Daily Devotional - 10/3/15

Prayer Focus - Needs



Day 1
Pray for:
One thing that you need to be grateful for but find it difficult to be



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



Psalms 93


"The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and is armed with strength.  The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.  Your throne was established long ago; You are from all eternity

The seas have lifted up. O Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.  Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea - the Lord on high is mighty.

Your statutes stand firm; holiness adorns Your house for endless days, O Lord."  Psalm 93


God is in charge.  God is majestic, and God is strong.  The earth runs on fixed principles.  It is more ancient than we are.  It is established.  This psalm speaks to me of how life is so much more than we are.  We get caught up in our lives and our struggles and it is hard to have a true perspective of how small we really are.  If we can think about all the people that have come and gone through all generations, it helps a little.  If we stand by the ocean that helps as well.  When I am near the ocean, it calms me.  I look at the wide expanse in front of me and am amazed that this is only a small fraction of the water that covers this planet.  This planet is truly immense and we like tiny ants run around as if we control it.  How funny and sad we are at the same time.  We control nothing.

I love the comparison of God and the ocean.  The psalmist stresses the power of the ocean, its magnificent waves and the thunder they produce.  Waves can truly destroy as we saw with all the tsunamis in recent years.  It is amazing the power that is with in the ocean and yet the psalmist closes with God.  God is mighty.  God is mightier than the strongest things we see on our planet.  And God is consistent.  His statutes, His word doesn't change.  He does not change.  He is always holy and always good.  He is the only thing that we can trust in.  He is all we need.




Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We are grateful that You are unchanging.  We are grateful that Your creation runs on fixed principles so that we can have consistency.  We are grateful for the cycles of life and we are grateful that You allow us to see the beauty of nature around us.  Nature speaks to Your power and glory.  It points out Your magnificence because it is powerful, and glorious, and magnificent.  You have created all of this. We can not fathom You and all that You are but we are grateful for You anyway, and we are grateful that You allow us to serve You.  We rest in You.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1.  How do I feel about God reigning?  Do I have issues with authority?  Why or why not?  How can I come to appreciate authority?

2. How do I view God?  Do I think He is majestic, holy, and strong or do I have conflicting views?  Why do I see God as I do?  Does it have anything to do with how I see my father? 

3. Do I see God in the world around me?  How do I feel about nature and science?  Do I see God's hand in the laws of nature?  Do I see God's hand in science?  How can nature increase my love for God? 

4. What helps me to put life in perspective?  Am I tempted to view life from a narrow viewpoint and think it is all about me?  Do I see how not in control we are?  Does this turn me to God or just stress me out?  How can I turn to God more and let go of my desire to control everything?  How can I have a whole world perspective?

5. How do I feel about God's statutes?  Do I see them as consistent?  Do I see them as valuable?  Am I following them and putting them into practice in my life?  Why or why not?  How can I do this and what do I think I will gain from it?