Devotional for October 21

I Will Offer the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

16 O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people.
19 In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 116:16-19 (KJV)

Morning Exhortation

It is unlikely that the average person who travels to the White House will get anywhere near the President of the United States. None of us regular folks can just show up at Pennsylvania Avenue and expect to talk to the President. The President maybe one the most powerful man in the free world, yet still he is only human. Now consider the great privilege we have in Christ Jesus to come into the presence of the living God, the Creator of the vastness of the universe as well as the too tiny to see mysteries discovered by quantum physics. The one and only God who humbles Himself to look down at the heavens and the earth. We are blessed with the ability to talk to Almighty God anytime and in anyplace. Thank God for giving us prayer! It is our divine pass granting us access to the divinely ordained channel for communing with God. The misguided approach to prayer is like the person whose conversations are lopsided because they talk continuously, never pausing to listen, and never giving the other person space to say anything. We are commanded to pray for the grace of God we need, and then we should remain silent before God and listen. Those who don’t know God think it strange that God would talk to people. Don’t expect an audible voice though. The highest form of hearing doesn’t require physical ears. The tone, quality, and content of the voice makes the sender and the message clear. There is no substitute for knowledge of the written word of God for this necessary discernment. When pride is allowed to rule the heart, skepticism will sit as queen pushing the heart further and further from God. Woe to the one who waits for a burning bush when the glory of God can clearly be seen in the Holy Bible. There will be false prophets right up until the end, but that doesn’t mean we should ever succumb to the influence of the world and despise prophecy by our unbelief. Prayer is the most important business of a Christian. Your prayers don’t have to be perfect. Being sincere is more important than being poetic to our heavenly Father, therefore pray my brothers and sisters. Not with endless petitions for material blessings, but come to commune with the living God who loves you. Leave off the trivial things of this perishing world to spend more time in prayer, and true blessings will follow.

Today’s Bible Reading

2 Thessalonians 2

Psalm 112-113

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

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.