A Prayer For Every Day

Open our eyes, Lord. Help us to see Jesus - to see Him in His holiness and confess our sin, to see Him in His love and receive His forgiveness, to see Him in His power and be changed by Him, to see Him in His glory and worship Him.

Lord, we hear the questions, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?” and “Who shall stand in His holy place?” – and we say, ‘This is too much for us.' We thank You, Lord, that there is Good News for us. There is One who has ascended the hill of the Lord. There is One who stand in Your holy place. Jesus has ascended the hill of the Lord. Jesus stands in Your holy place. He has ascended Your holy hill – for us. He stands in Your holy place – for us. He has “received blessing from You” – for us (Psalm 24:3-5). When , Lord, we come to worship You, help us to come in the Name of Jesus: Just as I am, without one plea but that Thy blood was shed for me … ”

Lord, You speak to us. Help us to speak to You. You're speaking. Are we listening? You're listening to us. Are we speaking to You? Your Word to us is the call of love. You tell us that You love us. You're calling us to love You. May our words (and our life) be our response to Your love - "loving Him who first loved me."

We thank You, Lord, that our determined enemy - Satan - is Your defeated enemy. To us, the devil seems so powerful. In Your eyes, He is defeated - defeated by Jesus, our crucified Saviour and risen Lord. Jesus has triumphed over Satan. He has won the victory for us (1 John 3:8; Hebrews 2:14-15). Lord, Your Word says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 5:7). Will he really flee from us? He flees from Jesus - but, surely, not from us? Have we not forgotten something? - Jesus won the victory for us. He gives His victory to us. Help us to resist the devil - in the victorious Name of Jesus. He will flee from us. Why? Because Jesus is Lord over Satan. It's not us he's fleeing from. It's Jesus. When the devil comes 'knocking on our door', help us to send Jesus to the door - and send him packing!

We thank You, Lord, that Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, "died for our sins" and was "raised" from death for us (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Help us to rejoice in "the Good News" (1 Corinthians 15:1) of our Saviour. Help us to hear Your great declaration concerning Jesus - "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). Help each of us to say of Jesus - "This is my beloved Saviour with whom I am well pleased."

Lord, help us never to think, “We are blessed because we are obedient.” Help us always to say, “We are blessed because You love us and Jesus died for us.” Your love for us, Jesus’ death for us:  This is where the blessing comes from – and it’s where our obedience comes from! We think of Your great love for us. We think of Jesus, crucified for us.  We say, “Lord, You love me. Help me to love You.” We say, “Jesus, You died for me. Help me to live for You.” This is how Your blessing comes to us – You show us how much You love us, You put Your love into our hearts, the obedience grows stronger – and so does the blessing!

"Love is as strong as death ... It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it" (Song of Solomon 7:6-7). We thank You, Lord, that Your love is the greatest love of all: "Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). We can never earn Your love: "If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned" (Song of Solomon 8:7). Your love is always Your gift to us. May Your love burn, in our hearts, "like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame" - a fire that burns up our dross, a refining fire that purifies us, a flame that burns for Your glory.

Lord, You're calling us to grow in Christ. You're calling us to be changed - changed in our way of thinking, changed in our way of living. You're calling us to be less self-centred - and more centred on You. May there be less doing our own thing - and more following Jesus, less living in the weakness of the flesh - and more living in the power of the Spirit.

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus, Your Son, has taken our sin upon Himself. We thank You that He brings Your salvation to us. With Jesus as our Saviour, we cannot remain the same as we were before we met Him. Jesus changes us. He makes us new. Help us, Lord, to live in the power of this new life which Jesus gives to us. Help us to live in His power - the power of His love.

Lord, we are, so often, dragged down to the world's way of living. Again and again, we fail to respond to "the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). We fail to rise to the challenge of walking with You on "the high way of holiness" (Isaiah 35:8). When we rejoice in Your gift of forgiveness, help us, also, to choose the way of holiness. Far too often, Lord, we keep our distance from You. You're calling us into a closer walk with You - but we draw back from You. You're seeking to change us - but we're quite content to stay the way we are. Forgive us, Lord, and deliver us from our self-centredness. Make us the kind of people that You want us to become.

Lord, we thank You for Your Word. You have spoken to us. You are still speaking to us. It's Your Word that leads us on into Your future. Help us to listen to what You are saying to us, to build our lives on Your Word, to let Your Word flow out from us, to bring blessing to many.

