VANITY OF VANITIES
Ecclesiastes Chapter 9
“For
all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous,
and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either
love or hatred by all that is before them.” (Verse
1)
Almighty
Jehovah God on Thy Glorious Throne in the Highest Heavens, I cry out unto Thee.
Please cause me to seriously consider in my heart all the things that
Thou, my Creator God, doest require of me during my life under the sun.
Cause me to gravely consider that my life is in Thy Hand. Save me from the vanity
of rebelling against Thee. Save me from the vanity of rebelling against
the Divine Work Thou desirest to do in my life with Thy Almighty Hands. As My
Creator God, Thou art The Master Potter. With Thy Divine, Loving Hands, please
mold and shape every aspect of my life and my being, and all my life’s
works into the righteous and wise works Thou wouldest have them to be for Thy
Great Glory. Please impute Thy Righteousness and Wisdom unto me. Help me to now
fully yield my entire being to Thee for that purpose. Thou art
the Potter. I am the clay. Mold me and make me into a glorious being, I humbly
pray. Cause me to work the things that are pleasing to Thee and which glorify
Thee. I beg Thee to teach me the things Thou doest love and also the things
Thou doest hate. Please work in my heart to make it perfect in loving
that which Almighty God doest love and in hating that which Thou doest hate.
Please give me perfect knowledge of God’s Love and Hatred. I pray these
things for all other people also. Perfect us all! Save us all
from all vanity!
“All
things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the
wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that
sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner;
and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.” (Verse 2)
Lord Jesus, please save me from the fatal vanity
of being wicked. Please create within me a heart totally repentant of all
my wickedness. Please help me to totally yield my self unto Thee for the
purpose of Thee perfecting Thy Righteousness in me. Save me from the vanity
of being unclean. By Thy Unlimited Power, have mercy on me a sinner, to save me
and make me clean and good. Please cleanse me from my sins by Thy Precious
Blood Thou didst shed on the cross for my sins. Teach me what I should
sacrifice unto Thee. Help me to present my self a living sacrifice unto
Thee, holy and acceptable unto God. Please help me to be most careful of the
words I speak, especially regarding oaths and promises. I pray these things for
all other people also. Please cause me to constantly bear in mind that,
at any time, death could overtake me, or overtake any family member or friend
or acquaintance. Please cause people to repent and to trust in Christ in order
to be prepared for death.
“This
is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one
event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and
madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.”
(Verse 3)
Almighty
God on High, please remove all evil, folly, and madness
from my heart. Please create within me a heart that stands against all
the evil on this earth under the sun. Help me to be ever mindful that the day
will soon come when I will go to the dead. Please guide me to now
prepare for my death and for facing Almighty God in Judgment after I die. I
pray these things for all other people also. Please lead all
souls to prepare for death, the one event that happens to all living
souls, by repenting unto God and trusting in The Lord Jesus Christ to save
them for all eternity. For Thy Great Mercies’ Sake, please save many souls.
“For
to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is
better than a dead lion.” (Verse 4)
Lord Jesus Christ, I praise Thy Precious Name for
the blessed hope of eternal life that Thou doest give to all people who
place their trust in Thee. I now cry out unto Thee to send Thy Holy Spirit powerfully
and mightily upon all souls now joined to the living under the
sun. Smite them with an urgency to now repent and trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ, because now is the day of salvation and no one has the
assurance he or she will be alive and among the living on this earth tomorrow. Now
is the last day of salvation for the souls who die today. Possibly today
is the day of my death. Save souls from the fatal vanity of rejecting
The Saviour of the world, The Lord Jesus Christ, Who stands able, willing, and
ready to save all who will come to Him. Bring souls to repentance, I
earnestly intercede and pray.
“For
the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither
have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” (Verse 5)
Lord God, please save me from the vanity of shunning
thoughts of death. Cause me to honestly admit
to myself that I might die right now or at any future time. Help me to face
death squarely by fully trusting in Christ for eternal life. Help me to
live each day as if it is my last day under the sun. Save me from the vanity
of failing to work the works Thou created me to do in this life under the sun.
