Devotional Blog
A Pattern Of Powerful Prayer
Open your bible and read Colossians 1:9-14 .
If someone should pose the question, “How can I pray for you?” would you be able to give a clear answer? Oftentimes we simply do not know what to say. The same thing can happen with our friends – when we ask them that question, we frequently get a vague answer. Learning to pray for one another does not come naturally; we have to be taught. That is why the Bible contains many patterns for effective prayer.
One such pattern is found in Paul’s epistle to the saints at Colossae. He asks that they may be “filled with the knowledge of His will” (Colossians 1:9). This means that we can come to know what God is up to in our lives. When we understand His will, that knowledge is most satisfying and precious.
Paul’s prayer also includes a second request on behalf of the Colossians. He asks that they will have more than just an understanding of what is right; he prays that they may walk in a manner worthy of Christ and that they should be strengthened with all power. (verses 10-11)
Such a transformed walk can be so attractive that onlookers will come to recognize God at work in the lives of His children. Believers can display the heavenly Father’s power to forgive sins, and they can walk before Him in holiness.
These are the specific requests we should make when praying for others. To effect a double blessing, we can ask the same things for ourselves. And this powerful prayer will always be answered because it is in full accordance with the will of God.
Tune My Heart
It can be hard to hear God in the busyness of life. Take today’s lesson to hear how to listen better.
“And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:12b)
There’s a moment just before the performance begins where the lights go down and the symphony tunes. It’s a strange, cacophonous sound, nothing at all like the music that will start a few minutes later. I love that sound. It sounds like anticipation. It’s a sound that tells you that something wonderful is about to happen.
Tuning is not a warning bell; it’s an alignment. One musician plays a single note, always the same note, and each of the instruments joins in. They play, they listen, and they adjust and play again. They keep going until all the sounds blend together, until there are united and aligned, in tune.
I love the line in the old hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” that says, “tune my heart”. I want that. I want my heart to sound like God’s. Did you know that if you put two grand pianos in a room and play a note on one of them the corresponding string in the other piano will start to vibrate? I want the note God is playing to resonate in my heart.
In 1 Kings, God tells Elijah to go and stand on a mountain where He will pass by. There is wind and fire, even an earthquake, but God is not in the wind or the fire or the earthquake. God comes in a gentle whisper. I need to be still and hear that whisper; I need to tune my heart to it.
I cannot do the things God has planned for me if my heart is out of tune. No matter how carefully I try to serve God, if my heart is out of tune it’s all just garbage. I think it’s so interesting that even professional musicians have to tune and they tune every single time they play. I want my life to be like that, to begin every day by listening for the voice of God and moving my heart – dragging it along sometimes – until my heart, my attitude sounds like God’s. I want to go through my days in tune with Him.
Father,
As the hymn says, “Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace”. Teach me to stop and listen for your whisper. Keep me still until the song of my heart sounds like You. Mold me so that when people hear my words and see my actions they think of You. Thank you for being patient with me. Tune my heart. I’m listening. Amen.
Question: When is it hard to hear God? Where do you find it easiest to hear His gentle whisper?
Slow To Anger
Get to know God better with today’s lesson on His character.
“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…” (Exodus 34:6)
In Exodus 34:6 we see the words that God used when describing Himself to Moses. Compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness – is that how you think of God? Or do you think of God as a distant Father who simply exists to judge us for our sins?
We know that God loves us, we’ve heard that all of our lives. But I wonder if we fully understand the character of God and His ability to give us all that we have ever wanted or needed?
One of the phrases in this verse that speaks to me the most is when God refers to Himself as being “slow to anger.” I’ve got to say that I am not always slow to anger. In fact, I can go from zero to hysterical in a matter of seconds. Even with the people I love the most, I can become angry and frustrated quickly if I do not seek God in all situations.
I think that so often we assume that God reacts the same way that we do. When we do something that is disappointing to God, we are afraid that He will become angry or upset with our behavior. While I do believe that God’s heart breaks when we sin, I also know that He is faithful. If He says that He is slow to anger, He means it.
