Whilst Moses receives God’s laws
on the mountain, the Israelites
are busy on the plains below.
Concluding that their leaders has
died in the presence of God, they
fashion their gold jewelry into a
replica of an Egyptian God and
turn the camp into a pagan party.
Moses returns and in righteous
anger shatters the 2 stone tablets,
destroys the golden calf and orders
Levites to purge guilty Israelites.
The book of Exodus closes with
the record of how the tabernacle
& priestly garments are completed
exactly as God instructed. Moses
inspects the finished product and
Aaron and his sons are anointed
for service. Finally, God declares
His satisfaction by filling the tent
with His glory. For the next 480 yrs
the tabernacle will remain the
focal point of the nation’s worship. Continue reading “Praying thro Exo 32-40 (Mar 17)”
Moses receives from God detailed
blueprint of the tabernacle which
would be Israel’s place of worship.
In minute detail Moses learns about
the furnishing, covering, curtains
and courtyard; from the inside out;
reflecting not the perspective of
man looking in, but of God looking
out.For true religion originates from
a holy God. Then Moses goes on to
detail the priests, everything about
them is special, from the clothing
they wear to elaborate rituals they
perform in leading the worship
of the nation. Both they and the
implements of worship they use
require special purification befitting
those in service of a holy God.
Lord, we learn from Exodus that
You hear the cries of Your people
and deliver in Your way and time.
From the giving of the law to help
Israelites live rightly as well as
construction of the Tabernacle
and preparation of the priests,
we recognise, You are a holy God.
Help us to trust You & wait upon U.
Help us to be holy even as You are.
Lord, we will Worship You Alone;
we will Offer U incense of Prayer &
we will Offer Skills for Your glory.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Lord, we worship U the Holy One:
Set up the Tabernacle according
to the pattern you were shown on
the mountain.Inside the Tabernacle
make a special curtain of fine linen.
Hang this curtain on gold hooks
attached to 4 posts of acacia wood
Hang the inner curtain from clasps
and put the Ark of the Covenant
in the room behind it. This curtain
will separate the Holy Place from
the Most Holy Place. Then put the
Ark’s cover,the place of atonement
on top of Ark of Covenant inside
the Most Holy Place (E26:30-34).
HS, it’s easy to forget the vast gulf
between God’s holiness and us.
Thanks to Christ that this barrier
had been torn down. And thanks
we can now approach God’s throne
with confidence as He sympathises
with our human weaknesses. Amen
Lord, we will offer You our Prayer:
Each morning when (the priests)
tends to the lamps, he must again
burn incense in the Lord’s presence
This must be done from generation
to generation. Do not offer any
unholy incense on this altar…
And Aaron shall make atonement…
once a year with the blood of
the sin offering (Exo 30:8-10).
Lord, thank You that You want
to spend time and have fellowship
with me. Help me to teach others
by example the importance of
daily devotion, prayer & fellowship
with You. Sometimes I may let
so many things get in the way
of our time together. But Lord,
I purpose to reserve a portion of
each day just for You & me. Amen
Lord, we will Serve with Your Gifts:
Then the Lord spoke to Moses:
See I have called by name Bezalel
…of the tribe of Judah. And I have
filled him with the Spirit of God,
giving him great wisdom, ability
and expertise in all kinds of crafts
to design artistic works… And…
I have put wisdom in the hearts
of all the gifted artisans, that
they may make all that I have
commanded you (Ex 31:1-5).
Lord, You called into action gifted
artisans to make furnishing for the
Tabernacle and sacred garments
for the priests. It appears that You
God not only assigns incredible
abilities to individuals; but You
also used that giftedness for
Your purpose when You call them
into service. So Lord, we avail
our God-instilled abilities and
passion for the furtherance of
Your kingdom for Your glory. Amen
Addressing hearts that have grown
cold to the things of God, Joel
confronts the people of Judah.
He reminds them of the destruction
brought by a plague of locusts.
Yet that disaster will seem pale
beside the castastrophe to come.
