Morning Prayer
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Inspiration
How blessed, how happy, the man who endures and resists temptation! The trying of his faith will end in life. No temptation or trial seems at the time to be pleasant, but is a cause of distress and discomfort. But God uses even the temptations of the Devil to our ultimate advantage if we are among those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). When we fall into sin, our weakness is revealed to us, leading us to rely on God instead of on our flesh to uphold us in the future; when we successfully resist evil, God reveals to us the strength he has wrought in us to his own glory.
Prayer
Lord, we know we should never choose to seek out temptation or place ourselves needlessly in a tempting situation. We should pray you would "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the Evil One (Satan). " But when you choose to allow temptation to come into our lives, we pray we would overcome it. And if we should fall, we pray we would learn from it and you would work it (as all things) to our ultimate good. 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.
