Month: July 2020

Seek God for Assistance (July 16)

Backgrounder on 2 Chron 17-20:
Jehoshaphat institutes a peace
treaty with the king of Israel. And
it causes Judah being entangled
in a war between Israel and Syria.
But his reaction to divine rebuke,
his appointment of judges to rule
for the Lord and his Godward
response to crisis point to the
day-by-day reality of his faith.

Lord, we Seek Your Assistance:
Jehoshaphat set himself to seek
the Lord and proclaimed a fast…
Are You not our God, who drove
out the inhabitants of this land
and gave it to the descendants
of Abraham Your Friend forever?
And here are the people of Ammon,
Moab & Mt Seir…O our God, won’t
You stop them? For we have no
power against this great multitude
that is coming against us nor do
we know what to do, but our eyes
are upon You (2Chron 20:3-12).
Do not be afraid nor dismayed…for
the battle is not yours but God’s…
You’ll not need to fight in this battle.
Position yourselves. Stand still and
see the salvation of the Lord, who
is with You… Believe in the Lord and
you shall be established (v15-20).

Lord sometimes I feel so over-
whelmed, all I can say is “Help”.
When I don’t know what to do,
but I am looking to You for help,
please help me to fully trust You.
instead of focusing on the situation.
When trouble comes, help me
to keep my eyes solely on You.
For the battle belongs to the Lord.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Father God, when at our wits end,
we come seeking You for assistance.
We call on You for we know Your almighty power & promises to us.
We look to You for we don’t know
what to do but our eyes are on You.
We depend and rest on You Lord,
trusting we will see Your salvation.
And we believe in You Lord and
trust we will be established. Amen.

Lord, give me the boldness to take
steps of faith. Help me be discerning
without over analysing. And also to
trust Your ability to lead more than
my ability to miss Your leading.
And Lord, make clear what You are
saying to me through Your people.
If I err in understanding, then may it
be on the side of belief rather than
skepticism. And show me the path
to success in Your purposes. Amen.

Seek God for Protection (July 15)

Jehoshaphat knows the key to
spiritual revival in the nation is a renewed interest in law of the Lord. He institutes a nation-wide scripture
study program which God blesses with peace & prosperity. In contrast to his predecessors, Jehoshaphat
manages to make peace with the
king of Israel but becomes entangled
in a war between Israel and Syria.

Lord, we Seek Your Protection:
Ahab king of Israel said to
Jehoshaphat king of Judah:
Will you join me to attack Ramoth
Gilead? Jehoshaphat replied: let’s
first find out what the Lord says…
And the Lord said: Go ahead…
Now Ahab said to Jehoshaphat:
As we go into battle, I’ll disguise
myself, but u wear your royal robes.
When the chariot commanders
saw Jehoshaphat, they turned
to attack him, but Jehoshaphat
cried out and the Lord helped
him & diverted them from him…
An Aramean soldier however
randomly shot an arrow at the
Israelite troops & the arrow hit
the king of Israel (2Chr 18:3-33)

Lord, we are certainty not perfect.
And we note Jehoshaphat, king
of Judah made several errors, including building an alliance with
Ahab, the wicked king of Israel.
And he asked for a prophet of God
but didn’t really listen when he came.
But one choice Jehoshaphat made was spot on. Help us Lord to be
like Jehoshaphat even in the heat
of battle to cry out to You. Amen.

Lord, remind us that prayer is
not something that only happens
in the quietness of a moment.
Remind us that taking to You should
be part of every aspect of life,
the battles as well as peace times.
Remind and prompt us to cry out
to You in our desperate moments.
For protection & deliverance can often be only a prayer away. Amen.

Lord, Help us not merely ask for
Your direction but also to Follow it.
Strengthen my faith so that I will not
give up praying even in heat of battle
For I realise the very next prayer
may be the one to bring deliverance
from the strongholds of the enemy.
Enable me to stand strong in prayer
and worship, giving thanks for Your
presence and delivering power.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Seek God for Strength (July 14)

Following Judah King Abijah’s
military victory over Jeroboam,
king of Israel, King Asa attempts
to duplicate in the spiritual realm.
King Asa removes all traces of
foreign religion from the land and
commands the people to observe
God’s statutes. But toward the end
of his reign, Asa faces a threat from
Baasha (king of Israel) and seeks
an alliance with the king of Syria.
Even on his deathbed he puts his
trust in earthly physicians alone,
rather than in the Great Physician.

