"Prayer Changes Everything" Devotion for Today

July 20, 2022 Daily Devotion: "A Solomon like Decision... " 1 Kings 3:9 New International Version 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” Anyone can tell the difference between black and white. It's gray that confuses us. Is it dark gray or light gray? If black and white were...

July 19, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Answered Our Every Need... " Psalm 22:1 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me so far from my cries of anguish? By quoting the psalm's opening words, it is as if Jesus were saying, "If ever you think God has forsaken you, read Psalm 22!" Why? Because it begins with the obvious question countless sufferers have asked, yet ends on...

July 18, 2022 Daily Devotion: "When Can I Go and Meet with God?... " Psalm 42:1-2 New International Version 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Twice the psalmist speaks of his soul being downcast, and twice he refers to his enemies asking where his God is. The picture being pain...

July 17, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Our Inmost Being... " Psalm 139:13-16 New International Version 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well.15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the...

July 16, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Praise The Lord…” Psalm 134:1-2 New International Version “1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.” If you have ever walked around at night, you know that it is like being in a shadowy, far-away universe. Few experiences are more suited to deep, contempl...

July 15, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Wisdom from Above..." Psalm 119:98-100 New International Version 98 Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. The writer of this lengthy psalm is a person "in the know." He knows that God's law...

July 14, 2022 Daily Devotion: "The Story of a Lifetime..." Psalm 71:17-18 New International Version 17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. Between the bookends of our human existence is a lifetime o...

July 13, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Blameworthy from the Blameless" Psalm 26:1 New International Version 1 Vindicate me, Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered. It's possible, of course, that David might have written this particular song prior to the events surrounding Bathsheba and long before the offensive census. Even so, is it not the height of presu...

July 12, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Chosen for Service…" 1 Chronicles 25:8 New International Version 8 Young and old alike, teacher as well as student, cast lots for their duties. To be chosen by lot is simply to be chosen for service. In the big picture, it hardly matters what service. You have your responsibility, I have mine. I have my duties to fulfill, you have yours. And all to the glory of God!...

July 11, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Turning Tragedy into Triumph" 2 Samuel 12:22-23 New International Version 22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” Callous? Calcu...

July 10, 2022 Daily Devotion: "The Ark of the Covenant... " 1 Chronicles 17:1 New International Version 17 After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.” What in the world would the sovereign Creator of the universe need with an earthly dwelling? How, possibly, could an uneart...

July 09, 2022 Daily Devotion: "The Forbearing Faith…" 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 New International Version 13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse. Ever wonder why God chose not to answer Saul? Could...

July 08, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Sharing is Caring… " 1 Samuel 25:11 New International Version 11 Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?” It's not difficult to see why Abigail said her husband lived up to his name ~ Nabal the fool! Nabal would not be the first to think he shouldn't have to share his hand-...

July 07, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Jealousy is a Disease... " 1 Samuel 18:9 New International Version 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David. When we think of the word jealous, typically what comes to mind is a jealous lover. Maybe the one they love has given them reason to be jealous. Maybe not. Ever known anyone whose jealousy was born out of a deep sense of insecurity? Saul must hav...

July 06, 2022 Daily Devotion: "It's Not About Quantity… It's About Quality… " 1 Samuel 14:6 New International Version 6 Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” Know what it is like to at and alone for some crucial principle?...

July 05, 2022 Daily Devotion: "When God is at Work ... " 1 Samuel 9:21 New International Version 21 Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” How many times have you heard a woman say, "I'm just a housewife"? Or perhaps a man say with a touch of embarrassme...

July 04, 2022 Daily Devotion: "The Art of Listening... " 1 Samuel 3:10 New International Version 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Ever talked to anyone on the phone for what seemed like hours and didn't have to say anything on your end except art occasional "uh huh"? (If not, is there any ch...

July 03, 2022 Daily Devotion: "The Power of Choice... " Ruth 1:16 New International Version 16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Whatever happened to Ruth's sister-in-law, Orpah? Although Naomi encouraged both of her daughters-in-law to remain, the text g...

July 02, 2022 Daily Devotion: "God is Leading Us … " Judges 6:39 New International Version 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” Perhaps you have heard someone talking about "putting out a fleece," What various people mean by that exp...

July 01, 2022 Daily Devotion: "God's Timing…" Joshua 21:43-45 New International Version 43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settle there. 44 The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one...

June 30, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Our Incredible God… " Joshua 10:13-14 New International Version 13 So the sun stood still and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar: The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a...

June 29, 2022 Daily Devotion: "God is with us Wherever We Go..." Joshua 1:9 New International Version Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Easy enough for God to say! “Don't worry, Joshua. There is no reason to be terrified." Even seasoned veterans know the smell of fear when they launc...

June 28, 2022 Daily Devotion: "Our Distant View..." Deuteronomy 32:52 New International Version 52 Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.” We should not assume, of course, that every life cut short before a dream is fulfilled implies that a "premature death" (if there is such a thing) is because of sin, as in Moses' c...

June 27, 2022 Daily Devotion: "The Beauty of Compassion... " Deuteronomy 22:6-7 New International Version 6 If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. 7 You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a lo...

June 26, 2022 Daily Devotion: "The Lord of a Lifetime… " Leviticus 6:13 New International Version 13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out. On again, off again. Fits and starts. Look at some people's faith life, and it is the story of the hare, not the tortoise. And why is it so difficult to stick to a diet or maintain a regimen of exercise? What happens to ou...