Daily Devotional - 1/25

Prayer Focus - Personal Transformation



Day 7
Pray for:
One thing that you want to see improved in your relationship with God - (Love God)
One thing that you want to see improved in the way you relate to others - (with all your heart)
One past hurt that you want to see healed and overcome - (with all your soul)
One skill or topic you want to learn - (with all your mind)
One thing that you want to see improved about your health - (with all your strength)
One thing you want to do to help others around you - (Love your neighbor)
One thing you need to accept and be grateful for about yourself or your life - (as yourself)


Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 85


"I will listen to what God the Lord will say; He promises peace to His people, His saints - but let them not return to folly. Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land." ( vs. 8-9)


I will listen to God. I will stop listening to the world. God is the Lord. He promises us peace but it has a condition on it. We must not go back to our old ways. We must not be foolish. We must not put our hand to the plow and look back. He has salvation and everything else less than that waiting for us. It is up to us to respond and do so correctly and consistently. When we do this, we will have peace. A Christian who is not in submission to God and His will and who has one foot in and one foot out of the kingdom of God will never experience peace. It is perhaps more frustrating than leaving God altogether.


"The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps." (vs. 12-13)


God will give what is good. There is not doubt about it, but will we be able to receive it? Righteousness is necessary to prepare the way. If I want to see my life yield a harvest, I must get my field ready by being righteous. This is what God needs to see in order to bestow the blessings He wants to. It is our preparation to show Him we are ready to use His gifts appropriately and to use His blessings to give back to Him. He is always thinking long term and so must we. Let us prepare our lives for service and then see what happens. I believe it will astound us.


"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible" St. Francis of Assisi




Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We need to listen to You. We will listen to You. Help us not to return to our folly. We have lived in it long enough. It does not produce the life we so desire. We long for peace. We do not want to look back. There is so much ahead to look to. Although the world often looks so dark, there is Your bright and shining light guiding us on. Help us to sow righteousness so that we may reap a harvest. We want our land, our lives, to yield a harvest. We know that is up to You but we need to do our part. Help us to work hard. We wait to see the good that You will give. You are great and we praise You.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen




QFT



1. Do I have primarily peace or frustration in my life? Am I looking back in any way to my old life? What areas seemed better then? Why? Is this the truth? What can I do to get my eyes focused forward and on God in a greater way?


2. Am I completely devoted to God or is there any parts of my that I hold back from Him? What can I do about these areas if there are any? Am I devoted to His kingdom? How can I be more devoted?


3. Is my life yielding a harvest? Why or why not? What can I do to change or do better to be more fruitful?


4. Am I living a life that God can bless? In what ways am I being righteous? In what ways am I not? How can I improve? What is the necessary that I need to start doing? What is the possible in my life? What is holding me back from doing my all?