July 22

My father said to me several times, “My name is on my watchmaker’s business, but God’s name really should be on the shop. I am a watchmaker by the grace of God.” I know that my father was a Christian first and a businessman second.

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.

1 Corinthians 15:10    

Lord, what a joy and security that I belong to You with all that I am and possess in my work and everyday life.

July 21

Following completion of the wall, a great revival came to Jerusalem. The power of one man, Nehemiah, living in fellowship with God, was well used. Today’s greatest need is for people who live in fellowship with God.

The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build . . .

Nehemiah 2:20    

Father, our powers are limited until we come close to You. Once we do that, we can do anything You require of us.

July 20

Prayer should never be an excuse for inaction. Nehemiah prayed, but he also set watches for protection—he used common sense. As a result, what had not been done in a hundred years’ time was finished in fifty-two days.

So the wall was finished . . . in fifty-two days.

Nehemiah 6:15    

Holy Spirit, we claim wisdom from You especially when we do not see the clear pattern of praying and acting.

July 19

What wings are to a bird, and sails to a ship, is prayer to the soul.

We mutter, we sputter—

we fume and we spurt

We mumble and grumble—

our feelings get hurt

We can’t understand things—

our vision gets dim

When all that we need—

is a moment with Him

. . . men ought always to pray, and not to faint.

Luke 18:1     

Thank You, Lord, that we may, that we must, pray.

July 18

A mother saw her little boy sitting in a corner of the room, saying, “ABCDEFG.”

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Mom, you told me I should pray, but I have never prayed in my life and I don’t know how. So I gave God the whole alphabet and asked Him to make a good prayer out of it.”

That boy understood a little bit of what Paul says in Romans 8:26—that the Holy Spirit Himself helps us to pray. Yes, He prays in us.

. . . we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

Romans 8:26

Lord, what a joy that You do the job and together with You we are able to pray and to live for Your honor.

July 17

The greatest thing one person can do for another is to pray for him. Prayer wins the victories; any other service we perform is simply reaping the results of prayer.

Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer supplication.

Ephesians 6:18    

Father, we can personally reach so few people, but through prayer You have allowed us to help even those whom we will never see here on earth. Thank You for this important means of accomplishing Your work.

July 16

Whenever you come in contact with mentally retarded people, please tell them that God loves them. They can often enjoy God’s love better than people who have problems because of intellectual doubt.

Has not God made the wisdom of this world look foolish? For it was after the world in its wisdom had failed to know God, that He in His Wisdom chose to save all who would believe by the “simplemindedness’ of the Gospel message.

1 Corinthians 1:20-21 Phillips

Lord give us the courage to speak the truth simply, so all can understand. Some will ridicule our lack of sophisticated thinking, so we will need Your courage to remain simple. But we know that Your “foolishness” is wiser than the wisdom of men.

J.B. Phillips New Testament—Copyright © 1962 edition by HarperCollins The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips

July 15

So many times we wonder why God allows certain things to happen to us. We try to understand the circumstances of our lives, and are left wondering. But the Holy Spirit shows us that God does not make mistakes.

The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1 Corinthians 1:25      

We cannot begin to understand Your aims, Father, and without that understanding our lives often seem to be a great maze. But we know You see the end of the path. and we trust You to guide us through all the turns and blind alleys.

July 14

Through the blood of Christ we are inside the circle of God’s love and purpose, for Christ is our living peace.

Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you.

Jude 21 LB

We count everything as loss, compared with the priceless privilege, overwhelming preciousness, surpassing worth, supreme advantage, of knowing You, Lord Jesus. We are progressively more deeply and intimately becoming acquainted with You. Hallelujah!

The Living Bible (LB) —Copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. All rights reserved.

July 13

It is a joy that God never abandons His children. He guides faithfully all who listen to His directions.

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah

pilgrim through this barren land

I am weak, but Thou art mighty

hold me with Thy powerful hand

—William Williams

. . . his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalms 100:5 KJV

Lord, make us ever ready to do Your will and not our own. Your power is ours to use when we follow Your guidance. What a comfort!

July 12

Jesus is able to untangle all the snarls in your soul and to banish all complexes. He will transform even your fixed habit patterns, no matter how deeply they are etched in your subconsciousness.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God. who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him.

James 1:5     

We have habits we think we cannot break, attitudes we cannot change. Give us the sense to ask for Your answer, Lord.