Covenant Grove Daily Devotionals

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia. May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. Let Gods curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. Obviously, Im not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christs servant.‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Christianity is a relationship with the Lord that restores your true identity. We are Gods redeemed sons and daughters. Pauls identity was apostle and servant of Christ. He told the Galatian believers they had followed the faulty path of rules and religion. Rules and religion aren't always bad things, but they can lead to legalism, arrogance, and intolerance. This is is faith with limits you feel better because you have done enough, you have completed your duty, and you are proud of your own work. Paul previously lived these faults, but Jesus saved him and gave him a new identity. Paul did not earn Gods grace or salvation it is a gift from the Savior. He warned the Galatians, who had been saved by grace, not to abandon the gospel for legalistic rule-following.

True faith is a relationship that has no limits you give all to the One who gave all for you, receiving and returning love. There are "rules" to follow in a relationship, but they are done out of love and gratitude. There is no limit or finish line in a relationship like this. There is nothing more life changing than being in a relationship with the Author of love to be known and loved by Him and to love and know and serve Him with all you are. Begin each day and decision receiving the Fathers love for you, knowing His love covers all your shortcomings and sins. Then without shame love the Lord in return, no matter what people think. Live in the freedom of Gods grace and love.How can you posture your life and rhythms more to receive Gods great love for you? How can you be sure your faith is more about a relationship with God than following rules?

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and dont get tied up again in slavery to the law. Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. Ill say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from Gods grace. But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isnt God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you. Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcisedas some say I dowhy am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But dont use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you wont be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirits leading in every part of our lives.‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each others burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you wont need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct. Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. Dont be misledyou cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So lets not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we dont give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyoneespecially to those in the family of faith. Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting. Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They dont want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. And even those who advocate circumcision dont keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples. As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the worlds interest in me has also died. It doesnt matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May Gods peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. From now on, dont let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Everyone in Christ is a new creation. These last two chapters are very practical, yet they still contain a lot of profound concepts. Paul told the Galatians that they did not need to be circumcised because they were already accepted by God, set free by the Spirit, and made a new creation in Christ. They did not need to follow the Jewish cultural boundary marker of circumcision. God had fully accepted them as Gentile Christians, giving them His Spirit to produce fruit in their lives. The Spirit empowered them to work hard, care for each other, and crucify their sinful passions (c.5 v.24). This is new creation!

The freedom of the Spirit changes how we see ourselves and others. People constantly revert to doing the rules (many people really like the rules) and evaluating others on how they follow the rules (which just exposes the arrogance living inside). The rules are important (Paul gave a bunch of commands in this chapter after all!), but they were given to keep us close to the Lord not separate those who have chosen to walk with Him. When you walk with the Spirit, you fulfill the rules and much more living the fruit that comes only from Gods Spirit.What difference can it make to focus more on Jesus than on the rules? How is the Spirit growing you and working new creation in your life?

Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And thats the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, Abba, Father. Now you are no longer a slave but Gods own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentilesfree from those laws. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth? Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. If someone is eager to do good things for you, thats all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when Im with you. Oh, my dear children! I feel as if Im going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I dont know how else to help you. Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of Gods promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as Gods own fulfillment of his promise. These two women serve as an illustration of Gods two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. As Isaiah said, Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband! And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit. But what do the Scriptures say about that? Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free womans son. So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Something amazing has happened in our world God has come and walked with us. Take a minute and reflect on how awe inspiring that is. The Savior has shown us the relationship He wants to have with us and the way He wants us to live. Christ died so He could live inside of us. Tragically, many Christians ignore the wonder of this relationship and revert back to religious observance (human rules to be close to God). Paul was challenging the Galatianswho had received the Holy Spirit and had transformed livesnot to go back to their Greek religious observances or start Jewish ones, either! They have a relationship with the Father; they can cry out Abba! This is only possible through Jesus Christ and the Spirit who lives in us. This was not from human religion but God Himself fulfilling His promise.

May you live out the promise of God. May you not revert back to your own religious efforts. This is a relationship there is work involved, but the work is all about love, devotion, and gratitude. This work of love will bear more fruit and bring greater holiness than following the rules. It will also bring joy and life. It will not look down on others but constantly be reaching out to them, as the Lord reached out to you. The rules are like guardrails on the road. Dont focus on the guardrails but on God. Receive His love and follow His way, even when it is hard.What would it look like for gratitude to be the driving motivation of your life? How can you accept and enjoy the relationship offered to you from the Father?

Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christs death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. In the same way, Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. Whats more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, All nations will be blessed through you. So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in Gods Book of the Law. So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, It is through faith that a righteous person has life. This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, It is through obeying the law that a person has life. But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith. Dear brothers and sisters, heres an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesnt say to his children, as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says to his childand that, of course, means Christ. This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting Gods promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise. Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. Is there a conflict, then, between Gods law and Gods promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive Gods promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and Gods promise to Abraham belongs to you.‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Christians are children of the promise. Paul gave the example of Abraham who was made right and accepted by God because of his faith. He obeyed what the Lord had told him, and he followed what he knew was right. Hundreds of years later the law was given. The Lord didn't change how He accepted people or made them righteous it was still by faith. The law was given so people would know what Gods good way is, and when they were breaking it. The law reveals the human need for forgiveness and for a Savior who can enable us to do what is right.

