Daily Devo

Listen to today’s devo!

Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed. (Ps. 119:136)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 119:136

Last year I changed jobs. I had worked in the community for fifteen years and had lived there for eleven years. How I cried over that town. Several of us had created a prayer war room to pray over our community. We had a list naming specific drug and sex sin that we saw every day. We prayed for years. After an especially tough year of rejection and ridicule, I walked away. As I left my job on the last day, I cried again as I drove out of town. Although I knew God had told me it was time to dust the dirt off my feet and move on, the anguish of having seen the people reject God so many times was heavy.

As the sin of this world surrounds us, we must do all we can to share God’s love and good news to those around us. Not all will listen, some will have a seed planted for later, but we weep over those who reject Christ. It is painful living in a sinful world, watching people pay the price of sin, especially when we have offered the solution to their struggles. My prayer is that God keeps my heart soft and gives me boldness to share his Word and his love whenever I have opportunity.

Is your heart still soft for this lost world?

Beverly Kimball is a Wesleyan pastor’s wife, mathematics teacher, speaker, and author. She is a graduate of Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OK) and is working on a master’s in trauma and resiliency.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Make your face shine on your servant and teach me your decrees. (Ps. 119:135)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 119:132-135

I love to swim. At the campground we visit, the pool is a source of exercise and relaxation for me. Some days the water is refreshing and calming to me but other days it is hard to step in. But it seems, once in, the water feels warmer than the air. When the sun is shining, getting out of the pool is relaxing. I can soak up the warmth of the sun. However, if the sun is behind a cloud, getting out of the pool is harder. I try to wait for a cloud to pass and allow the sun to warm me. It helps me get out of the comfort of the warmer water.

I think of that every time I read of God’s face shining down on me. It is a source of warmth and peace. I had not thought of this in context of studying Scripture until I read today’s verse. His decrees are meant to be a comfort to me as I walk through this life. Fulfilling God’s commands saves us from the consequences of sin and helps us do his will. His face will turn toward us as we follow his commands and continue to learn more about him. I want that warmth to help me step out of my comfortable place and do what he has called me to.

As you study God’s Word, step into what God has for you.

Beverly Kimball is a Wesleyan pastor’s wife, mathematics teacher, speaker, and author. She is a graduate of Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OK) and is working on a master’s in trauma and resiliency.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. (Ps. 119:130)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 119:129-131

I am a high school math teacher. Geometry is my favorite class to teach, and often the one students struggle with the most. Trying to get teenagers to explain their thought process and write down steps to solving a problem takes great patience. I often get asked, “Why do I need to explain the process? I know the answer.” I have a couple responses to that, but one of them is, “Can you teach someone else how to do what you did?” Having an answer to a problem is great, but having the explanation of how to get to that answer will be useful throughout life.

Some people think they need to be a Bible scholar to understand what God’s Word says, but his Word teaches in very simple ways. The first step to writing a proof in geometry is very easy; it is just restating the given information in the problem. The information is right in front of the student, and some still do not even try to begin. If you have trouble understanding Scripture, perhaps try restating it in your own words. How would you tell someone what you just read about? Ask the Holy Spirit to use that information to make the Word alive and relevant right now. God’s desire is for us to read his Word. His promise is that he will give us light and understanding.

Read with the expectation for God to reveal something to you.

Beverly Kimball is a Wesleyan pastor’s wife, mathematics teacher, speaker, and author. She is a graduate of Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OK) and is working on a master’s in trauma and resiliency.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Ps. 119:105)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 119:105-110

While driving home late one evening, my husband and I found ourselves in a terrible storm. The wind was blowing and the rain was coming down so we could hardly see the road. Our headlights gave us enough light to see the road directly in front of the car but nothing else. We continued on, just keeping between the lines on the pavement and crawling along at about twenty miles per hour. Suddenly a flash of lightning lit up the world around us. We were able to see, just ahead of us, a tree was down and the glint of a power line across the road stopped us in our tracks. Our headlights were keeping us on the road but we needed the lightning to see the danger ahead.