“With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbour” (Proverbs 11:9). Lord, this is straight talking – from Your holy Word. We need to hear this kind of thing. It keeps us on the right track. It keeps us from going off the rails. When, Lord, we’re tempted to speak words that will hurt other people, help us remember Your Word to us: “The tongue is a fire … With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men … this ought not to be so” (James 3:6-10). Help us, Lord, to keep quiet – or end up saying, I wish I had never said that – It’s better to ‘put a zip on it’ than to ‘put our foot in it.’ When we have nothing good to say, help us to say nothing at all.

Lord, You call us to belong to You. This is wonderful. It makes our hearts glad. You also call us to serve You. We're not to remain what we were before we became Your redeemed people. We're to be renewed - "beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We thank You, Lord, that You love us. We thank You that You have done great things for us. We think of Your great love. We think of all that You have done for us - and we say, "To God be the glory."

“Hezekiah trusted in the Lord” (2 Kings  18:5). Josiah did “according to the law of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25). Help us, Lord, to trust and obey. Give us faith – faith that changes the way we live, faith that leads to obedience.

By Your grace, Lord, You call us to be Your soldiers and servants. Help us not to be "fearful and fainthearted" (Deuteronomy 19:19). Help us to be "good soldiers of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3). When we hear your challenging question: "Who is on the Lord's side?", may we give our committed answer: "By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine, we are on the Lord's side; Saviour, we are Thine."

Psalm 135:1-21   ‘Praise the Lord’ (Psalm 1-3,19-21). ‘The Lord is good... The Lord is great’ (Psalm 135:3,5). In our worship, Lord, we focus on both Your greatness and Your goodness. You are great in power: ‘Great is our Lord and mighty in power’ (Psalm 147:5). You are also great in love: ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!’ (1 John 3:1). When we praise You, Lord, may we sing of Your greatness and Your goodness. May we think of the greatness of Your power - ‘I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed’ - and the greatness of His love - ‘And when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin’ ( Mission Praise , 506). Psalm 136:1-26   We thank You, Lord, that ‘Your love endures for ever’. What a great message this is! It's a message wo...

Psalm 119:1-24  Lord, You show us the way of blessing. It is the way of obedience (Psalm 119:1,9,11,17). Many will choose the way of disobedience - ‘influential people sit together and slander me.’ Help us to choose the way of obedience - ‘Your servant will meditate on Your teachings’ (Psalm 119:23). We know, Lord, that following Jesus Christ will not be easy. We see many people turning back from following Him. We are tempted to join them. We feel the pull of the world. We must not return to the world’s way of living. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  Help us to remember all that Jesus has done for us - ‘He loved us and gave Himself for us’ (Galatians 2:20) - and recommit ourselves to following Him: ‘I have decided to follow Jesus... The world behind me, the Cross before me... Though none go with me, I still will follow... No turning back, no turning back’ (Mission Praise, 272).   Psalm 119:25-48 ‘Revive me according to Your Word’ (Psalm ...

“Wisdom is better than weapons of war” (Ecclesiastes 9:18). We ask, Lord, about wisdom – “Where does wisdom come from? How will wisdom change our way of thinking and living?” You tell us that real “wisdom comes from heaven.” You show us that true wisdom will make us more “peace-loving” (James 3:18).

“Those who are left … will be called holy” (Isaiah 4:3). Lord, we hear worldly people speaking of ‘the holy people who need to learn to live in the real world.’ They speak with contempt. When You, Lord, call Your people “holy”, You speak with affection. You look upon us in love. You tell us that we are special to You. You tell us that we are precious in Your eyes. Lord, You’re calling us to be holy. Help us to look beyond this world, to catch a glimpse of “the things that are unseen and eternal”, and to “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:18; Philippians 3:14).

Lord, we thank You that You are so determined to keep on blessing us. There are times when we're not expecting very much - and then You come to us with Your blessing, and everything changes. Everything becomes so much brighter. You are with us. You are leading us forward. You are leading us on into more and more of Your blessing. Thank You, Lord.

Guide us, Lord, by Your light and Your truth ( Psalm 48:14 ; Psalm 43:3 ). Let Your light shine into our darkness. Let Your truth lift us out of the way that leads away from You and into the way that leads to You. Lead us to Jesus - He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life" ( John 14:6 ).