As a Pharisee, Paul had twisted the purpose of the law (as many people still do today) and thought that he could be righteous through rule-following. God's people have never been accepted through the rules; we are cleansed by His sacrifice and made right through trusting God. We follow the rules because we love the One who gave the rules, and we want to be close to Him. Rule following is not enough to make us right with God; rule following is not how we should evaluate our own faith or the faith of others. For those in Christ, there is unity above any lines the world draws to divide (v.28).How can you follow the rules out of love for Jesus? How can you evaluate yourself and others more like Christ?

Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing. And they supported me and did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile. Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers therefalse ones, reallywho were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you. And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles. In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do. But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldnt eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peters hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? You and I are Jews by birth, not sinners like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the lawI stopped trying to meet all its requirementsso that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is freedom in Jesus! Paul had experienced true freedom in Christ, and he wanted everyone to experience this freedom. He had a relationship with Christ, his Savior who died for him and loved him. Paul saw himself as crucified with Christ. His old lifeincluding his legalistic obedience to the lawwas crucified. He lived by faith in Jesus, walking with the Spirit. For Paul the issue was about what makes someone right or in right standing with God ("righteous"). When he was a Pharisee, he thought that following the law was what brought righteousness. When Jesus appeared to him on the road Paul realized that his zeal for the law had actually made him an enemy of the living God. Paul did not want the Galatians to get circumcised because they had already received the Holy Spirit! As Gentiles they did not need to become Jews before God would accept them or save them.

This is not an issue of Old Testament versus New Testament (the way of faith is in the entire Bible), of Judaism versus Christianity (Paul saw himself as a Jewish Christian living out the promises to the Jews), or of faith versus works (for Paul all faith must include action). When he was a Pharisee, Paul had taken God's good law and turned it into a path of salvation (which it never was) and used it to judge (and even persecute) those who were not living up to his standards. Many people still do this today. We all need a Damascus road experience where we see the light of the risen Jesus, have the scales fall from our eyes, and change the way we see the rules, God, ourselves, and others. Jesus loves you and gave Himself for you. You are called to follow the Holy Spirit an active faith filled with love that will fulfill the commands of God.How does your faith live out grace and obedience? How has following Jesus changed how you see the rules?

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia. May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. Let Gods curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. Obviously, Im not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christs servant. Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religionhow I violently persecuted Gods church. I did my best to destroy it. I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus. Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lords brother. I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie. After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. And still the churches in Christ that are in Judea didnt know me personally. All they knew was that people were saying, The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy! And they praised God because of me.‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Our stories and testimonies of how God changed our lives are so powerful. Paul told part of his story in this chapter how he persecuted the church but turned to the truth when Jesus appeared to him and called him. Paul's life was changed.

Paul was writing this letter to fight against false teaching. The false teachers claimed to be sent from Jerusalem and the apostle James. They asserted that Paul's teaching was dependent on Jerusalem. Paul's story showed that he was not dependent on Jerusalem but only on Jesus. The Galatians own story showed that their lives were changed when they heard the gospel message and received the power of the Holy Spirit. They didnt need to go backward but move forward in faith and the freedom of the gospel.What is your story of faith? How did Jesus change your life? How is He still?

Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the kings son. Help him judge your people in the right way; let the poor always be treated fairly. May the mountains yield prosperity for all, and may the hills be fruitful. Help him to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to crush their oppressors. May they fear you as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon remains in the sky. Yes, forever! May the kings rule be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass, like the showers that water the earth. May all the godly flourish during his reign. May there be abundant prosperity until the moon is no more. May he reign from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. Desert nomads will bow before him; his enemies will fall before him in the dust. The western kings of Tarshish and other distant lands will bring him tribute. The eastern kings of Sheba and Seba will bring him gifts. All kings will bow before him, and all nations will serve him. He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them. He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them. He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him. Long live the king! May the gold of Sheba be given to him. May the people always pray for him and bless him all day long. May there be abundant grain throughout the land, flourishing even on the hilltops. May the fruit trees flourish like the trees of Lebanon, and may the people thrive like grass in a field. May the kings name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun shines. May all nations be blessed through him and bring him praise. Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does such wonderful things. Praise his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen! (This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.)‭‭Psalms‬ ‭72‬:‭1‬-‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Solomon is known for writing many proverbs, but he wrote psalms as well. This psalm is his prayer for wisdom. He wanted to rule with justice so that his reign would be a blessing to everyoneinside and outside of his kingdom. His vision was for a prosperous kingdom that drew people closer to God. The goal of it all was for the Name of the Almighty to be honored throughout the whole earth. People need to see the justice of God lived out practically: the needy defended, the poor rescued, wrongdoing punished, and needs met for everyone.

Solomons prayer was not just for himself and his family. It was for his kingdom and the entire world. Are your prayers that big? May this psalm challenge you to pray bigger prayers. Pray that God will bless you so that the whole world would benefit. This understanding could change your whole prayer life.What are some big prayers you can pray today?

