Prayer for the Week

Sunday January 4, 2009

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Filed Under: Faith, Spirituality

posted by Scot McKnight @12:10am Permalink email icon

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Anton Cutajar

January 4, 2009 6:07 PM

This week I will stick to this daily prayer in the hope that it motivates me in my work and family life!

Ishmael

January 6, 2009 10:07 AM

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; that same Jesus who made himself known in a particular time and a particular place.

And God, forgive our total ignorance of that place now, our default position of Christian Zionism, which verges on racism, not seeming to care a bit for the peoples of your own land who are being blown to bits. While we worry about homosexuality, and our book sales, and write comforting prayers, on the very day that children are being killed and people starved and international law flouted, all because a bigoted US president who dares call himself Christian doesn't care less about the historical place of his faith.

Scot, please. Blog about something significant. The Holy Land is being torn apart, and we're on 'why baseball is better than hockey.'

Kathy

January 7, 2009 10:07 AM

We prayed this in church on Sunday but I got stuck on what this means:

"grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity"

Is that (to put it baldly) a request to become God? The parallelism in the prayer suggested to me that that is where that was going. Yet that would be heretical so...what does it mean, really?

Scot McKnight

January 7, 2009 10:48 AM

Kathy,

There's a bit of an Eastern sense of theosis here, but it refers to union with God through Christ, and 2 Peter 1 is the basic text.

Kathy

January 8, 2009 2:55 PM

Thank you, for pointing me in the direction of the biblical basis for the prayer! I looked it up. I feel better now...

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Scot McKnight is a widely-recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University (Chicago, Illinois). A popular and witty speaker, Dr. McKnight has given interviews on radios across the nation, has appeared on television, and is regularly asked to speak in local churches and educational events. Dr. McKnight obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham (1986). Click to continue reading Scot McKnight's Bio...

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