“This is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us …Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation” (Isaiah 25:9). Lord, we remember what You have done for us. We remember Your  Son, Jesus Christ. We rejoice in Him. He died for us. He rose again for us. We look forward to His Return – the Day when ‘He will swallow up death for ever.’ On that Day, Lord, You ‘will wipe away the tears from all faces.’ On that Day, we will say, ‘Lord, You are our God; we have trusted in You, and You have saved us.’ On that Day, we will ‘rejoice and be glad in Your salvation.’ Here and now, may we learn to trust in You. May we know that You are ‘the everlasting Rock’ – ‘the Rock of our salvation.

‘The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people, Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel my heritage”’ (Isaiah 19:25). ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek… you are all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28). How, Lord, can people, who seem to be opposites, be brought together? Jesus Christ brings them together. He breaks down ‘the barrier’. He removes ‘the dividing wall of hostility’. We are brought ‘near’ to one another through ‘the blood of Christ’. Help us, Lord, to come to ‘the Cross’ of Christ. There, at ‘the Cross’, we will find each other. We will discover what it means to be ‘one body’ in Christ (Ephesians 2:13-16). When Satan comes, creating misunderstanding, filling our minds with suspicion  and undermining our hopes of peace, help us to remind him of Your Word, ‘You are all one in Christ Jesus’.

Lord, we thank You that we're not left to go it alone. You've given us Your Spirit - the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit who leads us to Jesus, the Spirit who makes us more like Jesus. Thank You, Lord - with Your Spirit, we can go from strength to strength. Help us to walk in Your Spirit.

‘Hear the Word of the Lord!’ (Ezekiel 13:2). Lord, Your Word warns us: ‘The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.’When, Lord, we see this happening, help us to commit ourselves to You. May we live as Your faithful servants: ‘As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry’ (2 Timothy 4:3-5). When, Lord. people are looking for a ‘feel good’ type of message, a message with plenty of entertainment and no real challenge, may we never forget that Your Word is to be used for ‘teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...’ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Lord, we live in a situation of conflict. We are at war with the enemy. Satan is Your enemy. Satan is our enemy. Satan is a very determined enemy. Satan is a defeated enemy. ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon…’ (Isaiah 21:9). We read these words,  repeated again in Revelation 14:8; 18:2. You, Lord, are assuring that Satan will not prevail over You and Your people. The victory is Yours, Lord. You give Your victory to us. When the going gets tough, when Satan seems to have the upper hand, Help us to remember this: ‘Fierce may be the conflict, strong may be the foe, but the King’s own army none can overthrow. Round His standard ranging, victory is secure, for His truth unchanging makes the triumph sure’. May we never hesitate to commit ourselves to Christ: ‘Joyfully enlisting, by Thy grace divine, we are on the Lord’s side; Saviour, we are Thine.'

‘Because you have defiled My sanctuary... I Myself will withdraw My favour’ (Ezekiel 5:11). To those who despise Your Word and treat the place of prayer with contempt, Jesus still speaks His Word of judgment: ‘My House will be called a House of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves’ (Matthew 21:13). Lord, You’re warning us: ‘You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Return to Me and change the way you think and act. If you don’t change, I will come to you and remove your lamp from its place’ (Revelation 2:4-5). When, Lord, You remove Your blessing, there is nothing left but ‘a desolate waste’ (Ezekiel 6:14). Help us to make sure that we don’t become like Samson - ‘“I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.”He did not know that the Lord had left him’ (Judges 16:20).

‘The heavens were opened and I saw visions of God... The Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel’(Ezekiel 1:1-2). Lord, You open our eyes to ‘see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). You Lord speak to us. Help us to listen to You: ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening’ (1 Samuel 3:9-10). ‘The Spirit came into me... Do not be afraid of them or their words’ (Ezekiel 2:2,6). Through Your Spirit, we receive wisdom - ‘We have received the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand what God has freely given us’ - and strength - ‘God strengthens us with power through His Spirit in our inner being’ (1 Corinthians 2:12; Ephesians 3:16). ‘Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart... Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word... Be Thou my Battleshield, sword for the fight.’

‘Nothing is too hard for You’ (Jeremiah 32:17). Lord, we face many difficult situations. What are we to do when we feel we can take no more? Help us to remember You. Nothing is too hard for You. Help us to remember Your promise: ‘The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one’ (2 Thessalonians 3:3). May we hear the voice of Jesus, calling us to follow Him. May we hear His word of warning - ‘the way is hard.’ May we also know that He is our loving Saviour. He does not leave us to go it alone. We thank You, Lord, that Jesus gives us His strength - ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light’ (Matthew 4:19; 7:14; 11:30). We thank You, Lord,

Lord, You speak to us about our sin - ‘Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people’ - and Your salvation - ‘I will... put a new spirit in them...’ (Ezekiel 12:2; Ezekiel 11:19-20). Show us, Lord, that we must receive’ with humility, the bad news concerning our sin - ‘The wages of sin is death’ - before we can receive, with gladness, the Good News concerning Your salvation - ‘The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23). You want each of us to be saved: ‘The Lord... does not want anyone to perish; He wants everyone to turn away from their sins’ (2 Peter 3:9). To those who refuse to be saved, dismissing the bad news concerning their sin and closing their hearts to the Good News concerning Your salvation, You speak Your Word or warning: ‘...I will punish them for what they have done’ (Ezekiel 11:21). 

