MORNING DEVOTION- "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee..." (Psalm 63:1)
Scripture Reading: Exodus 4:31
When Elijah stood before the Lord and prayed in the presence of all the people of Israel the Lord's response came with fire that consumed his offering. When all the people saw this, "they fell prostrate and cried, 'The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" (I Kings 18:39). The people were immediately humbled at the sight of God's mighty display of power. Their posture in that moment revealed that they recognized that He, not Baal, is the Lord. "Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again" (v.37).
The apostle Paul explained at Corinth that the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. We have been given divine power "to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4-6). The people of Elijah's day were gripped by the stronghold of idolatry, and Elijah was called by God to attack the imposing force that was keeping all the people in spiritual bondage by employing the powerful weapon of prayer. Elijah's prayer opened heaven and fire rained down, the sacrifice was consumed, and the once proud idolatrous people fell humbly on their faces before the Lord, and were released from the stronghold that had held them captive.
In our short reading this morning, the people of Israel were so overcome by the holy visitation of the Lord that they bowed their heads in worship. The Lord had come to deliver them, and they were humbled at the word. How dearly we need this reminder that the Lord is concerned with the afflictions of His people. How much we need to hear the anguish of His heart over the condition of His people. "I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey - " (Exodus 3:7-8a). This morning may we take the time to bow with reverence and awe at the feet of the One who loves us with an everlasting love, and who will never leave us or forsake us. He came to deliver us and set us free, and He has laid within our hearts the key to unlocking the chains of those in spiritual prisons all over this land. May we go out and bring the word that will cause the people around us to declare, "The Lord, He is God!"
Heavenly Father,
There are times when I am so overwhelmed
by Your goodness and mercy
that my floor is soaked with tears of gratitude.
You reveal Yourself both in extraordinary and simple ways
to Your creation everyday. Help us to recognize Your
loving presence in our lives each day,
and to look beyond the uncertainty of our present circumstances
to see You high and lifted up, seated on Your throne,
that we find ourselves
overcome with awe and reverence
for Your beauty and majesty
that we fall on our faces in worship.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Moses was so overcome by the evil and sin that the Israelites committed he fell prostrate before the LORD for forty days and forty nights. He had just come off the mountain of the Lord with the Law, and the intimacy that he had experienced while resting in the presence of God enabled him to feel the depths of God's anger and wrath towards the sin of the people (Deuteronomy 9:18-19). When we lay prostrate before the Lord, completely surrendered and humbled with our faces in the dust, we place ourselves in a position to experience the very heart of God. Moses was so in tune to the Lord's view of sin that he stood (laid) in the gap on behalf of all the people. May our time with the Lord these 40 days renew our view of how great and holy our God is, and how great His wrath towards wickedness and sin is, that we will be willing to prostrate ourselves in unceasing prayer until the moral and spiritual fog is lifted over this land and we can march forth as the army of God we were purposed to be to wield our mighty spiritual weapons and set the captives free! Pray this morning for those in your circle of influence who are so blinded by the world that they do not have eyes to see or ears to hear the great love of our Father in heaven who has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to deliver them from captivity.
AFTERNOON DEVOTION -"Evening, and morning, and noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice" (Psalm 55:17, KJV).
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 3:14
The posture of prayer takes many forms: From kneeling (reference Acts 20:36), sitting (reference 10:39), standing (reference John 3:29), lying in bed (reference Psalm 4:8), to prostrating oneself on the floor before the Lord. Whatever the position we may choose to pray in, we are expressing our faith in, and dependence upon, God, and acknowledging that He alone is worthy of our praise and worship.
Our posture of prayer is an expression of how serious and urgent our prayers are. When Jesus was in the garden, fervently praying to the Father in those final moments before going to the cross, "He fell with His face to the ground and prayed" (Matthew 26:39). The urgency of the hour, and the extremeness of the circumstances surrounding Him, warranted such humiliation and surrender. In contrast, the disciples posture of slumbering when their Lord was suffering, revealed the weakness of their flesh, and lack of spiritual understanding to the struggle their Friend was going through.
