Devotion
Speak O Lord, your servants hear you!
David Jacobs
If I told you that I can hear voices in my head, what would you think? You might think that I had a mental problem, as would be perfectly in your right. So what can we make of people claiming to hear the voice of God? How can they hear it and it is considered normal but if we heard it, we might be considered insane?
When praying, I sometimes feel that I am talking or feeling God. I can feel that something is guiding me, and the deeper and more regularly I pray, the stronger this feeling becomes. Eli and Samuel were devout men, faithful and studious to the word of God. Prayer was a large part of their lives. Eli had grown accustomed to feeling and hearing God's guidance, but the younger Samuel had not. For the more stubborn of us, it might take years of practice praying before we grow to feel any connection with God, but it will come.
We need to practice hearing God's voice before we can hear it. We need to test what it means to hear God's voice with other Christians, as Samuel did with Eli. God does talk to us if we try to talk and listen to Him. It might not happen overnight, it might not be what you expect, but God will listen and talk if we do with Him.
Prayer
Do you feel that you have ever talked with God? What did He say? More importantly, what did you say and what prompted this exchange?
Devotion
Abraham is Father of All
Frances Taylor
There are questions in every age about the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims. We forget that it was Abraham who believed in the doctrine of only one God. It is through him and his descendants that this tradition comes down to us. Another fact that we can overlook is that Jesus was Jewish. He was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, died, rose and ascended into heaven as a Jew. Because we believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ, and we follow him, we are called Christian. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn't understand the promise of salvation; we wouldn't understand why it was important for Jesus to be of the family of King David. We would not understand his teaching either, because Jesus quoted from Scripture – the Old Testament – frequently. He told us that he came to fulfill the Scriptures, not to abolish them. In the same way, we can ...
Morning Prayer
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Inspiration
We have a responsibility, as Christians, to abstain from the sinful practices we partook in before we became saved. While it may be a gradual process of change, we should ensure that we are putting in our best to play our part in resisting temptation. God enables us to resist temptation, but it is up to us to actually resist.
Prayer
Dear God, I pray that I will always be a person of action. Father, I take delight in my new life in you and I do not desire otherwise. I pray that in times of temptation, may I act on the strength you have given me to flee and/or resist. May I never rely on excuses or procrastination, Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Night Prayer
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
Inspiration
We have chosen to surrender our lives and serve the Lord. We serve Him by witnessing, completing missionary projects, and ministering to those in need. There is always work to do and a world full of people to help. We will look for opportunities to provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ by any means necessary. We are servants to one another as a service to the Lord; He will never forsake us.
Prayer
Dear God, Help us see the world through Your eyes. We desire to serve those around us by reflecting Your love through our actions. You will never forsake us, and we will continually lift praises of thanksgiving to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
