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1 Kings |
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| Chapter 1 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 12 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 2 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 13 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 3 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 14 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 4 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 15 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 5 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 16 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 6 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 17 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 7 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 18 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 8 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 19 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 9 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 20 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 10 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 21 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 11 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 22 | Prayer | Devotional |
Glorious God, we live and die at Your command. You know us when we are young, and You know us when we are old. The day comes when we step aside from our duties of responsibility, and the next generation takes our place. We come and go, but Your Son is forever King over the church. Here below, an Adonijah may attempt to make himself something, and he may even seem to succeed for a time. Despite the proud plans of men, You make a man rise or fall. You promised that Solomon would be king instead of Adonijah. Your Word cannot be broken. As we live among ambitious and treacherous men, we feel the danger of ruthless arrogance all around us. Despite these fears, You surely reign, and You will accomplish Your great will. Grant to us faith in You every day. We put aside our needless anxiety, and trust in You. Comfort our hearts as You teach us to trust in Your Word. May we serve You without doubt and fear all the days of our lives. We have been found in Your Son. Why should we live as orphans when we have such a good heritage in Your Son Jesus Christ? His throne is great and His Name is glorious. Thank You for our secure relation to You in the life and death of Your Son. Though we die, yet we only sleep in Jesus Christ. He will call our bodies forth from the grave. We live now in this most excellent hope.
Lord, how is it that You work Your justice throughout the earth? One man rises and another falls. One man is given more life by Your mercy, yet the day comes when old transgressions catch up with him, and a taste of Your justice is felt at the day of his death. Bloodshed is all around us, and we cannot sort out all the misery and sin that we see across the years of our lives. There are those who will attempt to accomplish their own plans with intrigue and lies. They worm their way into the homes of the righteous and cause difficulties as they seek a weak ear and an unsuspecting ally. If you were not our help, how could we live? There is much trouble all around us. Please do not take away Your mercy from us. We hate our foolish past and we turn to You as those who know the hope that is securely ours in Your Son. We have heard the truth about the way of life that You have for Your children, and we acknowledge that it is good. Give us the strength to resist evil, lest we die in disgrace. You have fully established Your kingdom in the hands of Your Son. We thank You for the peace that we enjoy in His service.
Great God, You have granted to us so many blessings. Your Son is the husband of Your church. What more can we possibly ask of You? He is full of righteousness and wisdom, and He will be our King forever. Grant us the privilege of being like Him. We would desire to have the blessing of an understanding mind, that we might serve You well. We thank You for the measure of riches and honor that You have chosen to give to us, but Your gift of wisdom would be far better than these other kind provisions. Surely You will help us in the daily struggles that come before us. You will give us insight so that we will make wise choices. Make our hearts yearn for Your blessing upon the weak who come to us for help in a day of desperate need.
Lord God, You have provided a system of order for Your Kingdom. We are thankful for the kind provision of leaders who pursue the orderly and blessed functioning of Your church. Please make the men who serve in this way wise and courageous. May they be honest men who understand the times. Help them to shine as lights in a dark world. Provide everything that they need for the job that You have given to Your church. We are to make disciples of all nations, and to train up Your church in holiness and love. Please provide all the resources necessary in order that these good goals will be accomplished. Thank you for all the excellent knowledge, skill, beauty, and wisdom that comes to Your servants through Your Son.
Almighty Father, You are building Your great temple through Jesus Christ. You have made us living stones in Your house. He is the great Cornerstone, rejected by men, but precious in Your sight. With the greatest patience and wisdom He is building us up to be a dwelling place for Your Spirit. Grant us enthusiasm and faithfulness as we do our part in this great work, that Your Kingdom may be established according to Your glorious plan.
Lord God, the work of building Your house requires much vision, wisdom, and obedience. Your resurrected and ascended Son is leading us in this important mission. Help us to keep His statutes, that we might be effective in worship and service for You. We now have access to the Most Holy Place in heaven through the blood of Christ. Your dwelling place with men is more precious than gold. What a creation is man, made in Your image! How much more wonderful is Your work of redemption, for we are now new creatures in Christ! Thank You for Your holy angels, created to be servants to the heirs of salvation. We long to see the gates of heaven. We know that Christ is the foundation of Your great house. We hear His holy voice through the witness of apostles and prophets.
