Month: April 2022

Give Thanks & Glory to God (Apr 30)

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 Give You Thanks & Glory: 
King David turned to assembly and
said: Because of my devotion to the
Temple of God I am giving all of my
own private treasures of gold and
silver to help in the construction.
This is in addition to the building
materials I have collected for
His holy temple (1 Chron 29:3-6).
Yours O Lord is the greatness, the
power, the glory and the majesty.
Yours is the kingdom O Lord
And You are the exalted over all.
Wealth and honour come from U…
In Your hands are strength & power
to exalt and give strength to all…
We give You Thanks and Praise
Your glorious name (v11-13).
Give to Solomon my son a perfect
heart to keep thy commandments…
and to do all these things… for
which I have made provision (v19).

Lord, You are in control of all things;
and help me remember that You
rule over the universe and my life.
You Lord 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, though something may not be
that great, You’ve been good to us!
Let’s remember the truth in Jas 1:17
that every good gift is from above.
Surely You God alone deserve
all our praise and thanksgiving.
And Lord, Yours is the greatness,
the power, the glory & the majesty.
We adore You the One who is over
all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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

Be Strong & Courageous (Apr 29)

Backgrounder to 1 Chronicles 28-29:
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 Lord 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,
he slept 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 be 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 Lord into Your Presence,
for that is where we are strong.
And when we experience You are
with us, nothing is impossible. Amen

Repent Before God In Prayer

David’s greatest dream is to build
a house for God. God makes it
clear through Nathan to David that
only in the lifetime of Solomon will
the dream actually come to fruition.
Though David is not permitted to
build a house for God, God will build
a house and a perpetual dynasty for
David. Through times of faithfulness
and faltering in David’s life, God
remains true to His promise
by preserving the line of David.

Lord, we Repent in prayer before You:
David gave orders to Joab… Take
a census: But Joab replied: Why
my lord do you want to do this?
Why must you cause Israel to sin?
But the king insisted (1 Chr 21:2-4)
David said to God: Was it not I
who ordered the fighting men
to be counted? I am the one
who has sinned… O Lord my God,
let Your hand fall upon me and
my family, but do not let this
plague remain in your people (v17).
O LORD… as You have promised concerning me and my family may
it be a promise that will last forever…
And David built there an altar
unto the Lord, and offered burnt
offerings… and called upon the Lord;
and He answered from heaven
by fire upon the altar (v23-26).

Lord, we find ourselves so easily
justifying actions that are motivated
mainly by pride. And because
we live in a world filled with pride
over what we have accomplished,
it seems normal and not sinful.
So give us Lord eyes to see our pride,
lips willing to confess it, and hearts
that are changed and made clean
by the sacrifice of Your Son. Amen.

Lord, I see in Your word the
terrible consequences of pride.
I don’t want to experience
those consequences in my life,
and especially not to have my
family suffer because of my sin.
Reveal any pride in me so that
I can confess and repent of it.
And help me Lord to always have
a humble and contrite heart. Amen.

Lord, through David’s successes
and his failures, we learn the
importance of giving our whole
heart to You God and letting
You be the focus of our lives.
We entrust our dreams to You
Lord as You fulfil Your perfect plan.
We purpose to walk in Your way; and
we Repent when we fail You. Amen.

Trusting the Promise of the Lord

Backgrounder: David’s greatest
dream is to build a house for God.
Though David is not permitted
to build a house for God, God
will build a house for David –
a perpetual dynasty and kingdom.
In peacetime and war, through times
of faithfulness & faltering in David’s
life, God remains true to His promise
by preserving the line of David.

Lord, we trust Your Will is Better:
King David went in and sat before
the Lord and prayed: Who am I
O Lord God, and what is my family
that You have brought me this far…
Lord, let the promise You have
made concerning Your servant and
his house be established forever.
Do as You promised so that it will
be established & that Your name
will be great forever. Then men
will say: The Lord Almighty, the
God over Israel, is Israel’s God!
And the house of Your servant
David will be established
before You (1 Chr 17:16, 23-24).

Lord, Your ways are higher than
mine; and You have plans for
me that I cannot even fathom.
Yet it is easy to bask in successes
and forget it is You who bless me.
Lord, let me tell someone about
the goodness of You God. And
Help me to lift Your name high
for all to see. In Jesus’ name.

Lord, we confess disappointment
when our prayers are not answered
the way we wanted them to be.
But my greatest blessing will come
about because of Your will being
done in my life. And what You
have for me is far greater than
what I can imagine for myself.
Forgive me Lord for those time
I did not trust that to be true. Amen

Lord, help us when we sense
You are saying no to our prayer,
not to focus on the disappointment
over not having our will be done.
For if we do that, we may miss out
the joy of something much better that
can come about if God’s will is done.
For God’s will is much better than
anything we can imagine. Amen.

