READING: Revelation 19:1-22:21
NOTE: FOR 2023, I AM GOING TO FOLLOW A FIVE-DAY-A- WEEK READING PLAN, WHICH MEANS WE WILL BEGIN ON MONDAY, JANUARY 2ND. I HAVE BEEN CONVICTED DEEPLY ABOUT MY NEED TO BE EVEN MORE A PRAYING MAN IN 2023, SO I WILL FOCUS ON THIS IMPORTANT DISCIPLINE WHEN WRITING DEVOTIONS THAT ADDRESS THIS TOPIC. SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS, I WILL SEND BRIEF QUOTES ABOUT PRAYER AND SIMPLE IDEAS FOR PRAYING MORE.
IF YOU HAVE FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO MIGHT WANT TO JOIN US, HAVE THEM CONTACT ME THROUGH THIS SITE WHILE WE’RE WORKING ON CORRECTING THE SUBSCRIPTION PORTAL FOR THE SITE. JOIN ME, AND LET’S READ AND PRAY TOGETHER!
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I have written in past devotions about my fascination with the imminent return of Jesus in the 1970s (along with many other believers, too, who thought they had figured out the whole timeline back then). It seemed—and this is a confession—our eyes were so much on the sky back then that we gave too little attention to reaching people on the ground next to us.
That was a long time ago. That means, of course, that the coming of Jesus is yet closer.
Where my heart lands today, though, is divided: longing for Jesus to return and wipe away all our tears, yet pleading with God to reach those I love before He does come. God has broken my heart over lost family and friends in a way that I have never experienced—and my prayer is both Paul’s confession that my heart’s desire is for them to be saved (Rom 10:1) and John’s prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
May 2023 be a year in which God shows His glory even more by saving folks for whom we’re praying.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: What is your prayer as we end this year and look forward to another one?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, move in me. And in the people I love. Please, God, for Your glory!”
MONDAY’S READING: Genesis 1-5