Category: Daily Prayer

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 6:9-13 (NRSV).

“Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.”

Jesus had warned His disciples about ineffective and showy prayer in the verses just prior to this. He gives us a model prayer that avoids all the issues He spoke about, a simple conversation with God that covers our faith in Him, our need for sustenance, and our need to be saved.

In Matthew 6:6 Jesus tells us “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” This private prayer solves the problem of praying to be seen, as the Pharisees do. However, Jesus also instructed us to pray together as God’s church to strengthen our unity.

While Jesus may not have intended us to repeat His exact words, we still do this to honor Him and focus our prayers on His example for us. We ask forgiveness of Him and promise to offer forgiveness in the same way. This is how we can best show the world His love, by forgiving and caring for all our brothers and sisters.

Heavenly Father, we ask to make our Lord’s Prayer our own. Help us to see our need to be forgiven and to go in Your name to share that blessing with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT).

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

God sent His Son to be our example, teacher, and ultimately the sacrifice for our sin. By coming to earth as one of us, Jesus can say to all we experience “been there, done that.” However, with regard to sin, He says “been there, didn’t do that” and through our faith in Him, we can be saved.

God wanted so much to bring His children back that He sent part of Himself to be with us. This is a High Priest who understands all we are challenged by, but never fell into its trap. He is also the only High Priest who can bring us salvation.

Knowing that Jesus came for us and is always there for us, why do we rely on our human strength and knowledge? We have been blessed by His word and His love, and called to go to share that blessing with everyone. He never promised it would be easy, but He said there is a place prepared in His Father’s house for all who trust and obey.

Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Your Son to save us. Help us to see Your truth and love and share it with a world in desperate need of both. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Romans 1:16-17 (NLT).

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Paul quotes scripture from the prophet Habakkuk: “But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God” (Habakkuk 2:4). Later in this letter he writes “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Romans 4:3). Paul is telling us plainly that our faith in God is the foundation of our salvation.

Martin Luther taught this vigorously later on, that we are saved by faith through grace. Christ’s sacrifice for us is a gift, but we must accept it in repentance and make it a part of our lives. Nothing we can do here on earth can save us.

Our works, as mentioned in James 2:17, are a response to the gift we have received, not labor that is counted toward eternity. Nothing we do “earns” us a way to salvation. However, the truest measure of faith is how we live it out in the world.

Loving Lord, help us to see Your face in all of Your children, and go in faith to do the work You have called us to accomplish. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Proverbs 1:5-7 (NLT).

Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

The CSB Study Bible tells us “the fear of the Lord involves awe, reverence, love, and trust in God.” Because God is the source of all things, knowledge is a gift from Him for us to use. It brings us closer to Him and His will for us.

By studying the wisdom of those who have gone before us, we don’t have to learn these lessons through the school of hard knocks. Unfortunately, we often do anyway and then see the teachings we ignored were right all along. Sometimes it is accidental, but more often than not we think we know better and rush ahead on our own.

If we take the time to study the words of wisdom the Lord has given us, we grow in knowledge and our connection to Him becomes stronger. Following God’s plan rather than our own is essential. Later in Proverbs 3:5 we read “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Through time spent in prayer and study and sharing with each other, we can know what God intends for all His children and become part of the kingdom work.

Wise and wonderful God, You have given us the gift of intellect and wisdom that we might know You and live well with our brothers and sisters. Help us to think and act wisely, sharing the gifts You have given with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 18:12-14 (NLT).

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”

This parable is also recorded in Luke 15:3-7, along with more teaching about searching for and finding lost things, including people. Jesus explains that when we lose something valuable we look for it diligently. His lesson is that each of us are valuable to God and He is continually reaching out to us in our lost state.

Jesus reminds us that when a lost item is found and returned, we are joyful to have it back. In the same way God rejoices over every one of us who returns in repentance, asking forgiveness for our sin. Unfortunately, like lost sheep, those who stray don’t always find the way back on their own.

We all have a duty as the body of Christ to help the Good Shepherd find and retrieve lost sheep, those who have wandered away from His word and His love. Each of us is called to be part of His kingdom work, sharing the Gospel with the world. We are responsible to Him for all of creation, and this includes our brothers and sisters.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we wander off in search of our own selfish desires. Forgive us and strengthen us in faith, that we may accomplish the work You have given us to share Your love everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Mark 4:9-11 (NLT).

Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant. He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders.”

Jesus speaks to us in this passage about listening, understanding and obeying. The Hebrew word “shema” is often translated as “hear” in English but it carries more meaning than just the physical act of receiving sound. Jesus wants us to engage with His lessons, unpacking the deeper knowledge and love they contain.