O Lord, I have come to you for protection; dont let me be disgraced. Save me and rescue me, for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me free. Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors. O Lord, you alone are my hope. Ive trusted you, O Lord, from childhood. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mothers womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you! My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection. That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long. And now, in my old age, dont set me aside. Dont abandon me when my strength is failing. For my enemies are whispering against me. They are plotting together to kill me. They say, God has abandoned him. Lets go and get him, for no one will help him now. O God, dont stay away. My God, please hurry to help me. Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers. Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me. But I will keep on hoping for your help; I will praise you more and more. I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord. I will tell everyone that you alone are just. O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me. Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you, O God? You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again. Then I will praise you with music on the harp, because you are faithful to your promises, O my God. I will sing praises to you with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel. I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me. I will tell about your righteous deeds all day long, for everyone who tried to hurt me has been shamed and humiliated.‭‭Psalms‬ ‭71‬:‭1‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This psalm covers all of life. The author was cared for in his mothers womb (v.6) and has trusted the Lord from childhood (v.5). His life has been an example for many (v.7); he has trusted and served God for his whole life. He is now old and gray (v.18) and asking God to rescue him from the power of wicked people (v.4). His desire is to survive and tell a new generation about Gods mighty power (v.18). Having gone through hardships before, the author knows that the Lord allowed him to suffer hardship and will restore him to even greater honor (vv.20-21). This will be another example of Gods saving love for His faithful people. Before it even happens, the author knows he will be praising God for his rescue (vv.22-24).

Looking back on your life, what are the stories of rescue that show Gods faithfulness? Looking forward, how can those past stories help you in your present problems? Will you make a commitment to tell others those stories of Gods faithfulness?

Please, God, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, and help me. May those who try to kill me be humiliated and put to shame. May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace. Let them be horrified by their shame, for they said, Aha! Weve got him now! But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, God is great! But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God. You are my helper and my savior; O Lord, do not delay.‭‭Psalms‬ ‭70‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Dont miss the heading of the psalm. David was asking God to remember him. David was bold enough to ask God for helprepeatedly. It seems like David was always crying out for help! That isnt foolishness or weakness; it is wisdom because God is the source of real strength. Many people believe they shouldnt ask the Lord for help with problems they can handle. But God is not limited like we are; He has unlimited wisdom and power to offer. David was wise enough to ask for help. God hears every prayer, and God did deliver David, who died peacefully at an old age. What are some things you can ask Gods help for today?Those who seek the Lord are filled with joy. God is pursuing you, inviting you to go deeper in faith and closer to Him. How are you seeking to get closer to Him?

Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I cant find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me. Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs on my head. Many enemies try to destroy me with lies, demanding that I give back what I didnt steal. O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you. Dont let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me, O Sovereign Lord of Heavens Armies. Dont let me cause them to be humiliated, O God of Israel. For I endure insults for your sake; humiliation is written all over my face. Even my own brothers pretend they dont know me; they treat me like a stranger. Passion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. When I weep and fast, they scoff at me. When I dress in burlap to show sorrow, they make fun of me. I am the favorite topic of town gossip, and all the drunks sing about me. But I keep praying to you, Lord, hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mud; dont let me sink any deeper! Save me from those who hate me, and pull me from these deep waters. Dont let the floods overwhelm me, or the deep waters swallow me, or the pit of death devour me. Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful. Dont hide from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble! Come and redeem me; free me from my enemies. You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace. You see all that my enemies are doing. Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me. But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst. Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare and their prosperity become a trap. Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and make their bodies shake continually. Pour out your fury on them; consume them with your burning anger. Let their homes become desolate and their tents be deserted. To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury; they add to the pain of those you have hurt. Pile their sins up high, and dont let them go free. Erase their names from the Book of Life; dont let them be counted among the righteous. I am suffering and in pain. Rescue me, O God, by your saving power. Then I will praise Gods name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving. For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves. The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek Gods help be encouraged. For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people. Praise him, O heaven and earth, the seas and all that move in them. For God will save Jerusalem and rebuild the towns of Judah. His people will live there and settle in their own land. The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land, and those who love him will live there in safety.‭‭Psalms‬ ‭69‬:‭1‬-‭36‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David was frustrated and hurt by many people; in his pain he cried out to the Lord. His situation was harsh: people were lying about him, he was being insulted, and his family had cut him off. His words about them were pretty harsh too; David wrote out his extreme and honest feelings. David didnt pretend he was perfect: he confessed his sins to God. Yet what was happening to him was not fair. He had a passion for the Lords househe even danced before the Lord in his undergarments (which may have been the occasion for this psalm). His prayer was for the Lord to provide one person as a friend and comforter. The psalm ends with a call to praise the Lord. No matter how much David was insulted, he would never stop worshiping God.

God hears our prayers, and He knows our needs. David was a warrior and king. When he was insulted, though, he didnt fight or seek revenge. He prayed.Do you live that pattern? Can you be extremely honest in your prayers, or do you give God the edited version of yourself?