Category: Daily Devotional

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Daily Devotional Matthew

Praying Friends – Matt 18:19-20

“If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them“.

The grace of God has not only renewed our relationship with Him but also with each other. We not only learn to say, My Father, but “Our Father”.

Therefore, as much as it’s important to pray privately alone in our room, it is also important to pray together as friends.

It is in the union and fellowship of believers that the Spirit can manifest His full power.

Friends, praying together not only promises us the experience of His presence but also His provision.

What an unspeakable privilege is the united prayer of friends coming together in oneness. Imagine what we could accomplish if we understood the power of such prayer.

As husband and wife, Jane and I can testify of the marvelous blessings we have experienced through such a prayer life.

My Friends, is there anything stopping you or holding you back from praying with your fellow believer? Do you experience the benefits of such an experience?

Our Thursday prayer time is an opportunity for you to participate and see God at work. Make your home a place where God’s presence is manifested in the unity of your hearts in prayer.

Prayer:

Father help us to see and experience your marvelous work in our hearts and in others as we come together as Praying Friends.

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Daily Devotional John

Listen to Him as He Listens to us – John 15:7

“If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you” – John 15:7

Prayer is not a monologue, but a dialogue and this verse suggests that it begins with us allowing his words to abide in us.

Listening to God’s voice is the secret of the assurance that he will listen to mine.

Read the verse carefully once again, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you.”

His words abiding is the equivalent of himself abiding. The old testament believers lived in this reality.

“So, Abram went as the Lord had told him.” Their life was marked with fellowship with God – the interchange of word and thought.

What God spoke they heard and did; what they spoke God heard and did.

‘Beloved, God is willing to give us a listening ear and give us whatever we ask Him in Faith, but are we giving him a listening ear by reading and abiding in His words?’

If not, then let’s come to him with an open mind and an open heart daily, let his words take deep roots and nourish our soul.

Prayer:

O God, help us listen to you daily just as you listen to us. May we abide in you daily as you abide in us.

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Daily Devotional John

A Promise with a Condition – John 15:7

“If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you” – John 15:7

In this verse the promise and its conditions are inseparable. The verse suggests that if we want God to answer all our prayers, we must first abide in him.

To abide in him means walking in obedience in accordance with his word and the leading of his Spirit. It is only when we keep his commands, we fully abide in his love, if we love him, we will obey him.

Beloved brother & sister, I’m sure you have a list of prayer requests that you want God to answer, but may I urge you to first search your heart with full honesty and seek to abide in our Savior.

And as you continue to abide in him, believe that he is working on your request and in due time will answer them and fill your heart with overflowing joy.

Prayer:

May God give you the grace to seek him, love him and abide in him, and may he fulfil all the desires of your heart for the Glory of His Name!

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Daily Devotional

With God on our side, how can we lose?

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?- Romans 8:31

In Christ, we are a new creation. We need to let go of our old do-it-yourself life. The best thing to do is to give it a decent burial.

We wrestle with our emotions during times of struggle and despair. Jesus never told us that we wouldn’t have problems. However, he has promised us that He will be right with us in the midst of all the despair and take us through it.

The same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead is in us when we put our faith in his life and resurrection. This resurrected life which we received from God is not a timid, grave tending life. It is an adventure, greeting God with a childlike, ” What’s next Papa?”.

There is no comparison between the present hard time and coming good times. Even when we do not know what to pray, the Spirit intercedes for us. Jesus knows our deepest longing.

God proved his love for us when he put everything on the line for us by giving his only Son so that he can embrace us. In that case, will he not bring you out of a difficult situation? Nothing is impossible with God.

I request you if there is anything which is a burden to you, start over this time with God.


This means to let go of the do-it-yourself project and give it to Jesus. Surrender. Relinquish control and acknowledge Jesus to take over, depending on His strength.

His Word reminds us that He works all things for our good.

Jesus, we are weak. But we know that in our weakness you are strong. We do not have control over the situation. We relinquish the reigns of our life and surrender to you. Lord, you have made us new. Thank you that you are for us and we can trust in your goodness. Love you Jesus.
Amen.

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Daily Devotional

Noise cancellation

Proverbs 4:21-
“Let [my words] not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.”

The fan in my living room was making a squeaky noise this entire day. It was very irritating at first but then I got used it. However, while putting myself to sleep in the night, the noise became so clear that it induced irritation and anxiety in me, especially as I am a light sleeper.

