Daily Prayer_January 4, 2011

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 4:6-7 (HCSB)
⁶ Don't abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you. ⁷ Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 145:8 (HCSB)
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love.

The Word for encouragement:

Luke 1:11-13 (HCSB)
¹¹ An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overcome with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.

Luke 1:18-20 (HCSB)
¹⁸ "How can I know this?" Zechariah asked the angel. "For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years." ¹⁹ The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. ²⁰ Now listen! You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

My observation:

It is commendable that Zacharias and the people of God had enough faith in God to keep on going to the temple of God to pray daily. God's silence and God's delay in answering prayer is not an indication that he has not heard our prayers. The life of Zacharias and Elizabeth is a worthy example for us to follow when it comes to perseverance in prayer.

Luke 1:6 (HCSB)
Both were righteous in God's sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord.

However, there is another aspect of this account that should be instructive to us. We need faith to persevere in prayer, but we also need faith to receive the answer to our prayer. We must always keep our eyes on God, and looking at his ability rather than placing our focus on ourselves, and our limitations. Faith in God will liberate you from your limitations. With that freedom we should, in faith, open our mouths wide to give praise to our great and gracious God for hearing and answering our prayers.

My prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, I extol you for your greatness and your grace. Lord, I thank you for the gift of faith that opens the door to your storehouse of blessings. Father, I pray that my faith will be sufficient for asking and receiving from your great hands and gracious heart.

Psalm 145:3 (HCSB)
Yahweh is great and is highly praised; His greatness is unsearchable.

My song:

They That Wait on the Lord (Click on link to listen to this song):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wcdY2v5Kio

--

My blog: Sharing the Word of God Daily
http://www.herbcotton.org
To receive via email: Send request to me at: herb@herbcotton.org

Current topic: A Proverb a day for wisdom, and a Psalm a day for inspiration.

 

Philippians 4:6 (HCSB)
Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

 





 

Daily Prayer_January 3, 2011

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 3:21-26 (TLB)
²¹ Have two goals: wisdom—that is, knowing and doing right—and common sense. Don't let them slip away, ²² for they fill you with living energy and bring you honor and respect. ²³ They keep you safe from defeat and disaster and from stumbling off the trail. ²⁴ With them on guard you can sleep without fear; you need not be afraid of disaster or the plots of wicked men, for the Lord is with you; he protects you. ^{25 26}

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 145:2 (HCSB)
I will praise You every day; I will honor Your name forever and ever.

The Word for encouragement:

Luke 1:5 (HCSB)
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah's division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Luke 1:8-10 (HCSB)
⁸ When his division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ it happened that he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.

My observation:

I'm back after a brief time off from writing the blog. It's a New Year, and I will start with a new topic. However, I will continue to draw from the wisdom of the Proverbs, and the inspiration of the Psalms. I have been wanting for some time to do an examination of the emphasis in Luke on the topic of prayer. Luke tells us the purpose for his writing this gospel account.

Luke 1:3-4 (HCSB)
³ It also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, ⁴ so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.

Today we will examine the first occurrence of prayer reported by Luke. God's people had gone through a dry spell of 400 years of not hearing from God's angels or his prophets. However, God always has a group of people that will remain faithful and hopeful.

When God is planning to do something new in the world he communicates to his people through prayer. Zechariah was faithful in carrying out his priestly duties, but the people of God were also faithful in participating in the daily offering of prayer by the priest.

Luke 1:10-11 (HCSB)
¹⁰ At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. ¹¹ An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

When you pray you can expect to hear from God. Don't be discouraged by the passage of time while you wait on God. You can always depend upon God to show up at the right time, and he has never missed an appointment with his people.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I delight to join with the Psalmist in extolling the name of the Lord, and giving you the praise that you alone deserve. Father God, my aim is to bless your name every day, and to continue as long as I have life and breath. Lord, today I bless you because you are great, and greatly to be praised. Father God, I am blessed to be able to have an audience daily with such an awesome God.

My song:

What a Friend (Click on link below to listen to this song):

http://biblestudycharts.com/SH_What_a_Friend_v1.html

--

My blog: Sharing the Word of God Daily
http://www.herbcotton.org
To receive via email: Send request to me at: herb@herbcotton.org

Current topic: A Proverb a day for wisdom, and a Psalm a day for inspiration.

 

Philippians 4:6 (HCSB)
Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

 





 

Daily Prayer_December 21, 2010

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 21:31 (HCSB)
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory comes from the Lord.

