What is “Coram deo”?
In earlier postings I’ve writing about the phrase “walking with God.” A similar phrase that is extremely important in Scripture is the challenge of living to “please God” (see for example, Colossians 1:10). Both of these ideas are present in the Latin phrase Coram Deo, a term that some Christian writers are fond of using.
Here’s a post by R.C. Sproul that explains in more detail this term:
What does “Coram Deo” Mean?
I remember Mama standing in front of me, her hands poised on her hips, her eyes glaring with hot coals of fire and saying in stentorian tones, “Just what is the big idea, young man?”
Instinctively I knew my mother was not asking me an abstract question about theory. Her question was not a question at all–it was a thinly veiled accusation. Her words were easily translated to mean, “Why are you doing what you are doing?” She was challenging me to justify my behavior with a valid idea. I had none.
Recently a friend asked me in all earnestness the same question. He asked, “What’s the big idea of the Christian life?” He was interested in the overarching, ultimate goal of the Christian life. To answer his question, I fell back on the theologian’s prerogative and gave him a Latin term. I said,
“The big idea of the Christian life is coram Deo. Coram Deo captures the essence of the Christian life.” This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God.
To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.
To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. There is no place so remote that we can escape His penetrating gaze.
To be aware of the presence of God is also to be acutely aware of His sovereignty. The uniform experience of the saints is to recognize that if God is God, then He is indeed sovereign. When Saul was confronted by the refulgent glory of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, his immediate question was, “Who is it, Lord?” He wasn’t sure who was speaking to him, but he knew that whomever it was, was certainly sovereign over him.
Living under divine sovereignty involves more than a reluctant submission to sheer sovereignty that is motivated out of a fear of punishment. It involves recognizing that there is no higher goal than offering honor to God. Our lives are to be living sacrifices, oblations offered in a spirit of adoration and gratitude.
To live all of life coram Deo is to live a life of integrity. It is a life of wholeness that finds its unity and coherency in the majesty of God. A fragmented life is a life of disintegration. It is marked by inconsistency, disharmony, confusion, conflict, contradiction, and chaos.
The Christian who compartmentalizes his or her life into two sections of the religious and the nonreligious has failed to grasp the big idea. The big idea is that all of life is religious or none of life is religious. To divide life between the religious and the nonreligious is itself a sacrilege.
This means that if a person fulfills his or her vocation as a steelmaker, attorney, or homemaker coram Deo, then that person is acting every bit as religiously as a soul-winning evangelist who fulfills his vocation. It means that David was as religious when he obeyed God’s call to be a shepherd as he was when he was anointed with the special grace of kingship. It means that Jesus was every bit as religious when He worked in His father’s carpenter shop as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Integrity is found where men and women live their lives in a pattern of consistency. It is a pattern that functions the same basic way in church and out of church. It is a life that is open before God. It is a life in which all that is done is done as to the Lord. It is a life lived by principle, not expediency; by humility before God, not defiance. It is a life lived under the tutelage of conscience that is held captive by the Word of God.
Coram Deo . . . before the face of God. That’s the big idea.
Next to this idea our other goals and ambitions become mere trifles. (Original Link)
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Daily Prayer
Daily prayer
Scripture provides examples of many different kinds of prayer. Two of the most pronounced types are prayer as a daily spiritual habit, and prayer in critical times in life and ministry. Both types are important for those who lead God’s people.
In the Gospels, there are 17 references to Jesus at prayer. We read that Jesus prayed a critical junctures in his ministry:
- at his Baptism (Luke 3:21),.
- before deciding to leave Capernaum on his first missionary tour of Galilee (Mark 1:35-39).
- before he chose the apostles
(In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve… Luke 6:12-13). - before Peter confessed him as the Messiah (Luke 9:18).
- at his Transfiguration (Luke 9:29).
- before the cross in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46).
- and on the cross (Luke 23:46)
In my own experience, prayer as a daily habit has been more of a challenge than praying at critical times in life and ministry. When we are desperate and have nowhere else to turn, it is natural for us to turn to God in prayer.
We also see Jesus praying as a part of his daily schedule. In Luke 11:1 we see Jesus returning from a time of daily prayer. His disciples notice, are impressed by Jesus’ prayer practices and ask him to teach them to pray – “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.“
What follows is what is usually called “The Lord’s Prayer.” This prayer, recorded in Luke 11:2-4 and Matthew 6:9-15, is actually a “model” for daily prayer.
Jesus tells his disciples, “Pray like this…” (Matthew 6:9). He had just finished warning them against “heaping up empty phrases” (verse 7), so he certainly didn’t expect this prayer to be used as a “mantra” to be repeated over and over.
I take it to be a pattern for daily prayer because of the context of Matthew 6, where three Jewish “disciplines” (alms, daily prayer and fasting) are being taught, and because of the reference in the prayer to asking for God’s provision of our daily bread (vs. 11).
I’ve found the pattern of the Lord’s prayer very useful to use in my own practice of “daily prayer.” My mind often begins to wander when I pray and using the Lord’s prayer as a pattern helps bring back my attention and focus to prayer.
