Morning, December 5
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Bible League: Living His Word
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

The context of our verse for today is the Apostle Paul's final word to the church at Ephesus. He says that they should "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10). This means, as he goes on to say, that they should "Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). They should put on the "belt of truth," the "body armor of God's righteousness," the "shoes" of peace that comes from the Good News, and they should hold up "the shield of faith," put on the "helmut of salvation," and take up the "Sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:14-17).

But being strong in the Lord also means, as our verse for today points out, that they should pray. They, and we by extension, should pray in the following four ways:

First, we should "Pray in the Spirit." That is, our prayers should be prayers born of the help and power of the Holy Spirit. Our prayers, to put it in the opposite, should not be prayers born of the sinful self. We should open ourselves to the Holy Spirit so that our prayers come with the sense that the Spirit is praying through us.

Second, we should pray "at all times and on every occasion." Elsewhere, Paul told us that we should "Never stop praying" (I Thessalonians 5:17). Part of being strong in the Lord is to pray for His help. Since we need His help every hour of the day and in every situation, prayer should be a regular and ongoing feature of our lives.

Third, we should pray for all believers everywhere. Our prayers should not be limited to ourselves and our immediate loved ones. Indeed, Paul says that we should "Stay alert" about this. That is, we should be looking for opportunities to pray for all believers.

Finally, we should be persistent in our prayers for all believers. In His Parable of the Persistent Widow Jesus told us that we should "always pray and never give up" (Luke 18:1). With the same kind of persistence as the widow, we should not lose heart or become discouraged in our prayers for all believers.

Today, then, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power – through prayer.

Bible in a Year
Old Testament Reading
Daniel 5, 6


Daniel 5 -- Belshazzar's Impious Feast; Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Daniel 6 -- Daniel, under Darius, Refuses to Worship Idols; Survives the Lions' Den

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


New Testament Reading
1 John 4


1 John 4 -- Testing the Spirits; Love One Another, for Love Is of God;

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library.
Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion
Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
Insight
Giving honor to marriage will require the utmost in Christian conviction and sensitivity. Modern social theory may redefine the family, and the new definitions may be far from its biblical foundation.
Challenge
What can you do? Witness to the depth of God's love for you by keeping your marriage happy and strong. Remain faithful—in body and in mind. Pray for your spouse. Honor biblical marriage (consenting man-woman unions) by resisting political pressure to recognize and legalize other sexual preferences. Teach children the biblical meaning of marriage. Pray early for their own eventual spouses and families. Make marriage enrichment the goal of your small group discussions and study. Encourage the marriages around you to stay strong as well.
Morning and Evening by Spurgeon
Matthew 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you.

We know of a place in England still existing, where a dole of bread is served to every passerby who chooses to ask for it. Whoever the traveller may be, he has but to knock at the door of St. Cross Hospital, and there is the dole of bread for him. Jesus Christ so loveth sinners that he has built a St. Cross Hospital, so that whenever a sinner is hungry, he has but to knock and have his wants supplied. Nay, he has done better; he has attached to this Hospital of the Cross a bath; and whenever a soul is black and filthy, it has but to go there and be washed. The fountain is always full, always efficacious. No sinner ever went into it and found that it could not wash away his stains. Sins which were scarlet and crimson have all disappeared, and the sinner has been whiter than snow. As if this were not enough, there is attached to this Hospital of the Cross a wardrobe, and a sinner making application simply as a sinner, may be clothed from head to foot; and if he wishes to be a soldier, he may not merely have a garment for ordinary wear, but armour which shall cover him from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. If he asks for a sword, he shall have that given to him, and a shield too. Nothing that is good for him shall be denied him. He shall have spending-money so long as he lives, and he shall have an eternal heritage of glorious treasure when he enters into the joy of his Lord.

If all these things are to be had by merely knocking at mercy's door, O my soul, knock hard this morning, and ask large things of thy generous Lord. Leave not the throne of grace till all thy wants have been spread before the Lord, and until by faith thou hast a comfortable prospect that they shall be all supplied. No bashfulness need retard when Jesus invites. No unbelief should hinder when Jesus promises. No cold-heartedness should restrain when such blessings are to be obtained.

Daily Light on the Daily Path
Psalm 119:71  It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.

Hebrews 5:8  Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

Romans 8:17,18  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. • For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Job 23:10,11  "But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. • "My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside.

Deuteronomy 8:2,5,6  "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. • "Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. • "Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.

Evening December 4
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