I had always read this verse as just repeating itself, lamp for my feet and a light on my path. But this experience showed me two different ways a light can help us. The lamp for my feet is to keep me constantly on God’s path. I need to stay in God’s Word to know where the path is heading and to stay between the lines of God’s plan. But his Word also shows me obstacles ahead. Staying grounded in Scripture keeps me from falling for Satan’s lies and schemes. It is our guiding light for truth.

Let God’s Word reveal both your path and potential snares.

Beverly Kimball is a Wesleyan pastor’s wife, mathematics teacher, speaker, and author. She is a graduate of Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OK) and is working on a master’s in trauma and resiliency.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. (Ps. 103:22)

Expanded Passage: Psalm 103:6-22

I am an old soul when it comes to church music. I love the newer songs and enjoy hearing them, but I dearly love a good anthem from years gone by. My husband and I moved a couple of years ago and started attending a new church. One of the services still makes use of a choir, and we chose that service because choral music pushes the start button on praise for me.

We sit perched up high in the sanctuary, and when the choir stands to sing, I lean forward and tune out every other sound. By the end of the song, I usually have chills and tears, and my heart is leaping with praise.

I wasn’t blessed with musical talent, so I lean on the talent of others. But I do love to praise in song, even if it’s just the song of my heart. God created us, so he knows we didn’t all receive musical gifts; but because he created us, he also knows we all do have reasons to praise.

Psalm 103 reminds us of God’s compassion, love, grace, and forgiveness. All are reasons to pause in praise to the One who so richly deserves it. What would happen if we paused all requests for just a moment and simply prayed words of praise? What a worshipful way to welcome a new week!

Right now, pause to focus on praise to start this week!

Bekah Shaffer lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and enjoys endless coffee, scrapbooking, speaking, and planning adventures with her husband, Ryan.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

“This, then, is how you should pray.” (Matt. 6:9)

Expanded Passage: Matthew 6:5-15

Many books have been written about prayer. There are thousands of pages, millions of words, and that’s encouraging news. Beyond the books, there have been sermons preached, classes taught, seminars developed, and even retreats designed to teach people how to pray. How wonderful that so many people have studied prayer and want to share ideas that helped them enrich their lives! How wonderful that so many more have wanted to learn further about prayer so they can be effective warriors!

Despite all the books, sermons, classes, seminars, retreats, and even mentored teaching, all the words that have been devoted to prayer over the last several hundred years, Jesus himself simplified the teaching on prayer to fewer than seventy-five words. Have you considered that? Our millions of words can never surpass his handful!

“This, then, is how you should pray,” Jesus said. The model he gave was brief, but it can be described with two simple terms: personal and powerful. Jesus knew we would complicate prayer on our own. We complicate most things! Jesus instructed his followers that the Father wants us to pray personally, from our hearts, and to pray powerfully for his Spirit to move.

We could spend hours discussing postures, words, locations, times of day, acronyms for remembering what to include, and much more. But if we’re praying personally and powerfully, we’re already following the model Jesus provided.

Pray from your heart and ask the Spirit to empower your prayer.

Bekah Shaffer lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and enjoys endless coffee, scrapbooking, speaking, and planning adventures with her husband, Ryan.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matt. 6:14)

Expanded Passage: Matthew 6:14-15

This little two-letter word holds a lot of power: If. Parents use it frequently with their children: “If you eat four more bites of vegetables, you may have dessert.” (That may also be a tactic I use on my grown-up self, actually.) Our behavior brings rewards and consequences, depending on how we choose to respond to the if.

So it is with our God. We are his children, and he treats us as such. The choices are ours, but the consequences and blessings are his to offer. And in Matthew 6, God’s meaning is quite clear. If we choose to forgive those around us, we will also enjoy the blessing of God’s forgiveness. If we choose not to forgive, we will not enjoy the blessing of God’s forgiveness.

Forgiveness can be hard, can’t it? To forgive when we have been deeply wounded doesn’t come naturally or easily to most of us. It’s even harder when the offender doesn’t seem to recognize (or care about) the damage done to our hearts.

