Category: ESV First Person

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Thank God for Preserving you

Thanksgiving 4.5 | ESV

We must give thanks for our preservation; that our lives are prolonged and the use of our reason and understanding, our limbs and senses, are continued to us.

It was owing to your good providence that I did not die at birth, and did not come out from the womb and expire; that the knees received me, and the breasts, that I should nurse. Job 3:11-12(ESV)

Though before birth I was called a rebel, Isaiah 48:8(ESV) yet by your power I have been borne by you from before my birth and carried from the womb; Isaiah 46:3(ESV) and you keep my soul among the living and have not let my foot slip. Psalm 66:9(ESV)

All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you!” Psalm 35:10(ESV) For you keep the bones, and not one of them is broken. Psalm 34:20(ESV)

I lay down and sleep, for you, LORD, make me to dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8(ESV)

You have commanded your angels concerning me, to guard me in all my ways; to bear me up in their hands, lest I strike my foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11-12(ESV) And they are all ministering spirits, sent out to serve for the good of those who are to inherit salvation. Hebrews 1:14(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Thank God for Making you in His Image

Thanksgiving 4.4 | ESV

Secondly, With reference to ourselves in particular.

We must give thanks that he has made us reasonable creatures, capable of knowing, loving, serving, and enjoying him, and that he has not made us like the beasts that perish.

We praise you, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made; and that our souls, our nobler part, know very well; Psalm 139:14(ESV) for no man knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him. 1 Corinthians 2:11(ESV)

You have made us of that rank of beings which is a little lower than the heavenly beings and is crowned with glory and honor; Psalm 8:5(ESV) for it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand; Job 32:8(ESV) and the spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD. Proverbs 20:27(ESV)

Our bodies are capable of being the temples of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19(ESV) and our souls of having the Spirit of God dwell in them; 1 Corinthians 3:16(ESV) we therefore glorify you with our bodies and with our spirits, which are both yours. 1 Corinthians 6:20(KJV)

You, Lord, have formed us for yourself, that we might declare your praise. Isaiah 43:21(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Thank God for the Many Instances of His Goodness and Kind Providence (continued)

Thanksgiving 4.3 | ESV

The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but the earth you have given to the children of man; Psalm 115:16(ESV) and you have put all things under their feet, and given them dominion over the works of your hands; Psalm 8:6(ESV) so that the fear of man and the dread of man is upon every beast of the earth and upon the birds of the heavens, and into his hand they are delivered; Genesis 9:2(ESV) because you had a favor to him and delighted in the children of man. Proverbs 8:31(ESV)

You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that you may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen his heart. Psalm 104:14-15(ESV)

You give to all life and breath and everything; Acts 17:25(ESV) and the earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love. Psalm 119:64(ESV)

All the creatures look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. Psalm 104:27-28(ESV) When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. This, your glory, shall endure forever, and you rejoice in these works. Psalm 104:30-31(ESV)

It is through your goodness, O Lord, that as one generation of mankind goes, another generation comes; Ecclesiastes 1:4(ESV) and that you have not blotted out the name of that corrupt and guilty race from under heaven. Deuteronomy 29:20(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Thank God for the Many Instances of His Goodness and Kind Providence

Thanksgiving 4.2 | ESV

With reference to all the creatures and the world of mankind in general. [continued]

You did not leave yourself without witness among the nations, in that you did good by giving them rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying their hearts with food and gladness. Acts 14:17(ESV)

You cover the heavens with clouds, and prepare rain for the earth, and make grass grow on the hills. You give to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. Psalm 147:8-9(ESV)

You bring rain on the desert in which there is no man, to satisfy the waste and desolate land. Job 38:26-27(ESV)

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks* overflow with abundance. Psalm 65:9-11(ESV)

You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; they give drink to every beast of the field; and beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches. Psalm 104:10-12(ESV)

You have set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved; Psalm 104:5(ESV) you set a boundary to the waters of the sea, so that they might not again cover the earth. Psalm 104:9(ESV) You have shut up the sea with doors, Job 38:8(ESV) and prescribed limits for it, saying, “Thus far shall you come, and no farther; here shall your proud waves be stayed.” Job 38:10-11(ESV) And you have made good what you have sworn, that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth. Isaiah 54:9(ESV)

Your covenant with the day and with the night is not broken; Jeremiah 33:20(ESV) but still you give the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Jeremiah 31:35(ESV) and are faithful to that covenant of providence: That while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. Genesis 8:22(ESV)

* paths

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Be Particular in your Thanks to God, Marvel at His Good Nature and Kind Providence

Thanksgiving 4.1 | ESV

We must be particular in our thanksgivings to God:

For the discoveries that he has made to us in his word of the goodness of his nature.

