November 8, 2024

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 20:1-18

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 20:1-18; Matthew 24:29-51

O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me… O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers. (Jeremiah 20:7, 12-13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Are we ready to learn how to pray from Jeremiah?

Here’s an odd thing about prayer: we must be taught it (cf. Luke 11:1). It doesn’t come to us naturally. That’s because the sinful flesh wants to justify itself by the Law (cf. Luke 10:29). And a self-justifying sinner sees no need to make an appeal to God.

So, where will we learn to pray? The Lord’s Prayer, of course. Then also from the prophets and Psalms.

When we learn to pray from Jeremiah, we find the prophet speaking to Holy God in a way that seems almost insane. Jeremiah’s prayer: “O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me… For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. (Jeremiah 20:7-8)”

This is the voice of faith. Jeremiah calls on the LORD's Name (the word LORD in our translations is actually the Hebrew word for the Lord’s name, Y-H-W-H; the Lord makes an oath by His Name, giving His promise—the Gift of the Gospel). Jeremiah intercedes to the throne in Heaven that the Father’s will would be manifested so that the Lord’s servant would live in peace.

Shall we pray Jeremiah’s prayer?

Yes. In praying to our Father, we don’t paper over the affliction we have in life as his people. And as long as we are in our sinful flesh (i.e., until we die and are with our Lord, or Jesus first comes again on the Last Day, Matthew 24:29-31), the Lord’s Word which justifies us and makes us His people, will bring us into conflict with the world, with our own sinful flesh, and with the demons (who do not want us to hear the Gospel, but want to tempt us to try to justify ourselves).

Our prayer, uttered sometimes from desperation or doubt, is heard by the Lord who loves us, justifies us, and keeps us in his promise.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, your Word brings me into affliction in this world of sin and death. But, Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, and who sees the heart and the mind, in my need, deliver my life from the hand of Satan and lead me away from temptation. Amen.

-Rev. Warren Graff, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, NM

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House.