Morning Devotional 072523 Keep Praying!

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

July 25, 2023

John 17:20-25

20 “I’m not praying only for them but also for those who believe in me because of their word. 21 I pray they will be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22 I’ve given them the glory that you gave me so that they can be one just as we are one. 23 I’m in them and you are in me so that they will be made perfectly one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you have loved them just as you loved me. 24 “Father, I want those you gave me to be with me where I am. Then they can see my glory, which you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 “Righteous Father, even the world didn’t know you, but I’ve known you, and these believers know that you sent me.

Good Morning, Pray to God today!

Praying on behalf of others is an important part of our prayer life. Each week in worship we lift up those in need of prayer. Sometimes the names we lift up are so consumed by their present day problems that they forget to pray, or perhaps they need those multiple dose prayers to lift them up.

Jesus prays for us and teaches us to pray. Take time from your busy schedules to pray. It doesn’t have to be formal language. I remember some of the most powerful prayers that I have ever heard come from children. The language is simple and basic, but it is from the heart. Authentic prayers are those that we pray throughout the day as we see a need, including our own.

I love “whisper” prayers. These are those prayers of very few words that we whisper what is on our hearts in that moment. Don’t worry about what you say, just talk to God and your needs will be known and heard.

Loving God, We thank you! We get caught up worrying about what to say and forget to focus on just saying what is on our hearts. You give us so many ways to reach out to you. Thank you! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day: Intercessory prayers bring us together.

Keep Praying! Pastor Liz