Inquiring of the Lord (April 26)

The ark of covenant is mentioned
more than 40 times in Chronicles in;
and 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 then leads
theLpeople 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. 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 important decisions.
So lead me down the path to recovery
and into a life of purpose and destiny.
Rescue me Lord from inner turmoil
and lead me to regularly ask questions
that begin with: Should I Lord? Amen.

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

Boldly Ask Spiritual Prosperity

Chronicles give a priestly account
on the history of God’s people,
a sort of divine commentary on
the kingdom period. It carefully
weds the nation’s history with the
active hand of God in Israel’s affairs.
Chronicles centers on the southern
kingdom of Judah. First Chronicles
opens with a lengthy genealogy
tracing the line of David all the way
back to Adam. The genealogies
provide clear evidence of God
at work throughout history, by
selecting a people for Himself and
then protecting a family within
that people to provide leadership.

Lord, we Boldly Seek Your Blessing:
The sons of Judah were Perez,
Hezron, Carmi, Hur and Shobai.
And Reaiah the son of Shobai begot
Jahath, and Jahath begot Ahumai…
Now Jabez was more honourable
than his brothers, and his mother
called his name Jabez, saying:
“Because I bore him in pain.” And
Jabez called on the God of Israel
saying: “Oh, that You would bless
me indeed & enlarge my territory,
that Your hand would be with me &
that You would keep me from evil,
that I may not cause pain!”
So God granted him what he
requested (1 Chron 4:1-2, 9-10).

Lord, thank You for putting Jabez
and his prayer in the scripture.
Thank You for loving us and being
accessible to us as You were to Jabez.
Thanks for Lord Your good plans and
thru prayer we can appropriate them.
Let me Lord never take the privilege
of prayer for granted; and thank
You for hearing my prayers. Amen.

Lord, I thank You for Your goodness
all that You have been giving me.
I pray for Your continued blessings,
provision, guidance and protection.
And I pray that Your presence will
always be with me wherever I go
and no matter what happens.
Grateful You are pleased to share
Yourself & Your kingdom with me.
Enable me to give back to You by
helping and blessing others. Amen.

Lord, I would love an easy life, free
of trouble and confusion; but You
have not promised such existence.
For Your goal for us is not purely
earthly bliss, but Your glory
brought about thru our maturity.
So give me wisdom and courage
Lord so that I am willing to walk
with You wherever You lead.
Trust that when I seek You and
Your kingdom, all these things
will also be given to me. Amen.

Prayer for Divine Vision

Backgrounder on 2 King 4-8:
Elisha, the great miracle worker
of God performs eight miracles
in these 5 chapters, including
providing an oil well for a widow,
giving new life for a deaf boy,
multiplying bread for hungry crowd,
curing a leprous army captain and
       enabling a servant to see angels.
In each case, God’s power at work
                    shows His readiness to do the same                 in the nation He has called His own.

Lord, Grant us Eyes of Faith:
Now the king of Syria was making
war against Israel… (2 Kings 6:8).
Ah my lord, what will we do now?         
         Elisha’s servant cried out to Elisha.
Don’t be afraid ! Elisha told him.
                          For there are more on our side
than on theirs! Then Elisha prayed:
O Lord, open his eyes and let him
see! The Lord opened his servant’s
eyes and when he looked up,
he saw that the hillside around
Elisha was filled with horses and
chariots of fire (2Kings 6:15-17).

Lord, grant me the light to see
in the unseen realm how Your
strength is greater than any foe.                  
Remind me of Your awesome
power and unlimited resources.
                    Open my eyes Lord, let me
look through the eyes of Faith
and show me Your resources.
And let me take courage because
                     You are fighting for me. Amen.

Almighty God, open my eyes to
see the truth about my situation.
Give me clear understanding,
especially when I am facing
the enemy, of all You are doing
in the midst of my situation.
Enable me to see things from
Your perspective so that I can
stand strong and courageous.
Help me to trust Your hand of
protection. In Jesus’ mighty name.

Lord, In difficult circumstance,
I purpose not to fear for You are
my God and You are with me.                             
You will Strengthen me, You will
help me and You will uphold me
with Your righteous right hand.
                             For God has not given us
a spirit of fear, but of Power.
                              And we can do all things through                Christ who Strengthens us. Amen

Seeking God thru Biblical Prayers

The purpose of 2 Kings is to show
the fate that awaits all who refuse
to make God their true leader.
This week we see the importance of
Seeking God and fully Trusting Him.
On Monday, we learn from 2 Kings 4
on Trusting the God of Miracles.
On Tuesday, we learn from 2 Kings 6
on Praying for Divine Vision.
On Wed, we learn from 2 Kings 13
on Seeking God who Rescues.
On Thu, we learn from 2 Kings 17
on Worshipping God Wholeheartedly.
On Friday, we learn from 2 Kings 19
on Praying for Divine Deliverance.
On Sat, we learn from 2 Kings 20
on Praying for Longer Life.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face…In Jesus’ name.