The Word of God gives examples of the various postures one can take in prayer: Daniel prayed three times a day on his knees (reference Daniel 6:10); Peter kneltto pray over Tabitha, raising her from the dead (reference Acts 9:40); Jehoshaphat called the people of Judah to stand with him in the presence of the Lord until they received deliverance (reference 2 Chronicles 20:9); King David, awed by God's goodness and sovereignty of purpose, satbefore the Lord in prayer (reference 2 Samuel 7:18); the Psalmist remembered the Lord at night from their bed (Psalm 4:4; 63:6); and Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Job, Ezekiel, and Jesus all found themselves prostrated before the Lord.
The posture of prayer is a symbol of the posture of our heart. Whether we are sitting, standing, or lying on our face, the Lord is looking more for the posture of our hearts. "This is the one I esteem; he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2b). The true posture in prayer is one of absolute dependence upon the Father. Our faithfulness to meet with Him in prayer each day - morning, noon, and night - is evidence of how deeply dependent we are upon Him. "I will bow down toward Your holy temple and will praise Your name for Your love and Your faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word" (Psalm 138:2).
Heavenly Father,
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Give me eyes to see the grave condition of man
and ears to hear the cries of those in need.
Move me from my place of comfort
to pray for those who have no peace or comfort
that they might find rest and deliverance in You.
In Jesus' Name. Amen
May we avail ourselves as weapons in God's arsenal (reference Isaiah 49:2) that He might call upon us out of our comfort and complacency to pray at any hour of the day in our chairs, on our knees, standing on our feet, or with our face to the floor, to demolish the strongholds of this world and pour out blessing from heaven. May we find ourselves so uncomfortable over the condition of our own hearts, and those of our fellow man, that we will be willing to surrender our own comfort that they may see the glory of God in the midst of their trial and experience His deliverance and salvation. This afternoon, take time to consider the trials and difficulties you are facing and ask the Lord to give you the eyes to see your circumstances (or someone else's) through His eyes. Ask Him to give you the sensitivity of heart to feel the pain of others as deeply as you have, or are presently feeling, so that you can pray more fervently and specifically for those needs because you personally understand what others are walking through. Acknowledge that every difficulty is an opportunity to grow in deeper dependence upon the Lord, and to take on His heart so you can receive more of His love to pour into the lives of others who desperately need to know His great love.
EVENING MEDITATION -"...and on His law he meditates day and night" (Ps. 1:2)
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 5:6-7
The elders of Israel were so humbled to hear that the Lord had heard their cries and He was so moved with compassion to help them, that they fell on their faces and worshiped Him (reference Exodus 4:31). The very thought that the Creator of the Universe thinks about us and acts on our behalf should bring us to our knees, if not completely our faces, in humility, reverence, and awe. The Greeks found humility to be a sign of weakness, but to Jesus it is the very foundation of Christian character. "Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4). God's favor rests on the humble (reference 2 Chronicles 7:14); He dwells with the humble (reference Isaiah 57:15); and it is the supreme requirement of His covenant of love. "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). If we aren't willing to humble ourselves, we will surely find ourselves in a position to be humbled (reference Luke 14:11).
Heavenly Father,
I lay myself at Your feet
humbled that You even think of me.
As I lay here resting in Your presence
show me what You would have me to do.
The utmost desire of my heart and my deepest prayer
is to bring pleasure and honor to You.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
If you are physically able to lay on the floor, take time this evening to spread out a prayer blanket and humble yourself before the Lord. Lay at His feet as Ruth laid at the feet of her kinsman-redeemer and waited for him to cover her with the corner of his blanket (Ruth 3:1-9). You are covered in the infinite and eternal love of the Father. How deeply He loves you and cares for you and desires for you to rest in His wonderful and tender care. Cast all your cares upon the Lord. Pour out your heart like water. Weep on behalf of those who have not yet experienced the extraordinary and awesome love of our Heavenly Father. "Be still and know that [He is] God" (Psalm 46:10a).