Great God, where do You dwell? Where is Your house? No one can contain You, yet You inhabit the praise of Your people. We long for heaven, for You are there, yet You are everywhere. We cannot see You, and we easily forget You. Forgive us. Fill us with wisdom and understanding. Grant to us spiritual skill for the beauty of Your Kingdom. Thank You for the gifts that You have given to Your people. There is much beauty, order, and goodness throughout the earth. What must heaven be like, since it is surely superior to what we know and understand? Yet, there is some great purpose to the current creation, and we marvel at the magnificence and order of what we are permitted to observe. We long for You. We seek the complete removal of all sin. We wait for a permanent end to all disappointment and misery. Grant us joy as we see the beauty of the earth, the skies, and the seas. Give to us a great appreciation for the achievements that You have brought through the work and wisdom of men. Above all of Your creatures, blessed be Your Name, O Lord.
Our Father in Heaven, we long to be with You, and to know that You are with us. We thank You that You have granted to us a way that we might know You and worship You. Your Son Jesus Christ is the Way. Fill us with Your presence. Fill Your temple with Your glory. We would be so easily distracted by foolish endeavors and meaningless entertainments. When we are taken away from considerations of You and Your will, how can we serve You? Your Son is building a great assembly of worshippers. He is forever upon the throne according to Your promise. We thank You for His great ascension work in the building of Your kingdom. May Your Name be held in high regard forever. Father, forgive us for our sins. Look upon us and have mercy. When we wander far away from You and discover our foolishness, forgive us and bring us home again. When we face danger from any trouble within us or outside us, hear us and help us. You know our weakness, O God. Please help us. Come swiftly to the aid of all those who would call upon Your name, and draw them to Your Son and to His church. Grant us the gift of repentance and bring us home again to You. Hear our prayer and our plea. We need You, O Lord. We have a sense of the imperfection of our entreaties. We do not know how to pray. Have mercy upon us. May Your Son perfect our prayers. In all our requests, we plead the blood of the perfect sacrifice, Jesus, the Lamb. We bless Your Name forever.
Sovereign Lord, You hear the prayers of Your Son. We thank You. He has walked in perfect integrity and righteousness. His throne is established forever. Surely we have sinned, and turned aside from the right way. Where would we be without Your grace? Do not turn Your church into a house of ruins. For the glory of Your Name, have great mercy upon all those who call upon You in covenant assembly. Grant that we will be able to live in peace among the people with whom we dwell here below. May Your church be a blessing to others in accord with Your will. May Your kingdom shine as a city on a hill. Grant that many who are enslaved in the chains of sin will find new freedom in Christ. Help us to speak the truth in love, to expose what is evil, and to show forth the way of divine mercy.
O Lord God, why do people not see the greatness of Your Son, our King? Why is our breath not taken away from us day by day as we hear of the wisdom and power of Jesus Christ? Surely it is because of Your great love that You have sent us Your Son. You own all things as the Creator and Provider. Grant us what we need for our daily sustenance that we might serve you well. Bless us with the beauty of true holiness. Your majesty is known in the glory of sanctification, for we are living stones in a great temple. Place into our minds a vision of the grandeur of Your kingdom, that we might ask for and receive great things. Your Son and His perfected church are far beyond the glory of the kingdom of Solomon. Will we not have eyes to see? We do believe. Help our unbelief.
Lord God, we are so quickly led into traps of sin. Please help us. O Lord, we know that sin will quickly turn our hearts away from You. Guard our lives and protect us. Grant to us holy companions who will encourage us along the way of faith and righteousness. You have given the Kingdom to Your Son Jesus Christ. We are a part of that Kingdom and we are united to this great Son of David. May we stay near Him through Your Word. There are grave dangers everywhere, adversaries who stand against You and Your Anointed Messiah. We need strength and wisdom that is well beyond our abilities. Use us, O God, for the building of Your Kingdom. We desire to do good things for the progress of our brothers and sisters in the faith. You have a perfect knowledge of Your holy will. You shall not be denied. The gods of the nations are less than nothing. To follow them is to travel along the way that leads to destruction. Make Your Son to reign over a glorious Kingdom forever. We are weary, Lord. How can we keep on going? Carry us through this life, and take us home at just the right time.
