Devotion: Term 4, Week 1
Many of our failures result from our failure to pray. As we examine our mistakes, we discover a forsaken prayer altar and an unopened Bible. James bottom-lines it: ‘… You do not have because you do not ask God’ (James 4:2 NIV).
A Christian leader writes: ‘As a burned-out, frustrated young Christian, I realised one day that living in my own strength was useless. I needed to take my problems to God. In other words, I needed to pray more!’. Found in Matthew 7:7, Jesus tells us, ‘Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you’ (AMPC). Sometimes it’s only when we reach the end of our rope that we turn to God in prayer. And even then, when our prayers are not instantly answered, we give up. Over and over in Scripture, we are told to ‘wait on God’. Why? Because while we’re waiting, God is working. Sometimes He is working on the thing we have asked Him for; other times He is working on us. In such times He may be correcting our desires and attitudes or directing us towards His will.
Don’t just pray; pray persistently. Don’t stress out trying to make things happen on your own. Give it all to God as you pray. Remember, He has promised that when you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him (see Jeremiah 29:13). So, put your heart into your praying, wait quietly in God’s presence, and let Him speak to you. You will be delightfully surprised at how He answers your prayers.
SoulFood: 1 Cor 15-16 Luke 24:36-44 Ps 60 Pro 25:21-22
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024
One day when Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, was scheduled to preach to three hundred inmates at San Quentin prison, a lockdown was called and most of the prisoners were confined to their cells. To the few who were allowed to attend, Colson decided to go ahead and give the complete message he had prepared.
The Bible says, ‘… the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits’ (Daniel 11:32 NKJV). This Scripture is not a licence to be arrogant and insensitive to the feelings of others, or to have an overinflated opinion of yourself. It means that when you understand God’s Word, God’s ways, and God’s will, you will be confident in who you are and in what God has called you to do.
Sometimes the people who irritate and hurt us do so because they themselves are in pain. They’re dealing with issues we don’t know about.
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