He didn’t put conditions on His responses. He didn’t say, “I am slow to anger unless you do something really bad” or “I will be compassionate and gracious if you read the Bible at least once a day.” God is not merely describing his reactions, He’s describing his character. It is His nature to be loving, faithful, forgiving, and gracious to us and we don’t even deserve a glance from Him. He is in love with us and wants to show us His amazing love and compassion. However, in order for Him to do that, we must be willing to run after Him with all of our hearts.
Don’t think of God as a distant Father that stands in Heaven waiting to judge you. Instead, realize that He is the father who stands in Heaven loving you and ready to bring you peace. He is the Savior who came to save your life and offer you more compassion and grace than you could ever imagine. He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness.
As you go through your day today, ask God to reveal His character to you. Ask Him to remind you that He is faithful and true in a world that is anything but. Pursue Him each and every day and know that in return, He will be pursuing you.
Father, Thank you that You do not react the way that I do. Thank you for grace, for mercy for peace and for love. Help me to live as someone who truly believes that You are who You say You are. Amen
Questions: How do you see God? Do you see him as gracious and slow to anger? Ask Him to reveal His true character to you today.
It Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
Are you struggling in an area of your life? We are here to talk and pray with you.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Just about the time I think I am getting “tech savvy,” I get some new electronic device to figure out. It is incredible what these things can do, but the challenge is in getting them to do it.
Toyota recently announced that two new positions are being created in every dealership across the land to assist new car buyers in figuring out how to use the electronics in their new cars. I think they are called Electronic Usability Specialists or something like that.
New gadgets are designed to make life easier, but somehow they tend to make it more complicated. I have a hard time just remembering all of my passwords, much less how to use them.
One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the simplicity of the Gospel. It is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and will be for evermore. It isn’t complicated and doesn’t have to be.
Here’s how one of the greatest theologians of all time, Charles Haddon Spurgeon expressed it:
“God be thanked for the simplicity of the gospel. The longer I live, the more I bless God that we have not received a classical gospel, nor a mathematical gospel, nor a metaphysical gospel; it is not a gospel confined to scholars and men of genius, but a poor man s gospel, a ploughman’s gospel; for that is the kind of gospel which we can live upon and die upon. It is to us not the luxury of refinement, but the staple food of life. We want no fine words when the heart is heavy, neither do we need deep problems when we are lying upon the verge of eternity, weak in body and tempted in mind. At such times we magnify the blessed simplicity of the gospel. Jesus in the flesh made manifest becomes our soul’s bread. Jesus bleeding on the cross, a substitute for sinners, is our soul’s drink. This is the gospel for babes, and strong men want no more.”
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9). It doesn’t get much more simple than that and doesn’t have to be.
Questions: Have you confessed your sins lately to God? What can you bring to Him today? He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
Like a Pineapple
How can we pray for you today?
“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Food. It tastes good, it allows my body to function, and it teaches me things about God. The other day I was looking at a pineapple thinking, “God hides himself in things and waits eagerly for us to seek Him out.” A pineapple looks so unappetizing: same with a coconut or a kiwi. Seriously God? You make these prickly, hairy fruits with the most delicious nectars and juices. You must want to be found.
I find the same characteristic of God in cooking. Spices in creative combinations, sweet, spicy, and salty, all working together in tantalizing unison. But again, I can’t help but think, He wants us to seek the full potential of the situation. And it’s not just in the 21st century cuisine either. God wants us to investigate the normal, mundane, or even painful, and uncover the supernatural within. For example:
- The shepherd boy David found a deep faith in God while tending sheep.
- King David rediscovered God’s faithfulness while being pursued by Saul.
- Elijah found God’s presence in the stillness: a gentle whisper.
- Job found God in the midst of incredible suffering.
- Joseph was sold into slavery, but found God’s favor.
- And Jesus bought salvation for every person on a rugged, wooden cross.
All these events arrive in unpredictable and ugly packaging, like a pineapple. And while most of the Bible is filled with the dramatic moments of God revealing Himself to mankind, the Bible also tells us to seek Him. Yes, sometimes God hides Himself and wants us to dig deeper in order to find Him. Hosea 5:15 says “they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.” Why would we have to seek God unless He was hiding? Whether in misery or in the mundane, may we always seek God.