Please cause all lost people under the sun to now come to Christ,
trust in the Lord Jesus, and to thus become prepared for death. Please give
each human soul under the sun the individual vision that each one of us needs
to save us from perishing.
“Also
their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have
they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” (Verse 6)
Lord
God in Heaven, please work most powerfully in my life right now to
perfect my love, my hatred, and my envy. May those emotions of mine always be
right in Thy Divine Sight. Remind me that all things under the sun will
one day come to an end and perish. While I am here on the earth, please help
me to set my affections on things above and not on things on the earth. Please
cause me to constantly redeem the time, wisely using all my
allotted time under the sun for Thy Great Glory. I pray these things for all
other people also. Please save us all from the world and its
allurements, and from all vanity.
“Go
thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God
now accepteth thy works.” (Verse 7)
Almighty
Lord God in Heaven, please teach me perfectly to work the works that are
acceptable to Thee. O Lord God Almighty, I want my life to be pleasing to
Thee. Please grant that prayer for me. As I daily go my way, please lead me
in paths of righteousness for Thy Precious Name’s Sake. Cause me to know the
joy of the Lord and to have a merry heart that comes from God on High. Thank
Thee for giving me sufficient food to eat and drink. Help me to daily give Thee
thanksgiving for feeding me and for making me joyful and happy. I pray these
things for all other souls under the sun.
“Let
thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.” (Verse 8)
Lord
Jesus, please clothe me in Thy Pure White Robes of God’s Righteousness and
Holiness. Please anoint me with the ointment of Thy Holy Spirit. Please help me
to daily seek a powerful anointing of The Holy Spirit’s Power upon my
life. I pray these things for all other souls under the sun.
“Live
joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity,
which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for
that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the
sun.” (Verse 9)
Heavenly
Father, I pray that all married couples will be faithful to each other
till death do them part, and never put asunder that which God has joined
together in Holy matrimony. May each married couple give to each other the love
and joy that Thou hast ordained in marriage. Help husbands to love their wives
as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Please cause all
married couples to live for Thee during their lives under the sun.
“Whatsoever
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device,
nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whether thou goest.” (Verse 10)
Lord
Jesus, please clearly guide me into the exact work Thou hast ordained
for my life under the sun. Then empower me to do that work unto completion
with a great zeal for Thee, doing it with all my might. When I am
put into the grave, my opportunities to labour for Thee under the sun will be
ended forever. Please help me to work for Thee with all my might while it is
day, for the night cometh when no man can work. I pray these things for all
other souls under the sun.
“I
returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the
battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of
understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to
them all.” (Verse 11)
Almighty
Lord God, please help me to willingly and joyfully place my life
into Thy Divine Hands, totally committing myself to my Creator God
without any reservation at all. Reveal to me the extent of Thy Love,
Mercy, and Grace unto me. Convince me of Thy Unlimited Power that will work in
my life for my own good and for God’s Glory if only I will completely yield
to Thee. Help me to live for my Creator God and for Thee alone. Convince me
that I will have no worries or anxieties about my life if only I will fully
commit myself to Thee. Help me to give my life totally to the Lord Jesus
Christ Who gave His Life for me on the cross. Then help me to lay aside every
weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and help me to run with
patience the race of this life under the sun that is set before me. Help me to
always look unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy
that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down
at the right hand of the throne of God. Convince me that nothing happens to me
by chance or circumstance, but that each thing that comes into my life is
ordained of Thee. I thus pray for Thee to always keep me in the Center of Thy
Divine Will for me. Save me from the vanity of living outside Almighty
God’s Will. I also pray these things for all other souls under the
sun.
“For
man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and
as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an
evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.”
(Verse 12)
Lord
God in Heaven, please have mercy on me and save me from all evil. Please
come into my life right now to deliver me from all evil. Guard my life
against Satan’s evil nets and his evil snares. I confess that my Help is in The
Name of The Lord Jesus Christ. Each and every time the enemy (the devil) lays a
net, snare, or trap for me; I pray that my soul would escape as a bird out of
the snare of the fowler. Please break those snares of the enemy and let me
escape those evil nets. Please have mercy upon me and do not let an evil time
fall suddenly upon me. Save me from being snared in an evil time. Convince me
that I must totally rely on God’s Help to save me, and that God’s Help
is in the Name of The Lord Jesus Christ. I also pray these things for all
other souls under the sun. Save us all, Lord, I pray.
