Category: ESV First Person

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Acknowledge God’s Incontestable Sovereignty and Irresistible Power

Adoration 1.6 | ESV

That his sovereignty is incontestable, and he is the owner and absolute Lord of all.

The heavens, even the heavens are yours, Psalm 115:16(ESV) and all their hosts. The earth is yours and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1(ESV) In your hand are the depths of the earth, and the heights of the mountains are yours also: The sea is yours, for you made it, and your hands formed the dry land. Psalm 95:4-5(ESV) Every beast of the forest is yours, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Psalm 50:10(ESV) You are therefore a great God, and a great King above all gods. Psalm 95:3(ESV)

In your hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10(ESV)

Your dominion is an everlasting dominion, and your kingdom endures from generation to generation: You do according to your will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay your hand or say to you, “What have you done?” Daniel 4:34-35(ESV) or “Why have you done that?”

That his power is irresistible, and the operations of it cannot be controlled.

I know, O God, that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2(ESV) Power belongs to you; Psalm 62:11(ESV) and with you nothing is impossible. Luke 1:37(ESV)

All authority is yours, both in heaven and on earth. Matthew 28:18(ESV)

You kill, and you make alive; you wound, and you heal; and there is none that can deliver out of your hand. Deuteronomy 32:39(ESV)

What you have promised you are able also to perform. Romans 4:21(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Recognize God’s Perfect Knowledge and Unsearchable Wisdom

Adoration 1.5 | ESV

That he has a perfect knowledge of all persons and things, and sees them all, even that which is most secret, at one clear, certain, and unerring view.

All things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account, even the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12-13(ESV)

Your eyes are in every place keeping watch on the evil and the good: Proverbs 15:3(ESV) They run to and fro throughout the whole earth, that you may give strong support to those whose hearts are blameless toward you. 2 Chronicles 16:9(ESV)

You search the heart and test the mind, that you may give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. Jeremiah 17:10(ESV)

O God, you have searched us and known us! You know when we sit down and when we rise up; you discern our thoughts from afar. You search out our path and our lying down and are acquainted with all our ways. Even before a word is on our tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. Psalm 139:1-4(ESV) Such knowledge is too wonderful for us; it is high; we cannot attain it. Psalm 139:6(ESV)

Darkness is as light with you. Psalm 139:12(ESV)

That his wisdom is unsearchable, and the counsels and designs of it cannot be fathomed.

Your understanding, O Lord, is infinite, for you determine the number of the stars, and give to all of them their names. Psalm 147:4-5(ESV)

You are wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom; Isaiah 28:29(ESV) wise in heart and mighty in strength. Job 9:4(ESV)

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; Psalm 104:24(ESV) all according to the counsel of your own will. Ephesians 1:11(ESV)

Oh, the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! Romans 11:33(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Acknowledge God’s Eternality and Omnipresence

Adoration 1.4 | ESV

Particularly in my adorations I must acknowledge:

That he is an eternal God, immutable, without beginning of days or end of life or change of time.

You are the King of ages, immortal, invisible. 1 Timothy 1:17(ESV)

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God; Psalm 90:2(ESV) the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8(ESV)

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away; but you are the same, and your years have no end. Psalm 102:25-27(ESV)

You are God and do not change; therefore I am not consumed. Malachi 3:6(ESV)

Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? Habakkuk 1:12(ESV) You are the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, who does not faint or grow weary, whose understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28(ESV)

That he is present in all places, and there is no place in which he is not included or out of which he is excluded.

You are a God at hand and not a God far away; none can hide himself in secret places so that you cannot see him, for you fill heaven and earth. Jeremiah 23:23-24(ESV)

You are not far from each one of us. Acts 17:27(ESV)

I cannot go anywhere from your presence or flee from your Spirit: If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, in the depths of the earth, behold you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me, Psalm 139:7-10(ESV) for I can never outrun you.

