Daily Devotions for

August 2024

Thursday, August 1, 2024. Prayer 1881. Creation Waits

What role does all creation play in our Spirit life?  What role do we play in the Spirit life of the world?  The Apostle Paul would have us know, in Romans 8:19 “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, in hope it will be set free from its bondage to decay.”  Like the pains of giving birth, our present suffering is the beginning of the revealing of the glory of God.  No power on earth or in the universe can separate us from the love of God.  Waiting on God, all things work to the good.  God calls all creation together to wait upon the glory of God, not our limitations.

Dear God, grant that my soul be strengthened in solidarity with all the suffering in the world.  We wait for you. Amen.

Friday, August 2, 2024. Prayer 1882. The Farmer Waits

The scriptures invite us to be patient in our waiting with God.  God is at work.  Do we not perceive it?  James 5:7 says it this way, “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and the late rains?”  When we are patient with each other.  When we are gentle with our relationship with God, one another, and ourselves, God provides the growth.  Sustaining strength and spiritual nutrients come to us early and later.  The grower can’t lose patience and pull up the plant.  The grower can’t make it rain.  We wait for God’s mercy.

Dear God, cultivate compassion in my heart that waiting is not a boring chore but a joyful soulful task for you. Amen.

PSALMS OF RESCUE

Monday, August 5, 2024. Prayer 1883. Rescue and Delight

We are so grateful for the work of first responders.  They put their own safety at risk to make a rescue.  They make possible a good outcome from an impossible situation.  Faith is about rescue.  We have faith in the eternal value of life.  In Psalm 22:8 the prayer to God affirms trust and worthiness, “The one who trusts in the Lord, let God deliver, let God rescue as God delights in them.”  Though we are afflicted in this life, that condition does not make God turn away.  In fact, a faith person rushes into the most despised situation as if rescuing a child from the horns of a wild beast!

Dear God, we are grateful for the people you send when we call for help. May we take delight in our life together. Amen.

Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Prayer 1884. Rescue from Enemies

Life is not easy.  We have enemies of body, mind and spirit.  Our cells go wrong and break down.  Our minds are filled with worry and stress.  Our spirit sags and we give up.  And, our enemies can come in the form of human hands.  Psalm 31:15 has us pray, “I trust in you, O Lord; I say, you are my God.  My times are in your hands; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!”  When in the course of human events we are attacked, bullied, denigrated, and our life threatened, we pray for and call out for rescue.  We remember the will of God is to save not to destroy.

Dear God, in times of alarm, hear our prayer for your mercy that we may take strength in your courage to care. Amen.

Wednesday, August 7, 2024 Prayer 1884. Rescue from Cruelty

There is no equivocation, no dismissing, no denying that human history is the story of great cruelty to one another.  One child lost in war is far too many.  War is awful in history.  War is awful today.  In Psalm 71:4 we pray, “Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel one.  For you, O Lord, are my hope.”  When accusers shame us, when calamity comes, when we are forsaken and all strength is spent, it is God alone who can revive us.  Out of the depths of despair it is divine intervention that comforts and restores.  God is a God of great rescue.

Dear God, many are the enemies of our children. Save us from the worst of ourselves. Rescue us from our cruelty. Amen.

Thursday, August 8, 2024. Prayer 1886. Rescue the Weak

Human power is not divine power.  We confuse that throughout the long history of rulers seeking and wielding earthly powers over others.  Something deep inside us wants to say that God blesses our leaders to lead with a divine right.  We may also listen to the long song of those who suffer.  Psalm 82:4 proclaims the faith value in wielding power, “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”  Justice is to be shown to those who have lost their parents.  Partiality is not to be given to those who rule with cruelty.  We are all God’s children deserving deliverance.

Dear God, in the balance of powers, grant that the most vulnerable be rescued to a life in safety and justice. Amen.

Friday, August 9, 2024. Prayer 1887. Rescue and Honor

When we dwell in the shelter of the Most High we take shelter in the knowledge that all children are worthy of rescue.  Faith has us see the world as holy and belonging to God, hence we honor the life God has created.  In Psalm 91:14 we hear what is on God’s mind towards those facing pandemics, pestilence and the perils of weaponry.  The Lord says, “Because you hold fast to me in love, I will deliver.  You know me.  I will protect.  I will answer because you call on me.  I will be with you in trouble.  I will rescue you and honor you.”  Saving life is the stuff of what faith is all about.