When it got too much to handle, I stumbled upon the earphone besides me. Surprisingly when I put the earphones I couldn’t hear the squeaky sound of the fan. I heaved a sigh of relief.


I didn’t move somewhere else nor did the fan squeaking stop. I just did some noise cancellation.

God’s words are the earphones we need to cancel the unnecessary babble of everyday life. We don’t need to move.

Psalm 46:10 says ” Be still and know that I am God.” Jesus brought heaven down.

When our sin was great, His love was greater. When we fill ourselves with God’s word, we will be able to counter the lies which the devil speaks in our ears. The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy and he does this a lot of times by instilling fear in us.

However, we serve the Lord, whose name itself is so powerful. The Word empowers us to detect error; it sets us free from sin (John 8:32-34).

It grows us up spiritually (1 Peter 2:2), equips us for ministry and enables us to pray according to the will of God.

Therefore, be full of God’s word.

Lord, thank you for reminding us time and again of your unchanging love. Fill us with your Word. Help us, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to hear you with our spiritual ears, meditate on your Word with our hearts, obey your Word and finally bear fruit unto you.

Amen

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Daily Devotional

Christ is All you Need!

As some of you know I was made redundant and have been unemployed since July, I am writing this post to encourage you and especially myself while we are in this journey of transition together.

I am thankful to God for His presence each day. His grace and fellowship every hour. There are times I would feel lost but the Holy Spirit through His word would remind me that He is my Provider and Sustainer and it’s not a man or a company- these are means and not an end.

Truly thankful for such a wonderful God who understands the depths of my thoughts, fears and worries and addresses them gently as a Father and secures my weak heart.

He truly withheld no good thing from me. The reality is there are expenses each month. I am thankful for friends who have been there for me in this phase of my life and extended help and support in every way God enabled them to.

Some ordered groceries, some helped financially without me reaching out to them, some sent job references, some checked on my emotional health, some prayed and some even cried with me. It’s overwhelming how God moves people with compassion to understand the needs.

So if you’re reading this I want to encourage you. As my friend Kimaya encouraged me. She was watching a movie- Noah and God told one of Noah’s son in the movie- You have EVERYTHING you need in this time.

Yes and this is true. I am thankful first and foremost because the presence and love of a Holy God is my portion. 36 years of my life He has sustained me and never failed once. Even in hardships and pain He never left.

Secondly in this time, I experience His love and goodness through the friends and family.

I want to remind you and encourage you with the truth that you have everything you need- God and His people around you.

He is using the stillness, the hardship, the brokenness, every single detail of your life to behold His goodness and to mould our hearts to the likeness of Christ to respond with compassion to suffering.

So I pray with Thanksgiving for all of us –
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for your steady love and faithfulness through every trial and temptation.

Thank you that You never leave us nor forsake us. Thank you for sustaining us and carrying us through every hardship. Thank you for your presence Holy Spirit. You’re sufficient at all times.

Thank you for your people who comfort when in distress. I know God You’re a provider and withhold no good thing You gave Jesus Christ the best gift ever, so I know You will take care of every need beyond what we can ask or think for Your Glory!

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Daily Devotional John

God Prepares the Called

Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” John 21:22

In this busy and short-sighted world, we live in, we think that we always fall short of something. We look at the new car our neighbour bought, or the promotion our colleague received, right from the colour of our skin to the money in the bank account, we compare ourselves with our peers, friends and social media friends. This often leads to self-doubt which spirals into all kinds of emotions, stirring a mental battle within our minds.

We are in spiritual warfare. Comparison is a joy killer. Satan uses it to get us away from God and doubt His love for us.

Here is a reminder.

You are called to be You. God has made you with so much detail, not so that you would be like someone else but yourself. You are called and chosen by the One who bore your transgressions on the cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ. He died for you because He loves you. He was the ransom which was paid for our sins. When you compare his work, you doubt his creation and his plan.

God already has a plan for our lives. He has gifted us with the privilege to reflect Him through all that we say and do. God doesn’t call the ’prepared’ but prepares the ’called’.

We don’t have to do what others are doing, we have to do what God has called us to do. We got to trust him with His plan and surrender ourselves.
We are custom designed by God for fulfilling His purpose and calling over our lives.

Jesus died to make us “free indeed” (John 8:36), and this includes freedom from the tyranny of sinful comparison.