Lord, we’ll Be Committed to You:
Hanani the seer came to Asa
king of Judah, and said to him:
Because you have relied on the
king of Syria and have not relied
on the Lord your God, therefore
the army of the king of Syria
has escaped from your hand…
For the Eyes of the Lord search
the whole earth to Strengthen
those whose hearts are fully
Committed to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now
on you shall have wars(2Chr 16:7-9)

Lord, it is so comforting that You
God longs to support us thro the
struggles & challenges we face.
Though we may not yet be fully
committed to You but we want
to be. So Lord, grant us the grace
to do so while we are yielded & still.
Lord, I give You my heart, remold
it after Your will and Your way.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, Your word says You are
looking for people whose hearts
remain fully committed to You.
And Your word also say that
You will give us a heart of fresh.
Lord, I don’t want Your eyes to
look past me. I want to have one
of those hearts You stop to gaze at.
I purpose to devote myself fully
to You and trust that You will give
me Your strong support. Amen.

Lord, we thank You for Your
precious promises of blessing.
And I stand on Your promise to strengthen those who are fully committed to You for whatever
assignment You have for me.
And I purpose the weaker I feel,
the harder I will lean on You Lord.
And I trust the harder I lean on
You, the stronger I will be. Amen.

Seek God for Recovery (July 13)

Great quantities of men & materials
plus seven years of Solomon’s life
are invested to complete the house
of the Lord. Solomon in dedicating
the Temple praise and thank God
for His Unchanging character and
unfailing promises on behalf of
the nation. When Solomon finishes
his prayer, the glory of God fills
the Temple. But in the night,
God appears to Solomon to warn
him that if the nation fails to
remain true to God, He will uproot
the people from their beloved homeland and will destroy the magnificent temple which they
have laboured so long to complete.

Lord, we will Pray for Our Nation:
Thus Solomon finished the house
of the Lord and the king’s house…
Then the Lord appeared to
Solomon by night & said to him:
I have heard your prayer and
have chosen this place for
Myself as a house of sacrifice…
If my people, who are called by
my name, will humble themselves
and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven,
and I will forgive their sin and
will heal their land. Now My eyes
will be open and My ears attentive
to prayers made (2Chron 7:11-15).

Jehovah Rapha, we come humbly
and confess the sins of our nation.
Pray that we as a people will
turn from our wicked ways and
seek Your face so that You
will hear our prayers, forgive
our sins and Heal our land.
We need Your hand of blessing
and Protection from Coronavirus.
And pour out Your Spirit on us
and work Your righteousness
in the heart of the people. Amen.

Lord of Justice, Thank You for the
reminder to pray for my country
and the leaders who govern. No
country is perfect. No matter where
we live, we know that our leaders
are human & therefore have flaws.
And You God promise that when
His people humble themselves
and pray, You will hear from heaven.
So we ask that You Give our leaders
wisdom and a sense of Your justice.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray.

Father of humanity & lovingkindness
Inspire the people of this land with
the spirit of justice, truth and love,
that in all dealings with one another
that we show forth our brotherhood.
Free us from oppressing the poor
and bring about social justice.
And prosper all efforts to make known Your truth so that many
may learn their need of You Lord
and Your Love for them. Amen.

Inquiring Lord First Before Doing

The ark of covenant is prominent
in Chronicles being mentioned
more than 40 times. So the events
surrounding the journey of the ark
to Jerusalem consume three full
chapters in 13-15. The lesson
is clear: The right action must
be done with the right motives
and carried out in the right way.
When the ark is at last installed
in Jerusalem, David leads the
people in national celebration.

Lord, we’ll Inquire & Hear from You:
The Philistines had arrived in the
valley of Rephaim and raided it.
So David ASKED God: Should I go
out to fight the Philistines? Will You
hand them over to me? The Lord
replied: YES, go ahead. I will give
you the victory… But after a while,
the Philistines returned and raided
the valley again. And once again
David ASKED God what to do.
DO NOT Attack them straight on,
God replied. Instead, circle around
behind them and attack them near
the balsam trees (1 Chron 14:9-14).

Lord, I ask You concerning my
situation that I’m facing & I don’t
want to run ahead of Your plan.
Help me follow David’s example and
seek Your wisdom first in the matter.
For only then can I be truly sure
that I will be following Your plan.
And guide my actions O Lord
by Your wisdom and truth.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, You are the one who knows
everything whilst I don’t know all
the questions of what, how & when.
And I need to learn to Seek Your
advice in life’s decisions and lead
me down the path to recovery and
into a life of purpose and destiny.
Rescue me from inner turmoil and
teach me to ask questions that
begin with: Should I Lord? Amen.

