We Pray

28 Day Devotional, Day 18:

Disobedience Has Consequences

In spite of Daniel’s reference, the Lord had shown enormous patience with Israel. Time and again He had sent them prophets and warnings. He had sent judges and priests to show the way. Psalmists recounted all God had done in hymns and poems. They’d had a second, third, fourth … hundreds of chances to turn back to God but had not done so. Finally, God marched them off into captivity. Let’s not make Israel’s mistake.

Prayer: Today, Lord, I praise you for your righteousness. You are indeed righteous in every way. Thank you for being so patient with your people. Please remove the stubbornness in us. We want to be obedient to you. Your holiness far exceeds our understanding, and like Isaiah, sometimes all we can do is fall down in awe and wonder. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Daniel 9:14 KJV
Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

We Pray

28 Day Devotional, Day 17:

Me, Too

In his confession, Daniel identifies with his people. No excuses for himself. No defense; no separating himself from his fellow Israelites in captivity. He sets aside his position. He recognizes Israel was God’s chosen people, not any one individual. But as a people, they continually resisted God. Without God’s provision, even the best of us fall far short of God’s holy mark. “We” are all included without exception.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, with honesty and humbleness we come to you today admitting our failures. While being declared righteous, we have sinned and done wrong; too often we have rebelled and turned away. Help us to be victorious over sin and conform to the image of your Son; may we learn to be more like Christ in every way. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Daniel 9:5 KJV
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

We Pray

28 Day Devotional, Day 16:

Solid Foundation

The greatness of God rests on His integrity and love. It doesn’t rest on either our need or our goodness. The only way we have confidence to approach this all-powerful Creator-of-the-Universe God is on the basis of His love for His children and the fact He keeps His word. And isn’t that a great place to start?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I share Daniel’s view of your grandness, majesty, holiness and love. It seems impossible that you could deeply care about your people in Israel, and even about me. Thank you for your mercy and not giving me what I deserve. Thank you for your grace and giving me so much more than I deserve. Your blessings are new every morning. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Daniel 9:4 KJV
And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;