And when we seek, we will find. Deuteronomy 4:29 promises, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Life’s like a pineapple: find God in it today.
Lord, help me to never stop seeking You. Thank You that you promise to reveal Yourself to me.
Question: Where have you seen God reveal Himself to you lately?
PLOW Ahead
What would your life look like if you were completely available to God?
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. (Matthew 25:1-4, ESV)
Abraham Lincoln said, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” What is our responsibility as Christians? If we believe God is truly in control and it is better to yield our will to His, then we are to put our tomorrow and our today into His all-wise, all-knowing and loving hands. But, does that mean we should not plan for the future?
It is easy to slip into a carpe diem (live for today) attitude and lift our eyes heavenward saying, “God takes care of the lilies of the field, He will care of me.” There is great truth in that. Before that passage in Matthew 6 it says to not be anxious about anything in our lives. But, it ends with seeking His kingdom above all else. In other words, we are to actively seek, take action, and do our part.
I was watching the Christian movie Facing the Giants. A faith-filled man would go by the halls of this school every day and pray as he ran his hands along the lockers of the students. He told the coach he was plowing the field for these students’ future, praying that they would all come to know Jesus as their Lord. There were two farmers, he explained, who prayed for rain. But only one plowed the field in preparation for the rain to come. That was the farmer with more faith.
How can we prepare our fields in prayer? God may not always give us what we want, but He will always provide what we need. Our responsibility is to believe He will act. We need to PLOW:
P – Pray – through prayer we put it all back into God’s hands
L – Listen for His response. Too many times we turn our prayers into one-sided conversations. We hang up before we allow God to speak.
O – Observe the small ways He taps on you on the shoulder to remind you that He loves you, knows you needs and is working in your situation.
W ? Wait upon the Lord and do not give up hope.
The bridesmaids who prepared their lamps for the bridegroom were considered wise. They didn’t know when he was coming, but they knew that he would come. They stayed prepared. They knew their responsibility. It was the same one John the Baptizer called out- prepare ye the way of the Lord.
Heavenly Father, teach me how to rely on You but show me what I must do to prepare for the blessings You will bestow on me. In all things, good or bad, help me to give You the glory, to do my best at what is my responsibility to do right now, and to trust without reservation that You have plans to bring the rains in due season to bless my field. Help me plow in preparation with confidence. Through Jesus’ name – Amen.
Question: Are you willing to plow for as long as it takes to prepare for what blessing God will bring into your life?
Opened
How can we pray for you today?
“Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:31-32)
“Then He [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45)
Luke paints a beautiful picture of the power of God opening people’s eyes. In this chapter the disciples realize Jesus rose from the dead and grasp the truth He was indeed the Messiah. The two disciples who walked the road to Emmaus didn’t recognize Jesus. Though the disciples studied the Scriptures they didn’t understand the Messiah had to suffer and die.
Though Jesus said they were slow of heart to believe, He didn’t leave them in their ignorance. Instead He opened their eyes, opened their minds, and opened the Scriptures so they could understand. Because our sinful nature blinds us from the truth, we need God to open our eyes too. We can’t understand Scripture without God’s Holy Spirit opening our minds and showing us what it means.
Luke tells another story of opening in the book of Acts. “One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” (Acts 16:14)
Even the initial act of believing, cannot be accomplished without God. We need Him to open our hearts to the good news.
Thank you God that You still open hearts. Open the hearts of those around me who don’t know You. Please open my eyes to see You at work in and around my life. Open my mind so that I can understand the Scriptures. Make the Living Word come alive through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Questions: How has God opened your eyes? How has He opened your mind?
Peace and Peacemakers
Jesus came to bring peace.
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
We all need two kinds of peace in our lives. We need inner peace with God but we also need peace with others. God addresses both. He tells us what to do to find that peace.
Inner peace is a gift of the Holy Spirit and our thankfulness and faith impacts it. It’s a choice to focus our mind on Jesus and all He is. Peace is the natural result of that choice.
“You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is focused on You because He trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)
Inner peace hinges on my trust in God. Inner peace is there for the choosing.
The second kind of peace, peace with others, starts with the understanding that God has called us to be peacemakers in our world.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
Notice that the call is to be “peacemakers” and not simply “peacekeepers”?
