Scripture Verses
John 17:1-5
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come, Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
Devotion
As I was preparing to write a devotional, I struggled with what I wanted to say. I finally finished it; anyway, I thought I had. The next morning I was getting ready to go to Bible Study when God asked me why I had not written about singing and how I use singing as a devotional time. Many songs are based on the Psalms,
Bible verses, and praises. I find singing a wonderful way to worship God. I like to sing songs such as “Amazing Grace,” “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” “He is Here,” “My Tribute,” “God and God Alone,” “He Loved Me,” “He Lives,” “They Could Not,” and more. I love singing the praises of God.
Singing is a form of prayer for me. Praying for ourselves, however, is not easy to do because we are not given permission to pray for ourselves. We pray for our families, for people who are sick, for worldly situations, for families who have lost loved ones, and for many other circumstances. Nevertheless, how do we pray for ourselves? Recently, in the Bible Study that I attend, Beth Moore took us through a lesson on the Fruits of the Spirit that gave us a blueprint for praying for ourselves. She pointed out that we have a supernatural ability for the “Fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control.” This supernatural ability is also in the outcome of living in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:16) We can do this by walking with God through:
- Daily surrender to His authority (I give you authority over my life)
- Daily cleansing from sin (I repent of my sins that I have committed today which are. . .)
- Daily desiring the filling of the Spirit. *(Heavenly Father, be with me as I walk in the Spirit who guides my daily thoughts.)
Prayer
Dear God,
You are an awesome God. Thank you for sending your Son to help us understand that praying for ourselves is not easy. Help us pray for ourselves as well as for the needs of others during this season when we remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
*Moore, Beth, To Live Is Christ, The Life and Ministry of Paul, Lifeway Press, Nashville, TN, 1997, p. 72.
|
