Prayer - Lord, You Have Been Our Dwelling-Place in All Generations
We desire to make God our heart's home, where we can find eternal security and love, and from which we can live out our lives in Jesus and give out divine love to others.
J.R. Miller emphasizes the eternal nature of God as our true dwelling place, contrasting the temporary nature of the world with the everlasting refuge found in Him. He encourages believers to make their hearts a home for God, fostering love and unity within their families while recognizing the need for divine support in their lives. Miller prays for deeper affections and patience among family members, urging them to reflect God's love in their interactions. He reassures that God is a refuge and fortress, providing safety and comfort amidst life's uncertainties. The sermon concludes with a call to trust in God's protection and to share His love with others.
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Lord, You have been our dwelling-place in all generations. Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. We desire to make You, our heart's home. We are not at home in this poor world, for we are not secure here. All things pass away. The mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed. Our souls are immortal and can find no home on this earth -- no place where they will be sure of undisturbed rest forever. You alone are enduring and eternal, and only in You, can our souls find a suitable home, a refuge of love which will be sure forever. Help us to make our home in You.
We thank You for this our earthly home. We thank You for the love that binds us together, for the refuge we find here from this world's enmities. Here we can trust each other, and are sure of each other's love. Deepen our home affections. Draw us closer together as a family. Make our home-life sweeter. Enable us to be more helpful to each other. Teach us patience in our family and in all our mingling together. Help us to find the best things in each other, and to give one to the other the best things of love we have in our hearts.
May our home-life to day be tender and affectionate. Fill us with Your divine love, so that heart and lips shall overflow, and that in us may grow whatever things are lovely. You know our special needs -- and we ask for personal blessings. Forgive us all our sins. Comfort us in our sorrows.
Give us now a blessing as we go out into the world. May we live so as to be ever receiving from Jesus -- and then enable us to be ever giving out again the good things of divine love. We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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THURSDAY EVENING
We would come now at the ending of the day, to hide ourselves away for the night, in the secret place of the Most High, and to abide through the darkness under the shadow of the Almighty. O God, You are our refuge and our fortress, our God, in whom we trust. You will deliver us from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence. You will cover us with Your pinions -- and under Your wings of love shall we take refuge. Your truth shall be our shield and buckler. We will not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flies by day; nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday. None of these dangers have any power to harm us. Though a thousand shall fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand -- the peril shall not come near us.
You, Lord, are our refuge. Because we have made You, O Most High, our habitation, our home -- there shall no evil befall us, neither shall any plague come near our dwelling. You will give Your angels charge over us, to keep us in all our ways. They will bear us up in their hands, lest we dash our foot against a stone. We shall tread upon the lion and the adder without hurt; the young lion and the serpent we shall trample under feet.
Because we have set our love upon You, therefore will You deliver us from all danger. You will be with us in trouble; You will deliver us and honor us. With long life will You satisfy us and show us Your salvation.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Sermon Outline
- I. Our Desire for God as Home
- A. We are not at home in this world
- B. God alone is enduring and eternal
- C. Our souls find home in God
- II. Our Gratitude for Earthly Home
- A. We thank God for love that binds us together
- B. We ask for deeper home affections
- C. We seek to find the best things in each other
- III. Our Need for Divine Love
- A. We ask for a blessing as we go out into the world
- B. We seek to live in Jesus and give out divine love
- C. We ask for forgiveness, comfort, and personal blessings
- IV. Our Refuge in God
- A. God is our refuge and fortress
- B. We take refuge in God's shadow and love
- C. God's truth is our shield and buckler
Key Quotes
“You alone are enduring and eternal, and only in You, can our souls find a suitable home, a refuge of love which will be sure forever.” — J.R. Miller
“Because we have made You, O Most High, our habitation, our home -- there shall no evil befall us, neither shall any plague come near our dwelling.” — J.R. Miller
“You will give Your angels charge over us, to keep us in all our ways.” — J.R. Miller
Application Points
- We should desire and seek a deep, eternal relationship with God, who is our only secure and enduring home.
- We can deepen our home affections by asking God to deepen our love for each other and to help us find the best things in each other.
- We can find strength and protection in God, who is our refuge and fortress, and whose truth is our shield and buckler.