Category: Daily Prayer

Our scripture this morning is 1 John 5:13-15.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

The apostle John wrote three letters in addition to the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation. Here he speaks of the power of prayer, that it is more about a connection to God than merely a list of our wants and needs. Those who follow the risen Christ have the confidence that God hears and answers prayer.

In the Old Testament the prophet Jeremiah teaches us to listen for God’s word ”that the Lord your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do” (Jeremiah 42:38). Prayer gives us not just a line of communication but communion with our Creator.

In Luke 12:31-32 Jesus tells us ”But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” Through prayer we hear God, through Christ’s teaching in scripture we are instructed, and by the Holy Spirit we are guided to do His will. All these work together in us that we may share God’s love with the world.

Loving Lord, we are grateful to be able to share our joys and concerns with You through prayer. Help us to ask and listen in Jesus’ name, that we may do the kingdom work You have for each of us. Amen.

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

Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is 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 lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

Jesus gave us this beautiful prayer as an example of how to pray effectively. We repeat these words because they are His, but Jesus encouraged us to use our own words to converse with God as we would with each other. Prayer is intended as our way of speaking and listening to our Father in heaven.

God already knows everything about us and as our Creator He is never surprised. However, He wants to connect with us, to hear what we are thrilled about and what we fear. By expressing these things to Him we are strengthened and comforted.

Prayer makes us part of what God is doing in the world. We share with Him and He shares with us. Whether privately or as part of our worship, prayer is essential to our faith. Jesus showed us by His prayer life and teaching that those who truly follow Him are to connect with God regularly.

Loving Lord, we want to be faithful servants who know what You ask of us. Help us to be in touch with You always and to share Your love in our world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 9:36-38.

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Jesus continues to teach using cultural examples to which people could relate. “Sheep without a shepherd” refers to the lack of pastoral leadership at that time. The people had wandered away from God, into sin and spiritual danger.

Jesus had chosen twelve disciples to relate to the twelve tribes of Israel. They represent new leadership and a new beginning for God’s people. In the next chapter of Matthew Jesus sends them out in His name to minister.

Unlike the religious leaders of that time who held tightly to power, Jesus shares His, asking them to pray for more workers in the mission field. That need still exists and we are called to be the disciples of today. God has a plan to send every one of us to be workers for His harvest.

Gracious God, in Your mercy You have forgiven us and made us part of what You are doing in Your world. Bless us to be energetic workers, telling everyone of Your love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is James 5:7-9.

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.

I’m always humbled when our daily reading speaks to me directly. In today’s passage James writes about patience, anger and judging – all of which are issues I deal with. Sometimes I react to these things in a sadly human way and need to ask forgiveness.

James tells us not to give up in difficult circumstances because we believe God’s promise. He warns us not to “complain against one another”, reminding us that human anger does not produce God’s righteousness. My frustration with a situation will not solve it; James counsels us to “be patient until the coming of the Lord.”

Jesus is coming, the only true and holy judge. He alone can forgive us and He alone will set things right in His kingdom. We are called to wait patiently but actively. No matter how the world responds, we must share His love with everyone.

Gracious God, we are sorry for the times we respond in anger, rather than the patient faith Jesus taught. Forgive us and send us to tell the world of Your love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 1 Corinthians 3:7-9.

So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Paul uses another agricultural example to explain our role in the kingdom work we are called to accomplish. Planting and caring for a crop is important but there is nothing we can do to make them grow; only God gives the growth. It reminds us that while we are sent to share God’s love, planting and watering as it were, spiritual growth is between each person and God.

Paul hints at his later example of us all being part of the body of Christ, saying “he who plants and he who waters are one.” We are “fellow workers, God’s field, God’s building.” It also points to the fact that we may not get to see the growth for which we are working, as in Moses not entering the Promised Land or Paul himself not seeing the establishment of the church.

The important part is that we all continue to use our gifts for God’s work, no matter what assignment we receive. We are not to be jealous of others’ gifts or work, for “each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” What we or others think of our work doesn’t matter, as long as we do what God intends for us.

Loving Lord, You have called us to be part of what You are doing in creation. Help us to see our role and use the gifts You have given wisely for the good of all Your children. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Hosea 10:12-13.

Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord Until He comes to rain righteousness on you. You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, You have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors.

The prophet Hosea was sent to God’s people with a message of repentance. His name means “salvation” and he preached that even in their wickedness, if the people turned back to God, they could be saved. He urges “break up your fallow ground”, meaning our hardened and unproductive hearts.

He warns that we are in danger “because you have trusted in your way” echoing Proverbs 3:5 – ”Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.“ When we choose our own way we lose sight of what God wants for us. Instead we must “seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.”

Jesus taught us this persistence in reconnecting with God as well with the admonition to ask, seek and knock (Matthew 7:7). This leads to a restored relationship with our Creator. God doesn’t move away from us, but we must repent and open ourselves to His love so that we might sow in righteousness and reap in kindness.

Gracious God, even in our sin You do not give up on us! Forgive us, mend us and send us in Your name that the world may know Your love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 2 Corinthians 9:6-8.

Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.

Paul writes about generosity and that by giving for God’s work we are blessed in return. He uses an agricultural example that people of his time could understand, but the lesson still speaks to us today. God calls us to use what we have been given for the good of all His children.

Giving with the right spirit is an important part of this lesson. The phrase “God loves a cheerful giver” tells us we mustn’t give merely as a duty, but with love in our hearts for what our giving will help accomplish. It’s not about the amount; Jesus taught us this in Luke 21:4, the story of the poor widow: ”for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”

Good stewardship of God’s gifts shows our love for Him and one another. God wants nothing from us but our love and enthusiastic faith. By sharing our blessings from Him we can bless others, and do the kingdom work we are all called to do.

Loving Lord, You have given us everything and the responsibility to use it wisely. Help us to see that in giving we are doubly blessed. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Deuteronomy 7:9-11.

Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.

This passage teaches that the Lord alone is God, there is no one like Him. God chose us and is always faithful to us, from creation to the covenant with Abraham to the New Covenant in Jesus Christ and still today. When we keep His commandments, we become part of His work in the world.

Those who choose Him receive “His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation”, meaning forever. This is not a specific number or limit. We see the same teaching when Jesus says “forgive seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22). Jesus doesn’t mean at 491 we quit forgiving; it means we don’t keep count, and neither does God.

God has given us a specific commandment to love one another. It appears throughout the Old Testament and we see it demonstrated in the life and lessons of Jesus. He tells us loving God and one another is the Greatest Commandment. If we keep this, all others will follow.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for our failure to love as we should. Help us to see Your face in everyone we meet and share Your love everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Jeremiah 29:11-13.

For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote this to the children of Israel during their captivity in Babylon, reminding them of God’s care for them even in a desperate time. However, even in crisis, we can find God. With Him, we always have a future, no matter what our current situation.

The Israelites have experienced this before, when God brought them out of Egypt. Moses warned them about forgetting the Lord when they entered the Promised Land and that there would be consequences. Still, God loved His people and Moses continues “then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you” (Deuteronomy 30:3).

It seems we are scattered today, fragmented by our competing ideas of what the world should be and how we can get there. We are the problem! If we seek God and His way we can see His promise fulfilled, but it will only happen “when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Gracious God, we are sorry for the way we treat You and each other, forgetting we are all Your children. Forgive us, restore us, and send us to be Your light in a world that needs it desperately. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Psalms 34:13-15.

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry.

This passage is a part of scripture known as wisdom writings, those that offer guidance for a life of faith. King David encourages us to “depart from evil and do good”, reminding us that there is more to living faithfully than merely avoiding bad behavior; we must be actively engaged in doing good.

Jesus taught us the same lesson, that our faith must be put into action. Knowing what is right is important, doing it is essential for God’s people. We show the world we belong to the Father more through our behavior than our words.

God is always ready to hear and help but we must go to Him. He took the first step to reconcile us by coming to be one of us. Now we must be the face of His love in the world, seeking and pursuing peace for all His children.

Loving Lord, we are thankful for Your love and care. You sent Your son to redeem us and gave us the mission to carry on His work. Bless us to go in Your name, sharing Your light and love with the world. Amen.