A Prayer For Every Day

‘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’.

“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.

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 ).

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.

“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).

“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).