A Prayer For Every Day

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

“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.

‘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."

No-one goes on forever. We read about David’s reign coming to an end, about David being replaced by Solomon (1 Kings 1:30). Help us, Lord, to pray that the future will be “greater” than the past (1 Kings 1:37,47). In all of life’s changes, help us to remember this: You are the living God (1 Kings 1:29) – the God who remains constant when everything else is changing, the God whose love is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable.

Lord, there are times when it seems nothing is going right for us: ‘I am the man who has seen affliction...’ (Lamentations 3:1-3). In such times, Help us to remember this: ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end.’ When we find ourselves in circumstances of great distress, may we learn to look beyond the things that are happening to us. Teach us, Lord, to look You, and say, ‘Great is Your faithfulness.’ We don't find it easy to see You at work in our lives when everything seems to be going wrong. Teach us to be patient, as we wait for Your blessing return to our lives. May we put all our hope in You, Lord. Teach us to trust in Your precious promise: ‘The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord’ (Lamentations 3:22-26).

Lord, You've called us to be the Bride of Christ: "a pure Bride", a Bride beautifully dressed" for our Saviour - "the Bride, the wife of the Lamb" (Ephesians 5:25-33; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:2,9). May we hear the voice of Jesus, saying to us, "You are beautiful, my love." May we worship Him: "You are beautiful, my Beloved, truly lovely" (Song of Solomon 1:15-16).

Joyful, generous and wholehearted giving (1 Chronicles 29:9) - Where, Lord, does this kind of giving come from? It comes from You, Lord. It comes to us when we're learning to worship You, when we're learning to say, from deep in our hearts, "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty" (1 Chronicles 29:10). It's this kind of worship that inspires our giving. When we're learning to worship like this, our giving will become a joyful privilege rather than a legalistic burden. Our giving will become thanksgiving - "Our God, we thank You ... Everything comes from You. We give only what has come from Your hands" (1 Chronicles 29:13-14).

Lord, we are called to fear You - and to love You. We tend to think that fear and love are opposites. You teach us something else, something very different. Fear and love belong together. You are the holy God, the God who cannot look upon our sin (Habakkuk 1:13). We fear You. You show us our sin so that we might be brought to Jesus, our Saviour. We come to Jesus. We learn how much You love us - and we begin to love You.

Lord, You give us Your promises and Your warnings. You show us the better way - and You say to us, "Make sure that You don't go back to the old way of living, back to the world's way of living, back to the way of life that will never satisfy."

Sometimes, Lord, we don't feel like the sun is shining upon us. When we feel like this, help us to know that the light and love of Your Son is always shining upon us. When we're feeling down, help us to remember that You raised Jesus up - "Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o'er His foes." This is what we need to hear. This is what lifts us up: up - into Your presence, up - out of our sin, up - into Your salvation' upwards and onwards - to Your eternal glory.

Sometimes, Lord, our lights are switched off. Sometimes, they're switched on. The light of Your love is never switched off. It's always switched on. Your love is 'all the time' love. There is no love like Your love for us. It's the only 'always and forever' love. Thank You, Lord, for the light that never stops shining - the light of Your undying love. This is the only light that is always shining.

Often, Lord, we come to Your House with so little expectation of Your blessing. Where does this attitude come from? - It doesn't come from You. You are the great God. You fill our hearts with 'great expectations.' When Satan comes to us, filling our hearts with apathy - the 'couldn't-care-less' attitude, help us to tell him that You are the great God (Psalm 135:5) - great in holiness, power and love, the faithful God who comes to us with great promises of blessing. When, Lord, we are blessed by You, help us to give all the glory to You.

‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stubborn and would not listen to My Word’ (Jeremiah 19:15). Lord, You're warning Your people. You're calling us back from the way of sin and disobedience. You're calling us to return to You. You're looking for people who will take You seriously. You're calling us to live in obedience to Your Word. You're calling us to worship You with the dedication of our lives and not only the words of our lips. Sometimes, we wonder, ‘Will Your blessing be lost forever? Is there a way of rediscovering Your blessing in our lives?’ ‘There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin. There’s a door that is open and you may go in. At Calvary’s Cross is where you begin, when you come as a sinner to Jesus’ (Mission Praise. 682).

‘Cursed be the day I was born!... Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?’ (Jeremiah 20:14-18). Lord, we read about Jeremiah. We see that he is deeply depressed. He has been preaching Your Word. He’s getting nothing but abuse in return: ‘The Word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long’ (Jeremiah 20:8). We thank You, Lord, that he didn't stop preaching. He kept on going. He felt like giving up: ‘If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His Name”’. We thank You, that he was driven on by a greater Power - ‘His Word is in my heart like a fire’. No matter how much he tried to keep silent, he could not do it (Jeremiah 20:9). We thank You, Lord, that he moved forward in triumphant faith: ‘The Lord is with me like a mighty warrior’ (Jeremiah 20:11). We thank You that he called upon Your people to worship You: ‘Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord!’ (Jeremiah 20:13). Help us, Lord, to k...

‘Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past...’ (Jeremiah 21:2). Lord, we read about "times past" - and we say, "That was then. What about now?" Help us never to assume that You will always bless us. May we never forget that yesterday’s blessing belong to the past. Teach us not to live in the past. Keep us from saying, ‘He has blessed us in the past. He will keep on blessing us.’ Help us to ask ourselves the searching question, "Do we really want to keep on enjoying Yours blessing?" Help us to keep on seeking Your blessing. If, Lord, we do not seek You, there will be no promise of blessing. We will hear a very different Word from You: ‘I have determined to do this city harm and not good... I will punish as your deeds deserve’ (Jeremiah 21:10,14). May we never take Your blessing for granted. May we never forget that we could be ‘in for a rude awakening’ - if we do not start seeking You, Lord. Help us to start seeking You to...

