'prayer' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Psalm 138…“The LORD will fulfil his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” vs. 8 If we care at all about this world and our place in it, we will more than likely wonder about our purpose. Since none of us receive instruction books at birth many will feel as though they are having to make things up as the years fly by. Surely, they think to themselves, there…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 56:1, 6-8…“Thus says the Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.” vs. 8 Some might wonder why so many of the Old Testament scriptures that are read in our congregations on a weekly basis come from the book of Isaiah. If we’ve been paying attention, the answer should be obvious. Isaiah was Jesus’ favorite! Not only was Isaiah the scroll that he chose to read when he came…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 14:28-33…“Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’” vs. 31 Whatever else might be said of Peter, Matthew wants us to know that he didn’t shy away from a challenge. When Jesus told him to get out of the boat and walk on the water, he actually did it. And what we often forget is that he was successful! He was able to imitate Jesus, and did…
Daily Devotions
Romans 8:26-30…“We know that all things work together for good, for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” vs. 28 This verse gets a lot of attention from believers, particularly at those times in life when things aren’t going particularly well. Sometimes we can’t figure out any reasons for the things that are happening and our best efforts at living the good life are being thwarted. Things like disease, divorce, job loss, and depression take a…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 69:16-18…“Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.” vs. 17 This psalmist seems to have run out of patience with the Lord. His passion for the temple has gotten him a boatload of enemies, and they never tire of tormenting him. Through it all the psalmist has continued to trust in the Lord as a source of mercy and steadfast love! But at this moment he’s just not feeling it!…
Daily Devotions
Psalms 50:7-15…“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall honour me.” vs. 15 This psalmist, like a prophet, has a word from the Lord for the people of Israel. They had believed that their sacrifices and burnt offerings would make their needs known to the Lord, that the rituals were the key to their divine relationship. But the psalmist tells them that since all things already belong to God, the Lord has no…
Daily Devotions
John 14:8-14…“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” vss. 13-14 As far as some Christians are concerned this is the point in his ministry when Jesus gave his disciples the secret code that would guarantee answered prayers. All that they would need to do to get their heart’s desire would be to offer their prayer…
Daily Devotions
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’” vss. 31-32 John 8:31-33 We live in a time when truth doesn’t seem to matter. As AI makes it possible to put out media posts that are not only digitally enhanced but pure inventions we can no longer have confidence in what we see or…
Daily Devotions
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” vs. 1 Luke 18:1-5 When things aren’t going our way, we will regularly turn to prayer to get our lives straightened out. In those moments we are looking for almost any source of relief, and there is always the hope that God can make things right. But then when the problem doesn’t go away and in fact the situation worsens, it’s easy to…
Daily Devotions
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” vs. 5 2 Timothy 1:1-5 Paul had encountered Timothy when he visited the city of Lystra on his first missionary journey and he’d been impressed by the strength of his faith. Later, after he and Barnabas had parted company, Paul returned to Lystra with Silas, and asked Timothy to accompany them as…
Daily Devotions
If you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord,” vss. 13b-14a Isaiah 58:13b-14 Those who have spent a lifetime worshipping on a weekly basis probably do so for a variety of reasons. For some it’s simply a habit and they don’t really think too much about it. But…
Daily Devotions
For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” vs. 10 Luke 11:5-13 Jesus doesn’t seem to have any problems with what we might call “unanswered prayer.” In his estimation, that’s virtually unthinkable. Oh, he’s certainly aware of what it’s like to imagine that somehow God has abandoned us or gone on vacation. He knows what those feelings are like. But he knows something about God that we sometimes…