Category: Daily Prayer

Our scripture this morning is 1 Chronicles 16:34-35 (NLT).

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Cry out, “Save us, O God of our salvation! Gather and rescue us from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.”

Today in the US we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It commemorates God’s love and care for His people. I remember singing a hymn called “We Gather Together” every year at Thanksgiving and I hope you’ll remember with me:

“We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing. He chastens and hastens His will to make known. The wicked oppressing, now cease from distressing. Sing praises to His name, He forgets not His own.”

The last verse begins “Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining.” God loves and knows each one of us and most certainly “His faithful love endures forever”. He wants us to gather together in His name to remember His love and care for us, and go to all His children to share that love and care. May we look for ways to be the heart and hands and feet of our Lord every day.

Wise and wonderful God, we give you thanks for all Your many blessings. Send us into the world with Your love and forgiveness, that all Your children may gather together in Your name. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 1 Peter 4:8 (NLT).

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Peter has good advice for our relationship with God and each other. We need to love God, our neighbor and ourselves in order to be complete as Christians. That may sound a little strange, but unfortunately our self relationship may be our worst stumbling block in trying to follow Jesus.

Proverbs 10:12 tells us “Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses.” This is especially true when we love even our enemies as Jesus taught in Luke 6:27. Our love can “cover a multitude of sins” committed against us, but what about love covering a multitude of MY sins?

We may find it hard to love and forgive ourselves after a loss or trauma, even if we were not the cause. What could we have done, how could we have prevented the event? The answer is most often “nothing”. Peter must have agonized over what happened to Jesus and the fact that he denied Him out of fear. Jesus loved and forgave Peter, but Peter also had to love and forgive himself to be restored as an effective disciple.

Loving Lord, we are sorry that we allow evil to distract us with anger, guilt and shame. Help us to give it all to You in faith and live as Your forgiven and beloved children, sharing Your love with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 2 Corinthians 5:16-18 (NLT).

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

Paul writes that our connection to Christ and each other is not based on “a human point of view.” Jesus doesn’t care about our political or economic systems, the only earthly thing He is interested in is us. Because of this “the old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

In Galatians 3:28 we read “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The way we label and separate ourselves must sadden Jesus, who sees everyone as a child of God. We must look at each other in the same way if we are to follow Him.

God has called us to be relationship builders according to Christ’s example for us. He changed Paul from a persecutor to a proclaimer, and He can change our lives when we accept His forgiveness and the “task of reconciling people to Him.” He sends us to share His love with the world.

Heavenly Father, we are sorry for our lack of care for one another. Bless us to see each other as You do and bring the Good News to everyone. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Romans 15:4-6 (NLT).

Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul tells his readers that “such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us”, a reminder that the lessons of Jesus are not replacing what they have been taught (Matthew 5:17) but explaining and amplifying those instructions. The Law and the Prophets are still God’s guidance for our lives but now He has spoken to us through the gift of His Son.

Paul adds that being together in study, prayer and praise, “one voice”, enable us to unite as followers of Jesus. This unity makes our discipleship possible, using everyone’s spiritual gifts for the kingdom work to which we are called. While we are differently gifted, we are all blessed the same way.

This passage echoes the teaching “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ” (Philippians 2:5).  We need the same intent Jesus had, sharing His love and His message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). Each of us must accept His forgiveness and be reconciled to God.

Gracious God, we are grateful for your love and care. Help us to share both with all Your children everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is John 1:14 (NLT).

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

The first 18 verses of John’s Gospel are known as the prologue. This passage leads us into the person of Jesus as the Word of God and the light of the world. He is our Savior, but in order to be saved we must live according to His instruction and follow the example He has set for us.

I remember a night land navigation test I had to do as a Boy Scout using a map, compass and a flashlight. All of these tools were essential, but the knowledge of how to use them was more important still. Just having the items doesn’t mean we can put them into practice. Without the teaching of my Scoutmaster I would’ve been lost.

This is how I see scripture and the earthly life of Jesus, as tools and knowledge. We need both to accomplish the work He has called us to do in His name. We must follow where He leads, and without the teachings of the Master, we are lost.

