Psalm 19:14 (ESV): 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
EXPLAIN
This psalm begins with a beautiful description of nature giving glory to God. David then transitions to talking about how God’s law is perfect and closes with a prayer that he might live blameless without intentional sin.
APPLY
David’s prayer in this final verse of Psalm 19 is quite breathtaking.
As James notes in the New Testament, it is incredibly difficult to control our tongue. We may speak 20,000 beautiful words throughout the day, and then at home speak a few hundred harsh words to our family.
And the devil loves to insert thoughts that should not be considered into our mind. It takes great discipline to reject them immediately, giving no lasting consideration to them.
This prayer is incredibly applicable then: Lord, may I be blameless in all that I say and think!
RESPOND
Heavenly Father, I desire to honor you with all of my life: what I do, what I say, and what I think. Give me grace and strength to choose what is right. Guard my steps; guard my lips and mind. Amen.
Romans 8:26 (ESV): 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
EXPLAIN
In Romans 7, Paul wrote of the terrible power of the carnal nature, to cause us to do what we know is wrong and don’t really want to do. But in Romans 8, he says there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8 is a chapter of freedom and release, but also of obligation. We are not bound to live by the flesh anymore, but to follow the Spirit. As we live by the Spirit, he bears witness to us that we are God’s children… “provided that we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17).
This mention of suffering then led Paul to discuss how the whole world is suffering and in turmoil until the end of time when God comes to recreate the world.
But, as our highlighted verse states, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. In everything, God works for the good for those who love him. And we can rest assured that if God is for us, we are in good hands! We are more than conquerors… through Christ!
APPLY
Before I began this devotional time, I read a news article about the tragedy in Miami. About half an apartment building collapsed a few days ago. Five have been reported dead, and some 150 are still missing.
Nearby churches first prayed for miracles, but now that so much time has passed and survivors have not been found, the churches are praying for God’s comfort for the grieving.
My Old Testament reading for today is Job 14-16, in which Job despaired of hearing from God. He felt like his suffering was unjust, but God was not answering his cry. Instead, he felt like God’s response to him was like a running creek wearing away the soil and rocks or like archers surrounding a target, pumping arrows in their victim.
While we may not personally have suffered a tragedy like those in Miami have or like Job did, there are many times in our lives that we do not know how to pray. We should not expect that God will miraculously make things better so that we do not experience heartache and suffering. Romans 8:17 suggests that suffering is a necessary part of our growth in Christlikeness.
But we can know in times of desperation that the Spirit intercedes for us. When we do not know what to say, the Spirit prays for us with groaning unable to be expressed by language.
RESPOND
Heavenly Father, I pray for the Holy Spirit’s intercession for me today. While I might express many things in prayer, I desire his prayer that I might live in your will. Have your way with me, Amen.
Acts 13:2–3 (ESV): 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
EXPLAIN
Due to persecution, many believers were scattered, away from Jerusalem. A number of disciples went to Antioch of Syria and a strong church was started, a church that over time became a center, if not the center, of the church world in those days.
Paul had returned to his hometown of Tarsus, but Barnabus went looking for him. There, they taught many people for a year (Acts 11:26).
The influence of the believers in Antioch is seen in that they were first called Christians, a term of insult, there.
A prophet foretold a worldwide famine, and so the church of Antioch sent relief to the believers in Judea by Barnabus and Saul or Paul.
After they returned to Antioch, various leaders in the church were worshipping and fasting, when the Holy Spirit revealed to them that Barnabus and Saul/Paul should been sent out as missionaries. After praying and fasting, they laid hands on the men and sent them off.
APPLY
It was in the context of prayer and fasting that the Holy Spirit revealed to the church his desire to send Paul and Barnabus out as missionaries. But it was not enough to fast and pray to receive God’s direction. Rather, the believers continued to fast and pray as they sent them men to the work.
Do we regularly pray and fast enough that we are able to hear God’s call upon our lives and our church?
If God only revealed his will through prayer and fasting, would we ever hear from Him?
RESPOND
Heavenly Father, I desire to know your will and be guided by your voice. Help me to cultivate the discipline of both prayer and fasting so that my heart might be in tune to your voice. Amen.
Acts 1:13–14 (ESV): 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
EXPLAIN
After Jesus’ ascension, the believers, about 120 people, began meeting in the upper room. As they waited for the Holy Spirit to come, they began to pray.
They devoted themselves to prayer.
