If you could go back and undo one thing you’ve done, what would it be?

Most of us can think of something.

A harsh word spoken in anger. A decision we regret. A relationship we damaged. A sin we wish we could erase from our memory.

One of the reasons Psalm 51 has resonated with believers for thousands of years is because it comes from a real failure and it’s something we can all related to.

After David’s adultery with Bathsheba and his arrangement of Uriah’s death, the prophet Nathan confronted him. David could have denied it. He could have made excuse or blamed someone else.

Instead, he repented.

Psalm 51 is his prayer.

What stands out is that David understands his deepest problem. He doesn’t simply ask God to remove the consequences. He asks for mercy. He knows He doesn’t deserve anything. If he’s going to be forgiven, it’s only because of God’s mercy.

I’d normally say something like, maybe you’ve been there before. But I already know. You have, whether you realized it or not. We all have. None of us deserve forgiveness or to be released from the consequences of our sin. It’s always only by God’s mercy that we are forgiven.

Thankfully, God is a merciful God and loves to forgive those who turn to Him!

And then he asks for something only God can give:

“Create in me a clean heart.”

Notice the word “create.”

David doesn’t ask God to improve his heart or help him clean it up himself. He asks God to create something new.

That’s an important distinction.

We often think of repentance as promising to do better next time. Certainly, a changed life should follow repentance. But repentance begins with recognizing that our problem runs deeper than a bad decision here or there.

Sin has affected us through and through at the heart level.

And if the heart is the problem, then only God can truly fix it.

The good news is that God specializes in creating.

In the beginning, He created the heavens and the earth out of nothing. Through the prophet Ezekiel, He promised to give His people a new heart. And through Jesus, He does exactly that.

When Christ went to the cross, He wasn’t paying only for individual sins. He was making sinners new. Through His forgiveness and the work of the Holy Spirit, He creates faith where there was unbelief and life where there was death.

The God who can create a universe just by speaking creates a new heart in you, one that has faith in Him and is repentant.

That doesn’t mean Christians never struggle with sin again. David certainly did. We do too. Our sinful nature still exists alongside that new heart.

But it does mean that when we repent, we don’t come to God hoping He might give us another chance.

We come to a God who delights in showing mercy.

A God who forgives.

A God who creates clean hearts.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

I confess that my sin runs deeper than my actions. I need Your mercy and forgiveness. Create in me a clean heart and renew my faith through Your Word and Spirit. Thank You for the forgiveness and new life You give me through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

When you look in the mirror, what do you think?

There are certain places that people treat differently because of what they represent.

A courthouse, a memorial, a cemetery, a church sanctuary. Even people who do not regularly think about such things often recognize that these places have a significance beyond the bricks, wood, or stone from which they are built.

In the Old Testament, the temple in Jerusalem held a unique place among them all. It was the place where God promised to dwell among His people. The temple was holy, not because of its architecture, but because of God’s presence.

When Paul writes to the Corinthians, he says something astonishing:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?”

For Christians who have heard these words many times, it is easy to miss how remarkable they are.

God’s presence is no longer centered in a building in Jerusalem. Through Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, God dwells with His people. Paul is not speaking merely about God’s awareness of you or His ability to be present everywhere. He is speaking about the Spirit’s personal presence within believers. Think about it. You don’t have to go to a particular buildering to be in the presence of God. He’s in you.

That changes how we view ourselves.

Many people live with one of two errors. Some become overly impressed with themselves, treating their bodies as objects of pride and self-glorification. Others move in the opposite direction and begin to view themselves as insignificant, unworthy, or without value.

Paul points us away from both extremes.

Your worth is not determined by your appearance, your abilities, your age, your health, or the opinions of others.

“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.”

Your value is found in the fact that Christ gave Himself for you.

The cross reveals how seriously God takes your salvation. Jesus did not shed His blood for something worthless. He purchased you at great cost and made you His own.

That truth also shapes how we live. Paul’s concern in this chapter involves how Christians use their bodies. Since our bodies belong to the Lord, our lives are not detached from our faith. What we do, where we go, how we speak, and how we treat others all matter to God.