We thank You, Lord, that Jeremiah kept on speaking to people who had given up on worshipping You (Jeremiah 22:9). His message was clear: ‘O land, land, land, hear the Word of the Lord?’ (Jeremiah 22:29). Lord, You're speaking Your Word to us. Are we listening? You're looking for people who will listen to You. You want us to pay attention to Your Word. Your Word is like ‘the sound of a trumpet.’ It demands our attention. Many people say, ‘We will not listen.’ Your Word shows us ‘the good way’ and calls us to ‘walk in it.’ Many people say, ‘We will not walk in it.' What about us, Lord? What do we say to You? What is our response to Your Word? We thank You, Lord, for Your Word of warning: ‘I am bringing disaster on this people... because they have not listened to My Word.’ May we not bring this judgment on ourselves. Help us to listen to Your Word and walk in Your way (Jeremiah 6:16-19).

Help us, Lord, to learn from the failure of King Uzziah. He began well – “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord … He set himself to seek God” (2 Chronicles 26:4-5). He lost his way – “When he was strong, he grew proud, and he was false to the Lord his God” ( 2 Chronicles 26:16). Help us, Lord, to become better people – not bitter people!

We read, Lord, about the reign of King Josiah. There was spiritual revival (2 Chronicles 34:33). Where did this spiritual revival come from? - It came from You. It came from the rediscovery of Your Word. Where was Your Word found? - It was found "in the House of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 34:15). Beyond the written Word, there is Jesus Christ, the living Word of God. When Your Word is preached to us, help us to listen for the voice of Jesus Christ, the true and living Word of God. Open up our hearts to Your Word. Open up our hearts to Your Spirit. Let "rivers of living water" flow out from our hearts to others (John 7:37-39).

Very quickly, Lord, good work can be undone (2 Chronicles 33:1-3). Bad work can be undone - if we will make a new beginning with You (2 Chronicles 34:1-4). Help us, Lord, to make a new beginning with You - and a new beginning for You.

Lord, You call us to ‘return’ to You (Jeremiah 3:14,22). You call us to make our response to You. You invite us to say, ‘Yes, we will come to You, for You are the Lord our God’ (Jeremiah 3:22). How are we to come to You? We are to come to You, confessing our sins – ‘We have sinned against the Lord our God’ (Jeremiah 3:25). We are to come to You, trusting You to save us – ‘Surely in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel’ (Jeremiah 3:23). We thank You, Lord, for all the blessings that You give to those who return to You. You are ‘merciful’ to us. You do ‘not treat us as our sins deserve’ (Jeremiah 3:12, Psalm 103:10). We become Your children. We call You, ‘Father’ (Jeremiah 3:19; Galatians 4:6). You ‘cure us of our backsliding.’ ‘In Christ’, we become ‘a new creation’ (Jeremiah 3:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Thank You, Lord.

‘The day has come to destroy all the Philistines... The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines... Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh are destroyed’ (Jeremiah 47:4). That seems like ancient history  - nothing to do with us! What about this? - ‘A curse on him who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!’ (Jeremiah 48:17). Lord, Your Word was written many centuries ago - but it still has a great deal to do with us! We miss the point if we read the Bible as no more than a book of ancient history. Lord, You’re still speaking to us through your Word. You’re still calling us to sit up and take notice. You’re still demanding our attention. Help us not to be lazy in Your work. Teach us to be Your faithful servants. ‘Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord... your labour in the Lord is not in vain’ (1 Corinthians 15:58).

We read, Lord about slaves being ‘set free.’ We think, "This is great!" Then, we read about things going wrong - ‘Afterwards they changed their minds and took back the slaves... and enslaved them again’ (Jeremiah 34:8-11). What, Lord, do You have to say about this? - ‘You have turned round and dishonoured Me... You took back the slaves... You forced them into slavery again... You have not obeyed Me’ (Jeremiah 34:16-17). We thank You that Jesus isn’t like these slavemasters! He doesn’t only promise us freedom. He gives us our freedom: ‘If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’. He doesn’t come to us with ‘a pack of lies’ - promising this, that and the other, and then breaking every promise. We thank You that He sets us free with His Word of truth - ‘You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:36,32; Psalm 119:45).

We read, Lord, about ‘the Valley of Vision’ (Isaiah 22:1,5). You are to be our Vision: ‘Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art, Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping Thy presence my light.’ When we’re down in the valley, the mountain-top experience seems a long way off. What are we to do when everything seems to be hard-going? When there seems to be no way out of the valley, no way back to the mountain-top, help us to keep on ‘looking to Jesus’ (Hebrews 12:1-2). When we’re in the ‘valley’, help us to say, ‘My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, nor even blessing, but Himself, my God’. May our ‘valley’ become Your ‘valley of vision’, the place where we are learning to ‘turn our eyes upon Jesus.’  

‘Look at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account!’ (13). We read these words, Lord, and we wonder, “What about our nation? Is there any hope for our nation?” To the nation which turns to You, Lord, You  speak Your promise of blessing – ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord …’ (Psalm 33:12). To the nation which turns away from You, You speak Your warning of judgment – ‘For lack of guidance a nation falls’ (Proverbs 11:14). We must choose. Help us, Lord, to choose to listen to You, to submit our lives to You,, to follow the guidance You have given to us in Your Word.  Your way leads to blessing – ‘Righteousness exalts a nation.’ The way of self leads to judgment – ‘sin is a disgrace to any people’ (Proverbs 14:34). Raise us, Lord, above the way of “the Babylonians” – to the better way, the way that brings glory to You:  ‘They will see your good works and give glory to your Fath...

‘O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name… You have done marvellous things’ (Isaiah 25:1). We remember what You, Lord, have done for us. You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour. We rejoice in Jesus. He died for us. We rejoice in Jesus. He rose again for us. We look forward to His Return. We look forward to the Day when You, Lord, ‘will swallow up death for ever.’ On that Day, ‘the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces.’ On that Day, we will look back and say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us.’ On that Day, we will ‘rejoice and be glad in Your salvation’ (Isaiah 25:8-9). Here and now, help us to ‘trust in’ You. May we know that we can trust in You ‘for ever.’ You are ‘the everlasting Rock’ – ‘the Rock of our salvation’ (Isaiah 26:4; Psalm 95:1).

