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Written by Nikolai Velmirovi (1881-1956), a bishop in the Serbian Orthodox church. He was arrested for speaking against the Nazi’s in WWII, taken to a concentration camp, and nearly died.  While being tortured, he prayed, “Bless my Enemies Oh Lord.”

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have. Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having hidden myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world. They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them So that my fleeing to You may have no return; So that all my hope in people may be scattered like cobwebs; So that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul; So that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger; So that I might amass all my treasure in heaven. Amen.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you [Matthew 5:44]

Today’s devotional, written by the Pray.com team, is based on Proverbs 3.

God desires our hearts first, and we show devotion through giving. Offering Him the first of our increase—our time, resources, and talents—acknowledges He is our Provider. When we trust God with our best, He promises to provide abundantly. This is not about transactional blessing, but relational trust. Giving isn’t just an act of charity—it’s worship. When we put God first, everything else aligns under His care. Don’t hold back from God. Honor Him from the start, and you’ll see His faithfulness overflow in your life in ways you never imagined.

Honor the Lord with your wealth,  with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. [Proverbs 3:9-10]

Written by R. C. Sproul (1939-2017), an American theologian and Presbyterian pastor.

The persecution that forced the Christian community to flee from Jerusalem was one of the main causes of the rapid expansion of the Christian faith in the early part of the church’s life. Because those who were scattered, everywhere they went, they went proclaiming the gospel of Christ. Now remember, this was the rank and file. It wasn’t the Apostles. It was the laity of the church that was carrying the message abroad of the ministry of Jesus. The task of the minister, of the pastor, is to teach, to preach, to equip the laity for ministry. The ministry of Christ is given to the whole church. Every one of you who is in Christ is to be a participant, not a spectator, in the outreach ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s not just the paid professionals who have been entrusted with the gospel, but it’s the whole church who has been given that task. That’s how the church was built. And that’s how the church always will be built when the people of God are mobilized to go into the marketplace, into their offices, among their friends, into their communities, as Christians proclaiming the Word of God. There’s no place in the kingdom of God for secret service Christians, or for what I call “Clairol Christians,” where only their hairdresser knows for sure. People say, “Well, I like to keep my faith as a private and personal matter.” That’s impossible. If it’s true faith, it must be personal. But the faith of a Christian, beloved, can never be private. But we have been called to bear witness to Christ.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. [Romans 1:16] 

Written by Grace Pouch, a contemporary writer and content manager. This story is based on an excerpt from Mark Buchanan’s novel “What is Left of the Night.”

The year is 1942, and an atheist writer and a Christian pastor, inhabitants of a tiny French village, are discussing how to topple the Nazi regime.  The pastor explains that he has chosen to take the way of Jesus, who confronted Roman and religious oppression by wielding ideas, not weapons and by giving up his life to save others. The truth about God’s kingdom, he says, is “very dangerous. Very political. Always.” So, he is preaching the gospel and living it out—hiding Jews in his home and mobilizing his village to do the same. “And this is working?” [A fair question from the atheist.] “Not yet.” This is faith. Practicing the Kingdom way even when it does not work, yet—because we trust that it willwork, eventually.  It is building an ark in a bone-dry field because God says rain’s coming (Gen 6:22). It is sharing with a stranger the last of your oil and flour because the Lord says he will provide (1 Kings 17:12-14). It is putting away your sword—even after you’ve used it disgracefully—and learning in time to be like the Good Shepherd, repaying evil with good (Matthew 26:51-54; 1 Peter 2:21-23, 3:9-17). When we’re faithful to a way that doesn’t yet “work,” the Enemy is sure to sow doubt and discouragement. A seed of cynicism sprouts up and attacks the little kernel of kingdom-confidence growing inside us… But God never stops working.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. [Hebrews 11:1] 

Written by Karrie Hahn, a contemporary editor, writer, and biblical counselor.

