Category: Prayer

I was reading 2 Chronicles 20:3-9 this morning. This is where the people of God are facing attack from the surrounding nations. Three things stood out to me as I read.

1. Jehoshaphat begged the Lord for wisdom and guidance.

2. Jehoshaphat called the people to fast. This would focus the people’s attention of God and their reliance on Him.

3. Jehoshaphat called everyone together and asked God to save them in a public prayer.

In his prayer we see He proclaimed God as the only God in heaven, he said He was their God and the God of their ancestors, that He is all-powerful and no-one can stand against Him, that the people built the Temple to honour Him, and that they look to Him for protection and help as they had in the past.

I love Jehosaphat’s response as leader. He looked to God for wisdom and help and He prayed publicly so the people could stand together as one in their reliance and trust in God.

I think Jehosaphat showed a lot of wisdom that we can learn from today. If we are faced with trouble on all sides we an learn from him and ask the people to fast, pray and trust in God too.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ – People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.

This is so true. I have met people who have gone their own way like the Prodigal son in Luke 15 and messed up. Then they shake their fist at God and blame Him for all the bad things in their lives. Like the Prodigal son, they need to return to their Father.

The key is to follow God and walk in His ways. It is gives wisdom, direction and help in daily life. If we mess up we can always go to God and confess. Walking with God is always better than walking in the ways of the world.

Prayer

Dear God, please help me to follow You and walk in Your ways. I commit my life to You and to following Your wisdom from the Bible. Help me to live for You. Amen.

For my devotions I am moving on to the Book of Philippians. This is one of the letters Paul wrote to the churches while he was in prison in Rome.

The first reading comes from Philippians 1:3-11. This section is titled, “Paul’s thanksgiving and prayer”. In this section two main things stood out for me.

Paul’s joy with the Philippians

Verses 3 says, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God”.

The Philippians give Paul special joy because they have been his partners in the Gospel. They have shared with him from the day they first heard about Christ until the day of writing.

Paul has a real love for the Philippians because they believed in the message of salvation and continued steadfastly in it. They took it so seriously that they partnered in his work – in prayer, encouragement and financially.

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians

In verse 9 Paul says, “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding”.

Paul wanted them to continue to grow in their faith and be blessed by God. He prayed they would have full understanding of the things of God, be pure and blameless in their walk with the Lord and be filled with the fruit of salvation.

Paul really loved the Philippians. He was like a spiritual father to them as he planted the church at Philippi on his second missionary journey. This is why he experienced so much joy, prayed for them and wanted the best for them.

I am really looking forward to continuing through the book of Philippians and seeing what lessons I can learn afresh.

John 14:1-4 NLT – “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. [2] There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? [3] When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. [4] And you know the way to where I am going.”

In John 14 Jesus is speaking to the disciples about His going away. He gives them comfort and reassurance that in time they will be together again.

In verse 3 Jesus shares one of the great truths of the Bible. Jesus is preparing our eternal home and once it is ready and the time is right, He will come back for us.

I love the wording He uses – He will and we will. He WILL come back for us and we WILL be with Him forever.

This is the great hope we have in this life. That no matter what we see around us in the world, no matter how bad things seem to be, Jesus IS coming back for us.

With this hope in our hearts, we should not be troubled. We just need to trust in God and wait. He WILL come back at the appointed time, and we WILL be with Him forever.

Prayer

Thank You Jesus that You are preparing a place for us. Thank You that You will come back for us. Please help us to be resolute in our faith and trust in You. Help us to hold on to this great truth that we will spend eternity with You. Amen.