We give thanks to the God of gods, to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:2-3(ESV)

Your goodness is your glory, Exodus 33:19(ESV) and it is for that which all your works give thanks to you and all your saints bless you. Psalm 145:10(ESV)

You are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, Psalm 145:8(ESV) and have told us that you do not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men; but, though you cause grief, you will have compassion according to the abundance of your steadfast love. Lamentations 3:32-33(ESV)

You take pleasure in those who fear you, in those who hope in your steadfast love. Psalm 147:11(ESV)

For the many instances of his goodness.

The goodness of his providence relating to our bodies and the life that now is; and this,

1st, With reference to all the creatures and the world of mankind in general.

You have stretched out the heavens like a tent, Psalm 104:2(ESV) and in them you have set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Psalm 19:4-5(ESV) And you make your sun rise on the evil and on the good, and send rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:45(ESV)

When we look at the heavens, the work of your fingers, the sun, the moon, and the stars which you have set in place, Lord, what is man that you care for him? Psalm 8:3-4(ESV) For truly the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun: Ecclesiastes 11:7(ESV) All glory be to the Father of light, James 1:17(ESV) who commands the morning and causes the dawn to know its place. Job 38:12(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Introduction and Exhortation to Stir Yourself Up to Praise God

Thanksgiving 4.0 | ESV

Of the Fourth Part of Prayer, which is Thanksgivings for the Mercies we have Received from God and the Many Favors of His we are Interested in and Have and Hope for Benefit by:

Our errand at the throne of grace is not only to seek the favor of God, but to ascribe to him the glory due his name, Psalm 29:2(ESV)  and that, not only by an awful adoration of his infinite perfections, but by a grateful acknowledgment of his goodness to us, which cannot indeed add anything to his glory, but he is pleased to accept of it and to reckon himself glorified by it, if it comes from a heart that is humbly sensible of its own unworthiness to receive any favor from God, that values the gifts and loves the Giver of them.

We must stir up ourselves to praise God with the consideration both of the reason and of the encouragement we have to praise him.

I give thanks to you, O God; I give thanks to you, for your name is near. I recount your wondrous deeds. Psalm 75:1(ESV)

Let my soul bless the LORD, and let all that is within me bless his holy name; yes, let my soul bless the LORD and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:1-2(ESV)

I will praise the Lord, for it is good, it is pleasant, Psalm 92:1(ESV) and praise befits the upright; Psalm 33:1(ESV) yes, it is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness by night. Psalm 92:1-2(ESV)

I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever; Psalm 145:1-2(ESV) I will pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and sing aloud of your righteousness. Psalm 145:7(ESV)

I will sing to the LORD a new song and his praise in the assembly of the godly. Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. Psalm 149:1-2(ESV) Let the godly exult in glory, and let the high praises of God be in their hearts and in their throats. Psalm 149:5-6(ESV)

I will bless the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being; Psalm 146:2(ESV) and when I have no being on earth, I hope to have a being in heaven, to be doing it better.

I am here through Jesus Christ to offer up a sacrifice of praise to you, which I desire to do continually, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge your name. Hebrews 13:15(ESV) And you have said that he who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies you, Psalm 50:23(ESV) and that this will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. Psalm 69:31(ESV)

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted me, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. Isaiah 63:7(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Plead the Promises of God for the Enforcing of your Petitions

Petition 3.41 | ESV

We must plead the promises of God for the enforcing of all our petitions, put these promises in suit, and refer ourselves to them.

Lord, you have given me many precious and very great promises, 2 Peter 1:4(ESV) which are all Yes and Amen in Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:20(ESV) Now be it to your servant according to the word that you have spoken. 2 Samuel 7:25(ESV)

Give me to draw water with joy from these wells of salvation, Isaiah 12:3(ESV) to nurse and be satisfied from Jerusalem’s consoling breast; Isaiah 66:11(ESV) and now, O LORD God, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant be established forever, and do as you have spoken. 1 Chronicles 17:23(ESV)

Deal with me according to the tenor of the everlasting covenant, which is well-ordered in all things and secure, and which is all my help and all my desire. 2 Samuel 23:5(ESV)

Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name; Psalm 119:132(ESV) do more for me than I am able to ask or think, Ephesians 3:20(ESV) and supply all my needs according to your riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Pray for Daily Supplies of Comfort and Support

Petition 3.40 | ESV

We must pray to be supplied with the comforts and supports we daily stand in need of.

