THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place… But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.”  (2 Chronicles 7:14-15, 19-20 NKJV)

On this National Day of Prayer (in the U.S.A.), the words of 2 Chronicles 7 once again resonate as a powerful invitation and promise. God calls His people to approach Him with humility, repentance, and sincere prayer. The condition is clear: when we seek His face and turn from the ways that distance us from Him, He responds with grace, forgiveness, and healing -- not only for our individual hearts but for the land we inhabit together.

Almighty God, we seek Your guidance and wisdom. Grant our leaders the humility to serve with integrity and the strength to uphold justice and compassion. May they remember that true power lies not in dominance, but in service to others. Help them to resist the temptations of pride and greed, and to always act in the best interest of all the people they serve. Guide their hearts and minds to make decisions that promote peace, equality, and the common good. Let them be ever mindful of the responsibility they bear and the trust placed in them by the people.

Lord, this day reminds us of the immense privilege and power we have in prayer. We pray not just for our own needs but for the healing and restoration of our nation, for unity amidst division, for the weak and vulnerable to be protected, and for righteousness to shine in the places where darkness prevails. Your promise to hear us is unchanging, and Your faithfulness invites us to trust You more deeply.

Sovereign God, we ask for Your protection and blessings upon our nation, and for the courage to stand against any abuse of power. May our leaders be a reflection of Your love and grace, leading with humility and a steadfast commitment to justice and mercy.

In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

#6106

IN THE BUSINESS OF REDEMPTION

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.”  (Galatians 4:4-5 NRSV)

With endless patience, at infinite cost to Himself, God had been waiting since the beginning of history -- watching, suffering, loving -- until in the fullness of time He sent His only begotten Son to a redemption center on a hill called Calvary. What does He want to redeem? Everything. All creation is groaning for redemption, Paul says. God wants to redeem you.

When circumstances look bleak, when the stock market is down, or when your morale is sinking or your assets are shrinking or your health is collapsing, you may wonder, Is anything going up? Yes.

The chance to trust God when trusting isn’t easy is wide open. The prospect for modeling hope for a hope-needy world is trending upward. And the possibility of cultivating a storm-proof faith is always going up. This is so because certain truths remain unchanged: God remains sovereign, grace beats sin, prayers get heard, the Bible endures, heaven’s mercies spring up new every morning, the cross still testifies to the power of sacrificial love, the tomb is still empty, and the kingdom that Jesus announced is still expanding without needing to be bailed out by human efforts.

God is still in the business of redemption, specializing in bringing something very, very good out of something very, very bad.

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want to Be” 

#6094

DEFEND ME, GOD

“I depend on God alone; I put my hope in Him. He alone protects and saves me; He is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; He is my strong protector; He is my shelter.” (Psalm 62:5-7 GNT)

Sovereign God, defend me from all temptation, that I may ever accept the right and refuse the wrong. Defend me from myself, that in Your care my weakness may not bring me to shame. May my lower nature never seize the upper hand.

Defend me from all that would seduce me, that in Your power no tempting voice may cause me to listen, no tempting sight fascinate my eyes.

Defend me against the chances and changes of this life, not that I may escape them but that I may meet them with firm resolve; not that I may be saved from them but that I may come unscathed through them.

Defend me from discouragement in difficulty and from despair in failure, from pride in success, and from forgetting You in the day of prosperity.

Help me to remember that there is no time when You will fail me and no moment when I do not need You.

Grant me this desire: that guided by Your light and defended by Your grace, I may come in safety and bring honor to my journey’s end by the defending work of Jesus Christ my Lord. May it always be so! 

-- Adapted from Norman Shawchuck in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#6076

A PRAYER FOR THE U.S. ELECTION

“The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  (Isaiah 9:6b NLT)

O God, we acknowledge You today as Lord, not only of individuals but of nations and governments as well. As the Scripture says, we know that the government rests on Your shoulder, yet we act as if it all depends on us. Grant us the grace and the courage to put our trust and hope in You. You are our Sovereign God, and there is no other. We acknowledge You are Lord of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We confess that we are experiencing fear and anxiety today, yet we know You are greater than those things that come against us. We pray for the 2024 Presidential Election, for Your guidance, and for peace and safety for all.

