Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is Your name, that when Your [prophecy] come[s] to pass we may honor You?” —Judges 13:17-24
And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on… as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord.
And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”
But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have [prophesied the birth of a son to me].”
So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
—Isaiah 6:6-7
Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star
Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding; guide us to thy perfect light
King forever, ceasing never over us all to reign
Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding; guide us to thy perfect light
Prayer and praising, all men raising, worship Him, God on high
Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding; guide us to thy perfect light
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in a stone cold tomb
Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding; guide us to thy perfect light
Alleluia! Alleluia, sounds to the earth and skies
Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding; guide us to thy perfect light
Lord God of Heavenly hosts,
We worship You! We praise You! We kneel before You in gratitude for Your saving Power, Love and Mercy!
May we never forget that You Are God, that You created everything from the beginning, that You Are eternally the same—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and You Are always with us.
We stand in awe-filled wonder; we wonder at Your mysteries so immensely beyond our scope, and can only thank You for every aspect of our lives, the good that we recognize, the bad that helps us grow ever closer to You.
As we anticipate celebrating the holy birth that changed the world, we are reminded that Your wondrous power is reborn in every person who accepts Jesus Christ, our Creator and Lord. May we never tire of sharing the gospel!
We lift up to You, Lord, for your miraculous outworking:
† Our President, Vice President, Attorney General, US Attorney John Durham, and all their allies in the fight to preserve American constitutional liberties, expose wrongdoing and prosecute wrongdoers. The battle for our nation’s soul is joined, and we humbly ask for victory through conversion of the electoral multitudes to Truth, accepting no substitutes;
† Today’s elections among our traditional allies, the British; with Brexit at stake, positioned against the socialist forces, may the freedoms, national sovereignty and personal liberties promised by Brexit come to pass, by the same outworking of the British people’s hunger for Truth;
† Jewish people, particularly observant Jewish people, in the US, in Israel and around the world who suffer persecution unjustly; may President Trump’s proclamation against anti-semitism be one of the forces You put in place to ameliorate egregious prejudice directed towards a people;
† And untimately, we pray for Your wondrous outworking in all matters concerning the persecution of our warrior President. Bring all enemies of Truth to justice, Lord! Crush the schemes and lies now poisoning our body politic; may Truth be our radiation and our chemo. Help us, Lord, in the cleansing of our land from the devil’s incursions. Convict overwhelming waves of righteous legal citizen voters who will recognize Truth and vote for those who will execute, legislate or adjudicate according to Divine order and justice. Support all voters and election workers to reject falsehoods and those who perpetrate them, Lord, we pray.
You Were, and Are, and will always Be eternally True, all-knowing, all-powerful and beyond our imagining. Guide us to Your perfect light, Lord God! Help the unbelief of many during this time of rebirth of liberty against tyranny around the world, that You, the Messiah Prince of Peace Jeshua, may reign in every heart.
In Your Wonderful Name we pray,
Amen.
How Jesus, the Savior, did come for to die
For poor, ornery people like you and like I
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
But high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall
And the promise of ages it then did recall
A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing
Or all of God’s angels in heav’n for to sing
He surely could have had it, for He was a King!
How Jesus, the Savior, did come for to die
For poor, ornery people like you and like I
Oh, I wonder as I wander, out under the sky
President Trump surrounded by a large group of worship leaders from across the country whom he invited to pray for him in the Oval Office last Friday. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)