Veins Ripped Open

At a recent Saturday night service at Bethlehem’s north campus, Tim Johnson, chairman of the elder council, prayed such a beautiful prayer that numerous individuals have requested a copy, so we post it here.

First some context: Tom Dodd’s worship team had just led us in singing William Cowper’s great song, “There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood,” which includes the following lyrics:

There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains. …

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
thy flowing wounds supply,
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.

Coming right out of that song, Tim prayed this:

Oh, yes, Heavenly Father—it is true—by faith we have seen the fountain that can wash away our sins.

By your grace, we have seen that the source of that fountain is the very veins of your Son—Emmanuel. Veins that were ripped open by whips and thorns and nails and a spear.

By faith, we know that the fountain is filled with Jesus’ blood and that his blood is utterly unique, powerful beyond measure and precious beyond words.

That blood—his blood—flowing from his excruciatingly, pain-racked, wounded flesh removes sinners’ guilty stains. That blood—his blood—has washed away our sins.

There is no stain so vile that it cannot be removed by the stain-busting power of his precious blood that dripped from his dying body while he hung, nailed to a splintered, wooden cross. There is no sin that cannot be washed away because of the brutal cutting and piercing of whips, thorns, nails, and slivers.

By faith, we know that his precious blood will never lose its power.

By your grace, we know that the precious blood of the Lamb has ransomed and continues to ransom your Church. It has saved and will continue to save, until the Church is complete.

And by faith, we know that—one day, because of the precious, shed blood of the butchered Lamb of God—the Church will sin no more! Oh, hasten the day. Oh what a glorious day that will be. Oh please, hasten the day!

Heavenly Father, what I’m about to ask is silly and foolish in the eyes of the world, but I’m going to ask anyway: Father, until the glorious day of Jesus’ triumphant return to this earth or until the day we die, make our trusting in your redeeming love—flowing from a fountain filled with our Savior’s blood—be the overarching and greatest theme of each our lives.

Help us make that theme—trusting in your redeeming love, flowing from a fountain of blood—such that we identify even more with that reality than we identify with our families, our friends, our jobs, our hobbies, or any accomplishments. Make trusting in your redeeming love—flowing from a fountain of blood—be the continuing theme of every life in this room.

And make the offer of trusting your redeeming love—flowing from a fountain of blood—be the continuing theme of this church until Jesus returns.

We ask for these foolish things in the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen.