Morning Prayer
He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
Inspiration
There is much packed into Peter's four-word confession, which Jesus says was revealed to him by the Father and upon which Jesus promised to build His Church. It is about the identity of Jesus. First, he is the Christ, the long-promised Jewish Messiah who will reign over all the earth. Note that he is "the" Christ, not merely "a" christ. And his origins are "of God. " He is not just a man whom God uses greatly, but is partaker of all the Divine attributes, "God of God" and coequal with the Father in glory.
Prayer
May we confess, Lord, from the heart that confession that Peter declared so long ago, that you are the Christ of God. You are our anointed (for the word for Messiah/Christ means "anointed" ) Prophet, Priest, and King. You teach us of God, intercede with us before God, and rule over the Kingdom of God. Amen.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
