Max Lucado Daily:THE GROANS OF THE HEART - September 16, 2022
“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us…” (Romans 8:26 NIV).
The groans of the heart. You have heard them. You have made them. They are the vernacular of pain, the chosen tongue of despair. And when prayers won’t come, these will have to do. Yet these raw appeals find their way into the presence of God the Father because they are entrusted into the care of the Holy Spirit.
We’re accustomed to the Holy Spirit’s mighty deeds. Fire falling on Peter, doors opening for Paul. Because of the Spirit, Ezekiel saw dead bones rise, and Moses saw the Red Sea open. Yet of equal import is this: the Spirit curates and translates the incoherent prayers of the weak until they are heard in the tribunal of heaven.
“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us…” (Romans 8:26 NIV).
The groans of the heart. You have heard them. You have made them. They are the vernacular of pain, the chosen tongue of despair. And when prayers won’t come, these will have to do. Yet these raw appeals find their way into the presence of God the Father because they are entrusted into the care of the Holy Spirit.
We’re accustomed to the Holy Spirit’s mighty deeds. Fire falling on Peter, doors opening for Paul. Because of the Spirit, Ezekiel saw dead bones rise, and Moses saw the Red Sea open. Yet of equal import is this: the Spirit curates and translates the incoherent prayers of the weak until they are heard in the tribunal of heaven.
Psalm 4
When I call, give me answers. God, take my side!
Once, in a tight place, you gave me room;
Now I’m in trouble again: grace me! hear me!
2 You rabble—how long do I put up with your scorn?
How long will you lust after lies?
How long will you live crazed by illusion?
3 Look at this: look
Who got picked by God!
He listens the split second I call to him.
4-5 Complain if you must, but don’t lash out.
Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking.
Build your case before God and wait for his verdict.
6-7 Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say.
“More, more.”
I have God’s more-than-enough,
More joy in one ordinary day
7-8 Than they get in all their shopping sprees.
At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep,
For you, God, have put my life back together.
5 1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
Can you make sense of these ramblings,
my groans and cries?
King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
you’ll hear me at it again.
Every morning
I lay out the pieces of my life
on your altar
and watch for fire to descend.
4-6 You don’t socialize with Wicked,
or invite Evil over as your houseguest.
Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you;
you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.
God destroys Lie-Speaker;
Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.
7-8 And here I am, your invited guest—
it’s incredible!
I enter your house; here I am,
prostrate in your inner sanctum,
Waiting for directions
to get me safely through enemy lines.
9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;
their lungs breathe out poison gas.
Their throats are gaping graves,
their tongues slick as mudslides.
Pile on the guilt, God!
Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.
Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.
11-12 But you’ll welcome us with open arms
when we run for cover to you.
Let the party last all night!
Stand guard over our celebration.
You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,
for decking us out in delight.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, September 16, 2022
Today's Scripture
Revelation 11:15–18
The Last Trumpet Sounds
15–18 The seventh Angel trumpeted. A crescendo of voices in Heaven sang out,
The kingdom of the world is now
the Kingdom of our God and his Messiah!
He will rule forever and ever!
The Twenty-four Elders seated before God on their thrones fell to their knees, worshiped, and sang,
We thank you, O God, Sovereign-Strong,
Who Is and Who Was.
You took your great power
and took over—reigned!
The angry nations now
get a taste of your anger.
The time has come to judge the dead,
to reward your servants, all prophets and saints,
Reward small and great who fear your Name,
and destroy the destroyers of earth.
Insight
While the apostle John was exiled on Patmos, God showed him through a vision His end-time program for the world, specifically His righteous wrath being poured out on all creation in three cycles of judgments—the seven-sealed scroll (chs. 6, 8), the seven trumpets (chs. 8–9, 11), and the seven bowls (ch. 16). In Hebrew numerology, the number seven speaks of totality, completion, and perfection. The number seven is used more than fifty times in the book of Revelation (see 1:4, 12; 5:1, 6; 8:2; 15:7). The trumpet judgments, the second cycle of divine judgments (chs. 8–9, 11), culminate in resounding praise in heaven when the seventh trumpet is sounded (11:15–18). In the Bible, the trumpet is sounded to rally God’s people for worship or for war (Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 10:5–10; Joshua 6:16; Judges 3:27). Elsewhere, Paul said that the resurrection of the dead would be preceded by the blast of the trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).
By: K. T. Sim
Hallelujah!
He will reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 11:15
Astonishingly, it took Handel only twenty-four days to write the orchestral music for the Messiah oratorio—today perhaps the world’s most famous musical composition, one performed thousands of times every year around the world. The magnificent work reaches its climax nearly two hours after it begins with the most famous part of the oratorio, the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
As the trumpets and timpani announce the beginning of the chorus, voices layer on top of each other as the choir sings the words of Revelation 11:15: “And he shall reign for ever and ever.” It's a triumphant declaration of the hope of eternity in heaven with Jesus.