We are grateful for the privilege of being able to organize ourselves politically. We are grateful for the freedom to vote and to express our political views. But help us remember that what matters most is Your will and reign in our lives.

We confess to you sometimes we are so loyal to our politics that we lose sight of our brothers and sisters. We ask for eyes that are free from blindness so that we might see each other not as enemies, but as brothers and sisters, created in Your image.

We confess that our actions, our words, our rhetoric have caused divisions. We pray for this deeply divided and evenly split nation. May we come together for the common good and do as you have called us to do in Micah 6:8 - to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You. Help us act out of grace, mercy, and justice rather than out of arrogance or fear.

Lord, guide us in Your way, Your truth, and Your life.

Help us to listen in love, work together in peace, and collaborate with one another as we seek to make our community, our nation, and the world the creation You intended from the beginning.

In the name of Jesus, our Savior and King, we pray. Amen.

– Adapted from First United Methodist Church in Ormond Beach, Florida 

#5982

KINGDOM PROMISES: DIVINE PURPOSE AND DIRECTION

“The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”  (Psalm 103:19 NIV)

The Kingdom of God is unlike any earthly government we know. It doesn’t operate on democracy where we have rights and can cast votes. Instead, it’s a divine monarchy, where Jesus is King and Lord. In His Kingdom, we don’t have rights; we have responsibilities. As citizens of His Kingdom, we’re called to live in obedience to His righteous and gracious decrees.

This isn’t about losing our freedom but embracing a life filled with divine purpose and direction. Our King’s decrees are not burdensome; they are life-giving and rooted in love. When we submit to His rule, we align ourselves with His will, which is ultimately for our good and His glory.

In God's Kingdom, our responsibilities are privileges in disguise. We’re tasked with loving one another, serving the needy, and spreading the gospel. These responsibilities transform our lives and the lives of those around us, reflecting the love and grace of our King. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources 

#5981

GOD’S GRACIOUS GUIDANCE

“To you, O Lord, I offer my prayer; in You, my God, I trust… Teach me Your ways, O Lord; make them known to me. Teach me to live according to Your truth, for You are my God, who saves me. I always trust in you... He leads the humble in the right way and teaches them His will. With faithfulness and love He leads all who keep His covenant and obey His commands.”  (Excerpts from Psalm 25 GNT)

A letter came from a minister who, [after hearing a call to mission work}, felt obliged to leave his congregation and denomination, and now, like Abraham, goes out not knowing [to what place or situation]. In his letter, he quoted from a hymn by Charles Wesley on the sovereignty and security of God’s guidance. Guidance, like all God’s acts of blessing under the covenant of grace, is a sovereign act. Not merely does God will to guide us in the sense of showing us His way, that we may tread it; He wills also to guide us in the more fundamental sense of ensuring that, whatever happens, whatever mistakes we may make we shall come safe home. Slippings and strayings there will be, no doubt, but the everlasting arms are beneath us; we shall be caught, rescued, restored. This is God’s promise; this is how good He is… Here is the verse from Wesley:

“Captain of Israel’s host and Guide
Of all who seek the land above,
Beneath Thy shadow we abide,
The Cloud of Thy protecting love;
Our strength, Thy grace; our rule, Thy Word;
Our end, the glory of the Lord.”

 -- Adapted from J. I. Packer in “Knowing God” (1973)

#5898

DISRESPECTING GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:11)

Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself. Have you ever considered the deeper implications of the slightest sin, of the most minute peccadillo? What are we saying to our Creator when we disobey Him at the slightest point? We are saying no to the righteousness of God. We are saying, “God, Your law is not good. My judgement is better than Yours. Your authority does not apply to me. I am above and beyond Your jurisdiction. I have the right to do what I want to do, not what You command me to do.” 

-- R.C. Sproul in “The Holiness of God”

#5855

THE SOVEREIGN LORD OF LIFE

“He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears… In that day the people will proclaim, ‘This is our God! We trusted in Him, and He saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation He brings!’”  (Isaiah 25:8-9 NLT)

The reality of death is with us. We face it as and who we are. It is at this juncture that those who are Christians, those who are in Christ, reveal their faith which is their character.

“Death,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his Letters and Papers from Prison, “is the supreme festival on the road to freedom.” Such confidence in death as access to the fuller presence of God can only come from a conviction that our lives are hidden with Christ in God -- with Christ who is the incarnation of persisting, caring grace -- and in God who is the sovereign Lord of life before and beyond death.

