Category: Daily Prayer

Our scripture this morning is James 5:13-14 (NLT).

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.

Jesus taught us that prayer was vitally important in our lives and the life of the church. Mark 1:35 tells us “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” While He went to “an isolated place”, we can pray anywhere, anytime. However, many find privacy and a regular schedule help them to have an active prayer life.

Later in their chapter we read “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16). What we need to remember is that we aren’t “convincing” God to do something He wouldn’t do in the first place, we are making ourselves part of His work. We can never tell God something He doesn’t already know.

James reminds us of the need to pray no matter what our situation may be. We have been cautioned “Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today” (Deuteronomy 8:11). Suffering or happy, we need to be in prayer and listening to His word for us.

Loving Lord, we are sorry when we are out of touch and forget how important prayer is to our relationship with You and each other. Bless us to be connected through prayer always. Amen.

A couple of quick editorial notes – I have been using the Bible App for several years as the daily scripture for these posts. I find that discovering what passage they have chosen each day is an adventure and challenges me a little because I didn’t select the verses myself. It also keeps me from wandering off on my own agenda. A friend asked recently about the translation I usually use. I have been posting from the New Living Translation (NLT) for the last couple of years because I like the way it reads. I will occasionally use another version but it may be helpful to know where it is from so I’ll start including it, even if it’s the NLT every day for a while.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 5:4 (NLT).

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

When we think of mourning, it is usually over someone we have lost or a way of life that no longer exists. Regardless of what causes our pain, Jesus tells us that God will bless and comfort us. He is always aware of our condition and present even when things are difficult.

Often our grief is very specific, as in the death of a loved one. However, we may also suffer from underlying issues that cause us pain. Divorce, loss of a job, being forced to move, social unrest, any number of things can grieve us. Sometimes we can’t really define it.

Jesus tells us that God knows everything about us, including our grief. We know that God grieves for us and with us. God wants to comfort us and allow us to move on with our lives and our kingdom work, not forgetting the cause, but instead using it to strengthen us in faith.

Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Jesus to comfort and teach us. Help us to see that love is the answer to our grief and offer that love to all Your children. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13.

Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.

Having been an appointed church pastor, I can tell you that I would not have made it through without the love and prayerful support of my congregations. I am so grateful and blessed to have lived and worked with all of you. I have known pastors whose experience was not as pleasing as mine.

The church is a collection of people who have chosen to live together as the family of God because of their faith in Him. God has gifted and called each of us for a purpose. Paul gives us some insight to this in 1 Corinthians 12:7, telling us “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” We are all expected to contribute to the work of His kingdom.

This means in any given situation we are all leaders in the Lord’s work. Whether it’s the childcare program, a food pantry or outreach to shut-ins, each area of ministry has a leader and they all need our support through prayer, our tithes and offerings that support the programs and our presence as the body of Christ. May we lead when we are called to do so and follow faithfully always.

Loving Lord, thank You for sending leaders in Your church. Help us to give them the support they need and be ready to fill the roles You have planned for each of us. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 

Paul writes with encouragement and warning to the church in Corinth. They were experiencing divisions in their relationships with each other which in turn hindered their relationship with God. He reminds them that they are “the temple of God” and as such, we must treat each other just as we would our Lord.

How would our lives be different if we recognized the presence of our Creator in everyone we encountered? Paul teaches that “the Spirit of God lives in you”. We know this because He breathed life into each one of us. We are all made in His image, meant to be connected to Him and our brothers and sisters here on earth.

We have been created for a purpose and when we accept the mission and responsibility God gives us, we are blessed to go in His name to share the Good News. Each of us have been given gifts that are necessary to advance His kingdom. While God needs no help from us, He wants us all to be part of His plan for salvation.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we let our own selfish wants and insecurities interfere with our connection to You and each other. Forgive us and send us in Your strength that everyone may know Your love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Ephesians 4:2-6.

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

We have likely heard the familiar verse “iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17), teaching that being together in faith makes us all better disciples. This is “being united in the Spirit” as Paul puts it here. He emphasizes that while we are individuals, we are blessed when we work together for God’s kingdom.

I once heard a lesson about how our unity in the Spirit is like the steel making process. A variety of different materials are brought together to make a substance stronger than any of them alone. This is how our diversity creates a stronger faith. God uses our individual gifts collectively.

