DAY 1 – April 26, 2010
SCRIPTURE
A QUESTION TO CONSIDER AS YOU READ:
Who are the main characters of this chapter?
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Pray and go in peace instead of going to pieces.
FOCUS VERSE:
“Eli answered, ‘Go in
peace, and may the God of
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
How beautiful those words must have been to Hannah. She had been deeply hurt and misunderstood. Through her tears, she had fervently prayed and now she was able to experience the peace of God. Prayer gives us the opportunity to go on our way, and through our day, in peace.
What are the things that are causing you to go to pieces today? You can trade all those pieces in for peace, through prayer. Give God those things that have caused you pain and tears today, the disappointments, hurts, and misunderstandings. Trust God to grant you the answer you need. Prayer and trust really do add up to peace.
PRAY AND MEDITATE ON THIS PASSAGE:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
DAY 2 – April 27, 2010
SCRIPTURE
A QUESTION TO CONSIDER AS YOU READ:
What part of Hannah’s prayer, in verses 1-10, speaks most to you?
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
When life is rocky, go to the Rock.
FOCUS VERSE:
“There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you: there is no Rock like our God.” I Samuel 2:2
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
If you were to pick three words today to describe God, what would they be?
God is so big, and our ability to describe Him is so small. Words are insufficient to describe the wonder of God.
Hannah, in this verse of her wonderful prayer, points out that there is no one like God. There is only one God who is holy. There is only one God who can answer prayer and meet your every need. There is only one God who is the Rock you can depend on. This is the God you and I know through Jesus Christ. You can depend on the rock today.
“On Christ the Solid
Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all
other ground is sinking sand.”
PRAY AND MEDITATE ON THIS PASSAGE:
“I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:1-2
DAY 3 – April 28, 2010
SCRIPTURE
A QUESTION TO CONSIDER AS YOU READ:
What did God say to Samuel?
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
A good listener is not only popular but, after a while, they know something.
FOCUS VERSE: “The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’” I Samuel 3:10
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
When our daughter was little, there was a time when she would call us in the middle of the night. I would be awakened by the words, “Daddy, daddy”, piercing through the night. That persistent voice would call until there was an answer. Sometimes I would respond immediately. There were times I would gently awaken my wife, hoping she would respond. There were times when I tried to ignore the call, hoping it would stop.
God was calling to Samuel. He had never heard the voice of God before. After mistaking the call as coming from Eli and not God, Eli helped him to realize that the call he was hearing was from God. Samuel responded to God’s voice with eager readiness to hear what God was saying.
God may not stand before you in the middle of the night or call your name out loud, but He still speaks. Through His word and His spirit, He speaks today to those who are willing to listen. In her book, How to Get Whatever You Want Out of Life, radio talk show host, Dr. Joyce Brothers says that most people don’t listen, but rather, simply wait out another person’s speech or comment, planning just what they are going to say when he stops talking.
Today is a good day to stop and make yourself available to God. Read His word and pray with a listening heart, ready to respond to what He is saying. Go through the day with your ears wide open so you can hear what God is saying to you today.
PRAY AND MEDITATE ON THIS PASSAGE:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27
DAY 4 – April 29, 2010
SCRIPTURE
A QUESTION TO CONSIDER AS YOU READ:
Why did the daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas call her boy, Ichabod.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“Peace is not the absence of trouble. Peace is the presence of God.” (Unknown)
FOCUS VERSE:
“When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of
I Samuel 4:3
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The Israelites knew that God was more powerful than the gods of the Philistines. They brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them because it signified the presence of God. The tragedy was that they were depending on the ark of God to save them and not the God of the ark. They had focused on the symbol of God’s power and presence instead of on the God of power.
As you go through your day today, you have more than a symbol of His presence. God Himself is with you. Jesus has given us the promise of His presence. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Talk with God today. Let Him hold your hand. As Peter Marshall said, “If God does not enter your kitchen, there is something wrong with your kitchen. If you can’t take God into your recreation, there is something wrong with your play. What we need most these days is the God of the humdrum -the commonplace, the everyday.”
PRAY AND MEDITATE ON THIS VERSE:
“Take Courage! It is
DAY 5 - April 30, 2010
SCRIPTURE
A QUESTION TO CONSIDER AS YOU READ
What does this chapter tell you about the ark of God?
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
“Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks.” Phillips Brooks
FOCUS VERSE:
“The Lord’s hand was heavy upon the people of Ashodod and its vicinity; he brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors. When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god.” I Samuel 5:6-7
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
A logging foreman sold a farmer a chain saw guaranteed to cut down fifty trees in a single day. A week later, a very unhappy farmer came to report that the power saw must be faulty--it averaged only three trees a day. The foreman grabbed the saw, pulled the cord, and the saw promptly went, “Bzzzzzzzzzzz.” The startled farmer demanded, “Hey! What’s that noise?”
What difference can the power of
God make in your day? The divine hand of
the Lord was heavy upon the people of
To serve the one, true living God is to serve the God of Power. Nothing can stand before the power of the living God. Whatever you face today, God has the power to knock it down. God has all the power you need today.
PRAY AND MEDIATE ON THIS VERSE:
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,” Ephesians 1:18-19
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