“Our father who art in heaven” …
These well known words begin what we call the “Lord’s prayer. When Jesus taught this prayer to his disciples, it was given not primarily a prayer to memorize and repeat but as a model for his followers to follow as they learned the habit of daily prayer (what some call a “spiritual discipline”).
I’ve written about this in an earlier posting.
Notice how it begins – with a focus of our attention on God as our father. In a world as God intended it, a father is not someone who distant and uninvolved but someone who is near, someone who loves, someone who protects and someone who provides for his child.
The description of Jesus praying in Mark 14:6 actually includes the Aramaic term that Jesus used when addressing God (abba). The use of this term must have made an impression on the disciples for them to include the actual Aramaic term along with its translation. Abba is the endearing term used by a little child for his or her father. We might say “Daddy.”
This is what daily prayer is meant to be like. Not cold and formal, but very warm and personal. Lest we object,
But Jesus had a very special relationship with God. That’s too personal for us!
Scripture actually tells us that as followers of Jesus, we too can pray “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6). God’s gift of the Spirit makes this possible.
We too can come to God daily as a freely as a child runs to his loving, caring father and be assured that He will receive us with open arms.
The Lord’s pattern of daily prayer then goes on to give us a pattern for daily fellowship with God in prayer. This daily cycle, as I understand it, includes five types of prayer: 1) Worship and Praise 2) Submission to God and His will, 3) Requests for our current needs, 4) Repentance and Forgiveness and 5) Prayer for spiritual victory.
“… hallowed be your name” Matt. 6:9
Jesus, in the “Lord’s prayer,” gave his disciples a pattern for daily fellowship with God in prayer.
This pattern, as I understand it, includes five types of prayer:
1) Worship and Praise
2) Submission to God and His will
3) Petition, i.e. requests for our daily needs
4) Repentance and forgiveness
5) Prayer for spiritual victory.
Notice that Daily Prayer begins with a Godward focus. Even though He is my loving Father, even though he cares about meeting my needs – my initial focus is not be on me, but Him.
We begin our daily prayer, Jesus teaches us, by focusing on God’s interests. What God is most concerned about is that He receives glory from his creation, i.e. that His name be hallowed. Hallowed means to be regarded as special, separate from all else, exalted. Are you praying for this daily?
We begin our time of daily fellowship with God in prayer by “Hallowing His name” ourselves. We tell Him how great, awesome and majestic He is. We praise Him for who He is and for what he has done. Then we pray that others would come to see Him for who He really is; that others would praise and worship Him too.
John Piper refers to this prayer as the "The Most Important Prayer Request in the World"…
“The most important prayer is that the most important person in the universe do the most important act in the universe. That’s why Jesus put this request at the beginning of the Lord’s prayer: “Hallowed be your name.”
God is the most important person in the universe. More important than all others put together.
All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness” (Isaiah 40:17).
The whole-souled act of hallowing God’s name is the most important act in the universe. To “hallow” means to “sanctify” which in God’s case means to set apart in your mind and heart as supremely great and beautiful and valuable. “Hallowed be your name” means,
“See to it that your name is hallowed. Use your infinite power and wisdom and love to stir up billions of hearts and minds to admire you and prize you above all things.”
We ask him to fulfill this promise:
I will sanctify [hallow] my great name, which was profaned among the nations…. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord…when I shall be sanctified [hallowed] in you before their eyes.” (Ezekiel 36:23)
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” (Isaiah 48:11)
Ask the Lord to help you make the most important prayer your most common prayer. And the one you desire most to see answered.” (The Most Important Prayer Request in the World)
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Matt. 6:10
Jesus, in the “Lord’s prayer,” gave His disciples a pattern for daily fellowship with God in prayer. Our tendency is to be preoccupied with our needs and concerns instead of God and his plans. Jesus turns this around and begins with God and his concerns:
- Hallowed by your name.
- Your kingdom come
- Your will be done
After praying for God’s glory, i.e. for His name to be hallowed, we turn our attention to God’s kingdom. May it come, O Lord! we pray.
This prayer has a two-fold sense. It is, of course, a prayer for Jesus’ return and the establishment of God’s kingdom in all its glory. When that happens, the Father’s will actually will be “done on earth as it is in heaven.”
But the prayer also has a present dimension. It is a prayer of submission to God and His will. Jesus is my king. His kingdom or rule is present in my life. Lord, we pray, Let your will be done in my life today. This requires a giving up my will and submitting to God’s will for us.
Each day, when we meet with God, we begin with Worship and Praise. Then we submit our will to His.
“Heavenly Father,” we can say, “in my life, in what happens today, I want you to be praised. I want people to see who you are and how great you are.” “In my life today, and in the lives of people I come into contact with today, I want your reign to come, to be made manifest.” “In my life, in all I do today, I want your will to be done, not mine. Whatever you wish, let it happen, just as it happens in heaven.”