Lord, I pray that I will always inquire
of You first before I take action.
I don’t assume that just because
You had instructed me in a certain
fashion before, that You’ll instruct
me in the same way each time
I am faced with a similar situation.
And I don’t want to mistakenly think
I have all the answers when only
You have all the answers for my life.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Believers’ Glorious Future (July 12)

In the light of present calamity and coming glory, there can only be one
fitting response from God’s people: repentance for their pride & rebellion
The twin themes that dominated Isaiah’s message, condemnation
and consolidation, appear again
in the concluding verses: The hand
of the Lord shall be known toward
His servants (consolation) and His indignation toward His enemies
(condemnation) (66:14). Therefore, let the Lord be glorified (66:5).

God’s ultimate plan is a new creation.
God will do what it takes to restore
His world because He knows
us well and how frail we are.
He is full of grace and kindness towards those who seek Him in humility, honesty and reverence.
Isaiah calls the nation of Judah
back to God and tell of God’s
salvation through the Messiah.
We end meditating Isaiah asking:
Lord, we Seek Your Deliverance;
Lord, we Wait Upon You; and
Lord, we Come to Your Presence.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray.

Lord, we Seek Your Deliverance:
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not
remain quiet, till her righteousness
shines out like the dawn, her
salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see Your righteousness and all kings Your glory… No longer
will they call you Deserted or name
your name Desolate… for the Lord
will take delight in you (Isa 62:1-4).
Lord, my hope for deliverance and
restoration in life is found in You.
You have already saved me for
eternity and for Your glory, and
nothing is impossible with You.
I pray that You will not forget me
until I am completely set free
and restored to total wholeness,
and my righteousness shines forth like the morning sun. And I will
testify of Your lovingkindness. Amen

Lord, we will Wait Upon You:
Oh that You would burst from
the heavens and come down!
How the mountains would quake
in Your presence… (and) You
did awesome things beyond our
highest expectations… For since
the world begun, no war has
heard & no eye has seen a God
like You who works for those
who wait for Him! (Isaiah 64:1-4).
Lord, Thank You for doing awesome
things and You continue to do
them for those who respect Your
sovereignty and wait for You.
Help me to wait for You with hope.
Fill me with a holy expectancy
of Your coming and glorify
Yourself through my life. Amen.

Lord, we Seek Your Presence:
This is what the Lord says:
Heaven is My throne and the
earth is My footstool. Where is
the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?…
This is the one I esteem: he who is
humble and contrite in spirit, and
trembles at My word ( Isa 66:1-2)
Lord, let me be Your resting place.
I offer myself to You and invite You
to remove anything that stands
in the way. Come close to me
Lord as close as You desire. And
I position myself to encounter
Your presence. I come in humility;
I come in dependency for I need You.
I come to You as an empty well.
I bring nothing but space for You.
Fill me Lord with Yourself. Amen.

From Groaning to Glory (July 11)

As Isaiah looks at his contemporary
situation, there’s little to commend it.
Empty ritual, meaningless fasts and
broken fellowship mark the spiritual
life of the nation. But Isaiah also
catches a glimpse of the glorious
future awaiting the people of God.
A day is coming when darkness will
be swept away, affliction will cease,
violence shall no more be heard;
and the glad tidings of salvation
shall be proclaimed throughout Zion.
The desolate land shall be inhabited
and prosperous, promoting praise
to the ends of the earth that God
has not forsaken His people after all.
Groaning has given way to glory.

Isaiah calls the nation of Judah
back to God and tell of God’s
salvation through the Messiah.
Because God is holy, He requires
His people to treat others justly.
We must treat God with respect
and fulfill His commands. We
can’t forsake justice nor give in
to selfishness and indifference.
Lord, we will Attend to the Needy
Lord, we will Repent of our Sins.
Lord, we Receive Beauty for Ashes.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray.

Lord, we’ll attend to the Needy:
Is not this the kind of fasting
I have chosen: to loose the chains
of injustice and untie the cords
of the yoke, to set the oppressed
free and break every yoke? Is it not
to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer
with shelter… and not to turn from
your flesh & blood (Isaiah 58:5-6).
Lord, help us be disciplined enough
to fast and pray as You want us to.
We want to deny desires of the flesh
in order to focus for more of You.
We want to break every yoke of
oppression so that we see great
breakthrough. And help us to be sensitive to those suffering from social injustice & the needy. Amen.

Lord, we will Repent of Sins:
The Lord’s hand is not shortened,
that it cannot save; nor His ear
heavy that He cannot hear. But
your iniquities have separated
you from your God; your sins
have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear (Isa 59:1-2)
Lord, I know my life does not work
when I am not living Your way.
Help me Lord to stay undeceived
about my sin so that I can confess
it immediately & be cleansed of it.
For I don’t want anything to separate
me from You and hinder my prayers by causing You to not hear them.
Show me how to tear down any
wall of separation that may arise
because of sin in my heart. Amen.