Unless the nation repents, it will
be destroyed by the army from the
north. The only hope of escape is
for the people to repent. If they do,
then God will divert judgment and
will deliver unparalleled blessing,
judgment on all Judah’s enemies
and the gift of peace to Zion!
Lord, You Will Redeem the Time:
I Will Repay you for the years
the locusts have eaten… my
great army that I sent among you.
You shall eat in plenty and be
satisfied, and praise the name of
the Lord your God (Joel 2:25-26).
It shall come to pass afterward that
I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh..
Whoever Calls on the name of the
Lord Shall Be Saved (v28-32) Amen
Lord, thank You that it is never
too late to turn to You and see
Restoration happens in our life.
Even though there has been time
wasted when I didn’t live fully for U,
I pray that U Will Redeem the time
and help me to make up for it.
Restore everything that has been
lost, wasted or ruined so that
I can give You the glory. Amen.
Lord, there’s times when we ignore
the still small voice and make
mistakes. Though discipline may
come but You promise to give back
the years the locusts had eaten.
Grateful that You not only forgive
but Yr mercy is great. You want us
to learn from mistakes and allow
U to bring good from them. Thank
U for forgiving mistakes. Help me
learn from them & grow closer to U.
And thank You that U will redeem
my past & guide my future. Amen.
Lord, thank you for Your Word
that everyone who calls on
Your name Will Be Saved. Thank
You for the promise to hear
and answer my cries for help.
Your rescue of me may not end
up looking like what I imagine
but You do promise to deliver.
Grant me the faith to believe this
promise with all my heart. Amen.
Backgrounder on Ezekiel 37-39:
In a vision told with vivid details,
that u can see the bones moving,
Ezekiel announces Israel’s future
rebirth. Reassembled with God’s
breath of life, the bones become
the new Israel, more powerful than
before. Then in a second vision,
Ezekiel sees the revived nation
utterly destroy its last foe – the
Magog – after which God is agreed
by all nations as undisputed Victor.
Lord, You Can Revive All Things:
Prophesy to these (dry) bones…
This is what the Sovereign Lord
says to these bones: I will make
breath enter you, and you will
come to life… So I prophesied as
He commanded me, and breath
came into them, and they lived
and stood upon their feet,
an exceedingly great army…
Then you shall know that I am
the Lord (Ezek 37:4-13). Amen.
Father, there are areas of my life
that seem to be dead; and they
need a new infusion of Your life.
There are dreams I have had
that seems as if they have died
for it has been a long time and
still they have not been realised.
I know if You can make dry bones
into a vast army, then You can also
bring life to anything worth praying,
no matter how dead it seems.Amen
Gracious God of all compassion,
your breath alone can bring life
to dry bones and weary souls.
Pour out your Spirit upon us, that
we may face despair with hope of
resurrection and faith thro Christ.
Forgive our faults as we confess &
restore us the joy of your salvation.
Call us out of the valley of dry
bones into Your Kingdom of hope.
We pray these in Jesus name,Amen
Lord, by a roadway in the
wilderness, You will lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and Earth will fade
but Your Word will still remain
And You’ll do something new today
Oh, God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
You work in ways we cannot see
You will make a way for me
You will make a way… Amen.
God pledges to reestablish Judah
after it has been purified by the
discipline of exile. As a sign of His
promise, He orders Jeremiah to
buy a field that would soon belong
to the conquering Babylonians.
That land would one day become
part of the restored nation to be
ruled by the Righteous Branch,
David’s Messianic descendant.
Lord, we want to Hear from You:
The word of the Lord came to
Jeremiah while he was still shut
up in the court of the prison saying:
Thus says the Lord: the Lord who
made the earth and established it…
Call to Me, and I will answer you,
and show you great and mighty
things which you do not know
(Jeremiah 33:1-3). Amen.
Lord, we may find it challenging
to listen to those we interact with
because we may be self centred.
But we want to consult You God
and hear your voice because You
are not a cruel task master & want
to share great and mighty things.