O that the favor of the LORD my God may be upon me; prosper the work of my hands upon me; yes, establish the work of my hands. Psalm 90:17(ESV) Save me, I pray, O LORD! O Lord, I pray, give me success! Psalm 118:25(ESV)

May my sons in their youth be as plants full grown, and my daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace. May my granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; and may there be no breaking in or going out, no cry of distress in the streets of your people. Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Psalm 144:12-15(ESV)

Let me be blessed in the city and blessed in the field; Deuteronomy 28:3(ESV) let my basket and my kneading bowl be blessed; let me be blessed when I come in and when I go out. Deuteronomy 28:5-6(ESV)

Let your good providence so order all events concerning me that they may be made to work for good for me, as you have promised they shall for all who love you and are called according to your purpose. Romans 8:28(ESV)

Give me to trust in the LORD and do good, and then I shall dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness; Psalm 37:3(ESV) and be pleased to bring forth my righteousness as the light, and my justice as the noonday. Psalm 37:6(ESV)

Let me be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and not fear destruction when it comes; Job 5:21(ESV) let me be in league with the stones of the field, and let the beasts of the field be at peace with me; let me know that my tent is at peace, and let me inspect my fold and miss nothing. Job 5:23-24(ESV)

And if God will be with me and will keep me in the way that I go during my pilgrimage in this world, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I may come to my heavenly Father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. Genesis 28:20-21(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Pray for the Good Things of Life and Preservation in Calamities

Petition 3.39 | ESV

We must pray for the good things of life, with a humble submission to the will of God.

Lord, you have told me that godliness holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come; 1 Timothy 4:8(ESV) and that if I seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, other things will be added to me; Matthew 6:33(ESV) and therefore, I cast all my anxieties about these things on you, who cares for me; 1 Peter 5:7(ESV) for my heavenly Father knows that I need them all. Matthew 6:32(ESV)

We must pray to be preserved from the calamities to which we are exposed.

You, Lord, are my refuge and my fortress, Psalm 91:2(ESV) and under your wings will I find refuge; your faithfulness is a shield and buckler; let me therefore not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day. Psalm 91:4-5(ESV) Having made the Lord my refuge and the Most High my dwelling place, let no evil befall me nor any plague come near my tent. Psalm 91:9-10(ESV)

Let the LORD be my keeper, even he who keeps Israel and neither slumbers nor sleeps. Let the Lord be my shade on my right hand, that the sun may not strike me by day, nor the moon by night. Let the Lord keep me from all evil; the Lord keep my life; the Lord keep my going out and my coming in, from this time forth and forevermore. Psalm 121:4-8(ESV)

Lord, put a hedge around me and my house and all that I have on every side; Job 1:10(ESV) and take sickness away from me. Exodus 23:25(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Pray for Grace to Fit you for Heaven

Petition 3.38 | ESV

We must pray for grace to fit us for heaven, and that we may at length be put in possession of eternal life.

Lord, qualify me to share in the inheritance of the saints in light; Colossians 1:12(ESV) let God himself prepare me for this very thing, and give me the Spirit as a guarantee in my heart. 2 Corinthians 5:5(ESV)

O that I may know that my citizenship is in heaven, and that from there, with comfort, I await a Savior, the Lord Jesus, who shall transform my lowly body to be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21(ESV)

O that I may set my mind on things that are above, and that my life may be hidden with Christ in God; that when Christ, who is my life, shall appear, I also may appear with him in glory; Colossians 3:2-4(ESV) that when he shall appear, I may be like him, may see him as he is, 1 John 3:2(ESV) may behold his face in righteousness, and when I awake, may be satisfied with his likeness. Psalm 17:15(ESV)

When I fail, let me be received into the eternal dwellings, Luke 16:9(KJV) in the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God; Hebrews 11:10(ESV) that I may always be together with the Lord, 1 Thessalonians 4:17(ESV) to see as I am seen and know as I have been fully known; 1 Corinthians 13:12(ESV) and, in the meantime, help me to encourage myself and others with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:18(ESV) And hoping in Christ, may I purify myself as he is pure. 1 John 3:3(ESV)

And now, may my Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God my Father, who loved me and gave me eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort my heart and establish it in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17(ESV)