Daily Prayer_January 7, 2011

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 7:1-3 (MSG)
¹ Dear friend, do what I tell you; treasure my careful instructions. ² Do what I say and you'll live well. My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it! ³ Write it out on the back of your hands; etch it on the chambers of your heart.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 145:15-16 (HCSB)
¹⁵ All eyes look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time. ¹⁶ You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Word for encouragement:

Luke 3:21-22 (HCSB)
²¹ When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying, heaven opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son. I take delight in You!

My observation:

In today's passage Luke records the first occurrence of Jesus praying. At the most important events in his life and ministry on earth Luke records Jesus turning to prayer. This tells us how much Jesus depended upon prayer. If Jesus needed to pray in his life then certainly we need to pray.

The life of Jesus gives us a wonderful role model of what obedience to God looks like. In this passage we see Jesus being baptized and praying; both are acts of obedience to his heavenly Father.

When Jesus prayed, the book says, "As He was praying, heaven opened". What an awesome sight and affirmation that must have been for Jesus. While he was praying Jesus experienced the appearance and approval of the divine Godhead. Jesus experienced the power of the Holy Spirit and the approval and favor of God the Father.

Why would you do anything in your life without prayer? Jesus didn't, and neither should we. There is nothing that you need in your life and your ministry that heaven can't supply. You hold the key to the storehouse in your hands, it is prayer.

Philippians 4:6 (MSG)
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.

My prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise you for your generosity. Father, I thank you for the open invitation to bring all of our needs and our concerns to you in prayer. Lord, may I learn to be obedient like Jesus by meeting you in prayer before I do anything and having you fill my empty cup.

My song:

Fill My Cup Lord (Click on link below to listen to this song):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4l2yY2r95g

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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 6, 2011

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 6:23 (HCSB)
For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 145:11-12 (HCSB)
¹¹ They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom and will declare Your might, ¹² informing ⌊all⌋ people of Your mighty acts and of the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.

The Word for encouragement:

Luke 2:36-38 (HCSB)
³⁶ There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ and was a widow for 84 years. She did not leave the temple complex, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers. ³⁸ At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about Him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

My observation:

Today we look at the next mention of prayer in the gospel of Luke. This woman devoted most of her life to the temple ministry after the death of her husband. She was limited in what she was able to do, but she was not useless. She was not despondent by what she could not do. Rather, she was faithful in what she could do.

She did not sit around and complain about her misfortune of having her husband for only seven years after their marriage. Instead she made a decision to give herself in service to the Lord for the next 84 years. She was a woman of faith and prayer, and God used her for his glory, and to be a blessing in the lives of others.

God reserves special blessings for his servants who devote themselves to continually living in his presence like Anna did for her whole life.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank you for the privilege of being able to continuously live in your presence through prayer and the word of God. Lord, I praise you and delight to speak of your glory.

Psalm 145:11-12 (MSG)
¹¹ your holy people bless you. They talk about the glories of your rule, they exclaim over your splendor, ¹² Letting the world know of your power for good, the lavish splendor of your kingdom.

My song:

When We Walk with the Lord (Click on link below to listen to this song):

http://biblestudycharts.com/SH_Trust_and_Obey.html

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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 5, 2011

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 5:21 (HCSB)
For a man's ways are before the Lord's eyes, and He considers all his paths.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 145:9 (MSG)
God is good to one and all; everything he does is suffused with grace.

The Word for encouragement:

Luke 1:35 (HCSB)
The angel replied to her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:37-38 (HCSB)
³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God." ³⁸ "I am the Lord's slave," said Mary. "May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:45 (HCSB)
She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled!"

My observation:

Here we see an example of God's servant, Mary the mother of our Lord, who passed the faith test. When you are highly favored by the Lord, what is there to fear or doubt?  Mary was able to cast her eyes upon her Lord and his great power, and not upon her own weaknesses and inadequacies. It takes a deep-seated faith to trust in the Lord with your whole heart, but the rewards are worth it.

It is not the size of your faith but the object of your faith that makes the difference. I delight to put my faith in Mary's God for he is the Father of my Lord and Savior Jesus the messiah.

My prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank you for your goodness and your amazing grace that you give to your believing children. Father God, I pray for more faith. My heart sings "O for grace to trust you more".

My song:

Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus (Click on link below to listen to this song):

http://biblestudycharts.com/SH_Tis_So_Sweet.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_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

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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.