the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints."
(2 Corinthians 8:4)
MORNING DEVOTION- "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee..." (Psalm 63:1)
Scripture Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
As we discussed yesterday, our primary purpose and highest aim as the children of God is to glorify our heavenly Father. We accomplish this when we pray according to His perfect will and good purpose. As His children we are to reflect God's glory. It is vital that we nurture this vital connection with our heavenly Father through prayer, so that the Lord Jesus is revealed in our lives with ever-increasing glory. Our Father in heaven has given us the high and holy privilege to come before Him with our requests, and it is the Lord Jesus' occupation to bring glory to the Father by hearing and answering our requests. It should be our greatest prayer to give our whole lives up to the glory of the Father. Let our prayer be for nothing less than His absolute best for our lives, and for His highest honor and glory.
Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross and resurrected from the grave so we could have access to the Father. This privilege in prayer was purchased at the highest cost. The knowledge of this alone should convict all of God's children to not waste a single opportunity to spend time with the Father in prayer. "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Colossians 4:2). This extraordinary privilege comes with great responsibility. We are called to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), so that the Lord's Kingdom purposes will be achieved "on earth as it is in heaven." It is imperative that we exercise our divine responsibility in prayer, and recognize it as the secret to all power for life.
The early church was faithful in prayer. They understood that to fulfill God's good purposes for their lives, and ultimately His Kingdom, they must not neglect this holy privilege. The success of their work was entirely dependent upon prayer. Therefore, "They all joined together constantly in prayer..." (Acts 1:14). Every time we pray we give the Lord opportunity to build our faith in God's ability to answer us when we call. May our life in Christ become a life of prayer; a blessed and holy life of faith, at peace, in the presence of God. May we live our lives with such a longing for God's love to consume our own lives, and to fill every human heart, so that His glory will be revealed in the world. Let us pray for the entire Body of Christ to awaken to become a faithful people of prayer, who pray without ceasing, and draw continuous strength from heaven to fulfill His work on earth.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the life of Christ which dwells within us
to help us to pray as we ought.
Teach us how to pray as You do, Lord Jesus.
Show us how to exercise our holy privilege in prayer
so we can fulfill Your highest purposes.
Open our heart to more of You
so every part of us is given over to
the pleasure and use of
Your good and perfect will.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Prayer is a holy privilege entrusted to God's children. When we begin to pray as we should the church will begin to see the power of Jesus Christ manifested. The coming of the Kingdom of God is waiting on the prayers of the Church. May our daily prayers be for the awakening of the Church to its deficiency of power because of our lack of prayer. Let us pray for the teaching of prayer to begin to take priority in our churches, and the proclamation of the full counsel of God's Word to fill our pulpits. How dearly we must pray for our pastors. Let us, also, remember who we are in Christ, and what privilege we have been given as the sons and daughters of the Most High God. All the riches of heaven's storehouse have been unlocked to us, and we have been given free and unlimited access to the Father's infinite treasury. Let us repent that we have not received the blessings our heavenly Father has for us because we have not asked as we ought. May we begin today to pray for all of God's children to open their hearts wide to the great love and provision of the Father who desires more than anything to bless His dear children.
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: Mark 2:1-12
As followers of Jesus Christ, when we pray for others we stand in the gap of faith. The Lord moves our hearts to pray oftentimes for those who just don't have the strength to cry out to God on their own, or who might not even have the faith to believe. As the Lord's royal priesthood, we have been set apart for the occupation of intercession. It is in this work that we are most like Christ. There is no greater privilege than to speak to God on behalf of men, and to be able to draw power from heaven on their behalf. As His children, we have been given this powerful privilege and wondrous gift to bring healing, freedom, help, encouragement, faith, and salvation to those whom the Lord has placed in our sphere of influence.
In our Scripture reading this afternoon, we find an act of true friendship on display. A dear friend was crippled and in need of healing, and those closest to him didn't allow any obstacle in their path to hinder their efforts to place their friend in the presence of the Great Physician. They believed whole-heartedly that an encounter with Jesus Christ was what their friend needed most in the world, and they were willing to do whatever was necessary to get him to the Lord. "Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus..." (v.4a).
While Jesus was teaching fragments of the ceiling were falling on His head, calling His attention to an act of desperation. When Jesus looked up, He saw great persevering faith, and undying friendship and love, and He answered their request in a way that was immeasurably more than they could ever have asked for or imagined. "Son, your sins are forgiven" (v. 5b). These faithful friends, desiring to meet their friends' most immediate need, believed God for healing, but Jesus gave them exceedingly abundantly more by meeting their friends' most deepest need of forgiveness.
