Daily Devotional For Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Prayer is something we all know we should do consistently, yet many Christians fail to do it. They get up, some with good intentions, but they let the worries, tasks, other responsibilities, their career, school, etc. interfere with their prayer lives. Jesus was a prayer warrior and He was faithful to pray early every morning before any of His disciples woke up. Look at Mark 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place; and there He was praying” (CSB). The Greek syntax lets us know this was Jesus’ daily routine. So, if Jesus needed to do this daily, how much more should we?

The news of the day can sometimes be overwhelming, pressing on our spirits and diminishing our hope for the future. Do you sometimes find it hard to remember that Jesus is the King of all earthly kings and the Lord over every earthly lord? When I find myself facing those unhelpful thoughts and emotions, I go through the Bible, such as the book of Revelation and find the prayers that are being prayed in Heaven around the throne of God. Then, if you want to get the full effect of these prayers, read them outloud to yourself. It will seem as if you are there. 

It is encouraging to remind ourselves of God’s power and dominion, and it is renewing to offer Him the praise He is due. This is who we worship—He who sits on the throne and the Lamb. They are worthy of praise and honor and glory and power—forever and ever! Some Christians even question if prayer works. Consider this story below:

“Chicago-area pastor Lee Eclov tells the following story about a woman named Cathy who had a profoundly developmentally disabled son. When Nicholas was eight or nine years old [Eclov writes], Cathy came to me and asked if the elders of our church would anoint and pray for Nicholas in keeping with James 5:14-16. 

Cathy said she wasn't thinking that God might heal all Nicholas's disabilities, but she simply felt that God wanted her to have the elders pray for him. She didn't know why. So one Sunday she brought him to church in a wheelchair and after the service we met in my office, anointed Nicholas with oil, and prayed for him.

When Cathy called me that night all those years later Nicholas was now 25 years old. Every week for 25 years Cathy had visited him. In all those visits Nicholas never communicated with her except for laughing sometimes as she entered the room. It seemed that nothing ever changed.

Cathy had just had her annual consultation with the team of professionals who care for Nicholas. In the course of that meeting the speech therapist said, "I think Nicholas is making some progress. We've been using green and red cards for "yes" and "no." He is learning to point at the right card in answer to some questions. Would you like to see?" "Of course," Cathy replied, her heart pounding. 

So they went to Nicholas's room.The therapist held up the green and red cards, and asked, "Nicholas, is your mom with us today?" And Nicholas pointed at the green card. Cathy could hardly believe it. Other questions convinced her that it wasn't an accident; he really understood.

She called me in tears to tell me her good news. "All these years I'd visit him," she said, "and I never knew if he even knew who I was. And now I know. He knows I'm his mother. And he is excited to see me." Then Cathy asked, "Do you remember when the elders prayed for Nicholas? This is God's answer” (Source: Lee Eclov, Pastoral Graces, pp. 141-142).

Children have a remarkable way to imagine, play and see what we as adults fail or refuse to see. In Isaiah, God gives a promise about what one day the new earth God will create will be like. Look at Isaiah 11:6-9:

“The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together, and a child will lead them. (7) The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle. (8) An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den. (9) They will not harm or destroy each other on my entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water” (CSB).

Sometimes it is a child that leads us. In Matthew 18:2-4, Jesus reminds us that in order for us to have the kind of relationship we need with Him, we have to come to HIm as a child – totally dependent and trusting. Sometimes children are more sensitive and believing of God than we are. Consider this story below:

“In an article in The New York Times Magazine, writer Dana Tierney described how both she and her husband John had rejected their childhood faith. They had their son Luke baptized to placate their families, but that was it. When Dana's husband went to Iraq as an imbedded reporter, she was understandably fearful. But she was surprised at how calm four-year-old Luke was. She assumed that it was just youthful naiveté, until one day when they were watching a TV interview with a U.S. soldier who was sharing his fears about returning to Iraq. For just an instant, Dana saw Luke form his hands to pray. When she asked him about it, Luke at first denied it, but after he did it a second time, he confessed that he had been praying.

Dana was stunned, partly by Luke's faith, and partly by how his faith allowed him to be calm and her lack of faith caused her to be fearful. She was also embarrassed that her four-year son instinctively knew that praying for his dad was socially inappropriate.

When Dana asked Luke when he first began to believe in God, he said, "I don't know. I've always known he exists." Throughout the article Dana never patronizes believers. At one point she described how many of her non-religious friends feel freed from religion as if they've been liberated from superstition. Not Dana. She feels like she is missing out. As Dana explained, "[My religious friends] have an expansiveness of spirit. When they walk along a stream, they don't just see water falling over rocks; the sight fills them with ecstasy. They see a realm of hope beyond this world. I just see a babbling brook. I don't get the message” (Source: A Child Shall Lead Them).

As we exalt God the Father, who sits on Heaven’s throne, and Jesus, the Lamb of God, we position ourselves to live in the hope and peace of God. Prayer is the path to peace, not just a path to cease our fears, worries and anxieties. 

Questions To Consider

1. When it comes to prayer, how frequent is your prayer life and why? What tends to interfere with your prayer life? Is it really that or you? Why?
2. If you could change anything about your prayer life, what is it and why?
3. Do you think God answered Cathy’s prayer above with her son Nicolas? If so, why? If not, why?
4. It seems in our second story that Dana was led by her 4-year-old son’s prayers to a renewed faith in Christ again. If this can happen by a child praying, what do you think can and will happen if you prayed consistently?

Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, (17) pray constantly, (18) give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (CSB).

Prayer To Pray: “Heavenly Father, give me a spirit of prayer and intercession, and open my heart to the reality of Your Kingdom and purposes. May Your presence be clearly demonstrated for others to see Your majesty and glory so that Your name might be praised and Your purposes break forth in this generation. Help me to pray in faith and to accept Your will no matter what answers you give me to my prayers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly