Devotion 

Be Prepared 

Frances Taylor 

What will we be doing when the Master comes? Will we be faithful servants waiting for our Lord's return, or will we be waiting until we're older or sick, or dying? The parable goes on to tell how much more so, if he comes in the second or third watch. As the year winds down we will continue to be reminded to be prepared to meet God. There is a song that was popular several years ago called "Live Like We're Dying." Although not specifically geared toward being prepared to die, it does invite us to live each moment of every day loving others, letting those we love know it and not wasting a single second. In fact the song tells us exactly how many seconds there are in a day – 36,400! If we knew we were dying, who would we want to spend time with or who do we need to forgive? Who needs to know that we love them? If you had answers for these questions, then what are you waiting for? What do we need to do to prepare for eternity? How is our prayer life? ...

Morning Prayer 

And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Inspiration 

There is much we could say about this model prayer of our Lord, which will help us to pray aright. But notice the last line, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. " Here, it seems God's "providential leading" is in view, not "instructional leading, " for we would not say "God, don't instruct me to go where I will be tempted. " Obviously, God would not do that anyway, and it would be an insult to pray that to Him. Instead, we pray "God, please so order events in my life that I fall not into temptation and into the snare of the evil one (Satan). "

Prayer 

O God, you are the Ruler of all history and of my life too. ...