June 13: Psalm 20:1-5
Key Verse: Psalm 20:4
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
Devotion:
When was the last time you prayed for someone else? I know we all get a bit carried away with prayers for ourselves, especially when we are feeling down or have problems in our lives, but when did you pray for someone else? I belong to a prayer group on a messenger app where we get regular issues arising and prayer requests are asked for... So this is a two way thing...
We need to be earnest and regular with our prayers for other people, always asking God to lift up those around us, heal the sick, give comfort to those mourning and to be there for those we cannot reach. David was not one to shy away from praying for others – and I wonder what he asked for in his personal prayers with God – what we see are the very public prayers which were written down because they were important and needed to be shared...
Then there is the other side of the coin... If you need support, don’t just lift up your prayers to God, but invite other people to pray with you. You will find there are a lot of people who are willing to stop what they are doing and lift up prayers on your behalf – but only if they know prayers are needed! Don’t forget how easy it is to leave someone off your prayers when things are not looking too good on your side of the fence!
God wants us to work together in praying and sharing the gospel. The more we get together and share things, the stronger our bond become and the more fervent our prayers are. God loves to listen to our prayers, especially for each other, because that shows how important we are to each other and how we are including God in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
When did you last pray for your neighbour?
Will you get together with someone today and pray?
June 12: Psalm 112:1-5
Key Verse: Psalm 112:5
Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.
Devotion:
Sometimes it is just good to know someone has got your back, there is someone looking over you and helping out whenever they can. Sometimes those people are your friends and sometimes they are strangers... but, always, God is there in times when we feel least believed or supported!
I love reading through the Psalms and being reminded just How much God loves us and how much He cares for us. Many of the psalms were penned by David and his love for God shines through in all those he wrote. When he felt down and dejected, he wrote things down and almost always ended up praying to God to help him get back on track!
How many times do we turn back to God after going off and doing something on our own? Many of those times we would have ended up in a mess or we gave up because things just got out of hand. Every time, when we turned back to God, He was waiting with open arms and welcomed us back into His protection. He continues to guide us and try to keep us on track – but we mess up and fall into things we have no right to do... but God still waits for us and welcomes us back!
When we stick close to God and depend on Him for more in our lives, we seem to get things right and end up having a much more blessed life. This is no coincidence! God will help us and He will reward us when we do things His way. If we stick to His rules and do things as best we can because those are the rules, we may well feel like He is not with us; because we are doing things for the wrong reasons. When we do things His way because of the love and respect we have for Him, He returns the love and respect more than we give Him!
Points to Ponder:
How are you treating God?
Will you try to love and respect God more today?
June 11: Isaiah 42:5-12
Key Verse: Isaiah 42:6
I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
Devotion:
This chapter in Isaiah and the following one mean so much to me because of the work I have done in the past which has largely been done because of the wording in these two chapters – so here we go with a snippet from this chapter.
When God spoke to Isaiah, it was always with great intention and He depended on Isaiah taking those words and giving them to the people. How much the people listened is debatable! The fact these words have been scribed and continue to mean so much to people even now, thousands of years after they were given to man means they were very important to God and it took a prophet like Isaiah to make sure they would remain in peoples hearts and minds over time.
God calls us into righteousness – just as He called Isaiah to make sure these words were remembered and told to the people, He calls us to take these words and spread them amongst all people. Not just the Jews but to all people who are willing to listen to God’s instructions. God created us and continues to support us in so many ways – it is right for us to continue to support Him by spreading His words.
This was the promise God made to all people; something we often forget as we focus on the Jews and not the rest of the world. It was meant to be an inspiration to all mankind; meant to open the eyes and hearts of all people and to allow the broken, poor and segregated to be a part of our lives. Gone are the days when He would focus only on His chosen race, here we focus on God getting His word to all mankind!
Points to Ponder:
Do you often feel left out of society?
If society walks away from God, who will you follow – them or God?
June 10: Psalm 55:16-23
Key Verse: Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
Devotion:
We all face horrible things in our lives, whether it is health related, personal reasons, socio-political circumstances or whatever – bad things happen! We are not alone. Bad things tend to happen to us all, especially in times when we face natural disasters. But, no matter how mad things get, the Lord is going to be with you ever step of the way!
One thing I learned whilst in hospital clinging on to life, was the comfort God can give you in your worst times! I know a lot of people around me went through horrible times as the doctors told them I may not make it through the night – but God was giving me a comfort in those times which I can clearly remember now and tell people about now I am well and able to do it!
When we spend time lifting up our prayers to God, He spends time sitting with us, listening and answering those prayers. He needs us to listen to any and all instructions He is giving us – which means we have to spend time listening and waiting on Him. If we shout out our prayers and then run off before He can answer or explain things to us, we miss out! When I was in hospital, I had more than enough time to sit and wait on Him, listening to what He was telling me through the people around me.
When Jesus told us to cast our burdens on Him, it was not a new thing! God has been trying to tell us to do this for many years through His word and through examples in our history. It’s time to stop, look and listen to what God is trying to tell us in our lives!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you worry about circumstances in your life?
How often do you lift up those circumstances and wait on God?