Loneliness is no respecter of persons. It can strike young and old, married and unmarried, male and female, rich and poor, extrovert and introvert. For some, loneliness may result from life circumstances that isolate and prevent us from cultivating relationships in the ways we’d like. For others, loneliness can be present despite being around other people regularly. In both cases, there can be a deep sense of feeling unseen, unknown, unloved, and disconnected from others, which can fuel anxiety, shame, or depression. As Christians, how do we understand loneliness from a biblical perspective to orient ourselves in this painful providence? To understand the experience of loneliness, we must go back to the very beginning. The triune God, who is eternally existent in three persons sharing all-satisfying fellowship with one another, created mankind in His own image. Part of what that means is that we, like God, are relational beings. This is why it was “not good” for Adam to be alone before Eve was created. Before the fall, Adam and Eve enjoyed unbroken fellowship both with God and with one another. But when sin entered the world, so did the experience of loneliness, and we all taste its bitter fruit to one extent or another … It’s helpful to go back to the beginning because in doing so, we acknowledge that the experience of loneliness is not how things were originally meant to be. Loneliness feels wrong because, in a very real sense, it is wrong … Our loneliness testifies to the truth of the goodness of the original creation and the bitterness of sin and the suffering it brought into the world … One day, we will be surrounded by the righteous in never-ending, joyous fellowship. We will be perfectly righteous, others will be perfectly righteous, and no one will ever feel overlooked, unloved, unknown, or disconnected. And in this redeemed and restored world of righteousness, loneliness will be one of the former things that has passed away—forever.

Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. [Psalm 142:7]

Written by Janice Mayo Mathers (1951-2026), a speaker and author. This is an excerpt from her book “Discovering God’s Good News for You.”

 Lord, now that I have learned the truth that comes from you, help me to throw off my old sinful nature and my former way of life, which is corrupted. Instead may your Spirit renew my thoughts and attitudes. Help me put on my new nature that is created to be like you – truly righteous and holy. Help me not bring sorrow to you by the way I live, knowing that you have identified me as your own and have guaranteed that I will be saved on the day of redemption. Amen.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. [Ephesians 4:22-23]

Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus.

Have you been blessed by God? Many people speak of being blessed by God when good things happen. They look to visible evidence of prosperity and peaceful circumstances as evidence of His blessing. There is a level of truth to this. The Lord is the author of life, the giver of all good gifts, and the source of peace and well-being. These are His attributes, whether or not they are currently part of our experience. As Jesus’ followers, we have been blessed because we recognize Him as the Son of God and the Living Word. Is this your perspective today?

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. [Matthew 13:16]

Written by Ken Boa, a contemporary author and founder of Reflections Ministry.

Think back to a time when you went through a particularly trying set of circumstances. Maybe it was military boot camp, several months of a particularly distasteful summer job, or a school math course that induced fear and trepidation. Or perhaps it was a more emotionally stressful time: struggling with a wayward child, the death of a best friend, or the failure of a marriage. Whatever time in your life you are recalling, you probably remember that minutes seemed like hours, hours dragged like days, and days became more like months. The seemingly glacier-like movement of time only exaggerated the pain, discomfort, or evil you were experiencing. You might have wondered how you could possibly make it even one more day. Looking back now on that difficult period of your life, it’s likely that you have a completely different perspective. What amounted to the torturous passage of minutes, you now view as a single block of time. Things that once loomed like Mount Everest now only appear as part of life’s landscape—in context not nearly so overwhelming. When the perspective of distance allows us to view a period of days or weeks as a single unit—as a “day” in our life rather than a series of days—we are close to seeing life as God sees it…God does not measure time as we do—He sees all of history at once. There is no past or future with God—everything is “present.” While we view experiences as a string of occurrences—usually a long, tedious string—they are a single reality to Him…Whenever you feel caught in a slough of slow-moving, sinister events, remember two things: First, the day will come when you will see it differently; second, God sees it differently already. The evil that seems to dominate our age has already been dominated by God’s design for time—and for eternity.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. [2 Peter 3:8-9]

Written by the team of “Transforming Mission”, a group providing resources and coaching for Christ-centered leaders.

At the heart of our faith is this truth: the church is not a building. The church is the living, breathing body of Christ in the world. When we reduce church to a place we attend, we miss the point. Worship isn’t a performance or a Sunday-only event. It’s the celebration of God’s mighty acts that empower us to live our faith beyond the walls…The body of Christ is made up of many members, each gifted and called. Together we form one body. That means the church is not about consuming religious goods or attending weekly events—it’s about contributing to God’s mission of making disciples for the transformation of the world. Being the church means: 1) Living with a mission and purpose that flows from Jesus. 2) Remembering we’re connected to the saints before us and the generations yet to come. 3)Gathering in worship, not as spectators, but as participants in God’s ongoing work. 4) Serving others, inside and outside the church walls, with compassion and love. You don’t “attend” the church. You are the church. Wherever you go, you carry Christ’s presence with you.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. [1 Corinthians 12:27]

Written by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), an Indian poet, writer, educator and environmentalist.  This is an excerpt from the book “The Heart of God.”

 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. [2 Corinthians 3:17]