During the prayer time, Peter was studying and meditating on scripture and realized that Judas Iscariot’s place among the Twelve needed to be filled.
Having replaced Judas, having prayed, the believers then waited in unity… and the Holy Spirit came upon them.
APPLY
Listening to some podcasts on disciple-making recently, the point has been made that Christians in the U.S., Christians in the Western world, know little about sustained, devoted prayer.
We tend to pray for a purpose. Once the purpose is accomplished, we think we no longer need to pray. Or, if our prayer is not answered, we look to other methods to accomplish our desires.
The purpose of prayer is to change our heart, mind, and will to be in conformity to God’s will. How might our lives and churches be different if we truly devoted ourselves to such prayer?
RESPOND
Heavenly Father, help me to take the next step in my life to becoming “devoted in prayer”. May I learn the joy of the sweet fellowship of prayer, of submission to your will, of living for your glory. Amen.
2 Chronicles 32:31 (ESV): 31 And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.
EXPLAIN
Hezekiah was a godly king and brought about a great revival of seeking after God to Judah. A great crisis occurred when the Assyrians invaded the land, but God brought about a supernatural deliverance after Sennacherib blasphemed God.
However, after only 15 years of reigning, Hezekiah became sick and God sent him word that he would die. Hezekiah wept bitterly and God determined to grant him 14 more years.
Sometime later, envoys from Babylon arrived and Hezekiah foolishly let them see everything in his kingdom. God then sent word that in the future, Babylon would conquer Judah.
Our text explains that when the Babylonians came, God did not proactively intervene because he wanted to test Hezekiah to know what was in his heart.
APPLY
The thought that God might leave us to our own devices is terrifying. Yet we must wonder if God does this more often than we might want to think.
Yet we know God’s good and faithful character. How might have things been different if Hezekiah had sought God for wisdom when the Babylonian envoys had first arrived?
Similarly, we should proactively seek God for wisdom and guidance instead of waiting for him to intervene in our lives.
RESPOND
Heavenly Father, please teach me now the habit of seeking you always so that when times of testing come my first response is to look to you. Amen.
Luke 18:8 (ESV): 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
EXPLAIN
Luke preceded the parable of the persistent widow with the explanation that Jesus told this parable so that the disciples might always pray and not lose heart.
This story is about an unjust judge and a widow who kept going before him with her case that he finally relented and gave her justice.
Jesus’ conclusion was that God would much more readily give his elect justice, and not delay. The key question is: will Jesus find his people with faith – faithfulness – when he comes to answer their request?
APPLY
God is faithful, honorable, just, and loving. Therefore, we should not fear nor doubt in praying for our needs and for his intervention in our lives. Rather, we must strive to keep faith – to continue to trust and to live faithfully – while we wait for his answer.
RESPOND
Heavenly Father, help me to be faithful as I wait for you to answer my prayers. May I trust you implicitly and completely. And I will praise you when you come in response to my needs. Amen.
Luke 11:1 (ESV): 11 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
EXPLAIN
The story immediately previous to this incident was of Jesus and his disciples visiting Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, soaking up his teaching, but Martha grew frustrated in her serving because Mary was not helping. Jesus told Martha that Mary had her priorities right – time with Christ.
The disciples’ motivation for prayer seem to have come as they watched Jesus praying, but also having seen John the Baptist teach his disciples to pray.
Jesus responded with an abbreviated form of the Lord’s Prayer. It is interesting to consider that Jesus formed his prayer by praying for the most essential need first.
If so, it would suggest to us that our primary need is to glorify God’s name. When we are filled with a passion to worship God, then our priorities are correct to desire the will of God.
Understanding and submitting ourselves to the will of God, we can then trust God to supply our daily needs.
Trusting God to supply our needs then opens our hearts to our need to live in a right relationship with others and God.
Our Passions
Our Priorities
Our Provisions
Our Personal Relationships
APPLY
It has been noted many times that the disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, although we find in his model just that, but to pray. Furthermore, of all the things the disciples could have asked Jesus – how to heal, how to preach, etc., they asked Jesus to learn to pray.
This is the key lesson we must learn today, as well – to learn to pray. Understanding the elements of Jesus’ prayer is important, but truly we simply need to learn to pray.
RESPOND
Heavenly Father, may you teach me to pray, to pray for your glory and according to your will, but simply to pray. May my life be marked by close fellowship with you. Amen.