Lord, I confess not being a good
listener and tend not wait to hear
what You have to say. Teach me
to hear your voice and grant me
the faith to trust and obey. Amen.
Lord, I want to hear from You,
and I want to hear from You with
a reasonable level of certainty.
I am asking You to speak in a way
that I can understand You clearly.
I know I may make mistakes
and mishear You sometimes.
But I trust U to gently correct me
for I need to know Your voice.
Lord, I realise to hear U consistently
will require faith and patience. So
help me ask with expectation and
wait patiently for your voice. Amen
Lord, we love to hear secret truths
that the world doesn’t know about.
It may be some verse in the Bible
which Your Spirit enables us to
understand in a way we have never
grasped. Or it may be seeing deep
into a friend’s heart in a way we’ve
never seen that person before.
Or it may be revelation over the
reason things happen to us and
we’ve never yet come to terms.
Lord, enable me with such insights
which will enhance my love and
understanding of You God. Amen.
Backgrounder on Jeremiah 26-29:
Jeremiah’s messages of judgment
arouse strong opposition in the
palace. During Jehoiakim’s reign,
Jeremiah is threatened with a death
sentence. While Zedekiah rules,
Jeremiah dons a wooden yoke
to portray the importance of
Jerusalem surrendering to the yoke
of Babylon & thereby arouses the
denunciation of the false prophet
Hananiah. In the midst of this
turmoil, Jeremiah sends the exiles
in Babylon an encouraging letter.
Lord, You have Good Plans For Us:
After 70 years are completed at
Babylon, I will visit you & perform
My Good Word toward you and
cause you to return to this place.
For I know the Plans I have for
you, declares the Lord, Plans to
prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope & a future.
Then you Will Call upon me and
come and Pray to me, and I will
listen to you. And you Will Seek Me
and find Me, when u Search for Me
with all your heart (Jer 29:10-13).
Lord, noted that despite the depth
of Judah’s faithlessness, so great
is Your love that You Promised
to bring Your people home again.
Lord, thank you for Your Plans,
though I may not fully understand.
You promise that when I pray,
You will listen. Help me persevere
in seeking You. For in seeking You,
I know that I will find you. Amen.
Lord, thank you that Your plans
for me are for good to prosper me
and give me a future and a hope.
Lord, I realise that Your good plan
requires our participative Prayer.
Help me to Pray and Obey You in
every way so that I don’t do any
thing that will hinder Your plans
for my future. I seek You about
my future and Ask You to help
me to hear Your voice leading me
every step of the way. Amen.
Lord, thank You that You have
planned a future and a hope
for my life. Because of Your Power
and Your Faithfulness, I know
that nothing in my life is outside
Your Control. Help me to fully
and willingly submit to your will
for my future. Draw me to look
for You earnestly and to pray
wholeheartedly. And grant that
my hope be grounded in your
Unchanging Character. Amen.
Backgrounder on Jeremiah 16-20:
Jeremiah himself becomes object
lesson for what is soon to befall
Judah. The prophet is commanded
to remain celibate and avoids feast
days; a reminder to his countrymen
that they will soon experience
involuntarily what Jeremiah is
called to experience voluntarily.
For loss of comfort and joy await
God’s rebellious people. But then
God’s discipline is still redemptive.
Lord, U bless those who Cling to U:
Blessed is the (one) who Trusts
in the Lord, whose confidence
is in Him. They will be like a tree
planted by the water that sends
out its roots by the stream. It does
not fear when heat comes; its
leaves are always green. It has no
worries in a year of drought and
never fails to Bear Fruit (Jer 17:7-8)
Heal me O Lord & I will be Healed,
Save me and I shall be saved, for
U are the one I praise(J17:14) Amen
Lord, I put my complete Trust in U
for You are my hope & confidence.
Help me to never turn from You.
Instead let my roots go deep into U
as I feed in your Word each day.
And thank you for Your promise
to bring forth fruit in my life and
to make my soul prosperous
even in the long dry spells.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Lord, You are good & I trust in You
for You are my hope & confidence.
