"Come, My Soul, with Every Care"
Jul. 28, 2019
"Come, my soul, with ev'ry care, Jesus loves to answer prayer; He Himself has bid thee pray, Therefore will not turn away.
"Thou art coming to a King, Large petitions with thee bring; For His grace and pow'r are such, None can ever ask too much."
"Jesus loves to answer prayer," so much so that He not only invites us to pray, but also gives us the words to use. In a lesson on prayer, Jesus told His disciples, "Pray then like this," and taught them the treasured words we now call the Lord's Prayer. As the hymn instructs us, we are to come before God's throne "with every care." A child will ask a parent for just about anything, from something small, like a cookie, to considerably larger requests ("No, you don't need a drone.") In the same way, we can bring petitions large and small to our Heavenly Father.
As He taught about prayer, Jesus asked, "Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?" Earthly fathers give good gifts to their children (well, maybe not drones). We can be certain that our Heavenly Father will "give good things to those who ask Him" (see Matthew 7:9-11). So we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." Bread seems like such a small thing—the toast at breakfast, the sandwich at lunch. Yet the petition includes much more; we are asking for all that we need to sustain our bodies and lives. It is no small thing to ask God to provide our daily bread.
The hymn reminds us that we are coming to a King. Our God and Savior rules over all things. Nothing is beyond the reach of His authority and power, and so the hymn tells us, "None can ever ask too much." In the Lord's Prayer we bring very large petitions before God's throne: "Forgive us our trespasses ... lead us not into temptation ... deliver us from evil" (see Matthew 6:9-13). We are asking to be delivered from sin, from temptation and from the power of the evil one. These are not small requests. Yet before our prayer was ever spoken, it was answered. Our gracious Heavenly Father sent His Son into the world to deliver us. Through His death on the cross and His victorious resurrection, Jesus defeated sin, death, and the devil. By God's grace, through faith in Jesus' Name, we have forgiveness for our sins and the gift of eternal life.
"None can ever ask too much." "Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear" (Isaiah 65:24). We can pray with confidence, knowing that we can never ask too much because our greatest needs, for forgiveness, life, and salvation, have already been granted.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You have delivered us from sin, death, and the devil. Lead us to pray with confidence, knowing that our Heavenly Father is listening and ready to help us in every need. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- Why would Jesus need or want to pray? What good would it do?
- What makes up your prayers mostly—praise, complaints, thanks, requests?
- What benefit do you get from prayer?
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, "Come, My Soul, with Every Care." Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Why would Jesus need or want to pray?
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