Paul calls us to make “allowance for each other’s faults”, knowing we all have issues that affect us. We must get past these differences to be effective in ministry, knowing the strength that our individual gifts provide. Together with God and one another, we can make a difference in the world and in eternity.

Gracious God, You made us all in Your image but You also made us each unique. Help us to see Your light in each of Your children and work together that all may come to You. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Proverbs 13:20-21.

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. Trouble pursues the sinner, but the righteous are rewarded with good things.

We need the companionship and wise counsel of other Christians. However, we can’t ignore Christ’s command to seek those who are living outside God’s love and share the Good News with them. We must be ready to encounter evil in everyday life and do our best to steer others away from the danger of sin.

This is a tough situation for Christians. We are called to go to those who don’t know God’s love, to help them find the way to salvation, but associating with them can put us at risk. God realizes our weakness and sends this warning against becoming like those we wish to help.

Our mission is in enemy territory and while we are there we are vulnerable. This is why we need the love and care of other Christians to strengthen us while we do difficult ministry. Being together in His wisdom and love is essential if we are to accomplish the Great Commission to bring all nations to Him.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we let temporary sin rule our actions rather than the eternal light of Your love. Help us to be strong in You, and strong for each other that all the world might come to You. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 1 Timothy 5:1-2.

Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.

Paul writes to his pupil and partner Timothy with guidance on how to treat the family of God. It seems very simple on the surface but even today we often ignore this lesson on our interactions. Getting along and caring for one another is essential to our relationship with God.

During the time Jesus was on earth He showed us how we are to live together as the family of God, ensuring that all are loved, valued and provided for. While we may see our modern culture as more complex, our responsibilities are no different now.

Societies may have changed over time, but as people we have not. We are still called to care for the last, the least and the lost. Jesus taught us to think of everyone as family members and Paul insures that Timothy knows this as a pastor charged with caring for the community. As members of that community, we need to step up.

Loving Lord, help us to see the needs of others without judging why they are in need. Help us to live together as Your children, and to be part of Your plan for our salvation. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is John 5:24-25.

“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.”

In this passage from the Gospel of John Jesus speaks to us all directly. While He gave us parables and examples in His earlier teachings, His words now are very specific: “those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life.” There are only two options here, eternal life or eternal separation.

God has spoken to us through scripture and prophets. He sent Jesus to personify His love and His message for us. It is essential that all His children receive the Good News, but more than that, accept it. The term Jesus uses is “listen”.

When He says “listen” it means much more than hearing or reading the words. It means taking that message and making it part of us, part of our everyday activity. God wants to be connected to us in everything we do, but is up to each of us to invite Him into our lives.

Heavenly Father, we are ashamed of our mistakes but amazed by Your love. Forgive us and send us that all Your children may truly listen to Your word and receive Your love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 4:1-4.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus doesn’t fall for temptation as we humans did. There He is, in the desert, hungry and alone, facing down Satan, but His faith is firm. We were in a beautiful garden, with everything we needed and we still blew it!

Jesus knows Satan can’t and won’t follow through on his promises. His only real power is to distract us from our connection to God with lies and empty offers. Jesus trusts God through the worst moments of His earthly life as He always has.

Jesus hears Satan’s twisting of scripture in an attempt to mislead Him. He responds to each of Satan’s statements with the truth, as we should meet our daily challenges. Jesus proved His connection to God is stronger than any earthly temptation we may face, and that we may know that same love and care.

Gracious God, we are sorry for the times we follow false paths rather than those You have prepared for us. Forgive us and bless us to go to the world in Your name. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Philippians 1:9-11.

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

Paul has written guidance like this to other congregations.  In 1 Corinthians 13 he explains that we are gifted in many ways, but “the greatest of these is love”. God’s love for us and our love for Him and each other is the fuel that powers all other gifts.

Paul knows the power of God’s love through the miraculous conversion he experienced on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) and the mission he was given. Now he is an energetic disciple of the risen Lord, sharing God’s love and instruction with all the world. He goes to far flung places to ensure the Word of God is shared with everyone, Jew and Gentile alike.

Like the Philippians, we need to “keep on growing in knowledge and understanding”, sharing the love and lessons we have received with others. It is our responsibility as His children to spread the Good News everywhere. God wants us all to choose a life of love here with each other and in eternity with Him.

Gracious God, You have given us everything and we are grateful for Your gifts. Help us to use them wisely for the good of all Your people. Amen.