Today’s Devotional

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Painful Reality

“Does this dress make me look fat?” Husbands around the world know not to answer that question, especially when the answer is “yes.” Few people like to spill the truth when it’s bound to stir up trouble.

Jesus didn’t shy away from conflict when speaking to the spiritual leaders of His time. He told them plainly they were liars and children of the devil. He pointed out that if they were God’s children, they would receive His Son. For the Scribes and Pharisees, who based their faith on their ancestry, this truth was unacceptable. Jesus said in John 8:24, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

People of today also have a hard time receiving this truth. They want all ways to be right. But just as you can’t get to California by going north from Illinois, neither can you get to Heaven when you stray from Christ’s teaching. Take your stand in Jesus and pray that God will give American Christian leaders courage to speak the truth…no matter how unpopular they may become in the eyes of the world.

Recommended Reading: John 14:1-14

C.P. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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Today’s Devotional

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Worth Waiting For

There’s an old proverb that says patience is a virtue. But what if you can’t be patient? What do you do when creditors are calling and you can’t put them off any longer, or that long-promised job doesn’t materialize? What if the spouse you were expecting home from Afghanistan has just received extended orders? What if life has come at you so hard, you’re ready to lose hope and you just want someone to come rescue you? Sometimes salvation doesn’t always come quickly. Sometimes you have to wait.

Today’s verse promises salvation that’s worth waiting for. What kind of salvation is that? It’s the salvation that Paul speaks of to the Corinthians when he talks of perseverance, endurance and reliance on God alone. It’s the salvation that looks to the welfare of others before yourself…the salvation that often comes with a price. It’s the best kind of salvation that was demonstrated by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his glorious resurrection – just for you.

In your prayer time today, reflect on what salvation means to you, to your family, and to others. And pray that America’s leaders will find that salvation that only comes from total reliance on God…the salvation worth waiting for.

Recommended Reading: II Corinthians 1:3-11

D.N. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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Today’s Devotional

Monday, May 30th, 2011

Choices and Promises

How long do you want to live? The oldest person in recorded history is Methuselah, who lived to be 969 years old. Now that’s long life! But does a long life always mean a blessed, fulfilling life? In Deuteronomy 30, God told Moses that if the Israelites obey His commands, love the Lord and walk in His ways, they will be blessed with a long and satisfying life in the land God promised them. But if they turn away from Him and choose to follow other gods, they would perish. God gave them a choice between life and death, and with each, a promise.

Just as God gave the nation of Israel this choice, so He gives America the same option. Each person is responsible, and their choice affects not only them, but the entire country. So the question is, will you choose life and the promised blessings…or will you choose death and curses, turning away from Almighty God? This is a decision you make…several times each day…in your thoughts and actions.

Reflect on the choices today has brought – and in your prayers, intercede for America’s leaders to turn back to the Lord and choose life, blessings and godly prosperity for this nation.

Recommended Reading: Deuteronomy 30:11-20

D.N. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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Today’s Devotional

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Victorious

As you know, a prisoner of war is held in captivity by an enemy power during and after times of armed conflict. The sufferings endured throughout imprisonment can be horrific. It’s a sweet victory when POW’s are returned safely home and bestowed with a medal of honor for their sacrifice to their country.

The Psalms are full of David’s accounts of how God rescued him from his enemies and exalted him above them. Today’s verse reflects the Lord’s desire to not only rescue you, but to bring honor upon you. Most likely, the battles you face now are not related to physical combat, but to spiritual warfare. There is an enemy at work in this nation that desires to keep you captive. The power of God is with you and can free you from bondage and exalt you to a place of greater glory.

Prayerfully bring your trials before the Lord and seek His victorious power in your life. Pray also for the men and women serving in the military, that God’s presence and protection be with them in the midst of the physical, emotional and spiritual battles they face.

Recommended Reading: II Samuel 22:40-50

K.B. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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Today’s Devotional

Saturday, May 28th, 2011

Stay Connected!

Consider the dynamics of an unattached buoy in a raging sea…tossed about by the waves and swept away by the shifting tides. The storms of life can threaten to do the same to you, but God is a lifeline to which you can cling. Like an anchor line to a buoy, God will hold you securely and keep you from being hopelessly lost at sea when you reach for Him.

Today’s verse recognizes that there will be trouble, and reminds you that God will be with you in the midst of it. It is easy to become focused on the intensity of surrounding circumstances and lose sight of the incredible truth that the Lord God Almighty is with you! His powerful presence can sustain you through any difficulty. There is no greater anchor on which to hold.

Pray that God will make His presence more powerfully known to you in the midst of your current circumstances. Intercede also for the Christian leaders in political positions; that God will give them strength and courage as they battle for righteous legislation on behalf of America, and will encourage them through their difficult times.

Recommended Reading: Joshua 1:5-9

K.B. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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Today’s Devotional

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Voice Recognition

A young girl decided one day to make a list of all the people she knew. She began with family members and close friends, and then continued with people from her neighborhood and her church. But after a while, she began to ask herself, “What do I mean by know? Do I know them really well, or do I just know them by name?” Confused, she soon gave up the task.