Day after day come to God in submission, lay down your will and submit yourself to Him. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33)
“Give us this day our daily bread” Matt. 6:11
Jesus, in the “Lord’s prayer,” gave His disciples a pattern for daily fellowship with God in prayer.
Once we’ve given up our plans and rights and have submitted ourselves to God’s rule in our lives we have the right to look to God for His provision of our needs.
Jesus promises that in Matthew 6:33 that we “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness all these things (i.e. our daily needs) will be given as well.”
We pray and ask God for our “daily needs,” i.e. “for this day,” or “for the coming day.” Life as a follower of Jesus is a life of dependence on God. As an expression of that dependence, God calls us to live one day at a time. We pray to our Father in heaven and say, “God, here is what I need today…”
I often hear people say, “God helps those who help themselves.” But the Bible teaches just the opposite. God helps those who can’t help themselves—the weak, the powerless, the helpless.
Growing in the knowledge of God means becoming more and more dependent on Him. A simple test we can use to see how much we are depending on him is to ask ourselves, “What am I worrying about?” Our answer to that question reveals those areas where we are having trouble trusting God.
Those areas are what we pray about, the “daily bread” we are instructed to ask God for. Pray, make your requests and wait for God’s answers.
“and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us” Luke 11:4
Jesus, in the “Lord’s prayer,” gave His disciples a pattern for daily fellowship with God in prayer.
We learn from this prayer that daily repentance and confession of sin is God’s will for us and needs to be an integral part of our daily prayer life. A good way to think of this spiritual habit is to compare it with washing our hands before a meal.
Repentance and Confession
When we repent our our sins and confess them, God has promised forgives us and washes us clean from sin’s defilement (1 John 1:9). He does this on the basis of Jesus death on the cross for our sin.
Forgiveness of those who Sin against us
As part of our daily fellowship with God, we are instructed to consider who has has offended us and then forgive them.
This is especially important for those who are married. 1 Peter 3:7 commands married couples to live in harmony…“so that your prayers may not be hindered.”
If we’re having trouble praying, it is helpful to ask “Is there someone I’m not willing to forgive or am bitter against?” If that is the case, we are to first go to them and be reconciled with them. Then we are in a position to continue praying (Matt 5:23).
“and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil” Matt 6:13
Finally, Jesus tells us to pray for spiritual victory.
The word “evil” in this verse occurs a definite article. Probably the idea is not evil as an abstract form, but “the evil one.”
Jesus is instructing us to pray for Spiritual victory. “Father,” he is praying, “don’t allow me into a situation where I will be overcome with temptation and fall into sin.” “Lord, instead of this, deliver me from the evil one.”
A similar thought is present in 1 Cor. 10:13,
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Conclusion
In this series on the Lord’s Prayer, we’ve considered 5 areas we are to pray for in our daily practice of prayer.
Each of these areas is based on our concept of God. We pray properly when we have an accurate understanding of who our God is. As we know God better our prayer life deepens. Jesus has given us a pattern for daily fellowship with the Father in prayer. Meeting God daily in prayer helps us know the Father better, and that in turn enriches prayer.
We’ve looked at the pattern for daily prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. If we put these insights together we come up with this pattern for daily prayer:
Adoration and Praise
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name . . .
Pray for an open, obedient heart as you fellowship with the Father. Greet him, enjoy being in his presence, sing to him, worship him, praise and adore him. He is your Father; He is Almighty God; You belong to His people!
Submission to God’s Will
Your kingdom come, your will be done . . .
Lord, may your kingdom come. May the knowledge of the Lord, the knowledge of how glorious you are, cover the earth. Lord, I give myself to you today, wanting your will to be done in my life, just as it is in heaven. Fill me with your Spirit. Equip and enable me to do your will – in your way, in your order, and in your strength. Help me love you with all my heart, and serve others in your strength.
Colossians 1:9-10
Lord, today please . . .
. . . Fill me with the knowledge of your will
. . . Help me live worthy of you and please you in every way
. . . Enable me to bear fruit in every good work
. . . I want to increase in the knowledge of the Lord today
. . . Strengthen me with your power; give me great endurance and patience
Petition
Give us this day our daily bread . . .
Pray boldly and base your prayers on God’s promises. Lord, here are the worries and concerns I carry into today. I know fear and worry hinder fellowship with you. They reflect my self-centeredness. I give my worries and concerns to you. Help me move from fear to faith. Enable me to trust you for each need. Bless me with your favor and “establish the work of my hands.”
Confession and Forgiveness
Forgive us our sins as we also forgive. . .
Lord, I confess to you . . .
Spiritual Warfare
Lead us not into temptation, deliver us from the evil one
Lord, protect me and my family from the evil one today. Help me to keep in place the “belt of truth,” the “breastplate of righteousness,” and the “shoes of preparedness” that come from the gospel of peace. Help me to use the “shield of faith” and the “helmet of salvation” when Satan tempts me to doubt you and trust instead in my own resources. Help me use the “Sword of the Spirit” to honor you and help others today.
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Life in the Word
Sabbath