Lord, we’ll Receive Beauty for Ashes:
He has sent me to bestow on them
a crown of beauty instead of ashes
the oil of gladness instead of
mourning, and a garment of praise
instead of spirit of despair (61:1-3)
Lord, I grieve over my own sins
and over the time I have not lived
Your way. I don’t know how much
blessings I have forfeited because
I’ve lived my way instead of Yours.
So I confess my sin of thought,
Word and action to You now.
And ask that You will give me
beauty instead of ashes and
gladness instead of despair. Amen

Worship God as Centre of Life

During this week we learn several
key lessons on the importance of
worshiping God to position ourselves
in order to encounter His presence.
On Monday, we learn from Jabez in
1Chr4 to Boldly Seek God’s Blessing.
On Tuesday, we learn from 1 Chr 14
to Inquire Lord First Before Doing.
On Wednesday, we learn from David
in 1 Chr 17 to Trust Promise of Lord.
On Thursday, we learn from David in
1Chr 28 to Be Strong & Courageous.
On Friday, we learn from David in
1Chr 29 to Live for Glory of God.
Click PrayerThots.com to see full.

Living for the Glory of God

David ends his life the same way
he began it with humble confidence
in God. In spite of his numerous accomplishments, David never
lets greatness go to his head.
Rather, his final words to Solomon
reflect the same wholehearted
devotion to God that characterised
the young shepherd of Judea.
With the dream of temple entrusted
to his son, and God’s blessings all around him, David dies in a good old age, full of days, riches & honour and Solomon his son reigns in his stead.

Lord, we will Live for Your Glory:
Yours O Lord is the greatness,
the power, the glory & the majesty.
Yours is the kingdom O Lord
And You are exalted over all.
Wealth and honour come from You;
You are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and
power to exalt and give strength
to all. Now, our God, we give You
thanks and praise Your glorious
name (1 Chronicles 29:11-13).

Lord, You are in control of all things.
Help me remember that You rule
over everything: the universe
and my life. You possess all power
and might; and You give strength
and makes all things great.
You are the source of all good
things – wealth, power & honour.
What do I have Lord that I did
not receive from You? Amen.

Lord, although things may not be
that great this year, we realise that
You God has also been good to us!
Let’s remember the truth in Jas 1:17
that every good gift is from above.
And surely You alone deserve
all our praise and thanksgiving.
Lord, Yours is the greatness,
the power, the glory & the majesty.
We adore U as the One who is over
all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Heavenly Father, we thank You
and praise You for all that You have
given us. Help us to give back to
You with the same heart of praise
we have when we receive from You.
We aspire to be cheerful givers.
Help us not to value possessions
more than we value You and Your
word. Enable us to give the way
You want us to. In Jesus’ name.

Be Strong & Courageous (Jul 9)

David ends his life the same way
he began it with humble confidence
in God. In spite of his numerous accomplishments, David never
lets greatness go to his head.
Rather, his final words to Solomon reflect the same wholehearted
devotion to God that characterised
the young shepherd of Judea.

Lord, we’ll Be Strong & Courageous:
My son Solomon, know God… and
serve Him with a loyal heart and
with a willing mind… Consider now,
for the Lord has chosen you to
build a house for the sanctuary; be
Strong and do it (1Chron 28:9-10).
Every part of this plan, David
told Solomon, was given to me in
writing from the hand of the Lord.
Then David continued: Be Strong
and Courageous, and do the work.
Don’t Be Afraid or discouraged
by the size of the task, for the
Lord God, my God, is With you.
He will not fail you nor forsake you.
He will see to it that all the work
related to the Temple of the Lord
is finished correctly (1Chr28:19-20)

Lord, just as You call us to serve,
grant that we may hear as clearly
and confidently as David did when
You gave him plans for the Temple.
Grant us strength and courage to
make known good news of Christ
and what it means to be a disciple.
When we’re disheartened or fearful be our friend to encourage us.
When we think we have failed,
show us the cross and give us
the peace in our hearts. Amen.

Lord, when David was surrounded
by thousands, he managed to sleep
well for he plus God outnumbered
an intimidating army. Lord, while
Your presence can turn situation
around, it isn’t automatic; for it requires us Not being discouraged
by the size of the task; it requires
us to be strong and courageous.
Help us be aware of Your Presence
so that we can face our situation
with confidence & trust in You. Amen

Lord, we trust you with the
mountains we face periodically.
They are often overwhelming
but You are infinitely larger.
Help us put more confidence
in You God than in the obstacles.
Lead us into Your Presence,
for that is where we are strong.
And when we experience You
are with us, nothing is impossible.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.