Written by J. R. Miller (1840-1912), a Christian author and pastor.
Must life be a failure for one compelled to stand still in enforced inaction and see the great throbbing tides of life go by? No; victory is then to be gotten by standing still, by quiet waiting. It is a thousand times harder to do this than it was in the active days to rush on in the columns of stirring life. It requires a grander heroism to stand and wait and not lose heart and not lose hope, to submit to the will of God, to give up work and honors to others, to be quiet, confident, and rejoicing, while the happy, busy multitude go on and away. It is the grandest life “having done all, to stand.”
Prayer:
Written by Rebecca Barlow Jordan, a contemporary Christian author.
Lord, quiet my heart and still my soul as I wait on you during these moments alone. I recognize you as a holy and majestic God—one who deserves great praise and glory. All of creation testifies to your awesome and unique works. There is no one like you, no other god worthy of honor. Amen.
Written by Thomas Tarrants, a contemporary minister and author.
If God is omniscient, doesn’t he know everything we need? And if he is both omnipotent and good, won’t he provide it whether we pray or not? So goes a common line of reasoning about prayer which influences many of us, to our own impoverishment and the detriment of Christ’s kingdom. This reasoning has a certain logic and seems to have some biblical plausibility. Scripture clearly tells us that God is all-knowing… and that the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. However, to infer from these truths that prayer is unnecessary is to overlook the broader teaching of Scripture. The Bible does indeed teach that everything we need for life and godliness is found in God, who is willing and able to give it and knows our need before we ask. But it does not teach that he bestows these riches upon us automatically, as a matter of right… in many instances, we can lay hold of God’s promises only through believing prayer. Prayer and providence then, far from being antithetical, are actually reciprocal. Providence inspires prayer and prayer invokes providence. Here divine sovereignty and human responsibility mysteriously converge in a way we cannot fully explain but which is nonetheless real. By failing to pray, can we forfeit personal blessings which God would otherwise bestow? It does appear that in his sovereignty God has ordained believing prayer as a necessary means for our receiving many of his promises… while some measure of blessing comes to everyone because God “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,” it is only through prayer that we lay hold of many of the riches he promises. Why pray? Because the Sovereign God, who is indeed omniscient, omnipotent, and good, has established prayer as the means by which we receive what he has promised and help fulfill what he has ordained. One can only wonder what blessings we are missing today both in our personal lives and in our churches because of our failure to earnestly pray… Perhaps it is time for us as individuals and congregations to devote ourselves to prayer and to cry out with the Apostles.
Prayer:
Written by Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800-1882), an Anglican cleric and professor of Hebrew. He was a leading figure in the Oxford Movement.
Teach me, O Father, how to ask You silently for Your help moment after moment…If I am uneasy or troubled, enable me, by Your grace, quickly to turn to You. May nothing come between me and You today. May I will, do, and say just what You, my loving and tender Father, would have me will, do, and say. Amen.
Written by Sheila Walsh, a contemporary author. Today’s meditation is an excerpt from her book “5 Minutes With Jesus.”
Have you ever simply gotten alone with God and let Him have it all, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly — whatever it is you’re thinking and feeling? Doing so will change your life. Trust me; I speak from experience! But it took me years to open up to God. I’d lived much of my life filled with shame, with the profound sense that no matter what I did, I would never be good enough for God or for anyone else. Clinging to that falsehood, I kept a wall around my heart so that no one could hurt me. The wall kept me safe, but it also kept me lonely. One night when I was alone in a hospital, alone in the dark, I spoke out loud to God everything I felt. It wasn’t pretty… but I wasn’t struck by lightning. Instead, I actually felt closer to Him than ever before. Truth does that. Truth destroys walls.
Prayer:
Written by Debbie Przybylski, founder and director of Intercessors Arise International.
Lord, I know that you are faithful over all things, even the hard, dark times of my life. Help me not back away from you in my time of grief. Help me instead to lean into you and trust you, even when I do not understand your ways. Please keep my head above the waters of anguish and my feet from slipping off the ground of truth. Help me see you in these hard moments and glorify you in my response. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Written by Philip Doddridge (1702-1751), an English minister, educator, and hymnwriter.