‘Wise people are put to shame, confused, trapped. They have rejected the Word of the Lord. They don’t really have any wisdom’ (Jeremiah 8:9). Deliver us, Lord, from thinking that we’re smart. Keep us from becoming wise in their own eyes. Deliver us from the ‘know it all’ attitude. May we not have an answer for everything – except the most important question, the question of salvation: ‘What must I do to be saved?’ Deliver us from knowing know so much – yet knowing so little about what really matters! ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved’ (Jeremiah 8:20). Keep us, Lord, from becoming so obsessed with getting on in the world that we make no time for You. When, Lord, we’re getting too busy enjoying all the pleasures of this world, help us to remember Jesus’ words: ‘What good will it do you if you gain the whole world – and lose eternal life?’ (Matthew 16:22).

‘You came near when I called You... O Lord... You redeemed my life’ (Lamentations 3:57-58). We wonder, Lord, ‘Will You answer our prayer for salvation?’ Yes! At the Cross of Christ, we learn that You love us and You answer our prayer. ‘You did not wait for me to draw near to You, but You clothed yourself in frail humanity. You did not wait for me to cry out to You, but You let me hear Your voice calling me. And I’m forever grateful to You, I’m forever grateful for the Cross; I’m forever grateful to You that You came to seek and save the lost.’ ‘Thank You for the Cross, the price You paid for us, how You gave Yourself so completely, precious Lord, precious Lord. Now our sins are gone, all forgiven, covered by Your blood, all forgotten, thank You Lord, thank You Lord’ (Songs of Fellowship, 631; Mission Praise, 632).

We thank You, Lord, that no human king can even begin to compare with Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘the King of kings’ (Revelation 19:16). The people of Jerusalem were full of confidence. They ‘trusted their king to protect them from every invader.’ They thought Jerusalem was invincible: ‘No one anywhere, not even rulers of foreign nations, believed that any invader could enter Jerusalem’s gates.’ They were wrong. They thought it would never happen - but it did! The unthinkable happened! ‘They captured the source of our life, the king the Lord had chosen.’ Why, Lord, did it happen? Your Word gives us the reason: ‘It happened because of the sins of her prophets and... priests’. The king - ‘the Lord’s anointed’ - was unable to prevent Jerusalem’s defeat (Lamentations 4:12-13,20). We praise You, Lord - We have a greater King: our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ!

‘You, O Lord, reign for ever; Your throne endures from generation to generation’. Help us to remember this when we feel like You have ‘forgotten’ us. When we feel like You have ‘abandoned’ us, may we remember this: ‘You, O Lord, are King for ever, and will rule to the end of time’ (Lamentations 5:19-20). Teach us not only to pay lip-service to You, our Lord and our King. May we crown You as King of our hearts and our lives. How, Lord, are we to do this? Teach us to pray, ‘Bring us back to You, Lord!’ (Lamentations 5:21). Lord, You're looking for a real return to You and a real difference in our lives. ‘In your hearts enthrone Him. There let Him subdue all that is not holy, all that is not true...’; ‘So let us learn how to serve and in our lives enthrone Him, each other’s needs to prefer, for it is Christ we’re serving’ (Church Hymnary, 300; Mission Praise, 162).

Lord, You speak to us: ‘The Word of the Lord came to me’ (Ezekiel 3:16). We speak to You: “Ah, Lord God!’ (Ezekiel 4:14). We speak for You: ‘When I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, “This is what the Lord God says, Whoever will listen, let him listen...”’ (Ezekiel 3:27). How can we keep on listening to You, speaking to You and speaking for You? We need to be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit: ‘The Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet’ (Ezekiel 3:24). We thank You, Lord, that the Spirit is our ‘Helper.’He helps us to listen to You: ‘The Holy Spirit will teach you all things’ (John 14:26). He helps us to speak to You: ‘The Spirit helps us in our weakness’ (Romans 8:26). He helps us to speak for You: ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses’ (Acts 1:8).

‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey My words?’ (Jeremiah 35:13) - ‘Jonadab, son of Rechab, ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept... I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed Me’ (Jeremiah 35:14). Lord, help us not to say, ‘I will follow You’, and then change our mind (Luke 9:57). Help us  not to sing, ‘Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee’, and then live a life which contradicts our prayer of commitment to You. Help us to mean what we say - to follow through our words of commitment with a life of obedience, a life that is pleasing to You. We read about the Rechabites. They were obedient to Jonadaab’s command - and You blessed them (Jeremiah 35:18-19). Obedient and blessed - That’s what You want us to be. Help us, Lord, to obey You - and look to You for the blessing.

‘I will bring them back to this place’ (Jeremiah 32:37). Lord, You're bringing us into Your ‘place.’ You're bringing us close to Yourself: ‘They will be My people, and I will be their God’ (Jeremiah 32:38). You're bringing us into the ‘place’ of obedience: ‘I will inspire them to fear Me, so that they will never turn away from Me’ (Jeremiah 32:40). You're leading us to the ‘place’ of blessing: ‘I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and the good of their children after them’ (Jeremiah 32:39). Sometimes, Lord, our life seems like ‘a desolate waste.’ Help us never to lose sight of Your purpose: ‘I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all My heart and soul’ (Jeremiah 32:43,41). We thank You, Lord, that You will not leave us in our ‘desolate waste.’ You will lead us to a better ‘place’ - the ‘place’ of obedience and blessing.

Terrible things were happening! Things were going from bad to worse. ‘What next?’ - The people were wondering where it would all end. Lord, what are we to do when everything seems to be getting totally out of control? There is one thing we must never forget. It is the most important thing of all. We must ‘pray to the Lord our God.’We must ask You, Lord, to ‘show us the way we should go.’You will ‘show us the thing that we should do’ (Jeremiah 42:2-3). May we learn that it’s time to stop complaining and start praying.

Lord, so often, we forget the things that matter most. So often, we forget You. The more we forget You, the more we miss out on the blessing which comes from knowing that You are the Lord our God. You are the God who is with us - even when we feel that You are far away.

Teach us, Lord, to count our blessings. We try to think of all the good things You have done for us, all the great gifts You have given to us. We cannot keep up with You, Lord. There is so much to count, so much for which we can only say, ‘Thank You, Lord.’

Lord, You speak Your Word to us. You call us to obedience. You say to us, ‘Obey My voice.’ Often, Lord, the story of our life is summed up in the words: ‘They did not listen or pay attention. They did not obey’ (Jeremiah 11:7-8). Your Word is not just ‘something to think about.’ When You call us to obedience, we’re not to say, ‘I’ll think about that later.’ ‘Now’ is the time for obedience to Your Word: ‘Obey now the voice of the Lord’ (Jeremiah 38:20). Help us, Lord, not to put this off until tomorrow. You’re looking for our obedience today: ‘Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’ (Hebrews 4:7). When, Lord, we’re deeply involved in religious ritual – ‘burnt offerings and sacrifices’ – , You say to us, ‘To obey is better than sacrifice’ (1 Samuel 15:22). Help us, Lord, to see that obedience involves our whole life – not just ‘never missing a service’!

‘I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against Me... Then this city will bring Me renown, joy, praise, and honour before all nations on earth...’ (Jeremiah 33:7-9). What great blessing lay ahead of Your people! Lord, You were pointing Your people to the place of blessing: Jesus Christ - ‘the righteous Branch from David’s line’ (Jeremiah 33:15-16). We thank you that 'in Christ’, we have ‘every spiritual blessing’: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’ (Ephesians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 2:9). We thank You, Lord, that You have so much blessing to give to us. Help us to come to You and receive Your blessing: ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you; I will show you wonderful and marvellous things that you know nothing about’ (Jeremiah 33:3).

Lord, help us to prepare for the future – Your future. Life without a future is no life at all. Often, we feel like we are stuck in the prison of the present. You lift up our eyes. You show us Your future. You fill our pathway with Your light. It is Your light that makes our future very bright – brighter than we can put into words, brighter than we can even imagine. Lead us, Lord, into Your future. Help us to walk with You on Your pathway to glory – Your eternal glory.