Loving Lord, You sent Your Son to save us from our selfish sins. Forgive us and give us new hearts for the mission You have for us, bringing Your love to the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Proverbs 18:10 (NIV).

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

The Book of Proverbs packs a lot of wisdom into 31 short chapters. This verse reminds us of God’s love and care for us, “a fortified tower” when we need it. The instruction says “the righteous run to it and are safe.” Our faith in Him provides the hope we need.

In verse 11 we read “the wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale.” This is a false hope in our own strength which will not protect us in eternity. Putting our trust in the Lord is the only way we can be saved.

Jesus told us “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Nothing we have here can protect us the way a connection to God does! By repenting and accepting Him we can be made whole again and go in the name of the Lord to share His love.

Heavenly Father, we are sorry for our pride that allows us to think we can do it on our own. Forgive us and bless us to be honest in our faith and energetic in our discipleship. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Deuteronomy 6:4-6 (NLT).

Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.

Verses 4 and 5 of this passage are known as the Shema, a statement of Israel’s faith in the God who had rescued them. Moses had just reiterated the Ten Commandments to the people and adds this guidance as the reason for keeping God’s law. From the very beginning God has wanted a right relationship with us.

Jesus called this the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37-38. He immediately followed it with “love your neighbor as yourself”, saying both were essential to our lives and our salvation. God wants us to have a right relationship with Him and each other as well. 

Jesus made this concept real for us in Matthew 7:12, saying “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” When we connect with each other according to what scripture teaches, we also connect with our Savior. 

Loving Lord, in Your mercy You sent Your Son to save us. Help us to learn the lessons He taught and to love You and one another with all our heart, soul and strength. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Ephesians 6:2-3 (NLT).

“Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

God gave His newly freed people the Ten Commandments as a guide to their relationship with Him and each other. They are basic statements about treating each other well and honoring our Creator. In this passage from Ephesians we hear “this is the first commandment with a promise”, our covenant with Him to respect our earthly parents.

We know that this is sometimes a difficult obligation. Some have had tenuous relationships with parents, some have lost parents, some never knew their parents. God knows all these situations and grieves with us, but still calls us to love them as He loves us. If Jesus told us to love even our enemies, how much more are we to love the humans who brought us into the world?

Paul wrote this to the Ephesians to show that God’s love transcends even our earthly relationships. Whether these connections are easy, difficult or non-existent, He calls us to follow His commandment to honor them. We can be blessed by our obedience no matter what our situation.

Gracious God, loving each other, even those closest to us, can be difficult. Bless us to be the loving disciples Jesus taught us to be in every situation. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Isaiah 9:2 (NLT).

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

The prophet Isaiah was sent to warn Israel about the state of their faith and the impending danger of invasion. However, included in this bad news was the good news of God’s everlasting love, forgiveness and care, that “a light will shine” in the darkness they have brought upon themselves. Later, Jesus begins His ministry in the lands Isaiah mentions (Matthew 4:15-16).

We are a stubborn people, hard of hearing and short of sight when it comes to the truth. We trust our own ways over His light and His word. We stumble in the darkness until we accept the Savior God sent us and the salvation He brings.

In John 8:12 Jesus tells us “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” He also teaches us “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), an indicator of our call to carry on His work, sharing His love with everyone. God had a plan for us from the beginning, and His love for us continues forever.

Patient God, we are grateful for Your mercy and forgiveness, and Your call to be part of Your kingdom work. Bless us to go to all Your children, dispelling the world’s darkness with the light of Your love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is John 15:11-12 (NLT).

I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

When someone asks “what is love?” the right answer is always “God is love” (1 John 4:16). However, there are many ways to express our love and many other terms to help define it. Care, compassion, forgiveness, all of these actions are ways to show our love for one another.

Paul wrote much about how we love one another in 1 Corinthians 13. He tells us “love is patient, love is kind”, and a whole list of other characteristics of love. He indicates that love is the fuel that powers all other spiritual gifts, and that without love, we are nothing.

It can be as simple as encouraging someone or as amazing as “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Jesus taught and demonstrated all these aspects of love, from teaching and healing to giving Himself up for us. He calls us to love each other in the same way He first loved us – selflessly and fully.

Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Jesus to show us the way to love You and each other. Bless us to carry that love to all Your children everywhere. Amen.