Trust List
In the previous blog, I shared with you the first six points in my Trust List, and in this blog I want to share with you my total list. As you see, my list is:
Incomplete.
Based on some texts from the Scriptures that I have memorized and meditated on.
Every point includes a statement of trust.
Some points include prayer for the world, others include prayer for the body of Christ or the local church, still others could be personal prayers.
My list is a work in progress. I encourage you to come up with your own list, and hopefully it will be more complete based on texts that are meaningful to you. Your list should include not only your needs, but also the needs of others and what is on God’s heart for the world.
Here is my work in progress.
1. Father, I trust you that right now you are revealing yourself to all sorts of people around the world including those who are not seeking you. "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I'" (Isaiah 65:1). I trust you that you are and that you will be revealing yourself to key leaders even among people in ISIL and other groups. Thank you for the way you impacted Saul of Tarsus.
2. I trust you, Father, that in spite of the fact I am a very cracked jar of clay, the Holy Spirit is dwelling within me. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Father, help my family and I not to wax the cracks in our lives and pretend that we are all together. May the Holy Spirit glow through these cracks.
3. I trust you, Lord, that you have already blessed me and blessed your body, your family around the world with every spiritual blessing. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Father, forgive us when we tend to see the cup as half empty. Father, open our eyes to see how you have already blessed us and how you lavish your grace on our fallen world.
4. I trust you, Father, that we your children are totally accepted by you because you see each one of us through the lens of what Jesus did on the cross and through the resurrection. It is an amazing and hard-to-believe fact that we are fully pleasing to you. When you look at each one of us your children, you see us wrapped from our heads to our toes with the robe of Christ’s righteousness. “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).
5. I trust you, Father, that you can help me and my family to have the right attitude toward our circumstances, no matter how tough they are, and to give you thanks. “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Thank you Father for my particular circumstances that I am experiencing today. Help me to see these circumstances as a gift from you, strange as they seem to be.
6. Father, our broken world is a mess. Viruses seem to get more resistant year after year. Terrorism is rampant, with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al Shabab in Somalia, and the messy situations in Yemen, Libya and many other parts of the world. With the trials and tribulations facing the world, we all wonder whether the finances that we have saved will be enough for us to live out our retirement years. Will we transition to heaven gracefully, or will we become a burden to those around us? Father, like Habakkuk I want to trust you. “I heard and my heart pounded; my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:16–19). Yes, Lord, I will trust you and rejoice in you in spite of ...
7. I trust you, Lord, that you are leading my family and I on a road of maturity, on which we are learning to cope with our circumstances. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2–4). Forgive me Lord for the many times when I gave up rather than persevered. I trust that when you allow us to go through the fire, you are stretching us and training us to cope with all circumstances. I trust you and surrender to you knowing that you are in full control.
8. I trust you, Father, that Jesus Christ goes ahead of us, the leadership team at our church, each day and paves the way as our Pioneer and Author. I trust you, Father, that Jesus comes right behind us to sustain us and heal us as our Perfecter. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author/pioneer and perfecter/finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your sustaining grace yesterday and for last week, and thank you in advance for your willingness to pioneer and sustain us the rest of today, tomorrow and the next week.
9. I trust your promise, Jesus, that you are inviting us as individuals in your body, today and every day to carry with you your yoke and experience genuine rest. “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly" (Matthew 11:28–30 Message). Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your strength as we pull together in the tasks ahead of us.
10. I trust you, Father, that you are able to keep us your people from falling. “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 1:24–25). Thank you, Father, for this promise to keep me from falling and for inviting me into your presence. Father, I know that the only reason I can stand before you without fault is because of the robe of righteousness that wraps me from my head to my toes.
11. I trust you, Father, that I am free from the burden of the law. What really matters is that Christ lives in me. “I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work.... [Instead] I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not ‘mine,’ but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. … If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily” (Galatians 2:19-21, The Message). Father, thank you that I do not need to impress you or anyone else. I can deceive some people for some of the time, but I can never deceive you. Help me to relax and enjoy you, and enjoy the freedom from legalism that I so badly need.
12. Father, as my wife and I are getting older and the aches and pains are increasing, and at times it feels that we are wasting away, we trust you regarding the future. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16–18). Father, our pains and aches do not seem to be neither momentary nor light. Actually, some of our pains are chronic and will continue the rest of our lives – they do not feel at all light. But in comparison with eternity – when we will be free from all ailments and enjoying your presence – our present ailments are light and momentary. Help us not to lose heart. Help us to fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen – which is eternal.
13. I trust you Father, that my prayers are not bouncing off the ceiling. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective " (James 5:16). Your word says that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. If my prayers are based on my righteousness, then they are neither powerful nor effective and they are of no more value than filthy rags. Father, help us your children to confess our sins to one another. Help us to come to you on the basis of Christ's righteousness and enter your presence with confidence knowing that this prayer will be powerful and effective.
As you see, each point on the list includes a text from the Scriptures and a prayer. At times it could include asking for forgiveness. Praying for a request on this list should always be based on the foundation of a statement of trust, such as “Father, I trust you” or “Father, I trust your promise.”