May the God of peace, ...that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will. Hebrews 13:20-21
A good shepherd equips his sheep to face the trials of life. But as Psalm 23 reminds us, no shepherd equips his sheep quite like the ultimate Shepherd. Let's unleash his power in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ by specifically praying for God to equip them with everything they need to do his good work!
Blessings are greeted in many places around the world with great delight, for it means that the service will soon end and the people will be free to go! But blessings are also meant to impart a gift from God of unusual grace and mercy on all our lives. Blessings must never be taken for granted or treated in a casual way; they are enormously important. Perhaps we should hold our hands out as if we were already receiving the benefits that God has been pleased to bestow on us as the prayer is offered up on our behalf as a congregation.
“Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect, in every good work, to do His will, by working in you, that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory, forever and ever, Amen.”
This prayer is a veritable summary of the whole book of Hebrews. In four great summaries it outlines all that a believer needs for competing, succeeding and completing any walk, talk or ministry to the glory of God in this twenty-first century. Let us look at each of these four summaries in the order given here in this magnificent summary of the whole argument of the book of Hebrews with its case for the “Finality of Jesus Christ.”
O Great Shepherd of the sheep, please release the power of your Spirit in your people and equip us to do great things in our day, like the first Christians did in their day. May it all be done to your glory, in the name of my hero, Jesus. Amen.