Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

What do you do if you want something? Even the youngest of children knows the answer – you ask for it. From the time each of you could talk, you learned to ask Dad or me for the things you wanted or needed. After hearing your requests and deciding that they were reasonable, we would gladly give you what you wanted. Our heavenly Father is no different. He loves to have us come to Him in prayer and delights in hearing our voices. He has promised to answer us when we call. In Luke 11:1-13 Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray. JESUS’ PATTERN: The disciples saw that Jesus had a regular pattern of prayer. His example encouraged them and they asked Him to teach them how to pray. JESUS’ PRAYER: Jesus gave His disciples a sample prayer, known to many as the Lord’s Prayer, to show them how they should approach God. Though it is not necessary to repeat these exact words – and certainly one should never just recite prayers mindlessly – it is important to understand the teaching behind the petition.

Surrender is a term with negative connotations. There are not many people who would willingly give their power or possessions to another, yet this is what God asks His children to do.  In today's verse God urges the Roman Christians to consider His display of mercy as He took their punishment for sin. He encourages them to surrender their bodies willingly to Him as living sacrifices. This, Paul writes, is their "reasonable response" given the enormity of what God has done, but we all know that it can be the hardest thing for us to do.

Do you want the Holy Spirit's power for living? Then commit yourself to the disciplines it requires. When God has control you will find joy.

God tells us that no matter the circumstances we should always rejoice in Him. In difficult situations this is sometimes hard to do. But those are the perfect times for God's people to band together. For the third time I opened the dishwasher to check my dishes. For the third time I groaned in disgust as the realization finally hit me that the dishwasher had gone on the blink.

Everyone needs a helping hand. Though the citizens of our country pride themselves on personal autonomy and independence, that is not what God wants for His followers. He desires that we work together, relying on each other and on Him for our strength. All of the most famous Bible heroes understood this principle. Listen to this story from Exodus 17:8-16.

The squawking and flapping of worried chickens filled the air. Their protests were challenged only by shrieks of laughter and the beating of my joyful heart. I took a deep breath and tried to memorize every detail of one of my favorite activities. It was again time to weigh and wash forty Cornish Rock Cross birds, out of which we would pick five trios of broilers to take to the county fair.