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Numbers 29:1-40   What blessing comes to us when the Holy Spirit comes to us! We thank You, Lord, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Before the Holy Spirit can work through us - to bring others to Christ, He must work in us - yo make us more like Christ. When, Lord, we pray for blessing, help us to pray for "the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).

2 Chronicles 33:1-34:13   Very quickly, Lord, good work can be undone (2 Chronicles 33:1-3). Bad work can be undone - if we will make a new beginning with You (2 Chronicles 34:1-4). Help us, Lord, to make a new beginning with You - and a new beginning for You.

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus has risen from the dead (Luke 24:6). Death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24). He has triumphed over death – “Where, O death, is your victory? … Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

1 Chronicles 6:61-7:40  In Your Word, Lord, we read about "a city of refuge" (1 Chronicles 6:67). We take refuge in You, Lord. You are "our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Refuge, strength and help - What great blessings You give to us! Where do we find these blessings? - we find them all in Christ. When "evil" threatens to overwhelm us (1 Chronicles 7:23), we run to Jesus, we are strengthened by Him, and we receive help from Him. what are we to do when You bless us so much? - we are to give all the glory to You. Without You, Lord, we "can do nothing" (John 15:5). With You, we can "do all things" - because you give us the strength that we need.

1 Chronicles 18:1-20:8  Lord, there are no "giants" able to stand in Your presence (1 Chronicles 20:8). We face the "giants" of unbelief, disobedience, spiritual pride and self-righteousness. By Your "divine power", these "giants" will be brought to nothing (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Let the "giants" come tumbling down. Let us "grow in grace." Let us give all the "glory" to You, Lord (2 Peter 3:18).

Psalm 19:1-14 Lord, You’re always speaking to us. Every day and every night,You speak to us through Your created world. You prepare us for hearing the voice of Jesus, Your living Word. He speaks to us through the Scriptures, Your written Word. Help us, Lord, to become aware of Your presence, to listen to the voice of Jesus – calling us to come to You, and to receive new life, as we put our trust in Jesus, our Saviour.

Deuteronomy 9:22-10:22 Help us, Lord, to listen to You and live for You, to speak to You and speak for You. Help us to receive from You and respond to You. Help us not to get caught up in the "What do I get out of it?" way of thinking. Help us to ask the more important question: "How can I give myself more fully to You, Lord?"

Psalm 18:1-24 Lord, You are “our strength, our rock, our fortress, our deliverer, our shield and the horn of our salvation, our stronghold (Psalm 18:1-2). What more can we ask for? You are all that we need – and more! Help us, Lord, not to stagger along in our own strength when You’re calling us to stand in Your strength and march on with You to victory (Ephesians 6:13). Our own strength isn’t strength. It’s weakness. Your strength is the only true strength. We are strong when we stand upon Your gracious promise – “My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Proverbs 14:20-35 “Righteousness lifts up a nation, but sin is a disgrace in any society” (Proverbs 14:34). Lord, we wonder about the future. Can times of blessing come again to our nation? Yes! They can – but there needs to be a big change in our way of thinking and our way of living. There needs to be less “This is what we think”, and more, “What is the Lord saying to us?” There needs to be less, “Look at what I’ve done”, and more “This is what the Lord has done for us.” Lord, we pray for a revival – a revival of looking to You, listening to you, learning from You and living for You.

Proverbs 17:13-28 “A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). Help us, Lord, to look beyond human love and human friendship. Help us to see Jesus. His love is the greatest love. He is our greatest Friend. Thank You, Lord, for Jesus. Thank You for His love. He’s our Forever Friend. May we know, in our hearts, that His love is ‘always and forever’ love.

Proverbs 18:1-24   Lord, we thank You that ‘the fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream’ (Proverbs 18:4). We read the joyful testimony of Paul: ‘The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus’ (1 Timothy 1:14), and we say, in our hearts,  ‘This is the “wisdom” we must seek – the wisdom which receives “salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). True wisdom finds its overflowing joy in the Saviour: ‘The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe’ (Proverbs 18:10). We rejoice in Jesus. He is Your Son – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High’ (Luke 1:31-32). He is our Saviour – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21). He is ‘the Friend who sticks closer than a brother’ (Proverbs 18:24). Help us, Lord, to be wise. Help us to invite Jesus, Your Son, to be our Saviour and our F

Proverbs 21:1-31 ‘The victory belongs to the Lord’ (Proverbs 21:31). Lord, when defeat seems inevitable, You come to us with Your Word of encouragement: ‘The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save, a Warrior who gives victory. He will take great delight in you. He will renew you in His love. He will rejoice over you with singing’ (Zephaniah 3:17). Your Word shows us the way of victory. You lead us into the way of faith in our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ‘This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?’ (1 John 5:4). You, Lord, ‘give victory’ to us. Help us to receive Your victory by ‘faith’. Living for Christ is never easy – ‘In this world you will have trouble’. Help us not to let this get us down. Help us to remember Jesus’ words: ‘Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33).

