or whenever you turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21, NKJV)
MORNING DEVOTION- "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee..." (Psalm 63:1)
Scripture Reading: Mark 1:35-39
We've spent the first couple of weeks in our journey together gaining a better understanding of how vital and important the role of prayer is in the life of the believer, and to the advancement of the kingdom of God. There is no one who has illustrated this connection better than the One Who was sent from heaven to bring "the good news of the kingdom of God" (reference Luke 4:43). Jesus' highest priority was maintaining His love relationship with the Father and fulfilling His Father's will on this earth. He was successful in His mission, because He, the living Word of God, devoted His life to prayer. "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission" (Hebrews 5:7). The Word of God and prayer are the necessary and fundamental components to successfully fulfill the great commission (reference Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 6:4).
Jesus not only taught His disciples how they should pray, He also clearly illustrated the importance of prayer by making it His daily priority to rise up early and to get alone by Himself to meet with the Father in prayer. It was His daily example which prompted the disciples' to ask Him to teach them how to pray (reference Luke 11:1). The very presence of Jesus on the earth was an act of the Father's jealous love for His creation, and His great desire to restore our broken relationship with Himself. Jesus displayed, with every word He spoke and every action He performed, the limitless love of the Father. Jesus' demonstrated His tremendous compassion for the people. He healed their diseases and rid them of their demons, but He had come to do more than just meet their physical needs. He knew how much more the people needed a living, loving connection to the heavenly Father, and meeting with the Father in prayer each day helped Him to stay on mission.
God has a mission for each one of His children. He wants to help us stay on task, to keep us focused and to not get distracted or discouraged. The success of our mission is dependent upon the time we spend in prayer. In this first account of Jesus praying we find Him going to a solitary place to be alone with the Father, and He did so "very early in the morning," before He even spoke to another person. His love for the people was great, but His love for, and dependence upon, the Father took priority. Prayer was the vital component that kept Him on mission despite the many pressing needs of the people which tugged at His heart each day. "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent" (Luke 4:43). May we follow this simple pattern for prayer the Lord has demonstrated for us, and be willing to rise early so we can meet with the Lord and ask Him to plan the steps He desires us to take each day. "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you" (Jeremiah 29:11, 12).
Heavenly Father,
As one of Your servants has
articulated well, "I have so much
to do today that I must take time to pray."
Help me to realize that there is nothing
of greater importance on my list than
spending this time with You before I begin my day.
How vital it is to everyone in my life that I first
make time to be with You, so I can
give them the very best of all that
I have received from You - Your life, Your breath,
Your love, Your peace, Your wisdom, and Your strength.
All that You are is all that I want and need
to walk this path You have so graciously prepared for me.
Please influence and guide every word I speak, thought I think,
and step I take today.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.
Everyone seemed to have their ideas of what Jesus should be doing and where He should be going, however, after spending time with His Father early in the morning, Jesus went and did only what the Father had directed Him to do. We can only imagine how much He loved being with the people and how great His desire was to help and heal them, but He knew He had limited time to accomplish what He had been sent to do, and because of that He kept His focus on the bigger Kingdom picture. As we take up our cross and follow Jesus each day, let us pray for a trusting, willing, and obedient heart that is fully surrendered to His plans for the day, and not just ask Him to give His approval to our plans. May we learn to surrender our plans so that His greater Kingdom purposes will be fulfilled in our lives and in the world. "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).
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: Luke 5:1-11
Sometimes we can be striving and working, believing all the while that we are doing exactly what the Lord has called us to do, but then wonder why we have little or nothing to show for all our effort. Such was the story of Peter and the other fishermen who had labored all day, but had nothing to show for all their hard work. It was there, in the midst of their weariness and disappointment, that the Lord showed up to teach them a simple, but important lesson. At the time, Peter probably didn't realize that the Lord had planned this little, but powerful, excursion to captivate his heart and to prepare him to be promoted to an even higher level of responsibility (reference v.10b).