I don’t believe Jesus tried to prevent “outsiders” from following Him, but rather He didn’t put things plainly because we wouldn’t understand. Parables were a way of expressing heavenly concepts in a context that was relatable to us. It also helped keep those who repeated the parable from persecution – remember the fish symbol used to secretly identify believers? Parables repeated by followers of Jesus didn’t sound like revolutionary statements that would endanger them, but still told the story of God’s love.

Jesus could have told us everything but because of our limited human capacity, we might have been overwhelmed and missed the blessing of the lesson. The simple stories He shared relate to nature and types of people we all recognize, allowing us to understand the real truth in His teaching. God knows the best way to reach every one of us, and it always begins with Jesus.

Loving Lord, You sent Your Son to show us Your love and teach us the way to salvation. Help us to go in Your name to share that love with all the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT).

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Jesus, who is the very light of God, tells us we are the light of the world. In that time of candles and oil lamps, light was a precious commodity. Jesus indicates that in the same way, it is important that our light reflect God’s love. Just as light shines on everything in its path, our love must go to everyone we encounter. 

We have been given His love to share, and when we don’t, it is like hiding the light “under a basket” as Jesus says. Everyone knows that is foolish – and not fulfilling our commission to make disciples of all nations when we have been given the blessing to go in His name is just as foolish.

Jesus teaches that we respond to the Father’s love by letting our “good deeds shine out for all to see.” It’s not about us, but our reaction to being freed from sin, forgiven, and made part of the kingdom work He has for us here. When we share the wonders of His love with others, it allows them to see the truth and “everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Gracious God, we want to share Your light and love with a dark and hurting world. Help us to shine for You in all our efforts, letting others see the joy we find in our connection to You. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Mark 3:22-25 (NLT).

But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.” Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked. “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.”

Jesus gives the religious leaders (and us) a double lesson in a few short sentences. The delegation from Jerusalem accuse Him of being possessed and using that power to cast out demons. Rather than merely denying this foolish claim, Jesus explains how it is wrong.

“How can Satan cast out Satan?” Jesus asks. He shows that this can’t be for it would mean evil is divided against itself. He tells them that “a kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.” Any group in this situation can’t have an effect on another.

There is more truth to be found here as He speaks about “a family splintered by feuding.” This could be us! When we are busy arguing with each other, as the scribes and Pharisees do with Jesus, we are ignoring the work God has for us. Jesus wants us all united in His love, standing together against evil as His brothers and sisters.

Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Jesus to teach us and show us how to live in Your love. Bless us to go in Your name and Your strength to share the Good News everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Luke 12:13-15 (NLT).

Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Luke 12:13-21 recounts the Parable of the Rich Fool. It shows what can happen when we are selfish. The Every Home for Christ devotional says “Greed always seeks more – more validation, more status, more comfort, more things.” In the old hymn God of Grace and God of Glory we sing “Shame our wanton selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul.” More won’t bring us closer to God!

Jesus didn’t come to judge earthly matters between us but to teach us heavenly values. He shows that our primary goal is a loving relationship with God and each other. Everything else is worthless in eternity. 

Jesus rejected the political solution of the Romans, the revolutionary solution of the Zealots and the organized religion solution of the scribes and Pharisees, which are all of human origin. No politics, armed rebellion or ritual will free us from sin. Only by accepting God’s love and forgiveness through the sacrifice Christ made for us can we be saved.

Loving Lord, help us to see the failure of our self-centered view of life. Jesus taught we can only live fully through our connection to You and Your children. Bless us to love as You do, and share that love everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Mark 13:32-33 (NLT).

“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!”

Jesus tells us we will not know when the time of His return will come. He says plainly “only the Father knows.” We sometimes get caught up in thinking these are the last days because of events we see in our world. If this helps us continue to be prepared, that is in line with what Jesus taught us. If it leads us to question and try to figure it out for ourselves, it is a distraction.

The New Living Translation uses exactly the same words in Matthew 24:36. In other versions the wording varies slightly, but the lesson is the same. In Acts 1:7 Jesus tell us “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.” If we spend our time searching for signs and portents, we won’t be doing the work Jesus has called us to accomplish.

Knowing the scriptures is important, but doing what the scriptures teach us is essential. Jesus said we are to be prepared for His return, whenever it may come, by sharing the love of God with everyone. Our own wisdom will never save us, only our repentance and acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice for us leads to salvation.

Heavenly Father, we are sorry for the times we wander off the path You have prepared for us. Bless us to learn the teaching You have given us and go in Your name to share Your love. Amen.