My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” ~ Psalm 27:8 (NLT)
Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. ~ Philippians 4:6 (CEV)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Talk it out with God.
PRAYER
Thank you, God, for being a friend with whom I can talk about anything. I don't take full advantage of that gift. And I allow myself the luxury of unnecessary worry. It makes me feel like I'm in control when things feel so out of control. Help me to talk out even the worrisome things with you. I am so thankful that I have you in my life. Amen.
My God knew that I was innocent, and he sent an angel to keep the lions from eating me. ~ Daniel 6:22 (CEV)
We are harassed, but we aren’t abandoned. We are knocked down, but we aren’t knocked out. ~ 2 Corinth 4:9 (CEB)
SUMMARY SENTENCE God is the one who keeps us in the battle.
PRAYER Christ Jesus, by conquering death you showed us what victory looks like. Thank you. I confess that I am inclined to panic at the first sign of trouble. Help me to stay calm and trusting. I believe that you'll get me through this because that's what you do. Amen.
The 4th Sunday after Pentecost
I always put the Lord in front of me. ~ Psalm 16:8 (CEB)
Jesus answered, “Anyone who starts plowing and keeps looking back isn’t worth a thing to God’s kingdom!” ~ Luke 9:62 (CEV)
SUMMARY SENTENCE Keep Jesus and his kingdom as the goal toward which you are moving.
PRAYER God, you've had your eyes on me forever. Thanks! I confess that I am easily distracted and plow crooked rows. Sometimes it's unbelievable how far I stray. Help me to stay focused on Jesus and his kingdom. I want to be eternally useful. Amen.
Refresh your memory of us—you bought us a long time ago.
Your most precious tribe—you paid a good price for us! ~ Psalm 74:2 (MSG)
You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich. ~ 2 Corinthians 8:9 (MSG)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
God paid dearly to rescue us.
PRAYER
Gracious God, thank you for reaching out to us when we were poor and helpless. Thank you for lifting us up at your own expense. Forgive me for acting like I've pulled myself up by my own spiritual bootstraps -- that I've been good enough or active enough to warrant your efforts. Help me to find my full identity in your grace so that I might become a credible witness of what you're up to. 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)
