8
It was also the Orthodox that noticed that the one sentence spoken to Jesus more than any other was, “Kyrie eleison.” This branch of Christianity pointed out that all of us are in a line leading to God’s courtroom, and we all have one hope in that setting: that God is merciful.
They even began to ask, could it be that the closer you get to God the more you pray the mercy prayer? What if our closeness to Christ actually increases the frequency of our requests for His mercy?
We normally think the opposite – something like this: I was living a really bad life and was in need of mercy. But once I embraced Jesus and asked Him into my heart, He took the burden of sin off of me. Now I can leave behind the consequences of my sin, move on, and grow closer to God.
Our Mercy Prayer Intensifies the Closer We Get to God
Eastern Orthodox believers say the opposite is true. Our recognition of our need for mercy only intensifies the closer we get to God. It’s as if the cross awakens our appetite for His compassion. We actually desire God’s mercy more the closer we get to Him, not only because we see our shortcomings in light of His perfection but also because knowing God is knowing that He is merciful.
This is a lesson we can see illustrated in the tabernacle found in the Old Testament.
The architecture of this ancient worship space communicated the spiritual life in tangible reality. As worshippers walked into the tabernacle, they saw a large courtyard with a number of furnishings signifying different aspects of knowing God. The large basin of water represented cleansing. Burning incense signified the prayers of God’s people. Furthest away from the entrance, deepest within the tabernacle, was the Holy of Holies. To enter that space was to enter the presence of God. The closer one was to this most holy place, the closer one was to God’s glory. Very few people were actually allowed to enter this sacred room. But if you were to go in beyond the veil and enter, you would see the ark of the covenant – the throne of God. What was the name given to the throne? The mercy seat!
Watch The Mercy Prayer Video
Excerpted from The Mercy Prayer: The One Prayer Jesus Always Answers by Robert Gelinas, copyright Thomas Nelson, 2013.
* * *
Your Turn
How has your understanding for your need for mercy changed as you’ve grown closer to God? As you’ve sought His face has it intensified? Come join the conversation on our blog! We would love to hear from you!
www.faithgateway.com