Sometimes “peacekeepers” will do anything just to keep peace. That is not what God is asking of us. He is calling us to be “peacemakers”.
Is there somewhere in your own world where you can help make peace?
Is there an invitation that needs to be extended to smooth over a fractured family relationship?
Is there an apology to be made or a silence to be broken that has stood as a barrier for too long?
Is there an issue that needs to be addressed with loving-kindness?
Is there a boundary that needs to be extended to help make a relationship healthy?
Don’t miss the blessing God promises in your life as you respond to His call to be a peacemaker in your own circle.
We can help bring peace to our world one heart at a time.
Prayer of action:
Lord,
“Make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
and Where there is sadness, joy…
Divine Master;
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen”
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Question: Take a look at the questions above. How is God calling you to be a peacemaker?
Someone is Watching You
Learn more about what it means to be a witness for Christ.
“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)
This past week I met with some friends to study the Bible at a local restaurant in town. We sat off in the corner talking and sharing what we were learning from God’s Word. We were oblivious to the people around us until a couple of women stepped up to our table to say that they had been listening to our conversation. They were encouraged and intrigued by the things they had heard and wished they could be part of a Bible study like ours.
After they left, the three of us looked at each other stunned! We had no idea there was anyone close enough to hear us, much less listen to what we were saying. Over the years, I have had other moments like this where a neighbor, co-worker or bystander has said much the same thing, “I’m watching you”.
It’s kind of scary to think that someone is watching you – watching how you react in a difficult situation, watching how quick you are to forgive or hold a grudge.
I don’t know about you but I often wonder why anyone would want to watch me. I’m not a highly significant person. I’m not famous, and I don’t have any amazing gifts or abilities that would single me out. But there is one thing that draws the attention of others and that is my claim to be a Jesus follower. I have taken a stand for Jesus and people are watching and judging to see if my actions and attitudes match my words. Whether I like it or not people are watching!
Do you realize that people are watching you too?
Philippians 2:14-15 says, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”
Following God and seeking His wisdom causes us to shine like stars in the sky. Just as a moth is drawn to the light, those watching us are drawn to the LIGHT of Jesus Christ.
We are the people of God
The sons and daughters of love
Forgiven, restored and redeemed
Living our lives to the praise of the King
We are the ones who will shine
His light in the darkness
The hopeless, the broken, the poor
They will be hopeless no more
We shine like stars in the universe
Proclaiming the hope of our God
And to the sons and daughters in all the earth
We shine You, Lord
~ You are the Light by Steve Fee
Father, In those moments when I don’t feel very holy, remind me that Your spirit is in me to make me more like You. When others watch me may they see someone who is deeply in love with You. Amen
Question: How can you shine the light of Christ in your world today?
God Desires Your Success
“…but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:57-58).
We would all agree life can be difficult. Pressures of daily living sometimes overwhelm us, relationships can disappoint us and our own expectations may go unmet. How do we reconcile our experiences with the idea that God wants us to be successful? Consider the evidence confirming that He desires us to succeed.
A Plan and a Purpose
God has a plan for our lives. There is a general purpose revealed in Scripture that applies to all believers as well as a specific design for each individual. (Ephesians 2:10)
His Presence
God does not ask us to work out our own success; He sent the Holy Spirit to answer our questions and to guide us in our decision-making process. (John 16:13)
Special Gifts
The Lord has provided each of us with spiritual gifts selected to fit with what He wants us to do in life. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11) Our part is to learn what our gifts are and to use them as God directs.
24-Hour Communication
God, who has given us the privilege of prayer, has much to tell us. He invites – and urges – us to stay in touch with Him and talk things over. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
God has given each of us inborn desires to achieve the purpose He has in mind. He plans to fulfill those desires by transforming us into Christ’s image. Regardless of our difficulties, we are to believe the evidence that He wants us to succeed, and we should respond in obedience. Real success occurs when we act more and more like Jesus.
Start a Conversation
Media
What Do You Fear?
What do you fear, and why? Is it holding you back from realizing your full potential?
>Watch
Do you crave destiny? (Part 2)
Destiny? Is this really me? Was I really born for great things?
>Watch