“O MERCIFUL Father, you look on the weaknesses of your human children more in pity than in anger, and more in love than in pity. Help me now in your holy presence to examine the secrets of my heart.
Read MoreMoses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” (Num. 27:15-17)
Read MoreAnd the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. (Num. 21:7)
Read MoreAnd the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. (Num. 21:7)
Read MoreHere is another prayer of Baillie’s as we begin another week: “O LORD and Maker of all things, whose creative power made the first ray of light, and who looked on the world’s first morning and saw that it was good, I praise you for this light that now streams through my windows to waken me to the life of another day.
Read MoreAnother beautiful and rich evening prayer of John Baillie’s to close out this week, which I’m sure will bless you very much! “O ETERNAL Being, you live in everlasting light; now as the world’s light fades, I seek the brightness of your presence.
Read MoreThen they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. 5 And the people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” (Num. 21:4-5)
Read MoreThe prayer we have in this passage is an “imprecatory” prayer. To imprecate is to invoke evil or curse on others. The Israelites are asking God to give the Canaanites into their hands. Should God give them victory, they would devote them to utter destruction. To find this kind of prayer in the Bible makes us uncomfortable. It sounds too cruel and vindictive. There are times we may feel angry enough to think bad thoughts about others. But this prayer is extreme, isn’t it? We feel this way because we know what Jesus said: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). We know that we should not pray this kind of prayer against the people, who may give us a hard time.
Read MoreThen Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them, 7 and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” (Num. 20:6-8)
Read MoreAnother morning prayer from John Baillie to begin this week: “O GOD, you have proved your love for all people by sending us Jesus Christ our Lord, and you have illuminated our human life with the radiance of his presence. Thank you for this, your greatest gift.
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