From: September 22, 2024
“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” (Psalm 66:18-20 ESV).
Have you ever felt as if your prayers were bouncing off the ceiling? That your prayers are being hindered? There are many reasons your prayers might feel impeded. For instance, the Bible says that a husband who doesn’t live with his wife in an understanding way will find his prayers hindered (See 1 Pet. 3:7).
Don’t we already recognize that if we do something to offend a family member or friend and fail to ask for forgiveness that it hinders our communication with them? Certainly it does. Similarly, when we offend God, it affects our communication with Him. Because sin is an offense against God. Sin separates. It hinders communication. And isn’t that what prayer is? Communication with God? So, unconfessed sin absolutely hinders our prayer life. As God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isa. 59:2).
Yet in confessing, we agree with God that we have offended Him and that we need His forgiveness. Confessing our sin, God hears our prayers and answers. As the apostle John wrote, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
So let us join with the psalmist and confess our sins, that our prayers might not be hindered. And that we might experience the forgiveness and cleansing of God’s “steadfast love” through His Son, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Dear Father, search us and know our hearts. Reveal any place where unconfessed sin remains. For we would confess it and ask You to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We know we are already forgiven through faith in Jesus, yet we desire to continually be cleansed from those sins that beset us. Thank You, Lord for hearing our prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: September 22, 2023
“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 NLT).
There is a kind of fatigue that afflicts both young and old. Days off and vacations seem to have no effect on this deep exhaustion. Recreation and entertainment may work for the moment, but when the distraction ends, the weariness returns.
This kind of fatigue is spiritual and only spiritual help will do. The Lord gave an answer through the prophet Isaiah saying, “Trust in the Lord.” Or as most translate it, “Wait on the Lord.”
So how do we “wait on the Lord?” Waiting is something that most of us hate. If we have to do it, we try to fill the time looking at some app on our smart phones. We don’t know how to wait quietly without activity or distraction. Yet those who have learned to wait on the Lord have also learned to watch for His activity. For watching and waiting are spiritual disciplines that go together. So waiting on the Lord is not a passive, but an active thing. Those who have learned the discipline of waiting on the Lord will discover that their strength is being renewed.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we wait on You to give us strength. For there is a fatigue that sleep can’t repair. Lift us up today. Give strength to our minds and bodies. Energize us by Your Spirit, so that we may join You in Your work, exercising the strength You have given us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: September 22, 2022
THE INCREDIBLE GREATNESS OF GOD’S POWER FOR US
Paul prayed that the believers in Ephesus would understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for them as believers. What kind of power is this? It is the same kind of “mighty power that raised Christ from the dead” (Eph. 1:20). It is resurrection power! Not only is it dynamic, wonder-working power, but it is also authoritative power. For God has put “all things under the authority of Christ” (Eph. 1:22).
Why did Paul pray that believers would understand this power? It was so that they might live by faith in His power rather than their own strength. Do you want to see the wonder-working power of Christ in our world today? Then put away human plans and dependence on worldly schemes and put your dependence on Christ for all things. Then we can live according to this saying: “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we surrender our plans to You today. We ask that You empower us for Your plans. We are learning to lean on You. Help us to walk by Your strength and wisdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: September 22, 2016
God’s motive for adoption is here explained. It was “in love” that God chose us before we knew Him. It was God’s love that moved Him to save us and to give us the rights of sonship through adoption (John 1:12). While the doctrines of regeneration and justification describe our salvation from sin and death (Romans 8:2), the doctrine of adoption describes our new relationship as a beloved child of God.
From: September 22, 2015
Are you weary and heavy laden? The Lord gave an answer through the prophet Isaiah saying, “Wait on the Lord.” There is a fatigue that afflicts both young and old. Days off and vacations seem to have no effect on this deep fatigue. Recreation and entertainment work for the moment, but when the distraction ends, the weariness returns. This is a spiritual problem and only spiritual help will do. Jesus said, “Come unto Me and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). We need the rest that only Christ can give.