How do you know God today? Do you know Him just as a name, or do you know Him as your Savior, your shelter, your protector? The words in the verse above – “because he knows my name” – speak of an intimate relationship with the Father. When you know Him on a personal basis, you will not only know Him by name, but you will recognize His voice when He speaks your name.

Pray that you will draw closer to Him today, hearing Him when He calls upon you and responding in obedience. Intercede also that your president and members of Congress will seek to know Him, and sense His protective presence, as they guide your nation.

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 42:1-7

D.G. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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Today’s Devotional

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

What Do You Need?

For 70 years he had rejected God and scorned the prayers of a Christian wife and daughter. Then one Sunday morning at the close of an evangelistic service, he walked to the front of the church and accepted Christ as his Savior. God delivered him from sin.

She was lying in a hospital bed, weak from the destruction of cancer. She prayed, “If I could just live to see my two boys grown and settled in their faith.” Later she traveled 2,400 miles to attend the wedding of one of those boys. The second son became a missionary. God delivered her from illness.

The children were hungry and there was no food in the house. The mother prayed. Across town a woman suddenly remembered that she owed this mother some money for baby-sitting. She drove over to the house and gave it to her just before the grocery store closed. God delivered the family from want.

What do you need deliverance from today? Just ask, and God will provide. And while you’re praying, also ask that your national leaders will prayerfully seek the Lord in the decisions they must make every day…and deliver them from their sins.

Recommended Reading: II Samuel 22:1-7

D.G. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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Today’s Devotional

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

Victorious Living

Every day they show up…the things which go wrong during the day, those irritating happenings that go bump in the night…disrupting routines and interrupting sleep. All have a cumulative effect of placing stress into your life, and an overload on your brain.

Had you been a shepherd or farmer during the time of King David, you might have encountered a mountain lion stalking your flock. Or your restful night may have been interrupted by the brushing against your leg of a venomous reptile. Hormones of fear would rush to your adrenal glands and to your brain, setting up the “fight or flight” automatic nervous system response that put your entire body on alert.

God’s assurance in today’s verse is intended to calm those stimuli – to send tranquilizing chemicals through your brain cells instead. Whatever danger you are facing, God’s desire for you is to have an emotional equilibrium. Do not fight and do not flee. Abide, instead, in His shadow, and live victoriously. Intercede today for America – for each citizen, and for those in authority – to find salvation in the Lord’s provision, against eternal danger and the daily challenges of living. Then rest and relax. The promise of victory is surely yours!

Recommended Reading: Acts 28:1-6

P.G. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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Today’s Devotional

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

God’s Protecting Hand

We may never know the calamities we’ve escaped because of God’s protective shadow. Gregory R. Truwe, a Lutheran pastor, stated, “What a comfort it is to know that wherever we go, whatever befalls us, we are under the protective shadow of our almighty Father…He has trampled underfoot the lion and the serpent by the perfect sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. The forces that tempt us and seek to devour us have been defeated on Golgotha – and they know it!”

Daniel was saved from the den of lions when God shut the roaring animals’ mouths (Daniel 6). The three Hebrew children came out of the furnace without even the smell of smoke on them (Daniel 3). And I’m sure you can think of times in your life that God protected you from a serious accident or some other calamity because you left home at a later time than usual or listened to his guidance to make a different choice.

Thank God today for the Father’s sheltering hand demonstrated through His Son… and also pray that He will protect your leaders in Washington D.C. during these uncertain times.

Recommended Reading: John 10:24-38

D.G. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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Today’s Devotional

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

Watch Your Step

The Rocky Mountain National Park has spectacular scenery: beautiful landscapes, cascading waterfalls, alpine lakes and – during the right seasons – wildflowers in abundance. Nothing but superlatives roll off the tongue when describing its splendor. With such a visual feast at every turn of the trail, watching one’s footing is often the last consideration in the mind of the hiker. Then it happens. One wrong move, and an ankle turns, and even inside the sturdy laced-up boot, the hiker knows the miles to go will be less about creation’s impact and more about painful swelling making each step of the trek more and more difficult.

Had you been a shepherd or farmer during the time of King David, you might have encountered a mountain lion stalking your flock. Or your restful night may have been interrupted by the brushing against your leg of a venomous reptile. Hormones of fear would rush to your adrenal glands and to your brain, setting up the “fight or flight” automatic nervous system response that put your entire body on alert.

Psalm 91 does not say that your world will be free of dangers. Rather, the protection of the Almighty is there for you. Along your life journey, some spiritual ankle-twisting is bound to occur. But God’s angels will keep you from stepping into the danger zones as you place your reliance upon Him.

Give thanks today for God’s guidance received along your life’s sojourn. Pray for those in the Obama administration and Congress to find that same security in the care and protection of the Lord.

Recommended Reading: Proverbs 14:2-15

P.G. – Your Prayer Team writing staff

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