Daily Devotional - 9/5/15 (11/5/09)

Prayer Focus - Gratitude

Day 1
Pray for:
One thing I am grateful for about the country that I live in


Thank God for the effect that what I am grateful for has on:
my spiritual life
my physical life
my emotional life
my mental life



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



Psalms 65


"O You who hear prayer, to You all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, You forgave our transgressions, Blessed are those You choose and bring near to live in Your courts! We are filled with the good things of Your house, of Your holy temple. You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas," ( vs. 2-5)

"You care for the land and water it; You enrich it abundantly. ..You crown the year with Your bounty and Your carts overflow with abundance." (vs. 9a ; 11)



We worship "O You who hear prayer." What a good way to describe God. He hears our prayers.  He is waiting to hear from us.  It is hard sometimes to find a person who can listen to us.  Everyone is so busy these days and most people have so many things to deal with already.  Yet, God always has time.  Even silly little things are not unimportant to Him.  I am grateful I can turn to Him and pour out my heart at anytime.  I am never alone.

I am grateful that there is more to life than just the physical aspects; the seen.  I know there is more, but many people can not get beyond the seen.  This does not negate what is true, however.  There is a greater truth that does exist and some day we will all know it.  Some day, all men will come to God and bow down before Him, acknowledging that He is who the Bible says He is.  We are blessed if we have been given the opportunity to know and follow God. He chose us, not the other way around. That should make us eternally grateful; that we were chosen and that we will be filled with all the good things that God has in His house.  How grateful I am that He has chosen me now.  I am grateful that He picked me.  Why? I do not know but I thank Him daily.  I truly am blessed. 

I am also thankful that God forgives our sins. That is what makes Christianity so different. Many religions teach us how to live and have noble aspects to them but there is always the problem of sin.  We have all sinned.  We are all separated at some point because of this.  We can never work our way to forgiveness or become good enough to pay for what we have done in the past and what we continue to do because of our human frailty.  But in Christ, there is forgiveness of sin.  This forgiveness comes through the death of Jesus on the cross.

 God is the hope of all the earth. He is my hope. He can do anything and everything, even care for the land. I do not need to worry.  God is the one who keeps this whole planet functioning and He cares for all that is alive on earth. He knows every single bird. He knows the number of hears on our heads. He knows everything about us and loves us just the same.  Is there anyone else like our God?  No, not one.

God's ways are right.  God's ways are loving.  Crown us with Your bounty, Lord.  Yes, crown us as we strive to follow You. Surely Your cart does overflow.



Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,

We are so grateful to have been chosen by You and brought close to You. We are so grateful that even though You are caring for everything n the world, You still have time for us. You have so much abundance and blessings. You are able to provide richly for us. Help us to remember that Your idea of riches and abundance are often different than ours. You are our hope.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen


QFT


1. Do I believe that God hears prayer? How is my prayer life? How can I improve it?


2. Am I asking God for forgiveness for my sins on a daily basis? Am I feeling overwhelmed or relieved? Can I make a daily list of what I need forgiving from for a week and then commit to praying about these needs?


3. Do I realize that I have been chosen by God? Am I living like a chosen one? How can my life reflect this in a greater way?


4. Do I realize that God is managing and running the whole world? List twenty of the things that God does on a day to day basis in keeping the earth functioning?

5.  Do I think about the power of God that is available in my life if He is able to do all the things previously written down? What should I be bringing to Him in prayer if I believe He is truly in charge of everything?