Jesus called Peter to sit with Him in the boat while He taught the people. At the end of a long and disappointing day Peter probably would have rather gone home to take a shower and rest in his recliner; ultimately putting the day behind him. But the Lord had other plans for Peter; he was the captive audience the Lord was after that day. Sometimes in our weakest moments, when we are overcome with discouragement, anger, frustration, and confusion, the Lord whispers for us to just sit with Him for a moment. Oftentimes in the very place that caused us all our trouble in the first place. This is where persevering prayer faces its greatest challenge. In our flesh we just want to be done with the difficulty; we don't want to sit in it. It is human nature to want to run from difficulty and disappointment, but it is in the trials of life that we find our teachable moments. In the quietness and calm, Peter was able to reflect, and his ears were suddenly in tune to what the Lord was saying: "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets" (v.5).
All Peter needed, at the end of a difficult and disappointing day, was a holy time-out with the Lord. Refreshed and revitalized (and convicted) by the "living and active" Word of God (Hebrews 4:12), Peter was moved to obey. "Because You say so" was what the Lord wanted to hear. Those simple words of faith and surrender, which confirmed a believing heart, moved the Lord to bless Peter's sandals off. It was the kindness of God that led Peter to repent: "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" (v.8b). The Lord had captured the heart of Peter fully, and the purposes of God were revealed: "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men" (v.10b). The Lord is looking for how we respond to the challenges we face each day. Whether or not we will believe and trust Him enough to take the time necessary to sit with Him and reflect on our circumstances and learn from Him and if we are willing to "be still and know that [He is] God" and trust that He knows the plans He has for us and be willing to surrender our will to obey His Word.
Heavenly Father,
I guard Your teachings as the
apple of my eye (Proverbs 7:2).
May I hold Your Word dear and
close to my heart and never do
even the least thing that will offend You.
May my life be ever precious in Your sight.
Teach me in the way I should go,
and help me to be a diligent student.
Give me a willing and humble heart
that will always trust and obey
Your every instruction and command.
Thank You for the perfect pattern You
have provided through Your Son, Jesus Christ,
In Whose Name I pray. Amen.
Jesus desires that we would experience the same union and fellowship with the Father as He patterned for us while He lived on this earth. It is here, in the quiet moments of the day, when we carve out time to be with Him that we reconfirm our calling and receive the power we need to continue the mission we have been given. For those who are engaged in public ministry and work it is vital to do as Jesus did and have a time of retreat in solitude with the Father each day to find the necessary rest and refreshment so that your efforts will be more effective and impactful. May our faithfulness in prayer provide a pattern for other believers to follow that will lead them to experience a deeper, more intimate, abiding and fruitful relationship with the Father. Take time this afternoon to stop in the midst of all the chaos and busyness of the day and lift up a prayer of gratitude to the Father - realizing that the greater your desire to spend time with Him, the more pressure will come against you to keep you away. "I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me" (Romans 15:30). Let us keep praying for all the saints!
EVENING MEDITATION -"...and on His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:2)
Scripture Reading: Psalm 63
This Psalm of David was written when he was seeking refuge in the strongholds of the Judean wilderness. While King Saul was searching for David, David was seeking God's help. David's life hung in the balance, but instead of being fearful of his circumstances he clung to the One Who truly held his life in His hands. This Psalm expresses the joy and peace David found in fellowship with God as he waited for the Lord's deliverance. The Lord's desire for His children, before we even walk out the door, run to that appointment, or cast out our nets, is that we first seek His face to know the way we should go and how to walk in it (reference Isaiah 30:21). "Pray to the Lord to tell us where we should go and what we should do" (Jeremiah 42:3). Meditate on this Psalm this evening and write out your own prayer of thanksgiving for the desert times when you have had to learn to depend on the Lord more fully. Ask the Lord to give you clarity in the midst of the challenges and trials you may be facing today, so that you can see His bigger plan and purpose for your life; and be willing to accept His instruction to grow and learn from your current circumstances so He can entrust you with more of His kingdom plans as you mature in your response to each new trial and show yourself faithful in the little things. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you in becoming a faithful steward with all the time, talent, gifting, resources, knowledge, and people He has entrusted to your care.
Heavenly Father,
"God, You are my God;
early will I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You;
my flesh longs for You
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
to see Your power and Your glory.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