“This
wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:” (Verse 13)
Almighty
Lord Jesus Christ, I confess that Thou hast been made unto me Wisdom. Please
impart unto me the ability to open my heart fully to Thee for the
purpose of Thee imparting God’s Divine Wisdom unto me in the exact measure Thou
doest deem best for me. Please teach me the wisdom contained in this following
account in this Scripture. I also pray these things for all other people
under the sun.
“There
was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against
it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:” (Verse 14)
“Now
there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city;
yet no man remembered that same poor man.” (Verse
15)
Lord
Jesus, please cause me to remember all the things that have come into my
mind during my life, that Thou doest desire that I keep in mind. Please sharpen
my mind by Thy Divine Power and save me from the vanity of
forgetfulness. Help me to always be mindful to be grateful for all
goodness bestowed upon me by both God and man. I pray this for all other
people also.
“Then
said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is
despised, and his words are not heard.” (Verse 16)
Almighty
Heavenly Father, convince me that true wisdom is better than strength.
Please save me from the awful vanity of despising a poor man’s wisdom,
and thus not listening to his words of wisdom simply because he is poor. Reveal
to me what great loss I will suffer during my days under the sun, if I despise
poor, wise men, and thus do not listen to their wisdom because they are poor.
Save me from the vanity of despising the poor because they are poor.
Please make me a friend and helper of the poor. Make me ever so alert to glean
wisdom from poor people.
Almighty
Lord Jehovah God, right now, please create within me a fiery, burning,
passionate desire to be most profitable to Thee and to mankind, like this poor
wise man who delivered this little city from the destructive power of a great
king. Help me to become totally willing to become poor in every way, in
order to become such a useful and profitable person. Help me not to care one
bit that no one would remember me for the profitable (even lifesaving) service
that I rendered. Save me from the vanity of desiring to be in the
spotlight and to be praised by a fallen human race, which at their very best
estate are nothing more than vanity. Almighty Lord God, please hear my
frantic and desperate cry now for great mercy from Heaven. This fallen,
sinful human race is daily perishing. Teach me how that God chooses people to
point everyone under the sun to The Lord Jesus Christ for all the help
they need. Wouldest Thou please have mercy upon me, and extend great grace unto
me by choosing me to be most profitable to all Thy Creation by pointing
the entire lost human race to The Lord Jesus Christ. Why should it be thought
incredible that Almighty God would do this!? I also pray these things for all
other human souls now under the sun.
“The
words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among
fools.” (Verse 17)
Lord
Jesus, please make me truly wise in Thy Sight. Please make me into a
soul winner. “He that winneth souls is wise.” Save me from the vanity of being a fool and from the vanity
of ruling among fools. Save me from the vanity of trying to make my
speech convincing simply by speaking loudly. Teach me the wisdom of speaking
quietly when that is appropriate. Please help me to always listen to wise
people, no matter how lowly and poor they may be. Help me to follow the wisdom I glean from them in accordance with
Thy Will for me. I pray these things for all other souls under the
sun.
“Wisdom
is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.” (Verse 18)
Lord God Almighty, please convince me that wisdom is
better than weapons of war, and please fill me with Thy Wisdom. Cause me
to read Thy Holy Bible much every day and by Thy Holy Spirit, please teach
me all the wisdom that is in the Bible. Please save me from being a sinner.
Please save me from sinning. Please save me from the vanity of
destroying much good. I pray these things for all other people under the
sun. Please hear and answer my prayers, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s Precious
Name’s Sake. I thank and praise Thee, Almighty Jehovah God, for hearing and
answering these prayers of mine, and extending such great mercy and grace unto
me. Amen.
(This is the end of Chapter 9 of VANITY OF
VANITIES)