Prayer for Longer Life (April 23)

The epitaph over the tomb of King
Hezekiah might well have read:
Hezekiah, “Best King of Judah.”
Taking the throne at a young age
of 25, he soon establishes himself
as a great reformer by destroying
all traces of heathen worship.
Choosing to put his trust in God
rather than in armies, Hezekiah
often found himself on his knees.
In response to the king’s prayers,
God strikes 185,000 Assyrian dead
& extends Hezekiah’s life by 15 yrs.

Lord, we Seek You for Healing:
In those days Hezekiah became
ill and was at the point of death.
Prophet Isaiah went to him and said:
Thus says the Lord: Put your house
in order because you are going to die…
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward
the wall and prayed to the Lord saying: Remember now O Lord, I pray, how
I have walked before You in truth
and with a loyal heart, and have
done what was good in Your sight.
And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And
it happened, before Isaiah had
gone out into the middle court,
that the word of the Lord came
to him saying: Return and tell
Hezekiah: I have heard your prayer,
I have seen your tears; surely I will
heal you… And I will add to your
days 15 years (2Kgs 20:1-6).

Loving Lord and Jehovah Rapha,
You are my Healer and Deliverer.
In times of sickness or affliction,
I pray You will remember me and
heal me from anything that will
threaten to diminish or end my life.
Enable me to serve You longer
and ever more effectively and not
succumb to the plans of the enemy.
Remember me with Your health and
wholeness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Lord, sometimes I just can’t
get my words to say what my
heart feels and can only weep.
Thank You for reminding me that
You hear me even when I can’t speak.
Thank You for seeing beyond my
words and understanding how I feel.
Thank You Lord most of all for
caring enough to respond when
You know that I am hurting. Amen.

Lord, I thank You that there is
no trouble, be it health, finance or
relationship, that’s beyond Your help.
When I bring my problems to You
when I cry out to You, You’re there,
listening and working in my life.
Although I may be distressed,
You’re my refuge, my strong tower,
and so I will run to You and be safe.
Thank You Lord for hearing and
answering my prayers. Amen.

Prayer for Protection (April 22)

The epitaph over the tomb of King
Hezekiah might well have read:
Hezekiah, “Best King of Judah.”
Taking the throne at a young age
of 25, he soon establishes himself
as a great reformer by destroying
all traces of heathen worship.
Choosing to put his trust in God
rather than in armies, Hezekiah
often found himself on his knees.
In response to the king’s prayers,
God strikes 185,000 Assyrian dead
& extends Hezekiah’s life by 15 yrs.

Lord, we Seek Your Deliverance:
The Assyrian king’s chief of staff…
gives this message to Hezekiah…
What are you trusting in that makes
you so confident?… What god…
has ever been able to save its people
from my power? So what makes
you think that the Lord can rescue
Jerusalem from me (2Kgs 18:19,35).
When King Hezekiah heard their
report, he tore his clothes and
put on sackcloth and went into
the Temple of the Lord to pray. And
he sent the palace administrator,
the court secretary, and the leading
priests, all dressed in sackcloth, to
the prophet Isaiah… They told him:
This is what King Hezekiah says:
This is a day of trouble… Pray for
those of us who are left(2Kgs 19:1-4)
Then Isaiah sent to Hezekiah saying:
Thus says the Lord God of Israel:
I have heard Your prayer about King
Sennacherib of Assyria. And the Lord
has spoken… against him (v20-21).

Lord, we learn from 2 Kings 18 the
character qualities of Hezekiah who
was likely the best king of Judah:
He did that which is right, trusted
and followed the Lord (v3-6).
And when challenges beset him,
he ran to the Lord who helped him.
Help us Lord to be like Hezekiah
who trusted and obeyed You.
Help us in the challenges we face;
we seek You for protection and 
we seek You for deliverance. Amen.

Father God, help me to remember
to run to You when I need help.
Help me to swallow my pride and
ask others to pray for me when
circumstances seem overwhelming
or even before they get to that point.
For to wrongly think we are whole
and need no help is a great disorder.
Thank You God for the peace that
You give when we run to You. Amen.

Lord, grant us the experience
of king Hezekiah that as he cried
out to You God for deliverance
and poured out his pain, he felt
confident You answering his prayer.
Grant us dear Lord grace to cry
out to You when we face troubles.
Thank You that when we cry out to
You for help, You hear and answer
our prayers in Your timing. Amen.