You’re invited to grow your faith alongside these prayer-themed devotions, where you’ll be challenged and inspired to pray—every day—with more courage, love, hope, joy, patience, trust. . .and all of your heart. With each day, you’ll be drawn closer to the heavenly Father as you meditate on each truth-filled devotion and open your heart and mind to His very best for you!
Barbour Publishing
Day 1
Scripture: John 15:15
A BIT OF A TOAD
A good friendship takes time, effort, and sensitivity, but a healthy friendship is not one-sided. For instance, how would you feel if you had a friend—let’s call her Amelia—who only comes around when she wants to borrow something—like your fondue pot, designer sunglasses, or a car with a full gas tank? Amelia asks, “Could you babysit while I get the polish freshened on my toenails? Oh, and I need to unload big-time since my boss has become this miserly, manipulative, and mean-spirited mule of a man. Oh, and would you mind helping me with my daughter’s costume for the school’s talent show? This year, she’s a singing toad.” These might not be outrageous things to ask of a buddy, and yet, if that’s all Amelia ever came calling for, wouldn’t you think your friend was a bit of a toad, too? Why? Because you want a relationship in which someone not only needs you but loves you. Wouldn’t you think Amelia’s brand of friendship wasn’t intimate or real? Christ would like to be our friend—a real one. And if we only pray to Him, begging for a better job, better health, and a bigger house, might we not be sending the same message that we’re more interested in the “getting” than the loving?
Prayer: Lord, please help me love You as a real friend and not just for what You can give me. Amen.
Day 2
Scripture: Romans 3:24
IMAGINE THIS. . .
Imagine this. What if a stranger came up to you on the street and handed you a pearl necklace? Then, after smiling, the man walked away. What would you do? Try to give the necklace back? Would you think it was stolen, or maybe that it was no more than a plastic bauble? Yet what if you had it appraised and it was a genuine pearl necklace and valuable—in fact, a priceless treasure? You might then fret that the man would return and expect something from you—that you’d have to work to truly own such a costly gift. Or would you then think that the man was loony for offering such a precious gift to a mere stranger? You get the drift. That is what Christ has done for us with His gift of life eternal—with His costly sacrifice on the cross. Still, we treat Him like the man on the street, thinking He must be either phony or foolish or that if He is real, there are strings attached to His good and perfect gift. Okay, what if we finally understand this free gift of grace? What do we do with it? Accept it. Rejoice over it. Maybe even shout. Then, thank Him—in that wonderful communication called prayer.
Jesus, I want to be daily reminded of the pricelessness of Your gift of grace. Thank You for all You have done and continue to do. Amen.
Day 3
Scripture: Psalms 119:143
COMMANDING PRESENCE
Not often does a person in trouble look up from their sobbing and cry, “Please, somebody, give me some commands!” The word commands is not generally seen in a positive light. Commanding someone sounds too authoritative, too bossy, and too pushy. People don’t want to be commanded—they’d rather be guided, led, or called. Yet God commands. When people come into His commanding presence in prayer, they do find comfort. Why? Because when the foundations of your life are shaken, you want to hold on to something real, true, that will not and cannot be moved. The law of the Lord is that.
Moreover, His law is good. The more you meditate on His Word, the more you’ll be convinced of this. God’s laws for living together and loving one another are evidence of a mind high above ours—a mind not hampered by a constant focus on self. Use the laws of God in your prayer time, and you will be forced to think about others, consider what it means to live in community, and put others before yourself. In that process, the sorrow and trouble that is weighing you down will not disappear but will be put in proper perspective and, thus, become a little bit of a lighter load.
Lord, thank You for the comfort You bring us in Your law. Amen.