Father God, not every leader that You provide for Your people is a David or a Solomon. Some take the counsel of fools, ignoring the mature advice of those who bring true wisdom. How can Your kingdom prosper with shepherds who do not understand the way that is right? Such men cause unnecessary divisions within Your house. Yet we remember that Your plan is above the schemes of foolish men. We have a King over Your house who is very wise. Help us to see that Your provision for us is very good. Restrain our sin. Speak to us powerfully through Your Word. Use us in the building up of Your kingdom, even though we surely are unworthy servants. Keep us from wicked idolatry. Help us to see Christ and to follow Him, lest we be led further into sin, and cause others to wander far from You by our foolish instructions and loose way of life.
Great God, You have spoken to Your people for centuries. Your prophets even spoke about future days centuries into the future. How can this be? Surely You know all things. You have certainly planned all things. Father, it is a great privilege that You have given to some men the task of proclaiming Your Word. May Your teachers within Your church consider the fearful responsibility that they have to live in accord with the truth that they proclaim. Grant to these servants unusual discernment, that they might recognize the difference between what is right and the lying words spoken by those who claim to represent You. Father, we thank You for the completed Word that we have in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Help us to take it all to heart, and to test all things according to this completed Word. Build Your Kingdom, and grant faith to men by the hearing of Your Word.
Glorious God, we live in a world full of sickness and death. You have granted to us a special love for our children, and our hearts are broken when they face grave illness and trouble. What must Your love for us be that You have called us Your children? What an amazing love You have displayed through the cross of Christ! There are times and seasons that You have ordained for the people that You have created. Your determinations are true and right. Help us to receive Your truth with humility, for You are God, and there is no other. Men live out their days. We sin, even within Your church. Our sins are varied and offensive. Your discipline of Your people is all around us. We cannot understand Your providence, but we know that Your love for Your children is sure. Will we not follow the clear directives of Your moral law? Have mercy on us.
Lord God, You have given Your people kings, yet some of these rulers did not truly follow You. By Your kind provision, we have the greatest of all kings in Your Son Jesus Christ. He will reign in perfect holiness forever. As we consider His intentions and actions, there is no point that requires any correction or exception. He is pure in everything. Thank You for His wisdom and His great generosity toward us. Lord, You have made a covenant with Your Son that shall never be broken. We are greatly blessed through this eternal covenant, because we have been united to Jesus, our King. Through this covenant we have a sure eternal hope. In the world and even in the church we understand that there are many who would lead in an evil way. Carry us through this age as those who belong to the age to come. This age is full of intrigue and war, but in the age to come we will know the most wonderful peace forever.
Sovereign Lord, Your works of providence for Your people over many generations are hard for us to understand. You are not the author of sin, yet You ordain all things that come to pass. You work through the means that You see fit to use, wisely governing and limiting evil, and working out Your good purposes. In the history of Your people we see our own depravity. Take away from us every impulse to evil conspiracies and murderous hatred. Purify our hearts and minds with the Spirit of Christ, or we will surely be overtaken by our own sin. Protect us also from wickedness all around us. Guide us into helpful, loving relationships, for we have seen in Your Word the evil that can come through marriage to one who is not true to You. Have mercy on us, O Lord, and forgive us.
Great God and King, we thank You for the provision of prophets, men of God who spoke Your truth even in times of great danger. You supplied their needs and cared for them during times of suffering. You who rule over all Your creatures and all their actions, are still well able to help faithful servants of the truth. You who commanded the raven in the wilderness can use any means you should choose to answer the requests of Your servants. Through the Word of Your prophets You even withheld rain and provided food for your children, and even resurrection life. May we find new life through the preaching of Your Word by faithful men of God even today.