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our Saviour – ‘Lord, You establish peace for us’; ‘We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’. We cannot save ourselves. We can only look away from ourselves to Jesus – and be saved by Him: ‘all that we have accomplished You have done for us’; ‘By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God’ (Isaiah 26:12; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8). We thank You that Jesus is our Lord – ‘Lord, our God… You alone are our Lord’. How are we to live once we have received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? – ‘Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him’. Help us not to ‘keep on sinning so that You, Lord, can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness.’ Help us to live a life of ‘good works’ (Isaiah 26:13; Colossians 2:6; Romans 6:1; Ephesians 2:10).

‘Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!’ (Isaiah 31:1). Lord, we can so easily forget You. We try to go it alone, and we forget to look to You for help. Even when we forget You, You do not forget us. When we turn our back on You, You call us to ‘return to You’ (Isaiah 31:6). You remind us that our true help is found in You: ‘Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm 124:8). We need not look around here, there and everywhere for an answer to the question, ‘Where does my help come from?’ There is only one true answer to this question: ‘My help comes from You, Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth’ (Psalm 121:1-2). Thank You, Lord, that You are our God – our Maker and our Helper.

‘Blessed is the one who always fears the Lord. If you harden your heart, you will be ruined’ (Proverbs 28:14). Lord, Your blessing comes to us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Saviour: ‘The Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes’. To those who refuse to come to Christ and receive His salvation, You speak solemn words of warning: ‘Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the Day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed’ (Romans 1:16; Romans 2:5). You call us to receive ‘salvation’ through faith in Christ, ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’. May we not be among those who reject Christ and His salvation, those who  must face ‘the wrath of the Lamb’ (John 1:29; Revelation 7:10; 6:16).  

What blessings are given to those who draw near to You, Lord - ‘Your God… will come and save you’ (Isaiah 35:4). The Good News of Christ comes to us as a call to faith – ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved’ (Acts 16:31). We have been saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot remain the same. You have called us to live a new life. You call us to travel on the Your ‘highway’ – ‘the Way of Holiness’ (Isaiah 35:8). This is ‘the Way’ which leads to ‘everlasting joy’ (Isaiah 35:10). This ‘Way’ is so different from the world’s way. The world has no time for those who seek to live a holy life. Help us to remember what Jesus says about the world’s way of life: ‘the gate is wide and the way is wide that leads to destruction’ (Matthew 7:13). Whatever the world may say, may we never forget this: ‘Without holiness, no-one will see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14).

Lord, You call us to ‘draw near’ to You. You want us to ‘pay attention’ to You. Help us to ‘listen’ to His Word (Isaiah 34:1). Your Word is not always what we want to hear. It will always be what we need to hear. ‘The Lord is angry with all nations’ (Isaiah 34:2). We don’t like to hear about Your anger. We prefer to be told ‘You’re doing fine.’ We need to hear about God’s anger. We need to hear about how far we have wandered away from God – ‘We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us turned to his own way.’ We are sinners. We have turned away from You, Lord. We have chosen our own way rather than Your way. We must hear this ‘bad news’ before we can really appreciate the ‘Good News’ – ‘the Lord has laid all our sins on Jesus’, ‘Christ died for us while we were still sinners’, ‘Christ died for our sins’ (Isaiah 53:6; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3).

‘O Lord…Be our strength every morning , our salvation in the time of trouble ’ (Isaiah 33:2). Help us, Lord, not only to pray to You ‘in the time of trouble.’ Help us to pray to You ‘every morning.’ May we not keep You at a distance, calling on You only when things are going badly. When we keep You at a distance, our life tells its own sad story – ‘O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear – all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.’ When we draw near to You, Lord, You draw near to us, and everything becomes very different – ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!’ (James 4:8). Lord, let Your  ‘love’ come to us ‘new every morning’ – ‘fresh as the morning , as sure as the sunrise’ (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Help us, Lord, to "give a friendly welcome" (Hebrews 11:31). What a difference the friendly welcome makes! It's the word of encouragement that makes us feel loved. It's the act of kindness that lets us know that love is more than words. Lord, You are our Father. Help us to be like You - "when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke 15:20). What amazing grace! Before the confession of sin - "Father, I have sinned... " (Luke 15:21), there is the friendly welcome. It's Your grace that inspires our confession of sin. It's Your grace that leads us into the joy of Your forgiveness. It's not only joy for us. It's joy for You - "my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:24).

We think, Lord, about Jerusalem’s fall into hard times. This wasn't ‘just one of those things that happens.’ Your people brought it on themselves. They didn't take You seriously - but You continued to take them seriously. They ignored You, Lord, but You didn't ignore their disobedience to You. They sinned against You - and You were angry with them: ‘How the Lord in His anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud!’ (Lamentations 2:1). This was not just a case of glibly saying, ‘The good times will come again.’ They needed to recognize why the bad times had come: ‘The Lord has... carried out His threat’ (Lamentations 2:17). Lord, You had warned Your sinful people. Judgment was on its way - if they refused to listen to You. Now, in the time of You judgment, You are still calling us back to Yourself: ‘Cry aloud to the Lord!...’ (Lamentations 2:18-19). Help us, Lord, to return to You.

We confess our sins to You, Lord - ‘We sinned... All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags’. We look to You for forgiveness - ‘Do not remember our sins for ever’ (Isaiah 64:5-6,9). We know that You hear and answer our prayer. Jesus Christ is Your Answer to our prayer. He has ‘come down’ from heaven to earth. ‘The Son of the Most High’ has been ‘born’ into our world. Jesus Christ is Your way of saying ‘Here am I! Here am I!’. He is ‘God with us’ (64:1; 65:1; Luke 1:32,35; Matthew 1:23). ‘The blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin.’ Help us, Lord, to ‘confess our sins.’ ‘The blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin’ - Help us to come to You with faith, believing that You ‘will forgive our sins’. (1 John 1:7,9). May we rejoice in Jesus, our Saviour!