When God burdens our hearts to pray for others, we don't always know how we should pray, but we do know that we must pray. All we are required to do is bring them into the presence of God, and let Him decide what is best for them. God knows exactly how He will answer, because He knows their deepest need, and will answer in a way that will ultimately accomplish His higher purposes for their lives, and achieve that which brings the greatest glory to the Father. May those who are physically disabled, crippled, bedridden and paralyzed remind us how much of the world is spiritually paralyzed and crippled because they do not have the personal, abiding, and intimate relationship with God found through salvation in Christ Jesus. May we take on God's heart, and ask that our hearts would become more deeply burdened for the wounded, homeless, helpless, hopeless, and lost of the world, and be willing to do whatever is necessary, including praying without ceasing, in order that they are brought into the presence of the Father to find the healing they so desperately need.
Heavenly Father,
Help me to be the kind of friend
that will go to whatever lengths necessary in prayer
to see that my friends encounter You
and receive the help and healing they need.
In Jesus' Name. Amen
It is good to gather with a few friends to pray fervently for a dear friend in need. There is power when two or three are gathered in God's name. Together we can lay hold of every precious promise the Lord has to meet their needs. There is no greater help we can offer our friends then to pray for them. There is no greater privilege then to speak to God on their behalf. We achieve the greatest power for them when we intercede on their behalf and cry out to Jesus to help them. Take time this afternoon to pray for those people whom the Lord has entrusted to your prayers. Do not neglect them in their hour of need. Call on some friends to join you if the burden is too heavy for one person to bear. Ask God to bring them the help and healing they need so they can pick up their mat and follow after Jesus - accessing the power they need to be able to pursue Him for themselves. Persevere in prayer until the ceiling of heaven breaks open to them, and the answer they need is given. "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
EVENING MEDITATION -"...and on His law he meditates day and night" (Ps. 1:2)
Scripture Reading: Psalm 68:19
We have the tremendous privilege as children of God, of praying to the one true God who hears and answers our prayers when we cry out to Him. "What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to Him?" (Deuteronomy 4:7). We, also, have been given the privilege of interceding on behalf of the helpless, the hopeless, the homeless, the afflicted, the widowed, the orphaned, friends, and family, both near and far away. When the Lord burdens our hearts to pour His love into the life of another person the most immediate and powerful thing we can do is to pray for them. The greatest gift we can draw from the treasury of heaven for our friends is the infinite love of the Father. May we be a pure and open channel through which the Father's love can flow into the lives of those He desires to reach. "As for me, far be it for me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you" (1 Samuel 12:23a).
In the late 1800's a man named Joseph Scriven had given his life completely over to the service of God, and spent his later years "helping the underprivileged, assisting the handicapped, the poverty-stricken, the ill, and the imprisoned." He was a lonely man who suffered great tragedy on two separate occasions with the death of two brides on the evening before each of their weddings were to take place. Joseph was a man deeply acquainted with sorrow. He had few close friends on earth, but he found in the Lord Jesus his most faithful and trusted friend. This evening let us meditate on the words of his beautiful poem he wrote to his mother when she was seriously ill. It was originally entitled, "Pray without Ceasing," but later given a new title when it was set to music by a composer. Feel free to sing this song as a prayer to your Faithful and Trustworthy Friend; who will never leave nor forsake you, no matter what troubles you are facing. "Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16).
What a Friend We Have in Jesus*
by Joseph Scriven
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer!
Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged, Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful. Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness, Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge; Take it to the Lord in prayer:
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He'll take and shield thee; Thou wilt find a solace there.
Heavenly Father,
What a privilege it is to carry everything to You in prayer.
How it must be the anguish of Your
heart to watch Your dear children
suffering needless pain and loneliness
when You are waiting to gather us
up in Your arms, bidding us to come
to You with our heavy and cumbersome burdens,
and desiring for us to lay them to rest at Your feet.
Thank You for being the faithful and true friend who is
always present, ready to listen, and willing to help.
Thank You that You are always interceding on our behalf.
May our greatest sorrows be over the truth
that we have not availed ourselves more
often of the privilege we have as Your
well-beloved children
to take hold of all that You have
so willingly and generously placed within our reach.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
*Scriven, Joseph. What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Hymns of Faith & Inspiration. By Pamela J. Kennedy. Nashville: Ideals Publications, 1990. p. 127.
