THURSDAY 11TH JUNE, 2020
TOPIC: PRAYING TO RECEIVE
TEXT:PSALM 5:1-7
KEY VERSE: "Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray" (PSALM 5:1, 2).
Dr. George Washington Carver once wrote on the subject of the potency of prayer, "My prayer seems to be more of attitude than anything else. I indulge in no lip service, but ask the great God silently, daily and often many times a day, to permit me to speak to Him. I ask Him to give me wisdom, understanding and bodily strength to do His will. Hence, I am asking and receiving all the time."
The secret of a close relationship with God is prayer. Regular communication helps any friendship and is certainly necessary for a strong relationship with God. The psalmist considered not only the potency of prayer but also expounded the necessary ingredients that could make prayer effectual. Prayer offered to God in holiness and righteousness brings speedy answer.
Dr. William Sandler said, "prayer is a safety valve of the mind and of the soul; if Christianity were practically applied to our everyday life, it will so purify and vitalise the race that at least one half of our sickness and sorrow would disappear."
As much as God delights in our calling on Him, He also wants us to live to please Him. Hence, as we grow spiritually, our sensitivity to His requirement of holiness should increase.
Prayer is never a monologue; it is a dialogue. As we talk to God, we must also listen to Him. We should have the same attitude to prayer as David. He said, "I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly" (Psalm 85:8).
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Purity is the power of prayer.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 SAMUEL 17-18
HIGHER EVERYDAY: (A DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR YOUTHS)
TOPIC: PRESS TOWARD THE MARK
TEXT:PHILIPPIANS 3:12-16
MEMORY VERSE: "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (PHILIPPIANS 3:14).
In a piece of advice to believers, Tony Fox says, "This is the time for us to make the necessary adjustments if there are things we need to change in our lives so that we may bring glory to God." Receiving eternal life in God's presence in heaven is the "high calling" to which Paul is referring in the verse above.
To press on toward it, therefore, means to exert deliberate, maximum effort for the purpose of attaining it, just as a runner in a race drives for the finish line. The Christian must continually strive toward that goal through service and obedience, and in love and gratitude to God for the final salvation.
Of course, the possibility of eternal life in heaven for the Christian is there only through God's grace and Jesus' saving work, rather than anything that we do in this life. So, it demands that we surrender our lives totally to God and "...lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).
QUOTE: Surrender your life totally to God.
CHALLENGE: How do you run the heavenly race?
PRAYER: Oh Lord, help me not to miss the prize of God's high calling.