We read about Solomon – he built “his own house”, and he built “the House of the Lord” (1 Kings 6:37-7:1). Which was the most important to him? Which is most important to us – pleasing ourselves or serving You? Help us, Lord, not to be “lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure”. “Lovers of God” – this is what You call us to be (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Help us, Lord, to keep on making our choice – to become the kind of people that You want us to be.

Lord, You want to “establish Your Word” among us (1 Kings 6:12). Do we “rejoice greatly” when we hear Your Word (1 Kings 5:7)? Help us to welcome Jesus Christ, “the Word made flesh”, the living Word who “dwells among us, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Help us to welcome Him as “Emmanuel – God with us” (Matthew 1:23). May we rejoice greatly when Jesus stands among us as our loving Saviour, when He comes to us as the risen Lord, when He speaks to us as Your living Word.

‘I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied’ (Jeremiah 23:21). Before we can speak for You, Lord, we must take time to listen to You. Teach us that we dare not attempt to speak for You if we are not prepared to spend time listening to You. Everything could have been so different - if ‘these prophets’ had taken time to listen to You: ‘If they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and would have turned them from their evil ways’ (Jeremiah 23:22). Lord, You don't force us to listen to Your Word. You invite us to listen. The choice is ours. We can allow other things to become more important than spending time with You. Help us, Lord, never to become ‘too busy’ for the ‘one thing’ that is more important than anything else - listening to Your Word (Luke 10:41-42).

Lord, You are not only ‘the Holy One of Israel’. You are ‘the God of the whole earth’ (Isaiah 54:5). We thank You that the Gospel is for ‘all nations’. The ministry of Christ’s apostles began in ‘Jerusalem’. We thank You that it did not end there. The Gospel was to be taken ‘to the ends of the earth’ (Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8). Taking the Gospel out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth was not easy. The apostles faced much opposition. We thank You that they stood upon Your promise: ‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper’ (Isaiah 54:17). When, Lord, we face opposition, help us to take our stand on Your Word: ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ (Romans 8:31). Even when our words seem to fall on stony ground, give us the strength that we need to keep on speaking the Word of Your love: ‘With everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer’ (Isaiah 54:8).

Lord, You call us to return to You: ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found...’ (Isaiah 55:6-7). No one seems to be listening. What are we to do? Help us to remember Your promise: ‘My Word will not return to Me empty’ (Isaiah 55:11). We do not see all that You are doing. You are doing much more than we realize - ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts...’ (Isaiah 55:8-9). We may be feeling very despondent - ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything’ (Luke 5:5). You still come to us with His Word of encouragement: ‘You shall go out with joy...’ (Isaiah 55:12). Before there is joy, there may be many tears. When there seems to be nothing but disappointments, help us to remember Your promise: ‘Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy...’ (Psalm 126:5-6). When we feel discouraged, help us not to ‘judge before the time...’ (1 Corinthians 4:5).

‘In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a Man will sit on it – One from the house of David…’ (Isaiah 16:5). Lord, we read these words, and we look beyond David – to Jesus, ‘the Son of God’ (Romans 1:4). David was the king of Israel. Jesus is the King of kings. In Jesus, Your Perfect Son, we see Your love and Your faithfulness. Thank You, Lord.

‘You have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge’ (Isaiah 17:10). Lord, we find it so easy to forget – and so hard to remember. You have loved us so much. We should remember to say, ‘Thank You, Lord’. Very often, we forget. When Jesus healed ten lepers, only ‘one of them came back’ to say ‘Thank You’. Far too often, we are like ‘the other nine’ (Luke 17:11-19). We forget to thank You for Your love. We take Your love for granted. We should be celebrating. We should be letting You know how much we love You. We forget ‘our first love’ (Revelation 2:4). Help us to let Jesus be our first love, our only love – for the whole of our life.

Lord, we read the words of prophecy – “To us a Child is born, to us a Son is given … ” – and we rejoice in the fulfilment of prophecy – “Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.” What a great Saviour Jesus is – He is our “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2:11). Lord, this is “Good News of great joy” – for “all the people” and for “all generations” (Luke 2:10; Luke 1:46-50). Thank You, Lord.

‘Keep your heart on the right path’ (Proverbs 23:19). Lord, we read these words, and we wonder, ‘How are we to do this?’ Help us to seek ‘truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding’ (Proverbs 23:23). Help us to give our hearts to Christ. He is ‘the Truth’ (John 14:6). Help us to open our hearts to Christ. He is ‘our Wisdom’ (1 Corinthians 1:30). Opening our hearts will mean opening our Bibles. Giving our hearts to Christ will mean giving time to reading Your Word. As we read ‘the Scriptures’, we will receive ‘instruction’. We will learn about ‘salvation through faith in Christ Jesus’. We will receive ‘instruction for right living’ (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Help us, Lord, as we read Your Word, to pray that the Holy Spirit will give us ‘understanding’ (1 Corinthians 2:9-13). May we ‘be filled with the Spirit’ and may ‘the Word of Christ dwell in us richly’ (Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16).

We thank You, Lord, that Your salvation is greater than our sin. We look at Christ's sacrifice - He gave Himself in death for us. We are glad that He is our Saviour. He has taken our sin upon Himself. He gives Your salvation to us. Thank You, Lord.

Lord, where have all the years gone? Five years becomes ten years. Ten years becomes twenty years. Twenty years becomes forty years …. Is there something more than this? – We thank You that You are the eternal God. In all the changing circumstances of our life, help us to remember this: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). You are the eternal God. Your love is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. This is our encouragement – when everything around us is changing. We are encouraged. Lord, may we also be challenged: How much of our life is bringing glory to You?