-- Thomas A. Langford in “Christian Wholeness” 

#5766

PROMISED JOY

Jesus said, "I've loved you the way My Father has loved Me. Make yourselves at home in My love… I've told you these things for a purpose: that My joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature." (John 15:9,11 The Message)

Joy is promised to me. Do I have it? If my relationship with Christ is right, I do.

To me, joy is perfected in the full belief in the total sovereignty of God. Doubt dilutes joy.

For five years I… have attended a church that gave me one great blessing -- a firm belief in the sovereignty of God. I now totally believe that God doesn't need me, He loves me; and I don't work for Him to earn His love, I work for Him as a result of His love. He lets me work in order to mature me. That brings joy. 

-- Fred Smith, consulting editor of “Leadership” 

#5752

DON’T WORRY, TRUST HIM – Part 1

Who do we believe in more? Ourselves or God? Our actions and decisions will reflect that.

If God does what you think He should do, trust Him. If God doesn’t do what you think He should do, trust Him. If you pray and believe God for a miracle and He does it, trust Him. If your worst nightmare comes true, believe He is sovereign. Believe He is good.

In Matthew 6:33-34, Jesus says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” God is outside of time. He has no beginning, and no end. That means He has no yesterday and no tomorrow. He just is. So for God, tomorrow is the same as today, same as yesterday. Was God in control yesterday? Undoubtedly, yes. Is God in control today? You know He is. Then He’s in control tomorrow too. Time is not an issue for God. He’s already present in tomorrow. So no matter what happens, trust God. 

-- Craig Groeschel in “The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as If He Doesn’t Exist”

#5718

TRUSTING IN GOD’S CARE

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

God cares for you! Not only will He never leave you -- that’s the negative side of the promise -- but He cares for you. He is not just there with you, He cares for you. His care is constant -- not occasional or sporadic. His care is total -- even the hairs on of your head are numbered. His care is sovereign -- nothing can touch you that He does not allow. His care is infinitely wise and good so that in the words of John Newton, “If it were possible for me to alter any part of His plan, I could only spoil it.”

We must learn to cast all our anxieties on Him. Dr. John Brown says of this verse, “The figurative expression ‘cast,’ not lay, seems to intimate that the duty enjoined is one that requires an effort; and experience tells us it is no easy matter to throw off the burden of carefulness.” So we are back to the matter of choice. We must by an act of the will in dependence on the Holy Spirit say something such as, “Lord, I choose to cast off this anxiety onto You, but I cannot do this of myself. I will trust You by Your Spirit to enable me to, having cast my anxiety on You, not to take it back upon myself.” 

-- Jerry Bridges in “Trusting God”

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF CHRIST

As Paul sums it up, God's power "raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else… God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church" (Ephesians 1:20-22).

Celebrating and proclaiming the ascension is therefore crucial if we are to fully exalt Christ. Jesus is not only risen but reigning, not only alive but sovereign, not only central but supreme. Moreover, as theologian Douglas Farrow demonstrates, whenever we fail to proclaim Christ as ascended, enthroned, and exalted, something else -- our personal agendas, the world's agendas, the church's agendas -- moves in to fill the vacuum. Mark it down, when we fail to exalt and enthrone Jesus, something or someone else inevitably assumes the throne. 

-- Stephen Seamands in an article entitled "He Ascended into Heaven" in Good News Magazine, May/June 2011

#5470

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

“For God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”  (Colossians 1:13-14 NIV)

God is at work carefully bringing about His Kingdom. He is working to bring all creation unto Himself. The Holy Spirit’s work in each believer’s heart is certainly a part of that greater work of God, but God is also about the cosmic business of completing creation and bringing everything to consummation. We humans can merely wait and anticipate.

What a blessing that day will be when Jesus arrives for His children. When God ushers in His Kingdom once and for all. When [evil is] swept away and impurity is banished from the world. When we are restored to our eternal place near the throne of God to be joined with believers from all times and all places in singing the praises of our Lord and our God. What a day! Come, Lord Jesus, come. 

