Praying with Paul

1 Corinthians 3:1-7



Dear Father, growth-giving God,
Help me to be a genuinely spiritual person in Christ. Let me grow beyond having to be fed like a baby on soft food and milk. May I strive for maturity so I will be able to digest solid food.
Keep me from being jealous and full of strife, from acting as mere human beings act - carnal!
Help me to understand the equality of all your servants, and not to put one above another, or to claim special discipleship to any!
Help...

 

1 Corinthians 2:14-16



Dear Father, who gives us the mind of Christ,
The natural person cannot understand us or you, or what you are doing in us, for these things are spiritually discerned, and he cannot receive your gifts.
Natural people cannot judge us, but you enable us to judge everything. "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we understand, for you have given us the very mind of Christ!
How wonderful it is! How great and merciful you are...

 

1 Corinthians 2:13



Dear Father, giver of your wisdom,
You have graciously imparted your wisdom to us. Thank you. You taught us not by words but by your Spirit, who interprets spiritual truths for those of us who believe.
Only to those who live out your wisdom of the cross, who know the sweetness of true dedication to you, do you give understanding.
Thank you for being our God, for giving us Jesus, for granting your Spirit to us, and for making us understand your purpose...

 

1 Corinthians 2:11-16



Dear Father, giver of your Holy Spirit,
All praises to your blessed name, to you, our God! You have disclosed incredibly wonderful things to us through your Spirit, for your Spirit searches everything, even the deep things within you.
No one comprehends your thoughts except your Spirit, just as no other person truly knows my thoughts as my own spirit does.
But, all thanks to you, we have not received the spirit of the world but you have given us...

 

1 Corinthians 2:6-10



Dear Father, revealer of secret wisdom,
Thank you for revealing to us what has been hidden, the wisdom which you decreed before the ages concerning our salvation and glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.
Thank you, Father, that you intend to glorify us along with your Son, Jesus.
But you, O gracious God, have told us your secret - you mean to give us all things in glory with...

 

1 Corinthians 2:1-5



Dear Father, God of all true wisdom, power, and glory,
When I set about to share your Good News about Jesus with other people, keep me from using lofty concepts or high-sounding words. Let me speak of nothing except Christ and him crucified.
Help me to understand that it is okay for me to show my own weakness, fear, and trembling. Let my words demonstrate your Spirit and power, so that the faith which germinates will rest not in my wisdom but in...

 

1 Corinthians 1:26-31



Dear Father, you of whom we boast,
Why have you chosen the weak, the foolish, the despised? You have done this so that no human being can boast. And we do not! We cast our lives at your feet. You alone are worthy!
You are the source of our lives in Christ Jesus, whom you made to be everything to us. He is our wisdom and our righteousness. He is our sanctification and our redemption.
Therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast of the...

 

1 Corinthians 1:22-25



Dear Father, confounder of worldly wisdom,
What you have caused us to preach is "Christ crucified," a stumbling block to tradition-followers, like the Jews, and folly to philosophy-lovers, like the Greeks. But to us who are called, he is your power and your wisdom. For we believe that your foolishness is wiser than our wisdom, and your weakness is stronger than our strength.
I am thankful that you have taken most of us from the lower echelons of...

 

1 Corinthians 1:18-21



Dear Father, author of all true wisdom,
You have said, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart."
Where is the wise man? Where is the debater of this age? I thank you, Father, that you made foolish the wisdom of this world.
For in the wisdom of your plan, mere "wisdom" has never enabled anyone to know you.
People were looking for something great, as they understood greatness. It pleased you, rather, by...

 

1 Corinthians 1:17



Dear Father, author of all true wisdom,
Thank you that you do not send your emissaries out as mere recruiters. They are not just to baptize but to preach the Good News about Jesus, that he doesn't just want us to "join his club" but he wants us to be like him, yes, to be him, to be his body, in the world.
Thank you for not appealing to us with elegant ideas or eloquent speech, lest the message of the cross be emptied of its power. For while this word...