Proverbs 21:31 (MSG)
Do your best, prepare for the worst— then trust God to bring victory.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 35:9-10 (HCSB)
⁹ Then I will rejoice in the Lord; I will delight in His deliverance. ¹⁰ My very bones will say, "Lord, who is like You, rescuing the poor from one too strong for him, the poor or the needy from one who robs him?"

Psalm 35:27-28 (HCSB)
²⁷ Let those who want my vindication shout for joy and be glad; let them continually say, "The Lord be exalted. He takes pleasure in His servant's well-being." ²⁸ And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness, Your praise all day long.

My observation:

The focal passage for today is a wonderful one to close out my sharing with family and friends this year. I will take time off from writing for the rest of this month. However, I will be back in January. It is good to know as we prepare for a New Year that we don't have to face a single day worrying about the future, and what it might bring. Whatever we have to face we don't have to face it alone. We can do our best, and trust God to bring victory.

Here are two examples from the Old Testament that tells us how knowing this truth, and heeding it brings victory. The first example is David the writer of today's focal Psalm. In addition to the focal passage, David also said this on another occasion.

Psalm 27:3 (HCSB)
Though an army deploys against me, my heart is not afraid; though a war breaks out against me, still I am confident.

David never lost sight of this truth. He was not perfect, but he served a perfect God. David trusted in the Lord with his whole heart no matter what he encountered in life.

Asa is another who knew this truth, and he started out well, and the Lord blessed him, and gave him many victories. However, he did not end well.

2 Chronicles 14:11 (HCSB)
Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God: "Lord, there is no one besides You to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on You, and in Your name we have come against this large army. Yahweh, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder You."

2 Chronicles 16:9-10 (HCSB)
⁹ For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on." ¹⁰ Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison because of his anger over this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at that time.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I am so thankful that You watch over your people. David and Asa provide wonderful examples for us. Father, I would rather put my trust in the King of Heaven like David than in the kings of this world like Asa did in the latter years of his reign as king. God's servant tried to warn Asa, but he would not listen.

 Father God, I pray that I will be quick to repent when I am wrong. Lord, I want to be included in the choir with David, and those who rejoice because of the victories that the Lord is faithful to give to his people who trust in him. Lord, I want to be with those who go the distance with the Lord, those who never give in or give up.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and have a BLESSED NEW YEAR.

My song:

Hallelujah Chorus (Click on link below to listen to this classic):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE

--

My blog: Sharing the Word of God Daily
http://www.herbcotton.org
To receive via email: Send request to me at: herb@herbcotton.org

Current topic: A Proverb a day for wisdom, and a Psalm a day for inspiration.

 

Philippians 4:6 (HCSB)
Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

 





 

Daily Prayer_December 20, 2010

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 20:27 (HCSB)
The Lord's lamp ⌊sheds light on⌋ a person's life, searching the innermost parts.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 35:1-3 (HCSB)
¹ Oppose my opponents, Lord; fight those who fight me. ² Take Your shields—large and small— and come to my aid. ³ Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers, and assure me: "I am your deliverance."

Psalm 35:11-12 (HCSB)
¹¹ Malicious witnesses come forward; they question me about things I do not know. ¹² They repay me evil for good, making me desolate.

Psalm 35:23-24 (HCSB)
²³ Wake up and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord! ²⁴ Vindicate me, Lord my God, in keeping with Your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me.

My observation:

Todays focal passage from the Psalm presents two problems that David sought the help of the Lord. The first was his attackers and the second was his accusers. You and I will have to deal with these types of foes at some point in our Christian life. Our chief foe is Satan, and he would like to murder all of God's children if he could. He is behind those who attack and accuse God's children.

John 8:44 (HCSB)
You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars.

However, we don't have to be discouraged or despondent. The Lord is our helper and our defender, and he will not allow Satan to have the upper hand over his children. We can take comfort in knowing that the Lord is our deliverer. Whether it is your foes on the battlefield, or your accuser in the courtroom, the Lord will fight for us.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, the words of the psalmist is a comfort to my heart today. The struggle of living in a fallen world gets tiring, and it is a battle that you never intended for your people to fight.

Father God, I thank you that you provide deliverance for your people from their attackers and their accusers. Father, like your servant David, when we are under attack we need to hear those calming words from your mouth, "I am your deliverance".

