Devotional for August 10

Show Me the Way I Should Go

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
7 Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Psalm 143:1-8 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

We struggle against the darkness of a world-wide culture of death that seeks to enslave us all with fear, uncertainty, and doubt. As a remedy, the world only offers lies and vanities. Freedom comes when you no longer desire to be like the popular of this world, and are totally liberated from the human hamster wheel known in America as “keeping up with the Joneses.” Those who don’t come to know Jesus Christ will find themselves going round and round chasing the same vanities as the rest of the world day after day, and year after year. Let it not be so with us, brothers and sisters. Let us look up, and live in the joyful expectation of the hope that the Lord has placed within us.

Question

How does faith grow stronger?

Answer

Faith increases in proportion to our willingness to tolerate the testing of it (Scripture). When we understand the conditional requirements of faith (Scripture), then we can actually praise God even in the face of the fatigue and discomfort that so often accompanies the buffeting feelings and circumstances that test our faith (Scripture). 1st condition: Faith is given to us so that we can fulfill our great commission to serve as ambassadors, stewards, and teachers of Jesus Christ (Scripture). Second condition: Faith must be properly placed: adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting in Almighty God (Scripture). Third condition: Load and fire, that is to first pray and then command in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Scripture).

The Prayer Appointed for This Week from the Book of Common Prayer

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon all your faithful people your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.