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Reverently Adore God, Part 2

Adoration 1.3 | ESV

I must acknowledge his Being to be unquestionable and past dispute.

The heavens declare your glory, O God, and the sky above proclaims your handiwork. Psalm 19:1(ESV) Your eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived in the things that have been made, Romans 1:19-20(ESV) so that they are fools without excuse who say, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1(ESV) For surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth, Psalm 58:11(ESV) and in heaven too.

I therefore draw near to you believing that you exist and that you powerfully and bountifully reward those who diligently seek you. Hebrews 11:6(ESV)

Yet I must own his nature to be incomprehensible.

I cannot find out the deep things of God; I cannot find out the limit of the Almighty. Job 11:7(ESV)

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 145:3(ESV)

Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise? Psalm 106:2(ESV)

And his perfections to be matchless and without compare.

Who is a God like you, O LORD, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? Exodus 15:11(ESV)

Who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD? Psalm 89:6(ESV) O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are with your faithfulness all around you? Psalm 89:8(ESV)

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. Psalm 86:8(ESV) For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Psalm 86:10(ESV)

No creature has an arm like God, or can thunder with a voice like his. Job 40:9(ESV)

And that he is infinitely above me and all other beings.

You are God and not man; you do not have eyes of flesh, nor do you see as man sees. Your days are not as the days of man, nor your years as a man’s years. Job 10:4-5(ESV)

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are your thoughts higher than my thoughts and your ways than my ways. Isaiah 55:9(ESV)

All nations before you are like a drop from a bucket, or the dust on the scales; and you take up the coastlands like fine dust; Isaiah 40:15(ESV) they are as nothing, and are accounted by you as less than nothing and emptiness. Isaiah 40:17(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Reverently Adore God, Part 1

Adoration 1.2 | ESV

I must reverently adore God, as a Being transcendently bright and blessed, self-existent and self-sufficient, an infinite and eternal Spirit who has all perfections in himself, and give him the glory of his titles and attributes.

O LORD our God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, you cover yourself with light as with a garment; Psalm 104:1-2(ESV) and yet to us you make darkness your canopy, Psalm 18:11(ESV) for we cannot draw up our case because of darkness. Job 37:19(ESV)

This is the message which we have heard of you, and we set our seal to it that it is true: God is light, and in him is no darkness at all; 1 John 1:5(ESV) God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16(ESV)

You are the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change, and from whom proceeds every good and perfect gift. James 1:17(ESV)

You are the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.1 Timothy 6:15-16(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Address God with Reverence and Awe

Adoration 1.1 | ESV

Having thus engaged our hearts to approach God. Jeremiah 30:21(ESV)

We must solemnly address ourselves to that infinitely great and glorious Being with whom we have to do, as those who are possessed with a full belief of his presence and a holy awe and reverence of his Majesty, which we may do in such expressions as these:

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Revelation 4:8(ESV)

O you whose name is the LORD, who alone are the Most High over all the earth. Psalm 83:18(ESV)

O God, you are our God, earnestly we seek you; Psalm 63:1(ESV) our God, and we will praise you; our fathers’ God, and we will exalt you. Exodus 15:2(ESV)

O you who are the true God, the living God, the one only living and true God, 1 Thessalonians 1:9(ESV) and the everlasting King! Jeremiah 10:10(ESV) The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Deuteronomy 6:4(ESV)

And may we thus distinguish ourselves from the worshipers of false gods.

