The 12th Day of Christmas
Peace-planning brings joy to the planner. ~ Proverbs 12:20 (MSG)
God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God. ~ Matthew 5:9 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
God gives joy to those who work for peace.
PRAYER:
Lord,
THANKS: I'm thankful that you have embraced me as one of your children.
REGRETS: I'm passionate about peace -- but not always. I get tired and frustrated when I don't see results.
INTERCESSION: Please give me stamina so that I can continue to advocate for the peace that you provide when we are lined up with Jesus and his way of doing things.
PURPOSE: I'm going to work for peace -- without interruption.
Amen.
The 11th Day of Christmas
Even before sunrise,
I pray for your help,
and I put my hope
in what you have said. ~ Psalm 119:147 (CEV)
Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. ~ Philippians 4:6 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Pray that would God handle it.
PRAYER:
God, I am so grateful for the ways that you have responded to my requests in the past. Yet, even with that knowledge I'm slow to ask for help in the present -- at least until I'm desperate. So I am praying for your help to endure all the difficulties we will face in the coming year. Help me to be quick to turn to you. I'm putting my hope in you. Amen.
The Tenth Day of Christmas
(Reuben said to his brothers), "Don’t murder him or even harm him." ~ Genesis 37:22a (CEV)
Our Father is kind; you be kind. ~ Luke 6:36 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
You can't go wrong by acting with kindness.
PRAYER:
Lord, I am a blessed recipient of your kindness. Thank you. I want to be kind, too. But it is really hard -- especially when someone has hurt me so badly. I need you to help bring kindness to the surface in me. Give me nice things to say to people who don't deserve nice words. Give me a smile for those who only know how to scowl. And give me pleasure in showing kindness to undeserving people. I'm going to act kindly -- just as you have acted kindly toward me. Amen.
The Ninth Day of Christmas
You have always been fair
when you punished us
for our sins. ~ Nehemiah 9:33 (CEV)
God our Savior showed us
how good and kind he is.
He saved us because
of his mercy,
and not because
of any good things
that we have done. ~ Titus 3:4-5a (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
God is merciful, kind, and fair -- even when he is correcting us.
PRAYER:
THANKS: Thank you for treating us so well. Even when we deserve harshness, you are kind.
REGRETS: I'm sorry that I don't fully appreciate your mercy. I still try to act like I'm the one who makes things work out through all the good I do.
INTERCESSION: Help me to think clearly about the magnitude of your mercy, kindness, and fairness. Let that reality sink deep into my heart so that I'm transformed.
PURPOSE: This year I'm going to let your mercy rather than my aspirations drive my life.
Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2015 I started posting these Bible verses for my spiritual formation students at Pacific Islands University. In the process of responding to the verses, I found the rhythm of looking for a common thread and writing a prayer based on that key idea to be helpful for my own soul. The prayers are more or less modeled on the TRIP method, which is what I ask my students to do in their journaling. ~ Brad Boydston
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