Observe, I entreat you, how calamitous a circumstance is here supposed, and how heroic a faith is expressed [in Habakkuk 3:17-18]. It is really as if he said, “Though I should be reduced to so great extremity as not to know where to find my necessary food, though I should look around about me on an empty house and a desolate field, and see the marks of the Divine scourge where I had once seen the fruits of God’s bounty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”
Methinks these words are worthy of being written as with a diamond on a rock forever. Oh, that by Divine grace they might be deeply engraven on each of our hearts! Concise as the form of speaking in the text is, it evidently implies or expresses the following particulars: That in the day of his distress he would fly to God; that he would maintain a holy composure of spirit under this dark dispensation, nay, that in the midst of all he would indulge in a sacred joy in God, and a cheerful expectation from Him. Heroic confidence! Illustrious faith! Unconquerable love!
Prayer:
Written by Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) was a cardinal and archbishop of Milan. He was a leading figure of the counter-reformation.
Almighty God, you have generously made known to human beings the mysteries of your life through Jesus Christ your Son in the Holy Spirit. Enlighten my mind to know these mysteries which your Church treasures and teaches. Move my heart to love them and my will to live in accord with them. Give me the ability to teach this Faith to others without pride, without ostentation, and without personal gain. Let me realize that I am simply your instrument for bringing others to the knowledge of the wonderful things you have done for all your creatures. Help me to be faithful to this task that you have entrusted to me. Amen
Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor, speaker, and author.
9/11 has come to serve as a day of remembrance for the many trials we have endured as a nation over this past decade. The continued threats and anxiety created by ongoing terror threats have become, if not normal, an ever-present stressor. We wonder if we’ll ever be free of that sense of unease in our daily lives. The Boston bombing served as a reminder of this new reality. Violence continues to tear at our country from within – the mass shootings in Arizona, Colorado, and Sandy Hook. The unthinkable stories of the innocent victims and instant heroes in these situations have seared our consciousness, leaving us reeling with grief and disbelief. Natural disasters like Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Sandy, and other destructive forces have scarred our land and our people. We are weary. We wonder: will we get through these turbulent times? The answer from the pages of the Bible is a resounding YES. The story of Joseph reveals that even when life hits us with multiple blows, with God’s help, we will overcome. That’s why, on a day like September 11, the church should gather and remember that what man intends for evil, God can use for good. Joseph faced a famine in his day, and he focused all his efforts on bringing life and nourishment to all. Today we face a famine of hope. As God’s people, let’s dispense courage and sustenance to our generation, offering a plan and a story of God’s help and goodness… Let’s lead a harvest of hope, together.
Prayer:
Written by Derek Weber, a contemporary pastor and director of Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church.
On this day of solemn remembrance: May we honor the lives that were lost in this tragic act. May we give thanks for those who served and saved, rendered aid and assistance. May we give comfort to those who live with loss. May we seek justice and peace where it is within our ability, and rely on you when the ability escapes us.
On this day of solemn remembrance: May we build what has been torn down. May we mend what has been broken. May live your love when hate seems to reign. May we bear witness to the cause of peace.
Written by A.W. Tozer (1897-1963), an American pastor, author, editor, and spiritual mentor. This is an excerpt from his book “Jesus, Author of Our Faith.”
I have been asked more than once what I gave up when I was converted and became a believing child of God. I was a young man, and I well remember that I gave up the hot and smelly rubber factory. I was making tires for an hourly wage, and I gave that up to follow Christ’s call into Christian ministry and service. As a youth, I was scared of life and I was scared of death—and I gave that up. I was miserable and glum and unfulfilled—and I gave that up. I had selfish earthly and material ambitions that I could never have achieved—and I gave them up. That forms the outline of the worthless things that I gave up. And I soon discovered that in Jesus Christ, God had given me everything that is worthwhile. If God takes away from us the old, wrinkled, beat-up dollar bill we have clutched so desperately, it is only because He wants to exchange it for the whole Federal mint, the entire treasury! He is saying to us, “I have in store for you all the resources of heaven.
Prayer:
Today’s prayer is an excerpt from the book “Tozer on Christian Leadership,” edited by Ron Eggert.
Why am I so hesitant to share the Gospel, Lord—when this is what I’m asking people to give up? Thank You for all we gain through our new life in Christ—in exchange for all the junk we give up! Amen.
Written by C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), a British writer, literary scholar, and Anglican lay theologian. This is an excerpt from his book “Reflections on the Psalms.”