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, they are vanity and a lie, the work of human hands; Psalm 115:4(ESV) those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. Psalm 115:8(ESV) But the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name, Jeremiah 10:16(ESV) God over all, blessed forever. Romans 9:5(ESV)

Their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves, Deuteronomy 32:31(ESV) for he is the Rock of ages; the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock: Isaiah 26:4(ESV) His name endures forever, and his renown throughout all ages, Psalm 135:13(ESV) even when the gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Introduction to Adoration

Adoration 1.0 | ESV

Of the First Part of Prayer, which is Address to God, Adoration of Him, with Suitable Acknowledgements, Professions, and Preparatory Requests

My spirit being composed into a very reverent and serious frame, my thoughts gathered in, and all that is within me charged in the name of the great God carefully to attend the solemn and awful service that lies before me and to keep close to it, I must, with a fixed attention and application of mind and an active lively faith, set the Lord before me, see his eye upon me, and set myself in his special presence, presenting myself to him as a living sacrifice, which I desire may be holy and acceptable to God and a spiritual service; Romans 12:1(ESV)  and then bind this festal sacrifice with cords up to the horns of the altar, Psalm 118:27(ESV) in such thoughts as these:

Let me now lift up my heart, with my eyes and hands, to God in heaven. Lamentations 3:41(ESV)

Let me rouse myself to take hold of God, Isaiah 64:7(ESV) to seek his face, Psalm 27:8(ESV) and to ascribe to him the glory due his name. Psalm 29:2(ESV)

Unto you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Psalm 25:1(ESV)

Let me now with confidence enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for me through the curtain, that is, through his flesh. Hebrews 10:19-20(ESV)

Let me now attend to the Lord with undivided devotion, 1 Corinthians 7:35(ESV) and let not my heart be far from him when I draw near to him with my mouth and honor him with my lips. Isaiah 29:13(ESV)

Let me now worship God, who is spirit, in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. John 4:23-24(ESV)

[Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Sum up your Prayer with the Lord’s Prayer

Conclusion 6.5 | ESV

It is very proper to sum up our prayers in that form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13(ESV)

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Conclude with Solemn Praises of God

Conclusion 6.4 | ESV

We may conclude all with doxologies or solemn praises of God, ascribing honor and glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and sealing up all our praises and prayers with an affectionate Amen.

Now blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. Psalm 41:13(ESV)

Forever blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things, and blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen. Psalm 72:18-19(ESV) Yes, let all the people say, “Amen! Praise the LORD.” Psalm 106:48(ESV)

To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. Romans 16:27(ESV)

Now to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for my sins to deliver me from this present evil age, according to the will of my God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5(ESV)

To God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:21(ESV)

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17(ESV) To him be honor and eternal dominion; 1 Timothy 6:16(ESV) to him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:11(ESV)

Now to him who is able to keep me from stumbling and to present me blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God my Savior, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25(ESV)

Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to the LORD my God. Revelation 19:1(ESV) Amen, Hallelujah! Revelation 19:4(ESV)

And now, I prostrate my soul before the throne and worship God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to God forever and ever! Amen. Revelation 7:11-12(ESV) To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” Revelation 5:13(ESV) And let the whole creation say, “Amen. Amen.”

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ESV First Person Method for Prayer

Commend Yourself to the Grace of God

Conclusion 6.3 | ESV

We may then recommend ourselves to the conduct, protection, and government of the divine grace, in the further services that lie before us and in the whole course of our life.

And now, let me be enabled to go from strength to strength, until I appear before God in Zion; and while I pass through the valley of Baca, let it be made a place of springs, and let the rain of divine grace and blessing fill the pools. Psalm 84:6-7(ESV)

Now speak, Lord, for your servant hears. 1 Samuel 3:9(ESV) What does my Lord say to his servant? Joshua 5:14(ESV) Grant that I may not turn away my ear from hearing the law, for then my prayers would be an abomination; Proverbs 28:9(ESV) but may I listen to God, that he may listen to me. Judges 9:7(ESV)

And now, the LORD my God be with me, as he was with all my fathers in the faith; may he not leave me or forsake me, that he may incline my heart to himself, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules. 1 Kings 8:57-58(ESV) And let my heart be wholly true to the LORD my God all my days, 1 Kings 8:61(ESV) and continue so till the end; that then I may rest and may stand in my allotted place, and let it be a blessed place at the end of the days. Daniel 12:13(ESV)