Psalms 92:1-93:5 ‘You, O Lord, are exalted for ever… The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty…’(Psalm 92:8; Psalm 93:1-2). You, Lord, are ‘exalted.’ Help us to exalt You in our worship. You are not exalted because we exalt You. We exalt You because You are exalted. You are ‘exalted far above all gods.’ That is why we sing, ‘I exalt Thee, O Lord.’ ‘He is exalted, the King is exalted on high’- This is the truth concerning You, Lord. ‘I will praise Him’- This is our response to Your truth. We sing, ‘Jesus, we enthrone You, we proclaim You our King.’ This is our response to the eternal truth concerning our Saviour: 'The Lord is enthroned as King for ever.' ‘From all eternity’ the Lord is ‘robed in majesty.’ Help us, Lord, to respond to His majesty. Help us to ‘magnify’ You, Lord – ‘O Lord our God, how majestic is Thy Name’(Psalm 97:9; Psalm 29:10; Mission Praise , 158,217,388,507). Psalm 94:1-23 ‘When I said, “...

For forty years, Rev George Philip (11th November 1925 - 16th February 2019) taught the Lord's Word faithfully and fruitfully at Sandyford - Henderson Memorial Church, Glasgow. On 1st March 2019, I attended a thanksgiving service for his life and ministry. We looked back, and we said, "To God be the glory!" Here's a link to George's Bible reading notes, which cover most of Scripture. Bible notes by G Philip

‘The king cut it with the penknife, and threw it into the fire’ (Jeremiah 36:23). Help us, Lord, not to be like this king. He didn’t like Your Word. He thought he could get rid of Your Word. What a fool he was! You saw what was going on. The king’s attempt to silence You was utterly futile. You would not be silenced. You continued to speak Your Word. Soon, the king was hearing another Word from You: ‘You burned that scroll...’ (Jeremiah 36:29)! Lord, You’re still speaking to us today. You’re calling us to listen to You. You’re calling us back from the way of ‘wickedness’, back from the brink of ‘disaster’ (Jeremiah 36:31). You’re calling us back from the way of unbelief, the way that leads to ‘the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.’You’re calling us to be ‘blessed.’ Help us to have faith in the Saviour - to receive ‘the Kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world’ (Matthew 25:41,34).

‘I know the plans I have for you... to give you a future and a hope.’ Lord, this was Your long-term purpose for Your people. It was important that they did not lose sight of this. There would be ‘seventy years’ of captivity in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:10-11). At times, they must have wondered, ‘Will this ever end? Is there really something better still to come?’ Our life on earth may sometimes seem like the ‘seventy years’ in Babylon: ‘The length of our days is seventy years... yet all they bring us is trouble and sorrow’! We wonder, Lord, ‘Is there a glorious future still to come?’ In our times of ‘suffering’ and ‘sorrow’, teach us to draw our ‘strength’ from Your Word. May we look forward to ‘the Day’ when Christ ‘comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be admired in all who believe’ (Psalms 90:10; 119:28; 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5,10).

Lord, living for You isn’t easy – Satan makes sure of that! We try to escape his evil clutches – but he’s always there, and he’s up to no good! Satan is such a determined enemy. Help us to remind him that he’s a defeated enemy. We’re often tempted – and we feel so weak. Help us to tell Satan that Jesus is Lord – and we belong to Jesus! Satan wins some battles with us. He gives us a hard time. Often, he gets the better of us. Help us to remind him that the final triumph belongs to Jesus. Beyond our present conflict, there is His final triumph; “This day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song” (from “Stand up, stand up for Jesus”).

“Immanuel … God is with us” (Isaiah 8:8,10). Lord, we read these words – and we thank You that Jesus has come to be with us so that we may go to be with Him. He has come from heaven to earth so that we might go from earth to heaven. He died for us so that we might live with Him. Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our great Saviour.

Lord, everything seems so hopeless   - when we take our eyes off You! Help us to keep our eyes on You. Fill us with fresh hope. Sometimes, we can be optimists. Often, we’re pessimists. You’re always “the God of hope” ( Romans 15:13 ). You’re always saying to us, “There is hope” ( Jeremiah 31:17 ). Lord, real hope comes from You. It’s more than human optimism. It’s Your gift to us. It’s Your “gift of eternal life” ( Romans 6:23 ). Lord, real hope comes from You. It’s more than just “hoping for the best.” It’s being lifted up by You, Lord – the God who raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2::24). Thank You, Lord, for the hope that You give to us when we stand upon Your great promises: “I will pour out My Spirit … and everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” ( Acts 2:18 , 21 ). You lift us out of our hopelessness. You give us strength to face the future with confidence – the strength which comes from knowing that You are the God of h...

