DAY 1 - December 28, 2009
TITLE: “YOU CAN NEVER SURPRISE GOD”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:8
Some weeks ago now, we received a phone call from our oldest
daughter, April, who lives in
Through the years, April has surprised me on many occasions. Some of those surprises have been joyful and others have been challenging. Many of those surprises through the year have caught me off guard. In other words, I had no idea. I have been reminded on many occasions that I am a father with many limitations. One of those being that I am not all seeing and all knowing. Though I seek to be alert and aware, I have still been surprised many times.
God is the Heavenly Father who can never be surprised. You can never tell God something He does not already know. He has divine knowledge.
Computers are amazing to me. They open up a wealth of information that is available and easily assessable 24 hours a day. Through the Internet you can do research and find information on a variety of subjects. There is so much knowledge available by punching in a few keys. Yet they do not even compare with God. God has all knowledge and unlike some information on the computer, His knowledge is accurate and true. Knowledge is an attribute of God alone. God alone is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient. Psalm 139, is a powerful reminder that God knows all about me.
God is the all knowing God who knows what we need before we even ask. You can never surprise God with your prayers or request. You can never surprise God with your needs. Therefore, you can come to Him openly and honestly in prayer, for He knows all about you and He knows all that you need. God knows more about you than you do. You can trust Him.
DAY 2 - December 29, 2009
TITLE: “THE GOD WE PRAY TOO”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “This, then, is how you should pray: “’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Matthew 6:9
Prayer can be misused. This version of the Lord’s Prayer flows out of the context of the misuse of prayer. In the Luke version of the Lord’s Prayer, the setting is of the disciples asking the Lord to teach them to pray. The prayer begins by focusing upon who God is. When we pray, we are to pray with the awareness of who God is.
God is our Father in heaven. When we pray to the Father in heaven and we hallow His name, we give God His proper place. The God we can call Father, is the God whom we must still approach with reverence, adoration, awe, and wonder. Prayer does not bring God down to our level, but raises us up to His.
All the resources of heaven are at His disposal. Whatever you need, the Father can provide. The Apostle Paul reminds us, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
The scripture says “hallowed be your name.” The name implies the title, person, power, authority, character, and the very reputation of God. Prayer is honoring God for all that He is. God is hallowed, sanctified, or different. To pray, “Hallowed is thy name,” is to pray with an awareness of who God is. There are many names for God in the Bible; each expresses some part of His character. Here are some of the names used to describe God.
Elohim, “Creator God”
El Elyon, “Possessor of heaven and earth”
Jehovah-Jireh, “The Lord will provide”
Jehovah-Nissi, “The Lord our banner”
Jehovah-Rapha, “The Lord that healeth”
Jehovah-Shalon, “The Lord our peace”
Jehovah-Raaah, “The Lord our Shepherd”
Jehovah Tsidkenu, “The Lord our righteousness”
Jehovah Sabaoth, “The Lord of hosts”
Jehovah-Shama, “The Lord is present and near”
Jehovah-Maqodeshkim, “The Lord sanctifieth thee”
God is too big and too powerful to be described in words. God is all these characteristics and so much more. This is the God you and I have the privilege of praying to every day. May we pray today with an awareness of who God is.
“Father I adore you.
Lay my life before you. How I love you.”
Terry Coelho
DAY 3 - December 30, 2009
TITLE: “YOUR WILL BE DONE”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done...” Matthew 6:10
This prayer takes me to
As I reflect on Gethsemane prayers in my own life, my mind
goes back to my youth days of singing in a teen choir at church with a director
by the name of John. He had a song that
he wanted the youth choir to sing. It was not your fast energetic song, but was
instead a slow reflective song. He asked me to sing the solo and I agreed. Though
the years have erased the words of the song from my memory, I still remember
the title of the song written by Bill & Gloria Gaither. The title simply
asked the question, “Have you had a
I love the question contained in the title of that song. For me the question reminds me of the prayer of surrender that Jesus prayed that took place that evening so many years ago. It calls me to trust the Lord and surrender my own will and desires. Trust enables me to know that God’s will is always best.
Not only does this prayer take me to
“Not my will, but
Thine; Not my will, but Thine;
Not my will, but Thy
will, be done, Lord, in me.
May Thy Spirit divine
fill this being of mine.
Not my will, but Thy will, be done, Lord, in me.” Hugh C. Benner
DAY 4 - December 31, 2009
TITLE: “FORGIVENESS”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have
forgiven our debtors”
Matthew 6:12
The prayer for forgiveness is the greatest prayer we can ever pray. There is nothing greater or more significant than God’s gift of forgiveness. One of the privileges of prayer is to be able to ask and receive forgiveness. God is a forgiving God.
The prophet Micah said, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” Micah 7:18. Nehemiah wrote, “…But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love…” Nehemiah 9:17. The gospel of John gives us this promise. It says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9. The apostle Paul wrote, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Ephesians 1:7. Marghanita Laski was a secular humanist and novelist. Before her death in 1988 she wrote, “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me.” John R.W. Stott, in his little book, Confess Your Sins, quotes the head of a large British hospital, “I could dismiss half my patients tomorrow if they could be assured of forgiveness.”
Jesus makes it clear that forgiven people are to be
forgiving. The seriousness of forgiving others is clearly stated in Matthew
6:14-15. It says, “For if you forgive men
when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if
you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Your relationship with others will impact your prayer life. Unless we ourselves show a forgiving spirit we cannot expect to be forgiven. Human forgiveness and divine forgiveness are inextricably inter-combined. Paul wrote, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32. We are to offer others the same forgiveness we have been offered by Christ. Lord Herbert put it well when he said, “He who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.”
The German philosopher, Schopenhaure, compared the human race to a bunch of porcupines huddling together on a cold winter’s night. He said, “The colder it gets outside, the more we huddle together for warmth; but the closer we get to one another; the more we hurt one another with our sharp quills. And in the lonely night of earth’s winter eventually we begin to drift apart and wander out on our own and freeze to death in our loneliness.” Forgiveness enables us to get close to each other to be the ministers to one another we are called to be.
DAY 5 – January 1, 2010
TITLE: “FASTING”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “So that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:18
Fasting is a personal experience between a person and God. Scripture makes it clear that fasting is to be done in secret. It instructs, “But when you fast, put oil on you head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you,” Matthew 6:17-18
The secrecy of fasting does not eliminate it from personal worship. Fasting flows out of a relationship with God. Fasting was an element of worship in the early church. Scripture records, “While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” Acts 13:2-3. Author R.T. Kendall states, “Fasting by itself is no magic answer to our problems. It is effective only when it symbolizes a deep longing for spiritual reality, and it demands a life of holiness and obedience to God.”
The Duke of Wellington is best remembered as the general who defeated
Napoleon at
This scripture points out that our Father sees what is done in secret. Though we may keep secrets from others, we can never keep a secret from God. Wow! He knows the motives of my heart when I fast, for there are no secrets from God. He knows my attitude and passions when I fast, for there are no secrets from God. He knows my heart and deepest desires when I fast, for there are no secrets from God.
The inner most part of my being is known to God. We are always an open book before the eyes of our Heavenly Father. When we fast, we are to fast in the awareness that God knows everything about us. We are to fast only for the Lord. Blessings from the Father are abundant when we fast in obedience with a heart pleasing to Him.