Belt out a song to God, our super strong guardian. ~ Psalm 81:1 (ABP)
Paul wrote: What should I do? I’ll pray in the Spirit, but I’ll pray with my mind too; I’ll sing a psalm in the Spirit, but I’ll sing the psalm with my mind too. ~ 1 Corinthians 14:15 (CBP)
KEY IDEA:
Sing praises to God with all you've got.
PRAYER:
God, you are so totally worthy of all my thoughts and all my songs and all my actions. Thank you for your attention. But once again, I am afraid -- afraid that I'll sing off-key (and I'm not really talking about the music). I'm afraid of embarrassing myself. Grant me the confidence to praise you with all that I am. I'm going to sing! Amen.
God is no mere human!
He doesn’t tell lies
or change his mind.
God always keeps his promises. ~ Numbers 23:19 (CEV)
By his (God's Son) own mighty word, he holds the universe together. ~ Hebrews 13:3b (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
By being faithful to his own word, God holds the universe together.
PRAYER:
Powerful and faithful God, thank you for being so reliable. I wish that I were more reliable. You'd think that more of your character would rub off on me. But I'm flakey at times. So please continue to transform my life through your message of good news. I want to become a consistently reliable follower of Jesus and join with you in taking care of your creation. Amen.
When I discovered your words, I devoured them.
They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. ~ Jeremiah 15:16 (NLT)
Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” ~ Luke 11:28 (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
Acquire and practice God's message and be prepared to experience his blessing!
PRAYER:
Lord God of Heaven's Armies, your words to us are an incredible joy! Forgive me for loving them so much and practicing them so little. Stir my heart and imagination so that I can figure out how to more fully embrace your message. Amen.
“The Lord has saved us!
Let’s celebrate.
We waited and hoped—
now our God is here.” ~ Isaiah 25:9b (CEV)
Praise the Lord,
the God of Israel!
He has come
to save his people. ~ Luke 1:68 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
Celebrate God's gift of salvation.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for the salvation that has come to us -- to me -- through Christ Jesus. I didn't even have to wait. You did it all before I arrived. Show me how I can bless you! Amen.
*ABOUT THE
DAILY TEXTS
The Daily Texts have been published by the Moravian Church since 1731. In 2011 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 -- a 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)