‘The Lord is the everlasting God… He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak… those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…’ (Isaiah 40:28-31). Far too often, Lord, we say, ‘I can’t’ when we really mean ‘I won’t’. ‘I can’t’ – This, Lord,  is an insult to Your power of God. You call us to do something special for Him. We say, ‘I can’t’. What are we really saying? We’re saying – ‘Lord, I don’t believe Your promise – “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength”’. Help us, Lord, to stop saying, ‘I can’t’. Help us not to get so busy with other things that we fail to wait upon You, Lord, and renew your strength. When You call us to serve Him, help us to say, ‘Yes, Lord, I will wait upon You. I will renew my strength. I will do Your will’.  

Lord, help us not to rest content with going through the motions of religion. Beyond religion, there is redemption. Beyond ritual, there is reality. May our faith in Jesus, our Saviour, be a real faith, a living faith, a faith that changes us, a faith that brings glory to You.

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you… I am the Lord your God who… says to you, Do not fear; I will help you… I Myself will help you, declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel’ (Isaiah 41:10-14). When, Lord, we have something important to say, we repeat ourselves. We want to make sure that our message gets across. We say, ‘Do you get the point? Do you see what I mean?’ This, Lord, is what You are doing. Three times, You say, ‘ I will help you ’. You want us to get the point. You  want to leave us in no doubt. You want us to be sure of this: ‘I will help you’. You don’t want us to go around thinking, ‘I wonder if God will help me?’ You really do want to help us. You say it once. You say it twice. You say it three times: ‘I will help you’. Thank You, Lord.

Lord, we thank You that You are always with us – even when bad things are happening to us.

You call us, Lord, to "lead a life worthy of Your calling" (Ephesians 4:1). We say, 'I can't.' You say to us, "I have blessed you, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3). Why we do allow our lives to be controlled by our own weakness when we can be transformed by Your strength? Help us, Lord, to think of all that You have given to us, in Christ, and to rise up, with new strength - Your strength - to live for You day-by-day.

What, Lord, is most important to us – the person who leads us in worship, the place where we worship, or the God whom we worship? We know what our answer should be – but, often, our lives tell a very different story. Help us, when we worship, to learn that nothing and no-one can ever be more important than You. May our lives start catching up with the lessons that we learn when we are reading Your Word.

Loving You, Lord, is more important than anything else – but it’s not always the most important thing in our lives. Sometimes, other things get in the way of our love for You. Help us to love You more truly and more fully – and help us to show our love for You by sharing Your love with our neighbour.

Help us, Lord, to give ourselves to You. May there be less Grudge-Giving – “I have to”, less Duty-Giving – “I ought to”, and more Thanksgiving – “I want to.”

Lord, give us wisdom (1 Kings 4:29). Help us to share this wisdom with others (1 Kings 4:32-34). What, Lord, is wisdom? Is it knowing a lot about history, geography and science? No, Lord, true wisdom is knowing Jesus, knowing that He is our Saviour, knowing that He shows us what life is all about, knowing that His love is the greatest love of all, the love that changes everything, the love that changes us. Help us to share His love with others. This is wisdom – knowing Jesus, knowing that He loves us, being changed by His love. Christ is “our Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Help us to rejoice in Him – and to share His love with the people that we meet.

‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: The end!’ (Ezekiel 7:2). Why, Lord, did You say, ‘This is “the end? ”’You had been taking a good look at what was going on among His people: ‘the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive Me far from My sanctuary’ (Ezekiel 8:6). You came to this conclusion - ‘This is the end of the road. It’s the end of the time of blessing. It’s now time for judgment’: ‘The end is now upon you and I will unleash My anger against you. I will judge you according to... all your detestable practices...’ (Ezekiel 7:3-4). Why did You say, ‘This is “the end”’ - the end of a time of blessing, the beginning of a time of judgment? The answer is clear: If there is no obedience, there can be no blessing. Disobedience can lead to only one thing - judgment. Teach us, Lord, to obey Your Word. Lead us on the pathway of blessing.

Lord, we thank You that ‘the fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream’ (Proverbs 18:4). We read the joyful testimony of Paul: ‘The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus’ (1 Timothy 1:14), and we say, in our hearts,  ‘This is the “wisdom” we must seek – the wisdom which receives “salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). True wisdom finds its overflowing joy in the Saviour: ‘The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe’ (Proverbs 18:10). We rejoice in Jesus. He is Your Son – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High’ (Luke 1:31-32). He is our Saviour – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21). He is ‘the Friend who sticks closer than a brother’ (Proverbs 18:24). Help us, Lord, to be wise. Help us to invite Jesus, Your Son, to be our Saviour and our Fr...

We look, Lord, for happiness, but we cannot find it. Why do we keep missing happiness? We’re looking in the wrong place. We try to find happiness in ourselves. You’re saying to us, “You’ll only find happiness when you come to Jesus. Only Jesus can fill the God-shaped blank in your heart.” Teach us, Lord, to listen to Your voice, speaking to us of Jesus, calling us to come to Him and receive from Him Your gift of salvation. Help us to rejoice in Jesus, to be glad that He is our great Saviour.

We thank You, Lord, that we have Your wonderful promise - "The Lord your God is with you" - as well as Your clear command - "Be strong" (Joshua 1:9). Without Your promise, the command is no use. Again and again, we fail to keep Your commands. Again and again, we need to be reassured. You are still with us.This is what we need to hear. This is where our strength comes from. It comes from Your promise. It comes from knowing that You never fail us. You have never failed us. You never will fail us.

“A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). Help us, Lord, to look beyond human love and human friendship. Help us to see Jesus. His love is the greatest love. He is our greatest Friend. Thank You, Lord, for Jesus. Thank You for His love. He’s our Forever Friend. May we know, in our hearts, that His love is ‘always and forever’ love.

Lord, we’re being pulled in two different directions. You’re drawing us to Yourself. The world is pulling us away from You. Help us to confess our sin – we need to be better than we are. Help us to trust in Your power – You’re the only One who can make us better than we are.

Where does victory come from? Does it come from ourselves? No! It comes from You, Lord. You give us the victory. We give You the glory: "To God be the glory! Great things He has done. So loved He the world that He gave us His Son ... Praise the Lord!"

‘No Surrender’ - Lord, was this the way forward for Your people? ‘No Surrender’ - What would happen if Your people adopted this attitude? Jeremiah speaks Your Word to the people. He calls them to make their choice. They can ‘surrender’ and ‘live.’ They can say, ‘No Surrender’ - and face certain death  (Jeremiah 38:17-18). Captivity in Babylon would not be easy. They would be heartbroken as they recalled happier times - ‘By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.’ It would be so difficult to keep on praising You - ‘How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ (Psalm 137:1,4). Life in Babylon would be difficult - but ‘it would not be the end of the world’! They could still look forward to the fulfilment of Your ‘gracious promise’: ‘I will come to you and bring you back to this place’ (Jeremiah 29:10).

‘Egypt’ was to be a place of punishment. Lord, You speak to those who remain in the the place of rebellion. You say to them, ‘I will punish you in this place.’This is Your Word of warning. We don’t need to remain in the place of rebellion and punishment. We can ‘return’ to ‘Judah’, the place of obedience and blessing (Jeremiah 44:28-29). This is not about places we will find on a map of the world. It’s a call to look into the secret places of our hearts. Teach us, Lord, to search our hearts. What will You find when You look into our hearts? Will You find rebellion? Will You find obedience? You want us to leave the place of rebellion and punishment. You want us to return to the place of obedience and blessing. ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart!... See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!’ (Psalm 139:23-24).

‘Is there any Word from the Lord?’ - ‘Yes! There is a Word from the Lord.’ Lord, Your Word wasn’t exactly what the king wanted to hear - ‘You will be handed over to the king of Babylon’ (Jeremiah 37:17). You were going to bless Your people - but they would have to be patient: Things were going to get an awful lot worse before they would get much better! Before their restoration - “I will bring them back and restore them to this place’, Your people faced captivity - ‘They will be taken to Babylon.’There was bad news - a captivity of  ‘seventy years.’There was good news - the captivity wouldn’t last forever (Jeremiah 37:27:22; 29:10-11)! Lord, You speak of Your blessing - ‘It will certainly come’, but You also say, ‘Wait for it’ (Habakkuk 2:3). Help us to listen to all that You say to us - and not ‘only hear what we want to hear’!

"It is Solomon your son who shall build My House (1 Chronicles 28:6). Lord, this was the Word that You spoke to Your servant, David. what a Word of hope this was! David had heard the words, "You are not to build a House for My Name" (1 Chronicles 28:3). His heart sank - but You lifted him up again. It wasn't all about David - and it isn't all about us. It's all about You. You do things Your way - not our way. May we learn to say, "Not my will, Lord. Your will be done."