If there is any thought at which a Christian trembles it is the thought of God’s ‘judgment’. The ‘Day’ of Judgement is ‘that day of wrath, that dreadful day’. We pray for God to deliver us ‘in the hour of death and at the day of judgment’. Christian art and literature for centuries have depicted its terrors. This note in Christianity certainly goes back to the teaching of Our Lord Himself, especially to the terrible parable of the Sheep and the Goats. This can leave no conscience untouched, for in it the ‘Goats’ are condemned entirely for their sins of omission as if to make us fairly sure that the heaviest charge against each of us turns not upon the things he has done but on those he never did—perhaps dreamed of doing. It was therefore with great surprise that I first noticed how the Psalmists talk about the judgment of God. Judgment is apparently an occasion of universal rejoicing. People ask for it: ‘Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness’ (35:24) The reason for this soon becomes very plain. The ancient Jews, like ourselves, think of God’s judgment in terms of an earthly court of justice. The difference is that the Christian pictures the case to be tried as a criminal case with himself in the dock; the Jew pictures it as a civil case with himself as the plaintiff. The one hopes for acquittal, or rather for pardon, the other hopes for a resounding triumph with heavy damages.
Prayer:
Written by Susan Macias, a contemporary author and speaker.
Lord, I thank You for being Judge. Righteous and holy, You perfectly execute justice. I praise You for establishing Your throne on and for justice. I praise Your love of righteousness and Your hate of evil. I confess when I see the injustice that abounds in the world, I fret. I want evil to be dealt with properly, so that perpetrators are punished. Thank You, Judge of everything, that You will handle each problem perfectly. You see and know everything. I am so grateful You love justice…Thank You for Your love of justice and Your provision of a Savior. All I can do is agree with the angels and proclaim, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.” Amen.
Written by S.D. Gordon (1859-1936), an American author and evangelical lay minister.
When we learn to wait for our Lord’s lead in everything, we shall know the strength that finds its climax in an even, steady walk. Many of us are lacking in the strength we so covet. But God gives full power for every task He appoints. Waiting, holding oneself true to His lead–this is the secret of strength. And anything that falls out of the line of obedience is a waste of time and strength. Watch for His leading.
Prayer:
Written by Mark Herringshaw, a contemporary writer, speaker, and spiritual coach.
Lord, my part, is to delight in you. I want to learn what this means. Teach me. Teach me the courage to express my gratitude and to celebrate like a lottery winner. As I wait for you, you generate the outcome you promise. I have asked; today I move immediately to thankfulness. Thank you for responding, even before that outcome arrives for me; I am thanking you ahead of my timeline! I speak this routinely, but this principle really is the whole objective of prayer: Relationship alone matters, and all else follows from this, and it will follow when I set my eye on the means and not the end! Give me grace to look in the proper direction today! Amen.
Have you ever attempted to grow a plant or a flower? It takes work. It takes time. Some of the most beautiful botanicals or delicious fruits and vegetables do not come as easily as walking into a store and dropping some cash to take them home. We live in a society that often forgets the hard work behind the harvest. This is what discipline is in faith. There is hard work involved, be it patient endurance, the unraveling of addiction, working on our words, or having Jesus break our hearts for what breaks His. However, the fruit of the Spirit, the harvest of what He does within us and outwardly onto others, is yielding great fruit. It is wonderful and worth the effort. It is fully reliant on the Farmer to deliver what we cannot, in yet fully active in obedience to be part of the work.
Prayer:
Written by John Page, a contemporary pastor, teacher, and writer.
Dear God, I believe that you have given me power, and love and self-control. I want to use all of these wonderful gifts you have given me to grow into the best version of myself. I want to practice good self-discipline to become more like Jesus. I pray this in the strong name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Written by William Law (1686-1761), a Church of England priest and author who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to King George I.
For there is nothing that makes us love a person so much as praying for him or her. When you can once do this sincerely for anyone, you have fitted your soul for the performance of everything that is kind and civil toward that person This will fill your heart with a generosity and tenderness that will give you a better and sweeter behavior than anything that is called fine breeding and good manners.
Prayer:
Written by Victoria Riollano, a contemporary author and speaker.
Lord, I thank you for opportunities to pray for others. I ask that you bring people to my attention who are hurting and are in need. Give me the courage to pray boldly and the words that will resonate in their heart. I pray against fear and insecurity that would cause me to stay silent. Help me to move and speak by your Spirit. I thank you that there is power in prayer and I am believing in you for blessings on behalf of those I pray for. Show up in mighty ways, as you always do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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