Day 4
Scripture: Judges 10:14
WRONG NUMBER
Reading the book of Judges is like watching some kind of soap opera for the nations. First, the Israelites love God, and then they don’t. Then they do. Then they don’t. Then they do . . . . You get the picture. Judges chapter 10 starts off calmly enough, but then we get to verse 6: “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD.” Our writer then proceeds to list no less than seven different groups of gods that the Israelites decided to serve instead of the one and only Lord God. After the Israelites get crushed by the Ammonites (one of the people groups whose gods they were worshipping) and start feeling distressed, they suddenly remember to call on the only name that matters. Does this sound familiar at all? Things are going pretty well. Your basic needs have been met, and now you want more. So you start chasing after ways to get it: money, power, position, image, people, leisure, and insert-idol-name-here. Somewhere in the middle of that chasing you stop becoming a worshipper of God and start becoming a worshipper of other stuff. You forget who you are. You forget who to call on. Thanks be to our merciful Savior, who is always there for us. Even when we call the wrong number
Dear God, thank You for loving me even when I’m unfaithful to You. I’m so sorry. Amen.
Day 5
Scripture: Psalms 8:7-9
HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THY NAME!
When we experience an alpine walk along a misty trail. Or take in the moon’s reflection on a still, blue sea. When we hear a lion’s thunderous roar or the wind’s voice through swaying palms. Or don’t we feel a rush of awe when we see the ballet of the dolphins, the glistening fire of a rare gem, or the artwork in a peacock’s plumage? Don’t we feel a sweet ache in our hearts to be thankful—to someone? God’s creation is indeed full of beauty and wonder, and we should take great pleasure in His handiwork. We should explore His world. We should see with new eyes each morning. Delight in everything, from the smallest snowflake designs to the vaulting cliffs on the grandest mountains. As Christians, we do not worship creation but instead worship the one who is the Creator of such magnificence. A thankful heart full of praise is a form of prayer. Shall we thank Him and praise Him today? Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Prayer: Creator God, thank You for the beauty and wonder of Your handiwork. Give me grateful eyes to see it every day. Amen.
Day 6
Scripture: Psalms 30:11
EXPECT A MIRACLE
How do you rise up from your prayer time with the Lord? Be honest. As if nothing will really happen? As if your words have flowed from your heart and will spill into nothingness? Or perhaps you go away from your prayers with enthusiasm and heartfelt faith, but by the afternoon, you are weary and disheartened again. In a world that doesn’t believe in the supernatural, it is easy to make assumptions that a miracle is impossible. That miracles only happened in biblical times. Or the assumption that miracles seem to be for everyone—but you. And yet, that is not the truth. God does hear our prayers. He does listen. He will respond. He already knows our every need. Know that in His timing, our tears will turn to joy. That our hobbling, stumbling, pain-filled steps will turn to dancing. It will be in His way, His timing. Don’t struggle in this truth, but rest in its beauty. The Lord’s timing is perfect, and His answers are full of mercy, justice, and love.
Pray.
Expect a miracle.
Keep the faith.
Prayer: Sovereign God, forgive my unbelief, and give me great faith. Help me to trust in Your plans and remember that in all things, You work for the good of those who love You. Amen.
Day 7
Scripture: John 3:16
HOW TO KNOW CHRIST
Sometimes, people can go a lifetime without praying the most important, powerful, and life-changing prayer of all. Maybe they’ve cried out to God in a crisis, but they’ve never really walked with Him or accepted Him as their Redeemer. We can feel in our souls that this world is hurt and broken and that we are utterly lost. Yet there is hope. This spiritual answer—the only one that is true or lasting—is the redemption that comes from Jesus Christ. If you haven’t prayed the prayer of salvation, what keeps you from it? Despair? Pride? Lies from the enemy? If so, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to the truth and for a softening of the heart. He will not fail you.
And when you’re ready, pray with an earnest heart, “Lord Jesus, I admit that I have sinned. I cannot save myself. I acknowledge You, Jesus, as the Son of God—the only way to heaven—and as the Lord and Savior of my life. Please come live in me and make me all I was meant to be. Thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross and Your saving grace. I praise You for Your goodness and mercy and life everlasting. Help me to love You and follow You all the days of my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.”