My song:

No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus (Click on link below to listen to this song):

http://biblestudycharts.com/SH_No_One_Ever_Cared.html

--

My blog: Sharing the Word of God Daily
http://www.herbcotton.org
To receive via email: Send request to me at: herb@herbcotton.org

Current topic: A Proverb a day for wisdom, and a Psalm a day for inspiration.

 

Philippians 4:6 (HCSB)
Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

 





 

Sunday Morning Reflections_December 19, 2010

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 20:5 (HCSB)
Counsel in a man's heart is deep water; but a man of understanding draws it out.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 90:9-12 (HCSB)
⁹ For all our days ebb away under Your wrath; we end our years like a sigh. ¹⁰ Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away. ¹¹ Who understands the power of Your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due You. ¹² Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

The Word for inspiration:

Isaiah 9:6 (HCSB)
For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Romans 8:35-39 (HCSB)
³⁵ Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, ⌊hostile⌋ powers, ³⁹ height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank you that the Promised Messiah has come, and that he finished the work you sent him to do. Father God, I thank you that Jesus is alive today. Father, I thank you that because of Jesus, nothing can separate us from you or from our precious Savior.

--

My blog: Sharing the Word of God Daily
http://www.herbcotton.org
To receive via email: Send request to me at: herb@herbcotton.org

Current topic: A Proverb a day for wisdom, and a Psalm a day for inspiration.

 

Philippians 4:6 (HCSB)
Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

 





 

Daily Prayer_December 17, 2010

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 17:17 (HCSB)
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 34:22 (HCSB)
The Lord redeems the life of His servants, and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.

My observation:

The entire Psalm up to this verse is an acrostic in the original language. This verse stands alone, and is a summary of what the Lord will do for his believing people.

The Lord redeems his people. David's habit was to give praise when praise is due, and praise is due to the Lord. If you have a story of personal redemption, you ought to give the Lord some praise. My story is really his story. If it had not been for the Lord, and what he did for me, I would not have a story.

Psalm 107:1-3 (HCSB)
¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever. ² Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim that He has redeemed them from the hand of the foe ³ and has gathered them from the lands— from the east and the west, from the north and the south.

My prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, I will be forever grateful that because of my faith in Jesus, my Savior, that I can say that I am redeemed. Thank you Lord for doing for me what I could not do for myself. Without the Lord in my life I would surely be guilty; without hope and without a helper. But, with Jesus I have everything I need today and forever.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (HCSB)
He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

My song:

Without God I Could Do Nothing (Click on link below to listen to Bishop G.E. Patterson sing):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkjKvs-35D4&feature=related

--

My blog: Sharing the Word of God Daily
http://www.herbcotton.org
To receive via email: Send request to me at: herb@herbcotton.org

Current topic: A Proverb a day for wisdom, and a Psalm a day for inspiration.

 

Philippians 4:6 (HCSB)
Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

 





 

Daily Prayer_December 16, 2010

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 16:24 (NLT)
Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 34:19 (HCSB)
Many adversities come to the one who is righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all.

My observation:

When you think about adversity it comes in many forms. However, I have observed that it comes eventually into the lives of everyone. It comes in the lives of the old, but it also visits the lives of the young. The rich and the poor have to face and deal with adversity.

Today's Psalm is a reminder to us that the righteous have to face adversity. However, there is a big difference in how the Lord deals with adversity faced by the unrighteous and the righteous. First, notice how he deals with the unrighteous.

Psalm 34:16 (HCSB)
The face of the Lord is set against those who do what is evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth.

Conversely, notice how the Lord deals with the righteous when they have to face adversity in their lives.

Psalm 34:17 (HCSB)
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord has set the criteria by which he will respond in the times when we face adversity.

Psalm 34:18 (HCSB)
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.

David understood this criteria and he embraced it. He chose to seek the nearness of God, and to do it God's way.

Psalm 51:17 (HCSB)
The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.

Psalm 51:1-2 (HCSB)
¹ Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. ² Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.

My prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, I am so grateful for the graciousness that is exhibited by the loving favor that you give freely to your obedient children. Lord, I know that I can make it through any adversity when the Lord is near me to deliver me from all of my troubles.

My song:

Close to Thee (Click on link below to listen to this song):

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/386

--

My blog: Sharing the Word of God Daily
http://www.herbcotton.org
To receive via email: Send request to me at: herb@herbcotton.org

Current topic: A Proverb a day for wisdom, and a Psalm a day for inspiration.

 

Philippians 4:6 (HCSB)
Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.