When I was in high school, I worked in the Disney Store. We had a certain dress code and we were required to be clean shaven. I remember one time I came into work and had forgotten to shave. The manager made a comment. I casually said, “Oh, sorry, I forgot to shave, today.” To me this seemed unimportant until he responded, “They sell razors at the 7/11 on the corner.” In a sense, for the few hours I worked in the store each day, my body was not my own. They only paid me a few dollars and hour.

How much more does my body belong to Christ who paid for me with His life?

So, my appearance matters. How I treat my body matters. What I do with my body matters.

Yet the foundation is not about making us worthy. The foundation is redemption.

Before Paul calls Christians to honor God with their bodies, he reminds them that they have already been purchased by Christ.

The Christian life always begins there.

• You belong to Jesus.
• The Holy Spirit dwells within you.
• And your life has become a place where God Himself is present.

You…and your body…have great value.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for redeeming me through the blood of Your Son and making me Your own. Help me to remember that my worth is not found in what I accomplish or how others see me, but in the price Christ paid for me.

I pray that I would honor You with my body and my life, not out of fear or obligation, but out of gratitude for Your grace. Remind me each day that Your Holy Spirit dwells within me and that I belong to You.

Through Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

What is your truth?

One of the most dangerous mistakes we can make is assuming that because something feels right, it must be right.

We live in a culture that often treats personal feelings and individual judgment as the highest authority. “Follow your heart” is common advice. Trust yourself. Do what feels right for you. Live your truth.

At first glance, that sounds reasonable. After all, who knows your situation better than you do?

Yet Proverbs offers a poignant warning.

“There is a way that seems right to a man…”

Notice that it doesn’t say the way is obviously wrong. It doesn’t appear foolish or look dangerous. In fact, it seems right.

That’s what makes it so deceptive.

Several years ago, researchers discovered that pilots flying through clouds can sometimes become disoriented. Without visual references, their senses may tell them the aircraft is level when it’s actually banking into a turn. If they trust their feelings instead of their instruments, the results can be catastrophic.

The problem isn’t that they aren’t sincere.

The problem is that they’re wrong.

The same thing can happen spiritually. We can convince ourselves that a certain attitude, relationship, priority, or decision is justified because it makes sense to us. We can explain it. Defend it. Rationalize it. It seems right to us.

All the while, we’re relying on our own judgment alone.

People, today, talk about living and speaking their truth. As though truth can be different for you than for me or anyone else. We can have differing opinions, but there’s only one truth.

This proverb is not teaching that every personal desire is evil or that every decision we make is wrong. Rather, it reminds us of something we easily forget: we are not always the best judges of ourselves.

• Our desires can mislead us.
• Our emotions can cloud our thinking.
• Our perspective is limited and corrupted by sin.

That’s why God gives us His Word. It serves as a guide outside of ourselves. When our feelings and God’s wisdom conflict, Proverbs tells us to trust the Lord rather than our own instincts…or…If your truth disagrees with THE truth of God’s Word, your truth is a lie.

That isn’t always easy. Sometimes God’s way challenges what feels natural. It requires humility, repentance, or patience when we’d prefer something else.

But His wisdom sees farther and truer than ours.

And that’s good news, because left to ourselves, we would absolutely wander off course. In fact, this proverb tells us our way leads to death. Thankfully, God lovingly calls us back. He speaks through His Word. He places fellow believers in our lives.

Most importantly, He sent His Son to rescue us from the deadly paths we choose and to lead us into life. In fact, the Bible tells us Jesus, who is the Word made flesh, is the way, the truth, and the life. Where our way and our truth leads to death, God’s way and God’s truth, Jesus, is life.

So today, when you’re making decisions, rather than asking, “What feels right?”

Ask a deeper and better question:

“What does God say?”

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

I confess that I often trust my own judgment more than I trust Your wisdom. Forgive me for the times I have followed my own way instead of Yours. Help me to recognize when my feelings, desires, or assumptions are leading me astray. Give me humility to listen to Your Word and courage to follow where You lead. Guide my steps today, and keep me on the path that leads to life through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

The Ninth and Tenth Commandments

As you lie in bed thinking about your life, what do you wish you had?

