Prayer

Prayer
I prayed to the God of heaven– Nehemiah 2:4

There are numerous points of interest to this prayer.

First, notice the context of it. It is not a quiet bedroom, or a crowded church pew, or a scenic nature spot — Nehemiah prays to God in the middle of a conversation with his king!

Nehemiah knew he needed to choose his words, and requests, well and so He fires a prayer to heaven even as he converses with his employer and ruler…and God answers it! Remember this next time you think you are too busy to ask God for help, or direction, or protection.

Notice to whom Nehemiah prays. He prays to the God! While living in a pagan land, surrounded by idolatry and hedonism, Nehemiah clings tenaciously to the one true and living God. Likewise, countless counterfeits are offered for true religion today, many of them just reworking age-old Eastern paganism.

But remember this lesson from Nehemiah: there are millions of gods to which you can pray, but only one God Who answers.

And this God is the God of heaven. He not only answers prayer, but has the strength to fulfill needs, move hearts, change circumstances, and forgive sins. Only the God of heaven, who rules sovereignly over earth, is worth praying to.

Last, and just as important, we notice that Nehemiah says it was I who prayed. He did not rely on his parents, or prophets, or anyone else’s religion. He personally pursued the God from whom he hoped to receive answers.

Have you prayed to the God of heaven today? You are never too busy to pray, and He is never too busy to hear and answer.

Taken from A Good Thing - Daily Devotionals from Baptist Bible Hour

Bible Reading Revelation 9:1-21

Revelation 9:1-21

 ¹ The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. ² When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. ³ And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. ⁴ They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. ⁶ During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. ⁷ The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. ⁸ Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. ⁹ They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. ¹¹ They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. ¹² The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come. ¹³ The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. ¹⁴ It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." ¹⁵ And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number. ¹⁷ The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. ¹⁸ A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury. ²⁰ The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. ²¹ Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Bible Quote Proverbs 30:5

Every word of God is true. He guards those who come to him for safety.    Proverbs 30:5

The Comfort of the Holy Spirit

The Comfort of the Holy Spirit

BIBLE MEDITATION: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Jesus called the Holy Spirit “the Comforter.”
Whenever peace enters your heart in the midst of grief...
Whenever joy enters your heart in the midst of a trial...
Whenever you see evidence of His life in yours…
                  …..you can be sure the Holy Spirit is flowing through your life.

Can He forget you? Never. The seal of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is on your life if you are His child. Whenever you pass through a room or walk through a crowd, His oil of gladness sends a sweet aroma of Christ through the air!

ACTION POINT:
Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. How can you show the comfort of Christ to someone who is hurting?

 Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.

© 2011 Love Worth Finding Ministries | PO Box 38300 - Memphis, TN 38183-0300

Loving God with All Your Mind

Loving God with All Your Mind

BIBLE MEDITATION: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. . .” Mark 12:30

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Jesus said of Satan, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Satan is a clever liar. In fact, many of his lies sound like the truth. He plays with our minds to confuse us. He lies about the biggest subject of all – God. Satan wants to deceive you about God. If he can distort your idea of God, then beyond the shadow of any doubt, he has you in everything else.

ACTION POINT:
Answer this question: What does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind?

 Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.

© 2011 Love Worth Finding Ministries | PO Box 38300 - Memphis, TN 38183-0300

Bible Reading Revelation 2:1-29

Revelation 2:1-29

To the Church in Ephesus

 ¹ "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: ² I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. ⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. ⁵ Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Facing Temptation

Facing Temptation

BIBLE MEDITATION: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
When you face temptation, remember it is not a sin to be tempted. Temptation to sin is not sin.

If temptation were a sin, then Jesus would be a sinner, because Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. Jesus felt what you feel. He was just as much a man as though He were not God at all, and He was as much God as though He were not man at all. He was the God-Man, and praise God, Jesus never sinned though He knew those temptations.

ACTION POINT:
Are you facing a temptation today that you feel no one has ever faced? Turn to Jesus and He will meet you there.

 Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.

© 2011 Love Worth Finding Ministries | PO Box 38300 - Memphis, TN 38183-0300