This Prayer guide is for Psalms 27 and is provided for us by the Gospel Coalition.

I. Remember and rejoice in the character of God. Reflect and meditate on the character of God: he is all powerful, all knowing, never-changing, ever-present, full of loving-kindness, mercy and grace toward all who call on his name.

Psalm 27:1-2  1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?   2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh,  my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.

II. Pray about your specific fears. Express your fears, anxieties, and concerns to the Lord. Pour out your heart to him. Seek his face and ask for him to hide you in his shelter during this time of trouble.

Psalm 27:3-5   3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;  though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.   4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,  to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.   5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

III. Sing a song of praise to God. Sing or listen to a hymn, song, or psalm. As you do, reflect on the Lord’s goodness, and ask him to help you trust him with your fears.

Psalm 27:6   6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me,  and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;  I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

IV. Pray for your community and world. Pray for the needs of the world around you: family members, neighbors, medical workers, governing officials, those who are suffering financially, and those who are sick. Ask the Lord to sustain, provide, heal, and guide. Ask him to give his people endurance, wisdom, and hope.

Psalm 27:7   7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!

V. Pray for those who do not know the Lord. Consider those in your life who do not know the Lord. Pray that they would seek the Lord during this pandemic. Ask the Lord to open their eyes, ears, minds, and hearts to the truth of his Word. Pray that they would turn to the Lord and find salvation, refuge, and help.

Psalm 27:8-10  8 You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”  9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help.  Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!  10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in.

VI. Ask the Lord to teach you and protect you. Pray for protection—both physically and spiritually. Ask the Lord to use this time of crisis to draw you closer to him and teach you more about his Word and his ways.

Psalm 27:11-12  11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.  12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.

VII. Ask the Lord for endurance. We do not know how long this trial will last. Pray that the Lord will conquer this virus quickly. Also pray for endurance to stand in the midst of the trial, however long you may be called to endure.

Psalm 27:13-14   13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness   of the LORD in the land of the living!  14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Spend some time meditating on what you’ve been learning through this trial. 

 What is God’s Word teaching you? What truths about God are comforting your soul? How is this experience changing you to be more like Christ? 

Mark 9

·        The father states that he believes but to help his unbelief. Isn’t that like us—we say we believe but when in real struggle we need help with our “unbelief”?

Mark 9:24 (ESV)

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 

What do you think the father was saying and asking for?

How can faith and unbelief can be mixed together in the same heart. The man said…I do believe help me overcome my unbelief!”

           These are the words of many true Christians. Nothing is perfect in our flesh while in the present body. Our knowledge, love and humility are all defective, and mingled with corruption. We live a life of active faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, but we are not perfect. Our unbelief is to be resisted and prayed against. We must not allow it to keep us from Christ. Any true believer is to be known for inner warfare as well as by inner peace.

How does that truth affect us in this moment in which we live? We can become overwhelmed by the moment, can’t we? Have you had times in the past two weeks in which life itself has just become to much? Now I believe with all my heart that the Lord is still on the throne. I believe that he is a Sovereign Lord that is both my creator and my sustainer. I have faith that what he accomplished for me was perfect in every way and that in my repentance and faith in him he purchased me that I might have eternal life. I know those things but in the circumstances, we are in at this present moment I still get overwhelmed. So how do I fight those moments back?

·        Why was Jesus transfigured & why did he talk to Moses and Elijah?

The point of the transfiguration was to display that Christ was lowly and poor in appearance now but would one day appear in royal majesty as the Son of God. It is a picture of what we can expect at the second coming when Christ will appear with the saints such as Moses and Elijah. “We must not suppose that there is to be any change of the natural form of man in the kingdom of heaven. For as the appearance of Christ was not in itself changed, but only illuminated (or glorified) – so also the just who will be conformed to his glorious body will not be changed as to their outward form. Their bodies will only receive a certain accession of splendor and light which Paul calls a change.”(Du Veil)

1 Corinthians 15:52 (ESV)

52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

This vision seen on the mountain is a pledge to the glorious things that are in store for God’s people.

Colossians 3:4 (ESV)

4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

2. What doe verse 49 & 50 mean?

Mark 9:49–50 (ESV)

49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Verse 49 seems to be pointing to the idea that believers are purified in suffering and persecution. From the different thoughts on the verse this seems to be the most logical. One commentator took the verse to be “every true disciple of mine will be as it were salted and passed through the fire of tribulation.”

Verse 50 is a separate thought from 49. I have an IVP background commentary that helped a ton on this verse.

Here Jesus apparently changes salt to a positive metaphor, perhaps meaning “peace.” That real salt (as opposed to the impure salt mixtures available from some inland sea deposits) by definition does not lose its saltiness only reinforces the strength of the image (cf. comment on Mt 5:13). Being “at peace with one another” contrasts with the divisiveness related in  Mark 9:33–38.[1]

The idea is that the Spirit of God and the Word of God dwelling inside of Christians will produce godly character and a spirit of peace we will find with one another.

Mark 10

·        So if I marry again am I unfaithful?

Mark 10:11–12 (ESV)

11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

The Lord would allow divorce for two reasons that I can find in scripture.

Matthew 5:32 (ESV)

32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

1 Corinthians 7:15 (ESV)

15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.

Divorced was allowed not required for adultery and abandonment. In both cases to marry again is perfectly appropriate biblically. The Lord sets a high standard for marriage because the religious leaders of the day did not do so. A man could divorce for anything he wanted and move on from a wife with no real bond in marriage at all. 

·        What does it mean to become as a child?

Mark 10:15 (ESV)

15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

This is a wonderful verse that the Lord uses to draw a picture of the spirit that we must have in coming to know Christ as savior and Lord. No one, No one comes to know the Lord as Savior without being humble before him. The picture of a child is one that is humble and trusting of the Savior recognizing that Christ is everything and that we have nothing.

Mark 11

·        Still not clear on the fig tree. If Jesus knew there was no fruit and he was hungry why didn’t he tell it to give fruit instead of cursing it to die?

Mark 11:14 (ESV)

14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

This entire section of Mark and the Lord speaking the Fig tree has a ton in it. First, we have to know that the Fig tree was used in the OT to talk about the Jewish nation. If you would like to hear some great sermons preached on this passage you can go to www.truthforlife.org  Alistair Begg is one of my favorite pastors and he preaches a 4 part series on lessons from the Fig Tree.

Mark 12

·        what do these verse mean?

Mark 12:24–25 (ESV)

24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

Jesus is speaking to the Sadducees and they do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Our Lord is pointing out their lack of understanding of the scriptures. If they really understood scriptures the miracles of the OT it would allow them to know the power that God has to raise people from the Dead. In verse 25 the Lord is informing us that their will be no marriage in heaven. Marriage was created for this present time we live in and will not exist when we live like the angels eternally in heaven.

[1] Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Mk 9:50). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.