But God doesn’t say to forgive only those who fall at your feet and beg for your mercy. He says to forgive those who sin against you. Whether or not they repent, God wants your heart to be free of unforgiveness toward them. It’s not easy, but if he asks it of us, it is indeed possible and necessary.

Choose to forgive someone who has wounded you.

Bekah Shaffer lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and enjoys endless coffee, scrapbooking, speaking, and planning adventures with her husband, Ryan.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

“‘Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’” (Matt. 6:12)

Expanded Passage: Matthew 6:11-13

Our needs are many, aren’t they? When we sit with our lists, whether they’re memorized or written down in front of us, our hearts grow heavy with the enormity of the needs. We pray for the sick to find healing, for those without employment to find work, for empty arms to be filled with babies, for single souls to find love, for weary parents to find energy, and a host of other requests. I used to lead a women’s Bible study, and, more than once, we even brought potty training before the Lord!

He welcomes our petitions, and we’re grateful for that. Yet Jesus’ model prayer simplifies our needs to four things: provision, forgiveness, leading, and deliverance. If you think about it, most of your requests could fit into three of those categories. Forgiveness, I’ve found, is often overlooked.

It’s easy to get comfortable in our Christianity. As long as we haven’t committed any of the “big sins,” we skip over that part of prayer. But God doesn’t categorize sin. He’s a holy God looking at the film of sin that coats our souls. What would result if we stopped overlooking our need to search our hearts and seek forgiveness from our Father and those around us? Repentance is a daily discipline, just like depending on God to provide for our needs!

Pray for God to forgive your sins and your tendency to overlook them.

Bekah Shaffer lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and enjoys endless coffee, scrapbooking, speaking, and planning adventures with her husband, Ryan.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” (Matt. 6:9)

Expanded Passage: Matthew 6:9-10

Have you ever promised to pray for someone, only to forget the request before you got home? I have friends who will stop and pray on the spot for someone because they want to make sure they don’t forget later and break a prayer promise.

While I’ve been known to also pray immediately, I wanted to come up with a method that would help me keep track of requests for an extended period of time. I created a prayer binder with all sorts of color-coded tabs to represent different areas of my life. In addition to helping me remember requests, I hoped my binder would teach me a practice I hadn’t been very faithful to keep—making prayer to the Father my first priority.

How often, when we pray, do we begin by praying words that remind us of the Father’s holiness? As I read Matthew 6:9, I felt convicted. What might change if I start my prayers first by acknowledging the Father? I kept the words of Jesus in my mind as I began my prayers with this reminder. Perhaps if we really followed that model and prepared our minds to remember his holiness, our requests would be submitted with an even better understanding of his magnificent power and greatness. He should come first in every aspect of our lives, and our prayers are no different.

Put worship of the heavenly Father first in your prayers.

Bekah Shaffer lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and enjoys endless coffee, scrapbooking, speaking, and planning adventures with her husband, Ryan.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Listen to today’s devo!

“When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans.” (Matt. 6:7)

Expanded Passage: Matthew 6:7-8

My dad used to fill in for vacationing ministers, and whenever he received an invitation to preach somewhere, Mom and I went with him. He is a consummate storyteller and would often go into great detail as he preached. In typical daughter fashion, I’d watch the clock hands scoot closer to noon and listen for the “in closing” tag. One week, when I was especially hungry, I tucked a note into his Bible that said, “Less is more. Lunch is in the oven.”

Fortunately, Dad and I share a sense of humor, so he understood my mostly joking intent. I wanted him to keep the sermon short so we could eat, but Jesus had other (more significant) reasons for teaching his followers to keep their prayers short.

The pagans, Jesus said, would babble in hopes that the sheer volume of their words would capture the attention of their gods. But it wasn’t necessary. Before any of us open our mouths to petition the Lord, he already knows our need.

If we want to pray at length to have communion with our heavenly Father, he welcomes it. But if we babble to be noticed, we’re literally wasting our breath. Less is more when it comes to those prayers. He already knows the needs of our hearts.

Pray with simple faith, not endless babbling.

Bekah Shaffer lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and enjoys endless coffee, scrapbooking, speaking, and planning adventures with her husband, Ryan.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.