Father, You bring rain upon the earth at just the right time. In the days of Elijah, you worked through Your servant to confront evil rulers. It is a frightening thing to face the sword of the civil government when it is in the hand of a perverse man. Even today Your servants throughout the world face great dangers from corrupt and incompetent governments. They are quick to call Your true servants troublemakers, when their own sins have brought trouble upon so many people. Worse than this, even those who claim to follow You have been led astray into horrible idolatry. You are the God who hears. You do not sleep. You are not impressed with desperate and idolatrous acts of humiliation aimed at forcing Your hand. The gods of the nations are nothing. They have no voice. They do not answer. They can do nothing. Grant Your wandering children wisdom in the day of a holy contest. Send fire from heaven that would touch our hearts and call us back to clear spiritual thinking. May we see Your hand and fall on our faces, for You, O Lord, are God. Answer us when we pray to You. Turn the hearts of Your people back to You, and glorify Your holy Name. The day of Your vengeance is surely coming. Our only hope is in Your Son Jesus. He is the true Man of God. His prayers are completely effectual, and He has prayed for us. Grant us sweet rain from heaven, that we might be refreshed in Your service in a day of intense struggle.
Lord God, even after we win a great struggle by Your hand, when we awake in the morning we are still here in this wicked world. Dangerous enemies that face some setback regroup for yet another assault. Jezebels lose one day, and are thus enraged to perform greater works of evil the next. We must not live in fear of them. We are not alone. You are with us, and Your people are everywhere. You have reserved many thousands who have not bowed the knee to Baal. You have work for us to do even today. Lead Your servants in a good direction, lest we waste our time in foolish pursuits. Help us to die to self, that we might live to Christ in the fullness of Your Word and Spirit.
Father God, will men of evil continue to disregard the true Word that comes from You? Yet even dangerous men within Your church encounter a day of fear when they face an enemy who seems stronger than they are. Will they turn to You in that day? If they do, will it be only for a moment so that they can turn back to their sin when they feel safe again? Lord, You are so merciful, and we are so quickly enticed into foolish works of unrighteousness. Grant to us hearts that are very willing to hear Your Word, not for a brief moment only, but forever and ever. You are the God of the hills and of the plains. There is no place in all of creation that is free from Your sovereign power. Even our spirits are within Your sure control. How wonderful are Your great purposes, O Lord! The history of Your saving work is moving forward in our times. Nations are hearing the Word of Christ, and light is coming to dark places. Even when we begin to celebrate the new progress of Your Word, the contest has just begun in that place. We foolishly make a covenant with evil, and forget that our warfare is not over until Your Son returns. Our great King Jesus will make a full end of the wicked when He comes to rescue the righteous.
Lord, we need wisdom to fight against indwelling sin. Why is there a continuing evil impulse within the souls of the redeemed? Help us to put that lurking foe to the sword. Make us wise in the battle. Let us petition the King of kings to send all His powerful resources to hunt down this brutal adversary who is troubling us. Help us to see that any evil is not alone, but is part of an army of wickedness. If one foe is put to death, another one rises up. Will we give in to sin without a serious fight? Would anyone believe the resolves that we make against sin, when we still reserve for ourselves some secret place of evil? We will surely run there when we feel the tug of our depravity. Help us to hear of Your judgment against Ahab and Jezebel. It will only be by Your mercy that the judgment against us will be put away in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
Lord God, the danger of our sin is all around us. Not only do we have iniquity within us and in our assemblies and cities, but we also feel the danger of sin in high places in Your church and in our nations. Teach us to inquire of You in every situation. We humbly ask You to lead us every day. Order all the events before us. Help us to be sensible of the warfare all around us. Shall we go forth into battle without the truth of Your Word? We have a great King in Jesus Christ, our Lord. He pleads for us above. Send forth Your Holy Spirit with the truth this day. Keep false prophets far away from us. Help us by granting to us an accurate and bold presentation of Your Word. We thank You for the Scriptures. Give us the courage to approach You in humble prayer. Teach us to seek Your will above all things. We ask that You would use our prayers to grant to us those things that You desire for Your children. Teach us to have godly affections and requests. The battle rages all around us. Make us faithful to Your Word. If we die today, may we die the death of those who have loved You, and have been faithful to the commission that Your Son has given to His church. Where we fail, appoint others who will listen more attentively to Your voice in the Scriptures. From generation to generation move us along according to Your Word. Where we have been sadly stubborn in our rejection of truth, we pray that future generations of Your church will be moved to see the truth that we have rejected in our folly.