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son,  Jesus Christ, is ‘the precious Cornerstone’. He is ‘the sure Foundation’ (Isaiah 28:16). Jesus is the Name of our salvation – ‘Salvation is found in no-one else… there is no other name… by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:10-12). There is only one ‘Foundation’ for our faith – ‘Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 3:11). He is the ‘chosen and precious Cornerstone’ – ‘to you who believe, this Stone is precious’ (1 Peter 2:6-7). Help us, Lord, to build our life on Christ, ‘the solid Rock’ - ‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; no merit of my own I claim, but wholly trust in Jesus’ Name. When weary in this earthly race, I rest on His unchanging grace… When earthly hopes are swept away, He will uphold me on that Day. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand’ (Matthew 7:24-27).

‘In returning and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, “No!”’ (Isaiah 30:15-16). Lord, You want to bless us. You want to be our ‘salvation.’ You want to be our ‘strength.’ How do You bless us? How do You become our ‘salvation’? How do You become our ‘strength’? We must want Your blessing. We must want Your ‘salvation.’ We must want Your ‘strength.’ We must return to You and rest in You. We must quietly listen to Your Word, putting our trust in You. There is no ‘salvation’ without ‘returning and rest.’ There is no ‘strength’ without ‘quietness and trust.’ You, Lord, do not force Yourself upon us. We can say, ‘No! I will have none of it’. You want to bless you. Help us, Lord, to say, ‘Yes, Lord! I want You to be my salvation. I want You to be my strength.’

‘The wisdom of the wise will perish’ (Isaiah 29:14). As, Lord, we read these words, may we know that there is another ‘wisdom’, a ‘wisdom’ which shall not perish, a ‘wisdom’ which is ‘wiser than man’s wisdom’. Christ is ‘the Wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:24-25). May we know that, with Christ as our Saviour, we ‘shall not perish.’ Through faith in Him, we receive the ‘wisdom’ which brings ‘salvation’ (John 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:15). He is ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’ (John 14:6). He is the Way to true wisdom. He is the Truth upon which true wisdom is based. He is the Life which is based on true wisdom. He is true Wisdom. Help us, Lord, not to seek wisdom apart from faith in Jesus Christ  – ‘the world did not know God through wisdom.’ May we know that there is one true wisdom which does ‘not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God’ – faith in ‘Christ crucified’ (1 Corinthians 1:21-23; 2:1-5).

“Fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Lord, we read these words, and we wonder, “How can we even begin to fear You and keep Your commandments when our hearts are full of sin?” We ask, “How can our hearts be cleansed from sin?” We cannot do this for ourselves. Only You can do this for us. Through Your Son, Jesus Christ, You give us such great blessings: “I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:24). Thank You, Lord.

‘So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you’ (Proverbs 22:19). Lord, there are many people who say, ‘It’s not for me’. They know that others have been greatly blessed through reading God’s Word. Still, they do not take the trouble to read Your Word for themselves. They can’t be bothered. Receiving God’s blessing doesn’t really matter that much to them. Help us, Lord, not to miss out on Your blessing. Your Word is for every one of us. It’s not just for somebody else. To each one of us, You say, ‘It’s for you – ‘ even you’ . Some people say, ‘I’ll read God’s Word tomorrow’. When ‘tomorrow’ comes around, they’re still saying the same thing – ‘I’ll read God’s Word tomorrow’! Sadly, their ‘tomorrow’ never comes. They never get round to reading God’s Word. They’re missing out on so much. Help us not to say, ‘I’ll leave it till tomorrow’. Help us to read Your Word ‘ today ’.

We thank You, Lord, for Your ‘Good News’ - Help us to ‘shout for joy’. As we receive ‘Good News’ from You, may we sing ‘songs of joy.’ We thank You for the Good News of Your reign - ‘Your God reigns’ and the Good News of our redemption - ‘The Lord has redeemed’ us. Help us not to keep the Good News to ourselves. This ‘news of happiness’ is to be shared with everyone. May we let ‘all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God’. ‘Christ died for our sins’ - This is Good News. Christ was ‘raised on the third day’ - This is Good News. ‘Jesus is Lord’ - This is Good News. This is the Good News we must ‘pass on’ to others. In our world, Lord, there is so much bad news. Help us not to let the Good News be drowned out by the bad news. Help us to make sure that the people hear the Good News - loud and clear (Isaiah 52:7-10; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Mission Praise , 249).

We thank You, Lord, that You have given to us words of prophecy, wonderful words that point us to Jesus Christ, crucified for us - ‘the Lord has laid all our sins on Him’ - and risen from the dead - ‘After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life’ (Isaiah 53:6,11). ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ ( Mission Praise , 745). We might put this question to Isaiah. In one sense, he wasn’t there. He lived long before the time of Christ. In another sense, he was there. You, Lord, opened his eyes. You gave him a glimpse of what was going to happen in the future. ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ In one sense, we weren’t there. These things happened long before we were even born. In another sense, we were there. It was our sins which Christ took with Him to the Cross. It was our sins which He left behind Him when He rose from the dead (Romans 4:25). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our Saviour. Thank You for all that He has done for us.

"Satan stood up against Israel ... " (1 Chronicles 21:1). Satan is much more powerful than we are. He's not more powerful than You, Lord. Satan prevails against us. He does not prevail against You. Help us, Lord, to come to You - and receive Your prevailing power. In our own strength, we cannot stand against Satan. In Your strength, we shall stand against him - and we shall triumph over him.

You call us, Lord, to return to You. You promise to welcome us (2 Chronicles 30:9). Where does our returning come from? Where does our rejoicing come from? They both come from You. You put it into our hearts - to return to You (2 Chronicles 30:12). What joy there is for us when we return to You - "The good Lord pardons every one who sets his heart to seek God" (2 Chronicles 30:18-19).

‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness’ (Jeremiah 31:3). So often, Lord, we have been like ‘the prodigal son’ (Luke 15:11-24). We have walked away from Your House. We have wandered off into ‘the far country’. We feel that we are far from You, yet still You draw near to us. You, Lord, are at work in our hearts. You are bringing us ‘to our senses’. You are reminding us of Your love. You are drawing us back to Yourself. In love, You are calling us home again. You are speaking to our hearts. You are saying to us, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’. As Your love reaches our hearts, ‘the prodigal son’ becomes ‘the returning son’: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son’. ‘Bring me back, let me come back, for you are the Lord my God!’ (Jeremiah 31:18).

Help us, Lord, to be active for You - "the people who know their God will be strong and take action" (Daniel 11:32) -  and to wait upon You - "those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31). We need both - prayer and action, seeking Your will and doing Your will. Give us wisdom to know Your will, and courage to do Your will.

We thank You, Lord, that victory comes from You - "I have handed Jericho over to you" (Joshua 6:2). Help us to receive Your victory by faith - "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down" (Hebrews 11:30). We don't achieve this victory in our own strength. You give us Your promise of victory. Help us to believe Your promise - to receive the victory as Your gift, to stand upon Your promise and claim the victory that You give to us.

You call us, Lord, to seek You - and You also call us to serve You (2 Chronicles 31:20-21). Where does our seeking and serving come from? It comes from Your salvation. We read the words, "The Lord saved Hezekiah" ( 2 Chronicles 32::22) - and we think of our salvation. We rejoice in Your precious promise - "All the ends of the earth, turn to Me and be saved" (Isaiah 45:22). We rejoice in our gracious Saviour - Jesus Christ, "the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42).

Lord, You are the God of love. You are also the God of holiness. We like to hear about Your love. It makes us feel good. We're not so keen on hearing about Your holiness. You are the holy God. You are the God who calls us to be holy. Help us, Lord, not to be content with the half-truth, contained in the words, "All you need is love." We do need love - but we also need holiness. Help us to "strive ... for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

Lord, we make everything so complicated. We go our own way - and everything gets very messy. Everything would be so much simpler - if we kept our eyes on You. When we are tempted to turn away from You, help us, Lord, to keep on looking to You - and to know that we are "loved with everlasting love" ( Jeremiah 31:3 ).

Lord, we thank You that You are in control of the things that are happening to us. We do not always understand what's going on - but you do!

Sometimes, Lord, we wonder what it's all about! When we feel like this, help us to know that You love us. Help us to see that You are working in us - to teach us to love You.

Lord, we thank You that Your love is "an everlasting love" ( Jeremiah 31:3 ). Human love can be strong. It can be weak. Human love can come to an end. Your love is always strong. Your love never comes to an end. Your love is "everlasting love" - the only "everlasting love"!

So many things are changing, Lord. How are we to live in a changing world? We trust in Your unchanging love. In our changing world, Your love remains the same - unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable.  You are also the changing God - the God who changes us. Your love is a changing love. Your love changes us. Help us, in our ever-changing world, to keep on praying for the best kind of change - being changed by You - changed by Your love. Help us to become less self-centred and more Christ-centred.

Lord, we thank You that we do not need to live in fear. Your love is greater than our fear. Where does fear come from? It comes from the devil. Who is he? He's our enemy. He's a determined enemy. He's also a defeated enemy. Lord, we rejoice in Your word of victory: "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" ( 1 Corinthians 15:57 ).

Lord, we give all the glory to You. We think of Jesus, crucified for us - and we say, "Thank You, Lord - You have done for us what we could never have done for ourselves." You have brought us out of the darkness of of our sin and into the light of Your salvation - out of sadness and into gladness. Help us never to forget that You have saved us. Help us to live, each day, as Your faithful servants.

We read about Solomon – he built “his own house”, and he built “the House of the Lord” (1 Kings 6:37-7:1). Which was the most important to him? Which is most important to us – pleasing ourselves or serving You? Help us, Lord, not to be “lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure”. “Lovers of God” – this is what You call us to be (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Help us, Lord, to keep on making our choice – to become the kind of people that You want us to be.

Lord, You call us to make our choice. Will we follow the way of “the righteous” or the way of “the wicked” (Isaiah 3:10-11)? We recall the words of Jesus: “Enter by the narrow gate … only a few find the narrow gate, the hard way that leads to life. His words are not popular. Many don’t like it when Jesus says, “the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Help us, Lord, to listen to all that Jesus is saying to us – and not only the ‘nice’ things that we like to hear.

We thank You, Lord, that You invite us to “come” to You and receive salvation – “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Along with Your promise, there is also Your warning: “if you refuse and rebel … ” (Isaiah 1:18-20). You call us to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. With the Gospel promise, there is also the Go spel warning: “Whoever does not believe is condemned already because he does not believe in the Name of the only Son of God” (John 3:17-18). Help us, Lord, to receive Your “great salvation” – and to remember the Gospel warning: “How shall we escape if we neglect or ignore such a great salvation.” (Hebrews 2:3).  

"You are beautiful ... How beautiful you are" (Song of Solomon 6:4; 7:6). We wonder, Lord, how You can possibly see any beauty in us? We are sinners - "We have all strayed like sheep. Each one of us has turned to his own way." We thank You, Lord, that Christ died for sinners: "the Lord laid all our sins on Him" (Isaiah 53:6). When You look upon us, You do not see our sin. You see our Saviour, Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. When You look at us, this is what You see: "The blood of Jesus, Your Son, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). This, Lord, is the beauty You see - the beauty of Jesus, our Saviour.

There are times, Lord, when You come very near to us. We pray, "Let my Beloved come to His garden" (Song of Solomon 4:16). You answer, "I come to My garden ... My Bride" (Song of Solomon 5:1). There are times when You seem to be far away from us: "I opened to my Beloved, but my Beloved had turned and gone" (Song of Solomon 5:6). What, Lord, we are to do when Your presence does not seem so real to us? Help us to remember the great promise that comes to us from the risen Christ: "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). Help us to hold on to this promise, believing that the times of blessing will return: "His speech is sweet; He is altogether lovely ... my Beloved ... my Friend" (Song of Solomon 5:16).

