Daily Devotional - 11/8

Prayer Focus - Gratitude


Day 4
Pray for:
One thing you are grateful for about the country that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the state/region that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the city that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the home that you live in

Thank God for how what you are grateful for affects:
your spiritual life
your physical life
your emotional life
your mental life




Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.




Psalms 68



"But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful." ( vs. 3)

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, He leads froth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land." ( vs. 5-6)

"You gave abundant showers, O God; You refreshed Your weary inheritance. Your people settled in it, and from Your bounty, O God, You provided for the poor." (vs. 9-10)

"The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into His sanctuary" (vs. 7)

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death." (vs. 19-20)

"You are awesome, O God, in Your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. Praise be to God!" (vs. 35)


God is awesome. We can be glad and rejoice because God has thousands of thousands of chariots and warriors and God is looking out for us in all of our situations. If we are lonely. If we are fatherless. If we are widows. God knows our needs and is more than able to meet them. We do not need to worry. That will only bring sin into our lives. God will refresh and provide for us. He will even daily bear our burdens for us. We only need to be obedient. If we are rebellious, we will reap the consequences of that. We will live in a scorched land in the midst of what could be plenty. I have known people who have everything and yet are miserable. I am led to believe that they must have been rebellious in some way. Perhaps it was rebellion in the heart that was only visible to God but that is all that matters. He has asked us to be in submission to Him in order to receive the blessing and that is what we need to be. God will save. God will give us strength. Praise be to God!




Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,


We praise You for setting us in families and for caring for us in every stage of our lives. You will not abandon us when we are old and grey. O Lord help us to not abandon You. Keep us as enamoured with You as we were when we first began to follow. You have not changed. We are the ones who change so often. Keep us in the shelter of Your circle for there is danger outside the circle. Please bear our burdens for they are too much for us. Help us to not be rebellious in any way. We do not want to live in the sun scorched land but rather in the beautiful pastures of the Lord. Bring Your chariots to surround and protect us. Grant us strength to continue. We are weary and weak but You are strong.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. Which of the four categories mentioned best fits me - the fatherless, the widow, the lonely, the prisoner? How can or has God helped me in these situations?


2. Am I a rebellious person? How do I feel about authority in general? How do I feel about authority in my life? Are my views in line with God's? How become more submissive to God?


3. Am I living a refreshed life or am I wandering in a sun-scorched desert? Am I weary? How can I change so that God can take care of me? Why do I struggle with letting God take charge in my life?


4. Am I letting God carry my daily burdens? What are these daily burdens? How can I let go of them?