Many of the words in Messiah come from the book of Revelation, the apostle John’s account of a vision he had near the end of his life describing events culminating with the return of Christ. In Revelation, John returned again and again to the theme of the return of the resurrected Jesus to earth—when there would be great rejoicing with the sound of choirs (19:1–8). The world will rejoice because Jesus will have defeated the powers of darkness and death and established a kingdom of peace.
One day, all the people of heaven will sing together in a magnificent choir proclaiming the majesty of Jesus and the blessing of His forever reign (7:9). Until then, we live, work, pray, and wait in hope.
By: Lisa M. Samra
Reflect & Pray
How does the return of Jesus to reign over the earth provide you with hope now? What songs encourage you with reminders of the majesty of Jesus?
Come quickly, Jesus, to establish Your reign over the earth.
Learn more about understanding the book of Revelation.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, September 16, 2022
Praying to God in Secret
When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place… —Matthew 6:6
The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to carry on your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.
“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions…” (Matthew 6:7). God does not hear us because we pray earnestly— He hears us solely on the basis of redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God— that is only the most elementary kind of prayer. Prayer is coming into perfect fellowship and oneness with God. If the Son of God has been formed in us through regeneration (see Galatians 4:19), then He will continue to press on beyond our common sense and will change our attitude about the things for which we pray.
“Everyone who asks receives…” (Matthew 7:8). We pray religious nonsense without even involving our will, and then we say that God did not answer— but in reality we have never asked for anything. Jesus said, “…you will ask what you desire…” (John 15:7). Asking means that our will must be involved. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He spoke with wonderful childlike simplicity. Then we respond with our critical attitude, saying, “Yes, but even Jesus said that we must ask.” But remember that we have to ask things of God that are in keeping with the God whom Jesus Christ revealed.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Awe is the condition of a man’s spirit realizing Who God is and what He has done for him personally. Our Lord emphasizes the attitude of a child; no attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child. Not Knowing Whither, 882 L
Bible in a Year: Proverbs 25-26; 2 Corinthians 9
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, September 16, 2022
YOUR PRAYER DECIDES IT - #9310
When I worked with our championship high school football team, I was there for a lot of timeouts called by the coach. And I know how important they were. He told the players what they were doing wrong, what they needed to do more of, and how to play against the other team and their weaknesses. It was a strategy for winning, actually. When you watch sports on TV, they usually run commercials during the timeout. A timeout may not be very exciting to watch, but what happens during a timeout can determine the outcome of the game.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Prayer Decides It."
We're busy playing the game. We lose our perspective because we can only see things from the position we're playing. But the Coach, of course, he can see it all. It's worth it to stop the game for a little while to get the perspective of the one who's got the big picture. So, if you're a child of God, that timeout is called prayer. And we can't win without it, but we sure try.
There is probably no more dramatic Biblical example of prayer as a non-negotiable than the story in Daniel 6, beginning with verse 10. It's our word for today from the Word of God. Daniel has so won the confidence of the Persian king, Darius - the most powerful man in the world at that time - that he is placed in a top position in the Persian government. And the word is out that he is about to be promoted as basically second-in-command to the king. He has some jealous associates, who try everything to slander Daniel and find some way to discredit him with the king. But he has so much integrity, they can't even find anything to accuse him of. But knowing Daniel is a man of prayer, they set him up by convincing the king to issue a decree that anyone who prays to anyone but him, the king, would be executed.
Daniel's response is utterly amazing. It says, "When Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. These men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help." Even when Daniel knows it may cost him his life, he will not miss his timeout with his God. He will let nothing preempt his praying. Wow! We are pretty pitiful by comparison! We let almost anything preempt our praying; we're too busy, we're too tired, we're too wounded, or we're too distracted.
When we don't pray our way through our day, we start to make more and more mistakes, we start fighting battles that aren't ours to fight, we start stressing out, and we start taking detours from the great plan of God. Prayer can't just be a compartment in your life where you pray in sort of prayer meetings, pray at the beginning of your day and the end of your day. Can you imagine a sports team only having a timeout with their coach at the beginning and the end of the game? You need what only He can give you throughout your day.
So pray before you take that call. Pray before you make that call. Pray before you write that email, send that text. Pray before you start your journey. Pray before you answer. Pray before you make that commitment, Pray before you make that purchase, or before you ask someone for a date or accept that date. Pray through your day before you face your day.
And then all through your day whisper a prayer to heaven for what's in front of you at that moment. It may only be, "Lord, give me Your wisdom" or "Lord, give me Your strength" or just "Help, Lord!" But it opens up all of heaven and all that heaven has for the moment you're facing. Get used to getting in touch with heaven all day long. Checking in regularly with your Coach could make all the difference in the final score.