Daily Readings at Southeast

  DAY 12: BRING EVERY SITUATION TO GOD The first thing we should do when we have a problem or a need, is to turn it over to God - not as our last chance, but as our first choice! A perfect example of this can be found in Acts chapter four which describes a scene following Christ's Resurrection when Peter and John were arrested and put on trial for preaching the Gospel. They were threatened, within an inch of their lives, by the same angry crowd that had crucified Jesus. Finally they were released, but only after being sternly warned "not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus." In light of the threats against them, do you know what Peter and John did? They prayed. They gathered with fellow believers and prayed these words, "And now, Lord, look upon their hearts and grant to your servants to continue to speak your Word with all boldness." (4:29). Instead of panicking, instead of fretting, they immediately handed over their problem to the Lord. Isn't it...

  DAY 11: MAKE PRAYER A PRIORITY I've heard it said that the first 10 or 15 minutes of each day really determine how the rest of your day will go. And if you begin your day in prayer, acknowledging God as first in your life, you are making a wise choice. Too often, rather than putting Jesus Christ first in our lives, we allow many other thoughts and "things" to consume us. But Scripture reminds us that anything we love more, serve more, or worship more than Jesus Himself is idolatry, plain and simple! Jesus will not share His place of Lordship in our lives. So before you pray, before you start asking, make sure that you're practicing the principle of putting God first. I know life can be busy. I know obligations must be met. I'm just suggesting that before we tend to our responsibilities, we should devote ourselves to God in prayer. I need that, and so do you. Each of us needs a set-aside, set-apart encounter with the living God at key moments throughout our day i...

  DAY 10: ASKING FOR GOD'S PROTECTION THROUGH PRAYER There is a wrestling match we're involved in, my friend, and our opponent, Satan, doesn't like to lose. This may seem like a cause for trepidation in your life, but you need not fear Satan's assault. Each time we engage in spiritual battle with the enemy of our souls, we seize a grand opportunity for spiritual growth - in our minds, in our hearts, and in our lives. We become more vigilant about praying for power to defeat him and as a result, step into the next spiritual battle much stronger than we were before. In this sense, prayer is not only worship and work, prayer is warfare! That is why God gave us a powerful weapon in prayer - prayer as a covering, prayer as a source of strength, and prayer as a means to stand firm in the fiercest battles! In praying for protection, we come before God, requesting for Him to serve as our shield, our strength, our fortress, our deliverer, our strong tower, and a very present hel...

  DAY 9: RECEIVING GOD'S PROVISION THROUGH PRAYER In the Lord's Prayer, our model prayer, we are directed to ask our Father in Heaven for daily provision, daily "bread." Rather than trusting that it will show up again and again we must realize that we are dependent upon the Lord. God is not only interested in our spiritual lives, He is interested in our physical and material lives as well. So prayer is not only for God's heavenly glory, but prayer is provided for our earthly good. Now, it may not seem all that spiritual to ask God for "bread," but we must keep in mind that His meaning here addresses not just physical bread, but also bread of the spiritual sort. When we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" we are expressing our dependence on God and conveying our gratitude for His gracious provision in our lives. Truly, no matter how hard we work, how much we earn, and how cleverly we invest and save and buy, all that we have is a gift from ...

  DAY 8: GAINING PERSPECTIVE THROUGH PRAYER If you have ever played in a football game, you know that when you're down on the field, you can't see all of the plays developing. Your view is limited to what is happening immediately around you. On the other hand, if you're an offensive coordinator for a football team, you are able to go up to the press box and look down on the entire field. From this vantage point you can clearly see what the defense and offense are doing. In the same way, sometimes we're too close to our own problems; we're right in the middle, and we can't see what is happening. We need a clearer vision, a new perspective. And so what do we need to do? We need to get up higher! We need to get lifted up into the presence of the Lord and gain a new perspective in finding God's will and His wisdom in our lives. God desires to reveal His perspective and impart His wisdom to us. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, wh...

  DAY 7: SEEKING FORGIVENESS THROUGH PRAYER Did you know that un-confessed sin could keep God from hearing your prayers? It's not that He doesn't want to hear us; it's just that God, in His perfect holiness, cannot come near to sin. The sin must first be removed. David prayed in Psalm 66:18, "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." In other words, if we practice sin habitually without repentance, God will not hear us. Of all the promises for answered prayer, here's a promise for God not to answer prayer. Sin is serious business to God, and therefore should be serious business to us. If there's anything clogging the channel of prayer in our lives then we need to come to the Lord, confess our sins, and receive forgiveness. Throughout Scripture, sin is described as a disease that produces spiritual death. It is no wonder, then, that the psalmist cried out, "Wash me thoroughly God!" When we are honest about our own...

  DAY 6: STRENGTHENING YOUR FAITH THROUGH PRAYER I love Jeremiah 33:3. I've heard some people call it "God's telephone number." Promises like this one contained throughout God's Word give us assurance and confidence that, when God's children pray, the Heavenly Father listens. He invites us to come to Him. That is a staggering thought isn't it? God hears our prayers. While most of us have been told all of our lives that God answers prayer, that fact just blows right by us most of the time. Think about this: if it is true that God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, is interested in hearing from us and answers our prayers according to His perfect will for our lives, then that is the most amazing thing we could possibly experience! And that's why it is absolutely ludicrous that we don't pray as we ought to pray. It is encouraging to know that we are not heard because of the language of our prayers, the length of our prayers, or the logic of our pra...