Imagine walking through a neighborhood and seeing a beautiful house.

At first, you simply admire it.

Then a thought creeps in.

I wish I had a house like that.

A few moments later, admiration turns into dissatisfaction.

“Why don’t I have what they have?” you think.

That is how coveting often begins; not with an action, with a desire.

The Ninth and Tenth Commandments are unique because they deal almost entirely with what happens inside us. They expose something the other commandments have been revealing all along: sin is not merely about what we do. It begins in the heart.

God says not to covet our neighbor’s house, spouse, workers, possessions, or anything that belongs to them.

Why?

Because He knows what coveting does.

It poisons contentment. It turns blessings into disappointments. It causes us to compare our lives to everyone else’s. Instead of thanking God for His gifts, we become consumed with what He has given someone else.

And in our age of social media, that temptation is stronger than ever.

We see carefully edited snapshots of other people’s lives. Their vacations. Their homes. Their families. Their successes.

Soon we can begin measuring our lives against theirs.

The result is rarely gratitude. More often, it is resentment.

The Ninth and Tenth Commandments remind us that God not only cares about our actions. He cares about our desires, motives, and attitudes.

And that is where these commandments leave us without excuses.

Perhaps we have not stolen,…but have we wanted what wasn’t ours?

Perhaps we have not harmed our neighbor,…but have we envied them?

The commandments have brought us to the same conclusion again and again:

We need a Savior.

The Law reaches all the way into our hearts and shows us that we cannot make ourselves righteous before God.

But Jesus came for hearts like ours.

Throughout His earthly life, He was perfectly content in His Father’s will. He never envied. Never coveted. Never grasped for what was not His. In fact, He emptied Himself and became servant to all.

And then He went to the cross for those who do envy and covet.

• For people who are dissatisfied.
• For people who compare.
• For people who always want more.
• For us.

In Christ, there is forgiveness for covetous hearts. And through His Spirit, God begins teaching us a different way to live.

• A life of gratitude.
• A life of trust.
• A life that finds its greatest treasure not in what it possesses, but in the One who possesses it.

Let’s pray…

Lord God,

Forgive me for the times I have been dissatisfied with Your gifts and desired what belongs to others. Give me a thankful heart and teach me to trust in Your provision. Help me to find my contentment in Christ, who has given me forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

At first glance, this seems like a small story.

A baby is placed in a basket among the reeds of the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter comes to bathe. She discovers the child. His mother is brought in to care for him. The boy grows up in Pharaoh’s household.

It’s a bit unusual. Certainly, you don’t find a baby floating down the river every day. It’s also notable that Pharaoh’s daughter chose to keep a Hebrew baby, however still it seems relatively small.

But behind the scenes, God is at work.

The backdrop to this story is one of fear and oppression. Pharaoh has ordered that Hebrew baby boys be thrown into the Nile. Israel is suffering under slavery. The future looks bleak.

And yet, in the middle of that darkness, God preserves one child.

He didn’t perform a miracle that parts the heavens, nor did He send fire or thunder. Instead, God worked through a mother’s courage, a sister’s watchful eye, and even the compassion of an Egyptian princess.

God’s hand is present in every detail, even though His name is never mentioned in these verses.

That’s one of the beautiful things about this passage. It reminds us that God is often working in ways we do not immediately recognize.

We tend to look for dramatic interventions. We want obvious signs. We look for miraculous healings or an audible voice from God. But much of God’s work happens in ways that are hidden.

• A conversation.
• A seemingly chance encounter.
• A door that opens unexpectedly.
• A person who arrives at just the right time.
• The delay that prevented an accident we’ll never know could have happened.

Martin Luther described this as the “masks of God”. We see a person or a medicine or check, but it’s God working behind those masks.

Looking back, we sometimes realize that God was arranging far more than we understood in the moment.

Moses certainly did not know what lay ahead. Neither did his mother. None of them could see that this rescued child would one day stand before Pharaoh, lead Israel out of Egypt, and become one of the greatest figures in biblical history.

But God knew.

The child floating in a basket was already part of God’s plan to deliver His people.

