Saturday, December 02, 2023

O LORD, ... be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.

—Psalm 35:22-23

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

God sometimes does seem distant, as if he is not listening to us. Think of the hundreds of years Israel was in bondage, praying for God's promised Deliverer. "Isn't God listening?" they repeatedly wondered. "Why have you abandoned us, O, God?" they asked in agony. Yet, at the right time, God sent his Son and brought lasting deliverance (Galatians 4:4). Thankfully, God doesn't ask us to pretend that everything is okay when it isn't. He filled the Psalms with cries for deliverance and help. You may find yourself in a position where the words of today's verses are yours. Please know that thousands of our readers are praying today for God's immediate and mighty deliverance with you:

O LORD, ... be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.

My Prayer...

Almighty God, may your name be revered in all the earth just as it is among the angels of heaven. Show the power and might of your Kingdom in our day. Deliver your Church and your children from the hands of the evil one. Please bring deliverance to your children who are crying for your help with spiritual, family, health, or financial problems they are having. May our lives be lived to your glory, now and forever. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware. You can email questions or comments to phil@verseoftheday.com.

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Friday, December 01, 2023

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

—Daniel 12:3

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

God promised a sifting between the righteous and the unrighteous both in this life and before the life to come. Jesus repeated the same assurance of such a sifting in his parables. For God's people, however, promises to sift — to judge between righteous and unrighteous — are not fearful warnings. Instead, they are words of promise. Those who have wisely honored and lived for God and led others to him will shine brilliantly for all to see, and we will twinkle like stars in their Father's eyes... forever!

My Prayer...

Loving God, thank you for saving me by your grace and kindness. Father, sometimes I get frustrated when I see the wicked prosper while your loyal servants are maligned and ridiculed for their character. I'm thankful that you will judge us based on your incredible grace and your standard of righteousness! I'm also grateful you will bring justice for those who love you and who are enduring hardship, danger, and ridicule because of their faith. Please be with them, wherever they may be, and give them strength to persevere until that day of sifting arrives with glory. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Thursday, November 30, 2023

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

—Psalm 69:30

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

When was the last time you sang praises to God outside a church building or devotional service with other believers? Why not open up the Psalms and find several verses that reflect your personal praise and thanks to God? Then, give them a tune — your own tune! God doesn't care if your spiritual gift is music or singing; he's just listening for your heart to be joyful as you share your praise and thanksgiving with him. Let's join in saying and doing what our verse for today commands: "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."

My Prayer...

O gracious Father, giver of every good and perfect gift, forgive me for relegating my thanksgiving and praise to special days and special places. I praise you for creating your human children with the capacity to celebrate goodness, to rejoice in your creation, and to have the capacity for praise and thanksgiving. Thank you for making our world so full of reasons to offer thanks to you, our Abba Father and Creator. As you continually fill me with your Spirit, may my heart overflow with songs of praise and words of thanksgiving. To your glory, in Jesus' holy name, I pray and praise you. Amen.

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

For this is what the high and exalted One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

—Isaiah 57:15

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

As many of us leave our season of Thanksgiving and transition into the season of Advent, we remember our most significant reason for giving thanks: Jesus' coming as God's incarnation in human flesh. After all, Advent means "the coming," and in particular, the coming of God to earth in Jesus. God loved us so much that he refused to be God far from us, dwelling only in a high and holy place. He chose to come near us and be one of us in Jesus. God is holy and beyond us (Isaiah 6:1-6). Yet, he became one of us in Jesus because of his mercy and grace (Isaiah 57:15). In Jesus, God surrendered his divine privileges and humbled himself so we could see both God's grace and our path to him in his greatness as a servant (Philippians 2:5-11).

My Prayer...

Loving Father, thank you for loving us so much that you joined us in our mortality through Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for living among us and showing us what God-like living is. Thank you for knowing our struggle with living in human flesh in a broken world. Thank you for defeating death and giving us life with you forever. Because of Jesus, Father, we will forever want you to know our thanks and praise! Amen.

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

—Philippians 2:14-15

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Don't complain or argue! We don't usually associate these things with purity and blamelessness, do we? Paul was extraordinarily close to these Philippians, and he knew them well. He knew their strengths and praised those strengths. He also knew their weaknesses and shortcomings. He knew the destructive power that complaining and arguing have on the life of an otherwise vibrant community of Christians. Let's heed his warning today, in our day, as we see church after church taken under by the negative and cynical spirit that pervades modern culture. We are meant to shine in our dark world of unbelief and unholiness as stars in the night sky, reminding others of "the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:16).

My Prayer...

Forgive and cleanse me, O God, for my sometimes argumentive spirit. Please empower me with your Spirit to use my speech only to bless and to build up, never to tear down or discourage. I want to be one of Jesus' lights in my world, leading people out of darkness. In Jesus' name, I ask this. Amen.

Monday, November 27, 2023

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

—Romans 15:4

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

If the Bible is a love story, then its theme is hope. No matter how dire the circumstances, no matter how big the enemy, no matter how deep the sin, no matter how lost the people, no matter how empty the cupboard, no matter how wide the river, no matter how... God repeatedly gives his people reasons to hope for a brighter tomorrow. And after giving hope to his rebellious and forgetful people, God brought the assurance of that hope — that brighter tomorrow — by sending Jesus!

My Prayer...

Eternal God, please give me patience and endurance as I search your Scriptures to know and understand your truth and stand in your hope. I am amazed at the incredible things you did to redeem and bless your people in the Old Testament. I am absolutely astonished at what you were able to do with Jesus' rag-tag bunch of disciples. Please, O God, inspire my hope so that I will expect something great from your hand and then live to see you accomplish it in my day. May this, as well as all other things in my life, be done to your honor and glory. In Jesus' mighty name, I pray. Amen.