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus says to us, "Seek and you will find" (Matthew 7:7). When we have found Him, may we say, with joy, "I found Him whom my soul loves - my true love" (Song of Solomon 3:4). What, Lord, does it mean to find Jesus? It means that He found us. Before we ever thought of seeking for Him, He came seeking for us. Before we ever thought of loving Him, He loved us: "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Before we can say, "Hallelujah! I have found Him", He finds us: "I once was lost, but now am found."

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus comes to us in love: "the voice of my Beloved! Look! Here He comes" (Song of Solomon 2:8). We thank You that He calls us to come to Him: "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away" (Song of Solomon 2:10). He calls us to belong to Him - to have the assurance of salvation, which has this joyful testimony: "My Beloved is mine, and I am His" (Song of Solomon 2:16). Help us, Lord, to receive the love of Jesus, and to rejoice in His love.

Lord, You’re calling us to worship You – “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.” You’re calling us to walk in Your ways – “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:3,5). We’re moving towards the Day when “the pride of men shall be humbled and brought low”, the Day when “the Lord alone will be exalted” (Isaiah 2:11-12,17). How, Lord, are we to get ready for the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ? You’re calling us to keep on worshipping You and walking with You. As we worship You and walk with You, may our pride be humbled, and may our Saviour be exalted.

Sometimes, Lord, it seems like You are far away from us. Why do we feel like this? It’s because we have wandered away from You. We’ve allowed something else to come between ourselves and You. Call us back to Yourself, back from the brink, back to a new beginning, back to the blessing that will grow stronger and stronger as we learn to trust You and say, from the heart, “The Lord is God. He is our God. He has blessed us, and we are glad.

Lord, we want blessing - but we're not so keen on obedience. Help us to learn from Jesus. For Him, obedience was everything. He was fully obedient. For Him, it meant the Cross (Philippians 2:8). Lord, help us not to be thinking, "What are we going to get out of this?" Help us to be praying, "How can we do Your will? How can we bring glory to You?"

Lord, help us to listen to Your Word, walk in Your way and "worship You in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). These are the things that matter most. Are they our priorities? We know, Lord, that they should be our priorities - but we are often distracted. We lose our focus. Other things become more important to us. "Restore our souls and lead us in the paths of righteousness for Your Name's sake" (Psalm 23:3).

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). In His death for us, we see Your love for us. Help us to come to the Cross of Christ. Help us to worship You in the beauty of holiness. Help us to celebrate Your love in the spirit of thanksgiving.

We thank You, Lord, that "we have peace with You through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). We thank You that "Jesus is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14). This peace is not something that comes from within ourselves. It comes to us from outside of ourselves. It comes from above. It comes to us from You. It's given to us. It's Your gift. We cannot give this gift to ourselves. We can only receive it by faith - faith in Jesus, our Saviour.

When, Lord, we think of Jesus, crucified for us, may our hearts be filled with joyful praise and heartfelt thanksgiving.

Lord, You love us. You call us to love You. Help us, Lord, to grow in our love for You - to obey Your Word, to do Your will, to walk in Your way.

Lord, we thank You that Your call to holiness begins with Your call to salvation. We're not left to go it alone. You come to us. You come as our Saviour. You take us as we are - but You don't leave us the way You found us. You start changing us. You have great plans for us. You're making us more like Your Son, Jesus. We trust Jesus. We receive His salvation. Help us to follow Him, to be changed by Him, to become more like Him.

"Here I am, Lord ... I have heard You calling in the night. I will go, Lord ... I will hold Your people in my heart" (Daniel L. Schutte). Lord, You come to us. You come with Your Word. It is a Word for ourselves. It is a Word for others. We receive Your Word. We share Your Word. Glorify Your Name, Lord - in us and through us.

Lord, You're calling us to be holy (2 Chronicles 29:5) - and You're calling us to be joyful (2 Chronicles 29:30). It's not to be holiness without joy. It's not to be joy without holiness. It's to be holiness and joy. Lord, make us holy - and make us joyful.

Lord, You're leading us on to glory. You're taking us to a better place - a place where there will be no more weakness, a place where we will be surrounded by the strength of Your love.

Again and again, Lord, we take the easy way out. We avoid conflict. We side with evil, when we should be choosing good. Why are we like this? - We've always been like this. It's the story of our life. It's everybody's story. Can we be changed? We'll never be perfect, but we can begin to triumph over evil. Help us, Lord, to begin with You, to receive Your strength - strength to do good rather than evil.

"Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Break me, melt me, mould me, fill me" (Daniel Iverson). Lord, it's Your Spirit who makes the difference. He changes us. We lose heart. He gives us new strength. We feel like giving up. He keeps us going on. Thank You, Lord, for Your Holy Spirit. Lead us out of our emptiness and into Your fullness.

Lord, we're on a journey. We're travelling from grace. We're travelling to glory. Everything comes to us from Your grace. Everything is leading us to Your glory. You have given us all that we need - all that we need to bring us into Your salvation, all that we need to take us on into Your glory. This is not our journey. It's Your journey. You're our Travel Guide. You're with us every step of the way. Thank You, Lord.

We rejoice in Your love. Help us, Lord, not to forget Your holiness. You fill us with Your love. You call us to be holy. Lead us, O Lord, in Your way of love. Lead us in Your way of holiness. It won't be easy - walking with You on Your pathway of holiness. When the going gets tough, help us to remember that we're not on our own. You are with us every day. You are with us - all the way.

Lord, You call us to speak Your Word - but, first, You call us to listen to Your Word. How can we speak for You if we're not listening to You? Help us to come to the Cross of Christ. Help us to hear the voice of Your love. Send us from that holy place - the place of His crucifixion, the place of our salvation - back into the world. May we return to the world as people who've been changed - changed by the love of Christ. 