And that same truth can comfort us today.

There are moments when life feels uncertain and God’s purposes seem hidden. We cannot see where the story is going. We wonder if anything meaningful is happening at all. There are also moments that seem perfectly ordinary. We don’t even realize a story is being told.

Yet God is never absent from the details.

He is working through circumstances, people, and events that may seem ordinary today. The threads He is weaving may not become clear until much later.

For now, faith trusts what sight cannot see: the God who preserved Moses is still guiding history, still caring for His people, and still accomplishing His purposes.

Faith also creates a heart of gratitude. For even though something may seem ordinary or human, we know God is at work, caring, providing, healing, and working all things for good.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You that You are at work even when I cannot see it. Help me trust You in the ordinary moments of life and remember that Your plans are greater than my understanding. Give me confidence that You are guiding my path and caring for me day by day. I pray that I would always be thankful even when I can’t see through the masks. In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

How do you respond to power?

The disciples had already seen Jesus teach, heal, and cast out demons. They had watched crowds gather around Him and listened as He spoke about the Kingdom of God.

But knowing about Jesus and trusting Jesus are not always the same thing.

As they cross the Sea of Galilee, a violent storm arises. Experienced fishermen suddenly find themselves overwhelmed. Waves crash into the boat and water fills it. Meanwhile, Jesus is asleep.

The disciples wake Him with a question that reveals both their fear and their doubt:

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

Jesus speaks, rebuking the wind and the sea, and immediately there is calm.

Then He asks them a question of His own:

“Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Notice that Jesus does not ask whether the storm was real. It was. Nor does He ask whether the danger was serious. It was. Instead, He asks whether they trust Him in the middle of it.

The disciples are left asking,

“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

That question is answered in the very next account.

When they arrive on the other side of the lake, they are met by a man possessed by many demons. This poor man is completely captive. No one can restrain him. No one can help him. Human strength has failed.

Yet when Jesus arrives, the demons recognize Him immediately.

The storm had obeyed His voice.

Now the demons do as well.

What no one else could accomplish, Jesus does with a word. These two accounts together reveal something important about Jesus.

There is no force in creation beyond His authority.

The disciples feared the storm because it was stronger than they were. The people feared the demons because they were stronger than they were.

But neither was stronger than Christ.

And that is still true today.

The things that frighten us may be real. The struggles we face may be larger than our own strength. But the answer to fear is not finding more strength within ourselves. It is recognizing who Jesus is.

• The One who commands the wind and waves.
• The One who sets captives free.
• The One who is present with His people even in the middle of the storm.

I asked at the beginning how you respond to power. The key to this is realizing the character of the one who is holding the power and their disposition towards you.

Storms can be frightening because they damage without regard for who is in their way. Tyrants can be frightening because they do evil and prey on the innocent. God can be frightening because He is holy and we are sinners. But Jesus, who is God, changes things.

The people from the land of the demon-possessed man pleaded with Jesus to leave them. They were afraid when they saw His power. However, Jesus had come for their salvation, just as He came for your salvation.

Don’t send Jesus away. Instead, draw close to Him. The Holy God is frightening for sinners, but Jesus takes away your sin and makes you holy. So, you know the character of God, He is love, and you know His disposition towards in you Christ. He died for you. So, you have nothing to fear.

Let’s pray…

Lord Jesus,

When fear overwhelms me, help me remember who You are. You rule over all things and nothing is beyond Your authority. Strengthen my faith to trust You in every trial and keep me secure in Your care. Help me to not run from your power, but look to You for my protection, care, and salvation.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

What do you do when life feels unstable?

Most of us like predictability. We like routines, plans, and a sense that things are under control. But every so often, something happens that reminds us how fragile life can feel.

• A storm approaches.
• A job disappears.
• A relationship breaks down.
• A phone call changes everything.

Psalm 46 was written for moments like that.

The psalm describes the world coming apart. Mountains are falling into the sea, waters are roaring and foaming, and the earth giving way beneath your feet. This is not mild inconvenience. It is chaos.

And yet, right at the beginning, the psalm says:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

He’s not a distant help, nor is He an occasional help.