Draw me ever closer to You and
give me a passion to seek You.
Help me to Be Fruitful even during
life’s periodic hard and dry times.
Help me to put my roots deep
into You and your Word that I be
able to endure dry times and wait
for Your sure deliverance. Amen.
Lord, how grateful I am that U came
as our Healer besides our Saviour.
In your mercy, I ask for Your healing
touch upon my friends who need it.
As I had experienced Your healing
a few times before, I know when
You heal them, they can be healed
completely. At the same time,
I ask for discipline to take proper
care of my physical body. Amen.
For the first time in four centuries,
the Israelites are free to worship
and walk with their holy God.
But how do they approach God?
At Mount Sinai Moses prepares the
pple to receive the law which they
promise to obey. After two days of
purification,the nation witnesses an
awesome display of God’s majesty
as He descends in a thick cloud to
deliver the Ten Commandments,
the broad moral principles which
guide the new nation and set it
apart from its pagan neighbours.
They also receive civil & ceremonial
laws to regulate the life of Israel.
Father God, You revealed Your law
to the Israelites at Sinai. Through
the law, they learned more about
what You God is like & how You
expect Your people to live. Lord,
Grant us hunger to feed on Your
Word each day & want to be holy.
Help us love You by Obeying You.
Help us Trust You & Wait upon U &
Empower our good intentions.Amen
Lord, help us love u by obeying u:
I am the Lord your God, who
Rescued u from the land of Egypt,
the place of your slavery. You must
not have any other God but me.
You must not make for yourself
an idol of any kind…(Exo 20:2-17)
When the people heard the thunder
and saw the flashes of lightning…
they stood at a distance, trembling
with fear… Don’t be afraid, Moses
answered them: for God has come
in this way to test you, and so that
your fear of Him will keep you
from sinning (Exo 20:18-20).
Father God, You are pure & holy;
and You are a consuming fire.
Thanks You Jesus for rescuing
us from slavery to sin and death.
In gratitude we purpose to follow
Your ways and what You want.
Help us show our love to Him by
responding obediently to what
God wants. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Lord, we purpose to Wait upon You:
I will send hornets to drive out the
Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites.
But I will not do this all in one year
because the land would become
a wilderness. I will drive them out
a Little at a time until yr population
has increased eno to fill the land.
I will help you defeat the pple now
living in the land & you will drive
them out ahead of you (E23:28-31)
Holy Spirit, help us to have the
patience to wait upon You for
the answers to our prayers. We
confess we want all the answers
to manifest now, but Your timing
is perfect. Help us understand
the things that are happening
in response to our prayers that
we cannot see. And enable us
to envision the step-by-step
progress that’s being made. Amen.
Lord,empower our good intentions:
Moses went down to the people
and repeated all the instructions &
regulations the Lord had given him.
All the people answered with one
voice: We will do everything the
Lord has commanded (Exo 24:3).
The glory of the Lord settled down
on Mount Sinai… On the seventh
day the Lord called to Moses
from inside the cloud (Ex 24:16).
Lord, we need more than good
intentions; For we need Your Spirit
to write Your law on our hearts
so that we will want to obey You.
We need Your precepts to work
its way through the hidden places
in our hearts and habits so that
we can be set free from idolatry.
Help us be holy people who enjoy
the freedom not to sin; & grant the
work of Yr grace in our lives. Amen
Delivering the people from Egyptian
bondage is only the first step in
God’s plan to bring the Israelites
to the Promised Land of Canaan.
Many obstacles lie ahead. Pharaoh
whose heart is again hardened,
sends his armies in pursuit of
Moses and the people. Trapped
between the Red Sea and the
rapidly approaching chariots,
the people cry out in desperation
and God answers miraculously.
The Red Sea parts and the nation
crosses over on dry ground. But
as supplies decrease, complaints
increase. When their resources
run out, God supplies manna,
quail and water in abundance to
show that He is now their reliable
source of supply. And Israel fights
and wins its first military battle.
Lord, we learnt from Exodus,
U heard the cries of the Israelites
and rescued them from Egypt.