Where does true love come from? It comes from You, Lord. It comes from Your love. Give us real love. Give us Your love. When we know that we are loved by You, our love will grow strong - our love for You, our love for one another, our love for people who need You.

Help us, Lord, never to imagine that we can ever hope to be fruitful for You if we are not committed to being faithful to You. Help us, Lord, to be more than people who serve You. Help us to be people who love You. May we serve You because we love You. May we love You because "You first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

Lead us, Lord, in the way of true wisdom - "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10). How foolish we are when we choose to go our own way rather than walking in Your way. Help us, Lord, to choose Christ every day - "O happy day, that fixed my choice on Thee, my Saviour and my God ... That vow renewed shall daily hear."

We read, Lord, about those who are ‘circumcised only in the flesh.’ They remain ‘uncircumcised in the heart’ (Jeremiah 9:25-26). Teach us, Lord, that salvation is not a matter of outward conformity to religious rituals. What we need is ‘circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit’ (Romans 2:28-29). Help us to remember Jesus’ words: ‘You must be born again’ (John 3:7). Help us to see clearly that, even when we’ve been ‘brought up in the Church’, we still need to open our hearts to Christ. Even when we’ve heard Your Word preached many times, we still need to be born again through the power of ‘the Spirit of the living God’ (2 Corinthians 3:3). Teach us, Lord, that our religious rituals mean nothing if, in our hearts, we remain unconverted: ‘Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation’ (Galatians 6:15).

‘Stop believing these deceitful words, “We are safe! This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”’ (Jeremiah 4:4). Help us, Lord, never to allow the place of worship to become more important than the Person we worship. We worship You, Lord. May we not talk a lot about ‘the Church’ – and never speak of Christ! May we not become more concerned about ‘the Church’ looking good than we are about what You, Lord, see when You ‘look at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7)! Deliver us, Lord, from self-centred talk – ‘I love my Church. I never miss my Church. I always support my Church’. Help us to see that there’s a great deal of ‘I’ in this kind of talk – but Christ is conspicuous by His absence! May there be less ‘Look at what I have done for my Church’ and more ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20).

‘The Lord your God pronounced this evil against this place; the Lord has brought it about, and has done as He said. Because you sinned against the Lord, and did not obey His voice, this thing has come upon you’ (Jeremiah 40:3). Lord, we hear a great deal today about ‘the feel good factor.’People need to get a good feeling: ‘Give them a pat on the back. Make them feel good about themselves.’There’s not much of a ‘feel good factor’ in Jeremiah’s preaching! The people must have been wondering, ‘Where did they dig him up from? He has nothing good to say about anyone or anything.’ Help us, Lord, to rise above the sarcasm of those who have no time for Your Word. May we ask, ‘Where did Jeremiah’s message really come from?’ - and may we hear Your answer: ‘The Word came to Jeremiah from the Lord’ (Jeremiah 40:1).

‘Do not go to Egypt’ (Jeremiah 42:19). We may never set foot in the country known as ‘Egypt’ - but the spirit of  ‘Egypt’ may be in our hearts: ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him...?’ (Exodus 5:2). ‘Egypt’ is an attitude of the heart. It is an attitude of rebellion against You, Lord. Teach us to say ‘No’ to ‘Egypt.’Teach us to say ‘No’ to the spirit of rebellion against You. For Your people, ‘Egypt’ was a place of slavery, a place from which they needed to be set free by You, Lord (Exodus 2:23-25; 3:7-10). Each of us must choose how we will live. We can remain in the place of slavery - ‘slaves of sin’ - , or we can be ‘obedient from the heart’, stepping out from that place into the place of freedom, ‘the new life of the Spirit’ - ‘`the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death’ (Romans 6:17-18; 7:6; 8:2). Teach us, Lord, to choose Your way - not our own way.

Ezra 1:1-2:35 "Rebuild the House of the Lord" (Ezra 1:3). This, Lord, is what You're calling us to do. Who are You calling? Is it just a few 'special' people? - No! It's "all those whose spirits God had moved" (Ezra 1:5). Help us, Lord, never to say, "There's nothing for me to do." There's always something we can do. Help us to open our hearts to You, to lay our lives before You, and to do the work that You give us to do for You. Ezra 2:36-3:13 At the heart of Your work, Lord, there is worship - "praising and giving thanks to the Lord" (Ezra 3:11). Help us to see the importance of worship. Nothing can take the place of worship. Where would we be without worship? Could we even begin to serve You? Help us, Lord, to come to You, with this heartfelt prayer: "I will worship You with all of my heart ... with all of my mind ... with all of my strength" (Jude Del Hierro). Ezra 4:1-5:17   ...

Lord, You call us to serve You. How are we to serve You? How can we serve You? - Our sin keeps on getting in the way. We start off well - and then, we take our eyes off Jesus, and things start to go badly. Lord, we need Your Spirit. He is the Holy Spirit. How can we possibly serve You - if we are not learning to walk with You in the way of holiness. Before we pray, "Help us to serve You better", help us to pray, "Lead us in the way of holiness."

Esther 1:1-2:18 Our story is a human story. It’s more than that. You, Lord, are in our story – even when we don’t realize it. We find it difficult to put this into words – but we believe it’s true. You are there with us, every step of the way. Esther 2:19-4:17 “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). Esther was ready to put her life on the line. We thank You, Lord, that Jesus did lay down His life. He died for us. Now, because He died in our place, we will live forevermore. Thank You, Lord, for sacrificial love and everlasting life. Esther 5:1-6:14  We read about Mordecai. He nearly lost his life (Esther 5:14). Then, he was honoured by the king (Esther 6:10-11). We look beyond Mordecai to Jesus. We see Jesus, crucified for us. We see Him, risen from the dead (Acts 2:23-24). We thank You, our Father, for Jesus, Your Son. He is our Saviour. He is “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Esther 7:1-8:17 We read about “a foe and enemy! The wicked Haman!” (Esther 7:6)....