God is our present help.

That word “refuge” is important. A refuge is not a place where danger never existed. It is a place of safety in the middle of danger.

Several years ago, after a hurricane passed through Florida, I remember seeing neighborhoods filled with broken branches, damaged roofs, and flooded streets. But there were also people opening their homes to neighbors, sharing generators, meals, and supplies. And there were schools and other shelters that were constructed to withstand category 5 winds. In the middle of uncertainty, people were looking for somewhere safe.

Psalm 46 reminds us that ultimately, our refuge is not found in circumstances being calm. It is found in God Himself.

The psalm doesn’t pretend trouble is imaginary. What it says is that trouble is not greater than the God who stands with His people. So, you have nothing to fear.

I remember the first time I took my kids on a roller coaster. I told them, the roller coaster is designed to keep them safe. Even when it goes fast, drops, or spins, they have nothing to fear because they won’t get hurt.

Sadly, though, there are times roller coasters fail, but God never fails.

For Christians, this becomes even clearer in Jesus.

When the disciples were caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, they panicked while Jesus slept in the boat. To them, it looked like everything was out of control. But with a word, Jesus calmed the wind and waves.

The same Lord still reigns.

And even when life feels chaotic, He has not lost control. The cross and resurrection prove that not even sin and death can overcome His saving purpose.

So when life feels unstable, Psalm 46 does not tell you to pretend everything is fine.

It tells you where to run.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

When life feels uncertain and overwhelming, remind me that You are my refuge and strength. Help me not to place my trust in temporary things, but in You alone. Strengthen my faith through Jesus, who is Lord even over chaos, suffering, and death.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

Have you ever heard someone say they don’t do church, but have a personal faith in Jesus?

One of the easiest ways to drift spiritually is to begin thinking of faith as something entirely private.

That way of thinking is common today. Many people have lost faith in institutions. So, people speak about having a “personal faith” or a “private relationship with God.” And while faith is certainly personal, it was never meant to be isolated.

Paul reminds the Corinthians of that by using the image of a body.

“For just as the body is one and has many members… so it is with Christ.”

A body is not a collection of disconnected parts gathered in the same place. It is a living unity. Each member belongs to the others because all belong to the same body.

Paul says this is now true of the Church.

And then he explains how that happened:

“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”

Notice what joins Christians together. Not personality. Not background. Not shared interests or preferences. Baptism.

God Himself has brought people into Christ and, in doing so, joined them to one another.

That means the Church is more than an organization or a gathering of like-minded individuals. It is a living body created by God through His Spirit.

This matters because there are times when Christians feel disconnected or alone in their faith. Sometimes that comes through suffering. Sometimes through discouragement. Sometimes through the mistaken belief that needing others is a sign of weakness or that Christianity in the “institution” of the church is not authentic.

But the body of Christ was never designed for isolation.

God gives His gifts through His people. He encourages through conversations, prayers, acts of care, and the shared hearing of His Word. He strengthens through the gathered Church where believers receive Christ’s gifts in Word and Sacrament together. I often tell people, you may at times feel like you don’t need church today, I think you still do, but even still, someone else may need you in church today. They may need your smile, your prayer, your singing, or something else.

The Lord’s Supper reflects the reality of the unity of God’s people. Paul later speaks of the Church sharing “one bread” because believers are joined together in Christ. Communion is not merely an individual moment between you and God. It is participation in the body of Christ together. It unites God’s people into the one body of the church.

Of course, life in the Church is not always easy. People disappoint one another. Congregations are filled with sinners. Pastors fail. Yet Paul still calls this broken, imperfect gathering the body of Christ because its unity does not come from human perfection. It comes from Christ Himself.

So today, remember that your faith is not something you carry alone.

You have been baptized into Christ.
And being joined to Him means being joined to His people.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for bringing me into the body of Christ through Baptism. Forgive me for the times I isolate myself or forget the gifts You provide through Your Church.

Strengthen and encourage me through Your people, Your Word, and Your Sacraments. Help me also to serve and care for others as a member of Christ’s body.

Keep Your Church united in the faith and centered always on Christ our Lord.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.