Night Prayer
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Inspiration
Paul writes a lot about being ‘in Christ,’ and rightly so. The phrase reminds us that our salvation and our righteousness are intertwined with, and wholly dependent on, our relationship with Jesus. And we know Jesus not because we have earned our place with him through the law, but because we have received him, and his grace, by faith.
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. Thank you for freeing me from the tireless burden of my works and the delusion that I could save myself. Your grace is all I need, and I joyfully accept it, trusting in your forgiveness and your righteousness to work in and through me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
