Articles
 The Upper Room Discourse 79
 The Upper Room Discourse 78
 The Upper Room Discourse 77
 The Upper Room Discourse 76
 The Upper Room Discourse 75
 The Upper Room Discourse 74
 The Upper Room Discourse 73
 The Upper Room Discourse 72
 The Upper Room Discourse 71
 The Upper Room Discourse 70

Series [All]
 Daniel Juster (61)
 Fruit of the Spirit (8)
 Guy Cohen (56)
 Introduction to Messianic Judaism (24)
 Juster summer trip
 Mark Rantz (2)
 The Mitzvah Book (93)
 Tikkun Articles (5)
 Torah Thoughts
 Zion's Glory (3)

Archive


 

Tuesday, 18 September 2018
More on liturgical prayer

Yesterday we started a discussion on liturgical prayer. Let me offer an analogy. Great songs have been written (would you agree). Some of them have become classics, the truly great songs of the opera or Broadway. It is the same with liturgical prayer. Why should we feel that every time we desire to pray, we have to write an original prayer (song)? Sometimes it is okay to sing (pray) the classics.

As with everything in New Covenant life, we must evaluate liturgy through the "Yeshua lens". We must ask if what we are saying (praying) gives glory to the Son. There is much in the liturgical prayers (especially that taken directly from the Bible) which gives glory to Yeshua.

There is a liturgical prayer every Jewish person prays upon awakening and I'm not going to teach it to you today (some other day, okay). All I'm going to teach you are the first 3 words, Modeh Ani L'fanekha. These words mean "I am thankful before You." The more common expression is, "I give you thanks," or simply "Thank You."

When these words appear in the Amidah (also called the Shemona Esray), the main prayer (silent devotion) in every liturgical service we bow (even if sitting at the time) as we say them (in the Amidah they appear in feminine form).

Psalm 100:4 describes us as being thankful when we "enter His gates." Romans 1:21 describes the ungodly as unthankful. Let's spend 2 minutes (set your timer like I am) to be thankful. Be sure to cover the whole spectrum of our being in offering thanks to God. Two minutes wasn't long enough? Take 2 more, etc.

Shalom.

Posted By Rabbi Michael Weiner, 10:10am Comment Comments: 0