Proverbs 19:1-29   ‘The fear of the Lord leads to life’ (Proverbs 19:23). ‘The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him’ (Psalm 25:14). Lord, we read these words, and we think, ‘What a strange combination – friendship and fear !’ We ask, ‘How can there be friendship where there is fear?’ Here, we have a special kind of friendship – ‘the friendship of the Lord’ – and a special kind of fear – ‘the fear of the Lord ’. Why is this friendship and fear so special? It’s because You, Lord, are special! You are the God of perfect holiness – ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.’ Help us to come before You in ‘the fear of the Lord’ – ‘Woe is me! I am undone; I am a man of unclean lips…’. You are the God of perfect love. You call us into friendship with Yourself – ‘Your guilt is taken away and your sin forgiven’ (Isaiah 6:3,5,7). We rejoice in ‘the friendship of the Lord’. Help us to respect You with ‘the fear of the Lord’.

Help us, Lord, to stop talking about ourselves – and start listening to You. We can get so busy – talking about all the things that matter most to us. We forget to listen to what You are saying to us about the things that matter most to You. Hep us, day-by-day, to turn to Your Word – to come to You with the prayer: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).

Proverbs 16:18-33 Help us, Lord, to think about the way we’re living. Is it a self-centred life? – “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 16:25). Is it a God-centred life? – “He who gives heed to the Word will prosper, and happy is he who trusts in the Lord” (Proverbs 16:20). Help us, Lord, to turn from the world’s way of living – “the wages of sin is death.” Help us to choose Your way, the way that leads to eternal life – “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Proverbs 16:1-17 “Wisdom is better than gold” (Proverbs 16:16). Where, Lord, will we find wisdom? Your Word tells us that Jesus Christ is “our Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:30). When we find Him, we find wisdom. Jesus says to us, “Seek, and you will find” (Matthew 7:7). Set us free from the idea that we already know what wisdom is before we start looking for it. Help us to look for Jesus – and to find that He was already looking for us before we started looking for Him. We thank You, Lord, that, when Jesus finds us, we find the “wisdom” which “is better than gold.”

Proverbs 15:1-33 “The path of life leads upward for the wise” (Proverbs 15:24). Where, Lord, does wisdom come from? It comes from Jesus. We look to Him, and we are led in the way that leads to the “Father’s House” (John 14:2-3,6). “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it” (Proverbs 15:17). We thank You, Lord, that Jesus teaches us the way to live wisely: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). “The lips of the wise spread knowledge” (Proverbs 15:7). We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Help us to “confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9).

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our Saviour – He came to save us (Luke 19:10). He is also our Lord – He wants to “reign over” us (Luke 19:27). We’re so glad that salvation has come to us (Luke 19:9). Help us to be good and faithful servants of Jesus, our Saviour and Lord (Luke 19:17).

Genesis 13:1-18 Lord, help us to make good choices. When we’re at the crossroads of life, we can so easily head off in the wrong direction. At the crossroads of life, we need Jesus. He is the Way – the true and living Way ( John 14:6 ). “Without the Way, there is no going. Without the truth, there is no knowing. Without the life, there is no living.” Help us to choose well. Help us to choose Jesus. Lord, give us this great testimony: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” ( Galatians 2:20 ). Lord, help us to keep on praying this prayer: “May there be less of self and more of Christ in me” ( John 3:30 ).

Genesis 12:1-20 Lord, sometimes, we feel like we’re stuck in a rut. When we feel like this, help us to see that You’ve moved on ahead of us. You’re calling us on – into Your future! Do we need to see exactly where You’re leading us? – No! We don’t! We just need to keep on following You. The future may be unknown to us – but it’s never unknown to You! “Face the sun and the shadows will fall behind you. Look to the One who can put your past behind you. Be the one you were born to be – Don’t you want to be free? … There ‘ll be brighter days ahead” (Garry Brotherston). Lord, let there be no more fear of an unknown future. Help us to look to the Son. Help us to know that, with Him, we can never be stuck in a rut! Help us to move forward with Him and for Him.