– Allen R. Hunt in “Nine Words”

#5459

THE REIGN OF GOD

Much of what Christian community needs right now is... awareness... In its most complete expression in both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, awareness is the quality of simple alertness and receptivity to whatever the Divine Presence may be doing.

Jesus seeks to draw people into a fuller state of awareness with the words we know nearly by heart: "Let the little children come to Me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it" (Luke 18:16-17).

We are to become like the awed and the open, like those blinking their eyes at the wonder of life. Do this, Jesus counsels, and then we shall enter most fully what God sets before us. Not long before His crucifixion, Jesus responds to those seeking dramatic signs of God's reign: "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you" (Luke 17:20-21).

Be open, Jesus counsels. Be attentive. Be aware! The reign of God is in our very midst. 

-- Stephen  Doughty in “Discovering Community” 

#5435

GLORY AND MAJESTY

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.  (Jude 1:24-25 NKJ)

Christianity today is [human]-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of [humanity]. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Savior of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable. This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make [humanity] the star of the show. 

-- A.W. Tozer

#5374

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE POTTER

“Yet, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”  (Isaiah 64:8 NRSV)

The amazing thing is that even in the midst of disappointment, surprise, and mystery you will discover how very reliable and trustworthy God is -- and how secure you are in His hands. And oh, how we need that in this day of relativism and vacillation, filled with empty talk and hidden behind a lot of semantic footwork. In the midst of “spin city” it is the Lord who talks straight. It is the Lord who has preserved Truth… in His Word. And it is the Lord who has the right to do as He wishes around us, to us, and in us. He’s the Potter, remember. Puzzling as the process may be to us, He stays with His plan. There is no need for us to know all the reasons, and He certainly doesn’t need to explain Himself. Potters work with the clay, they don’t fret over it… or ask permission to remake the clay into whatever they wish. 

-- Charles R. Swindoll in “The Mystery of God’s Will: What Does He Want for Me?” (1999)

#5320

LIKE A LITTLE CHILD

Jesus said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."  (Mark 10:14-15 NIV) 

Don’t you see? Children are an apt metaphor for the Kingdom of God because their egos are sized perfectly to get through the door. With children there is no feigned self-reliance or phony independence to balloon their egos to the size where entry into the Kingdom is difficult. The Kingdom of God is God’s Kingdom, not yours or mine or ours. In God’s Kingdom, God is sovereign, not you or me or us. And somehow, children not only know that instinctively, but they’re also okay with it. They’re perfectly willing to let God be God. They come to God with bareheaded, empty-handed, wide-eyed wonder. They have no sense of “having,” only “needing,” and that is precisely the posture required to gain access to God’s Kingdom -- eyes up, hands empty and outstretched. 

-- R. Wayne Stacy in “Where Jesus Walked: A Spiritual Journey Through the Holy Land”

#5289

AN ANALOGY FOR SIN

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:6 NKJV)

D. R. Davies provided a helpful analogy when he observed that sin is more like the act of a traitor than the act of a criminal. The rebellion of a criminal against the laws of his country is quite limited. No matter how spectacular his crimes, he breaks only certain specific laws. A traitor, by comparison, commits the far more serious offense of contesting altogether the sovereignty of his country. Analogously, the sinner is distinguished, not so much by the particular laws that he has broken but by the fact that he denies altogether the right of God to rule.  

-- William F. May in “A Catalogue of Sins”

#5227

A PLAN FOR YOU

One of the passages of Scripture that has been very important to me for several years is Jeremiah 29:11, “’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.’” Although those words were directed to the nation of Judah in captivity, they express a principle about God, a principle affirmed elsewhere throughout the Bible: God has a plan for you. Because He has a plan for you, and because no one can thwart that plan, you, too, can have hope and courage. You, too, can trust God. 

-- Jerry Bridges in “Trusting God”

#5125

A TWO-DIRECTIONAL VIEW OF WORSHIP

"O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." (Psalm 95:6)

Worship involves a two-directional view. Looking upward we see God in all His majesty, power, glory, and sovereignty as well as His mercy, goodness, and grace. Looking at ourselves we recognize our dependence upon God and our sinfulness before Him. We see God as the sovereign Creator, worthy to be worshipped, served, and obeyed, and we see ourselves as mere creatures, unworthy sinners who have failed to worship, serve, and obey Him as we should. 

-- Jerry Bridges in “Trusting God”

#5111