But after crossing the Red Sea,
the Israelites became discontent
and started complaining. Lord,
Help us learn from the episode how
to cope with unpleasant situations.
Help us to Trust You & Take Action.
Help us to Approach U for Healing.
Help us Learn to Be Content. Amen
Lord, we’ll Trust You & Take Action:
Moses said to the people: Do not
be afraid. Stand still and see the
salvation of the Lord, which He
Will accomplish for you today.
The Lord will fight for you,
and you shall hold your peace.
And the Lord said to Moses:
Why do you Cry to Me? Tell the
children of Israel to Go Forward.
But lift up your rod and stretch
out your hand over the sea and
divide it. And the children of Israel
shall go on dry ground through
the midst of the sea (Exo 14:13-16)
Lord, help me understand while
waiting for a leading from you,
when it is time to take action.
Help me to recognise the answers
to my prayers when they come
in ways I was not expecting. And
let me know when it is time to stand
up and take steps of faith. Amen.
Lord, we’ll Come to You for Healing:
Now when they came to Marah,
they could not drink the waters
of Marah for they were bitter…
And the people complained against
Moses saying: What shall we drink?
So he cried out to the Lord, and
the Lord showed him a tree. When
he cast it into the waters,the waters
were made sweet… And He said:
If you diligently heed the voice
of the Lord your God and do what
is right in His sight… I will put none
of the diseases on u which I have
brought on the Egyptians. For I am
the Lord who Heals u (Ex15:23-26)
Lord, You are the one who heals.
I’ve needed Your healing & still do.
Heal me from fears, depression,
control issue & destructive ways.
Speak Your restoration into all
my wounds. And give me wisdom
to speak Your presence & healing
into the wounds of others. Amen.
Lord, we purpose to Be Content:
The whole community of Israel
complained: If only the Lord killed
us back in Egypt, they moaned.
There we sat around pots filled
with meat and ate all the bread
we wanted. But now you have
brought us into the wilderness
to starve us. (Exodus 16:2-3).
The Lord said to Moses: I have
heard the Israelites’ complaints.
Now tell them: In the evening you
will have meat to eat, and in the
morning you will have all the bread
you want. Then you will know that
I am the Lord your God (v11-12).
Lord, difficult circumstances often
lead to stress & we can only think
about escaping from the situation.
Forgive us for grumbling against
against You when You are providing
everything we need. And give us
a hunger for You the Living Bread
who satisfies the human soul.Amen
Backgrounder on Isaiah 58-62:
Isaiah 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 and the
glad tidings of salvation shall
be proclaimed throughout Zion.
God has not forsaken His people
& groaning has given way to glory.
Lord, You Turn Mourning to Joy:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…
to heal the brokenhearted…
to comfort all who mourn…
to give them Beauty for Ashes,
the oil of Joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness (Isa 61:1-3).
You will be called Ministers of God.
U shall eat riches of Gentiles (v6).
I am Overwhelmed With Joy
in the Lord my God! For He has
dressed me with the clothing of
salvation and draped me in a robe
of righteousness (v10). Amen.
Lord, I don’t how much I must
have lost or the blessings I have
forfeited because I have lived
my way instead of Your way.
But I confess my sins of thought,
word and action to You now.
And ask that You will give me
Beauty instead of ashes,
gladness instead of mourning
and a garment of praise
instead of despair. Amen.
Lord, I know I am called to the
ministry and in fact we all are!
Help me to be an effective go-
between standing in the space
between U God & a needy world.
Help me to correctly do that
in my family, in the vocation,
in the church & in the community.
Empower me to represent U well to
others & lift up others to You. Amen
Lord, grant me a glimpse of Your
presence which gives Fullness
of Joy. And reveal and show me
the power of proper perspective:
not be defeated but to overcome;
not be victimised; but victorious.
Help me live life in the reversal,
where my attitude and internal
state of mind are impacted more
by You. And clothe me in the Joy
and the celebration of what You
have already done in me. Amen
