Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a video of images from Twila Paris and Dennis Jernigan singing … On My Knees, written by Jernigan, expressing the need of all Christians to go to our knees in prayer when we are perplexed or vexed about life.
Highlight Passage: Nehemiah 1: 4 [NKJV] …
4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
… Nehemiah, learning of the destruction in Jerusalem, not knowing what to do, … went to God with his concerns.
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Highlight Context – Nehemiah, Chapter 1 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… When this called leader learned about the devastation of the Temple walls in Jerusalem, he immediately went to his knees in prayer, where we all need to go when we’re vexed by life.
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Reference Passage #1 - Isaiah 26: 3 [NKJV] …
3 You (Lord) will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You.
… If we seek peace in our perplexing world/life, focusing on God is our “911” strategy.
Reference Passage #2 - Matthew 14:11 [NKJV] …
23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
… Jesus had just fed the multitude and He was about to go out on the water in the storm with His Disciples; so, to re-energize and receive direction, He went to His Father … and if it’s good enough for Jesus, … it’s good enough for us.
Reference Passage #3 - 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18 [NKJV] …
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
… Our life should be continually connect to God in a “911” attitude of prayer.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Pho Fang Chjia, teaches about “Rejecting Apathy” today in this ODB entry; and to read his pertinent teaching, please use the link in the “Blogger Note” below. However, when the ODB author took his readers to the highlight passage in Chapter One of Nehemiah’s Book, God’s Spirit took me in a slightly, if not related, direction.
This past week there were many violent storms, even tornadoes, which devastated many homes in our area and took a number of lives. And when we hear about the storm warnings on the TV, one feels humanly powerless before the frightening warnings and ultimately by the reports of damage and devastation.
And you know, if we feel threatened by some crisis or devastation in our personal lives, what do we do? We call “911,” don’t we? Yeah, … when we need help or emergency assistance, we pick up our smart phones and call the emergency response network @ 911.
And as I was confronted by the vexing and perplexing violence of those storms last week, and today I read about Nehemiah’s response to the horrible news of the walls in Jerusalem, I realized that this man of God, knew exactly how to activate His “911;” and that is with prayer. And Jesus did it too. In the Matthew 14 passage copied above, our Lord had just fed His thousands of followers and He realized that His disciples needed a further lesson in just Whom they were following. So, … what did He do? He sent up a “911” to His Father for guidance and refreshment [see verse 23]. … Hey, if it’s good enough for Jesus, shouldn’t the strategy be good enough for us?
And so, that’s exactly what I did last week when we got reports of the potentially impending storms. And it’s what I did when I learned of the damage which the storms had wrought. As Dennis Jernigan wrote in his song linked above, I was On My Knees, figuratively if not literally, using my personal “911” to God in prayer. And I will go to my knees this morning, praying that we all have the reflexive response to take our lives to God, not just when things become overwhelming … but also about all the little things in our lives as well [see 1st Thess. 5:17].
God wants to hear it all; … not just the “911” episodes.
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … Thank You for ALWAYS being there when I need You. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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