Prayer: Jesus, we humble ourselves under your mighty hand, trusting you to redeem us from all our suffering. Let us exalt you in the way that will bring you glory and help us find joy in you.

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Daily Devotional Matthew

Loving Difficult People

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” – Matthew 5:46

It is so difficult to practise love; a love which doesn’t keep a record of the wrongs. God loves us even when we fail Him. He waits for us to repent. But what if we don’t repent? Does he abandon us? No. He still waits. He speaks to us in different ways and brings circumstances together for us to come to him. He disciplines us because He loves us just as an earthly father would discipline his child.

Similarly, when someone doesn’t behave with us in the best way, how do we respond? Do we speak to them bitterly and take revenge? Or do we honour God by taking the first step to reconcile remembering that Christ has done the same with us

When Jesus bore all our sins on the cross, he didn’t keep a record of our wrongs. If He, being the Son of Man can choose to forgive us from all our sins, we can choose to let go of our grudge and also forgive the one who has wronged us. How easy it is to love someone who is easy to love. The real challenge is to love someone who is difficult.

We can ask God for grace to not run away, but to keep displaying love towards that difficult-to-love person. Remember God’s grace over your sins. Ask God to give you the same grace to deal with the person. Find ways to bless them. Maybe by dropping in a text or catching up over coffee.

To respond to others in grace is not possible certainly by our own strength. We need to pray to God to help us show grace to difficult people in our lives. Pray to God to soften their hearts and work in them.

It is certainly difficult to love difficult people. But what is the reward in loving people who love us back? Love should not be based on our feelings rather it should flow from our heart, and in obedience to God’s command?

Lord, thank you for the grace you showered on us when we were still walking in the dark. Help us by your grace and intervention, to love people the way you loved us even when we were your enemies.

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Daily Devotional

A Complaining Prayer

“Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!” – Psalms 44:23

Psalms 44 is quite an interesting poem. It is an honest, open and straightforward prayer made by the people of Israel.

If it were me, I would never have the guts to talk to God that way, yet, surprisingly, God allowed this Psalm to be included in the Scriptures.

Who are we to even talk to God in that manner and make such a request? And that too to the creator of the universe, against whom we have committed such hideous sins.

But what I learn is this. It seems that God appreciates an honest, open-hearted prayer and not a false facade. He likes heart to heart conversations with Him, even if it is a complaint or an ill-feeling.

The important thing is that we do it with a right attitude towards Him and to have the humility to accept His will and bow down to His purposes for our lives, fully assured that He knows what is best for us.

Brothers & sisters, when was the last time you were honest in your prayer, talking to Jesus as if He was your closest friend?

Let us daily learn to go to God in full honesty and speak with confidence and trust.

Lord, you are not a God who is far from us, but you are closer to us as a dearest friend, willing to listen to all our pain, sorrows and complains, and even celebrate in our victories. Teach us to draw near to you in times of trouble and experience your loving care.

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Daily Devotional

Keep Asking, Searching & Knocking

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” – James 1:5

God waits for us to come to him.

It is so rewarding when after an entire struggle of figuring things out for yourself, you are so tired and can still go back to God.

At times it is difficult, but when it is tough we need to ask God to give us the courage to pray.

Recently at work, I was going through this really difficult time. Right from the environment, culture, co-workers, persistently everything was getting on my nerves.

Every time this happened, I acknowledged that I was trying to gain control and rely on my own capacity and strength.

However, God is always good. Even when I was being bitter and sinful, God had mercy on me. He showed me ways I can change the tinted glasses I was looking at the world with. I was convicted that it was not for my glory I was created but for His.

We need to rely on his plans. We are the chosen daughters and sons of this amazing Father in Heaven who is longing for us. The question here is what are we longing for?

Prayer is a very intricate path to having a relationship with Jesus. We grow any relationship when we invest in it. It is definitely not because of our works, that God loves us. If that was the case, we would have perished long back. But it is by his grace that we have been saved.

Let us ask Jesus to teach us how to pray during our quiet time with Him. Even the Apostles who were with Jesus asked Him how they should pray and Jesus helped them then.

As the word says, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The same Jesus who was with the Apostles on the boat is with you on your lifeboat. Have faith; even faith as much as a mustard seed can move mountains. May we ask God to show ways to be used for His Kingdom purposes and to reveal his plans for us.

Jesus, help us spend more intimate time with you daily. Help us know you more and trust in you at all times. Amen.