Compelled by the Gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage.
LIFE SUPPORT CALL TO PRAYER
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
... Even before a word is on my tongue, behold,
O Lord, you know it all together.”
Psalm 139:1-2, 4 ESV
Are Our Prayers Predestined?
by Rev. Craig Kephart, PPL Board Member
A seminary professor challenged his students to consider the impact of their prayers. If God is the sovereign author of all matters, then can “my” prayers ever be really mine? On the other hand, our interpersonal and interacting God has revealed His desire for engagement, a sort of divine give-and-take between the Ruler of the Universe and us, His beloved children. So perhaps we do play a part? Perhaps we do bring something distinctly of ourselves to the relationship?
Psalm 139 testifies to King David’s acknowledgement of our Lord’s overarching power: “Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou discernest my thoughts from afar.” And later, “Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.” We imagine the shepherd David in his adolescent years, alone with the flock, puzzling over the philosophical questions of a life lived before Jehovah God, plucking his instrument and setting his questions to a musical lyric.
Presbyterians Protecting Life takes up the task of prayerfully seeking the Lord’s perfect will for a variety of people and situations. Often notable are the crises of unplanned pregnancies startling people’s expectations for their days and years ahead. Other crises involve complicated pregnancies for which doctors have delivered discouraging news and parents are faced with agonizing decisions. Yet we champion life for all ages and a variety of situations – some of which you will sense in the prayer prompts offered here in this edition of our Life Support Prayer Calendar.
Please join us in seeking the very best for your nearby neighbors and for people you don’t even know. We do not offer pat answers. Like David, we are committed to relationship with God while also filled with questions about how He wants to use us. We simply share ourselves in prayer, compelled by Christ’s gospel, calling out to the One whose omniscience is too high, too wonderful for any of us to fully comprehend.