Daily Light devotional

People wishing for assistance in their prayer lives have many (very good) options for daily "devotionals." One of my favorites is titled "Daily Light on the Daily Path," often shortened to "Daily Light." Originally assembled by Jonathan Bagster in the 19th century, the Daily Light devotional is unique in that it contains only Bible verses, without any additional commentary.

Twice a day (morning and evening) for each day of the year, the Daily Light devotional provides approximately 6-10 verses that all speak to a common theme. And owing to its age, the devotional is freely available from many places.

My favorite site -- which also seems to work well on mobile devices -- is: https://dailylightdevotional.org/

Give it a try, and see if it helps anchor your prayer life!

A prayer of contrition from Jeremiah

I enjoy the parts of the bible that offer self-contained prayers. While most of those prayers should be interpreted in the context of events in which they are presented, those prayers often have universal relevance.

One example appears in Jeremiah 3:22-25:

Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel ... We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God ... and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.

What a great prayer of contrition! It contain humility, shame, and admission of guilt. But it also contains hope, in that it acknowledges that true hope for salvation comes from God. So although this prayer is specific to the circumstances of when it was written, it also applies to us, and our continual need to reaffirm our relationship with God.

Balaam's prophecy of "the Star"

The book of Numbers tells the story of Balaam, a sort of pagan sorcerer, who is summoned to curse the Israelites. Instead, God forces Balaam to bless the Israelites.

As part of Balaam's blessings, he issues a rather cryptic prophecy, which, as first, doesn't seem connected to the main story. That is, Balaam says (Numbers 24:17, KJV),

I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob.

So this "Star" -- who is not here and now at the time of Balaam -- will arise from Israel. Lest there be any doubt, Jesus, himself, clarifies the identity of the star, when he states (Revelation, 22:16, KJV),

I am the ... bright and morning star.

The bible circles back on itself like this many times like this. And perhaps the best way to catch those patterns is consistent, habitual reading of it.
 

Displeased the LORD.

The account of David and Bathsheba, contained mostly in 2 Samuel 11, is a riveting example of an otherwise faithful person making a bad decision, and then piling other bad decisions on top in a sad attempt to cover up his first bad decision.

The final two verses of that chapter imply that David might have successfully gotten away with his wicked scheme. But then comes the bone chilling final sentence of that chapter (2 Samuel 11:27, KJV),

But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

Yikes! We wouldn't want to be in David's shoes!

Of course, we often put ourselves in exactly those shoes. We engage in some action, concoct some scheme, or follow some path that directly violates God's commandments. We might not even consider God, and when we (temporarily) get away with it, we think no-harm-no-foul!

Before embarking upon any action, we must stop to contemplate whether it might displease God. Had David done that, he could have avoided some of the horrific grief that would soon fall upon him.

Why did God create us?

We'll never know the complete answer to that question, at least not during this lifetime. After all, God says (Isaiah 55:9, KJV),

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

But even though we can't completely grasp God's motivation, Paul provides a hint about why we were created. Actually, it's more than a hint; it's a direction on how to live! Paul states (Ephesians 2:10 KJV),

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

That is, God predestined, even before our birth, that we should pursue "good works" and "walk in them."

So if that's our main reason for existing, then it's especially distressful -- first to God, but also eventually to ourselves -- when we don't "walk in them," but rather follow our own earthly pursuits. Let us recommit our ways to God, and ask for forgiveness for the times we've failed to walk in his ways

Doubting God's power

2 Kings 6 tells of a great famine in Samaria, with verse 25 (KJV) indicating how bad things got in terms of prices,

An ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.

Although those units don't make sense to us today, the subsequent verses illustrate that the economic suffering had become so severe that people began resorting to cannibalism!

But then, in 2 Kings 7:1 (KJV), Elisha delivers a message from God that relief was on the way,

Thus saith the Lord, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel.

Again, the units don't make sense to modern ears, but those decreases in prices must have been substantial, even hard to believe. In response, one of the Kings helpers responds with doubt (verse 2, KJV),

Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?

The remainder of the chapter indicates that, not only did God bring relief from the great famine, but the King's helper died as a result of his skepticism.

The King's helper's sin was three-fold:
1) He doubted the power of God.
2) He doubted God's creativity, in that God can solve problems in ways we don't expect.
3) He doubted Elisha, who already had a demonstrated record of reliability in speaking for God.

Of course, we commit those same sins every day. Let us not doubt God's power, God's creativity, or God's messages delivered in a variety of ways.

Proverbs 3:6

Verse 6 of chapter 3 might be one of the most recognizable of Solomon's Proverbs. It reads (KJV),

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

(The verse directly before this one makes clear that "him" and "he" refer to God.) This proverb, in many ways, sums up all the other proverbs. It's simple and easy to memorize. Whatever happens throughout our day -- whether we encounters joy, sadness, stress, pain -- let us try to "acknowledge him." The proverb promises that he will direct our paths!