Dear God, this world has us demonize and divide. Rescue us and deliver us to dwell in the shelter of your m

PRAYERS FOR GROWING

Monday, August 12, 2024. Prayer 1888. Blessing Our Growth

Faith is about growing.  We grow stronger in our hope, and we grow more fruitful in our work as we grow in our relationship with God.  Psalm 65:10 describes it this way, “God of our salvation, you visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it.  You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.”  The summer rains remind us that God provides for growth.  This Lord stills the roaring seas, the tumult of the peoples.  As surely as God nurtures growth in the earth, so too, our human community may grow in love and live in peace.

Dear God, provide the elements that lead to peace between the people of the earth.  Let us grow in love. Amen.

Tuesday, August 13, 2024. Prayer 1889. Growing Together

A deep sadness occurs when a relationship grows apart.  Tension, anger, disappointment, and diminished expectations can lead to bitterness.  In 1 Corinthians 3:7 we hear that while one plants and the other waters, it’s God who gives the growth.  “The one who plants and the one who waters are one.”  This is God’s vision of the world thriving, growing, and at peace.  There is so much more work to be done to realize the vision.  We cannot let our human bonds be broken by ancient hatreds.  Only love can create unity.  Each person has a God given gift to give.  We need each other.  God provides.

Dear God, let us dream the impossible that we may stop our divisions and grow together in peace and love. Amen.

Wednesday, August 14, 2024. Prayer 1890. Growth from God

By faith, God keeps us all together.  In the course of human events and the establishment of institutions, we worry about who is qualified and who is disqualified.  One group insists on their way of thinking.  Another group insists on their long-held practices.  Faith is founded on our relationship with God.  In Colossians 2:19 we are invited not to rely on our own senses but to hold fast to the Lord who is the head of the church, “from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.”  God strengthens all parts of the body.

Dear God, we pray for your blessing to be upon our common community. May we grow together as your children. Amen.   

Thursday, August 15, 2024. Prayer 1891. Patient Growth

There is a time for impatient action to get things done.  And, there is a time for patient work that can only be fruitful through time.  Jesus spoke of the parable of the fig tree.  A vineyard owner discusses with the vinedresser the need to discard a tree that produces no figs for it is using up the space.  In Luke 13:8 the vinedresser says, “Let it alone this year until I dig around it and put on manure then see if it should bear fruit.”  We can get impatient to cut something out without having put in the time and effort to nurture a different result.  We must ask always, “What is my role?”

Dear God, grant me the eye to see usefulness in patient persistence and the courage to care! Amen.

Friday, August 16, 2024. Prayer 1892. Grow into the Harvest

The end of August brings a bountiful local harvest.  Fresh produce locally grown is a gift for the summer table.  Faith grows in a similar fashion.  Jesus teaches us the parable of the growing seed.  In Mark 4:26 Jesus says, “The way of God is as if seed is sown, night and day it sprouts and grows, we know not how.  First the blade, then the ear, then the grain.  But when the grain is ripe comes the sickle because the harvest has come.”  Jesus is not an agriculturalist.  Jesus is saying the Word of God is planted in our hearts and grows into fruitful action that is effective when given away.

Dear God, may my heart be as receptive soil to let your seeds grow to fulness and to be given away abundantly. Amen.

PRAYERS FOR HEALING

Monday, August 19, 2024. Prayer 1893. Healing in the Lord

Healing happens in the body given the proper treatment and time.  Faith invites us to see God as the source of all forms of healing.  Proverbs 3:7-8 says, “Be not wise in your own eyes; revere the Lord, and turn away from evil.  It will be a healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones.”  When we place all our trust in what we know already, we surely will come up short.  When we trust that a greater lesson is out there that is as vast as God’s wisdom, then we open ourselves to healing of body, mind and spirit.  Let the Lord show us how loss is a lesson in loving well.

Dear God, the world is in need of great healing.  May we rely not on our selves but on your capacity to care.  Amen.

Tuesday, August 20, 2024. Prayer 1894. Healing in its Wings

Imagine a new day that rises with healing in its wings.  The prophet Malachi was looking for justice.  He railed against corruption and superficial piety.  He sought honesty and fidelity, to stop the oppression of hired workers with fair wages, to uphold the poor elderly and children, and to not “thrust aside the sojourner.”  Against all kinds of social evils there would come a day.  In Malachi 4:2 we hear his corrective, “For those who revere the Lord, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.”  To worship the Lord is to let each day rise with healing for all our social ills.

Dear God, when it seems that there is so much wrong in the world let your sun come and rise us to new heights. Amen.

Wednesday, August 21, 2024. Prayer 1895. Healing Springs Up

Faith is a voice for the voiceless.  At all times and in all places in human history we see the struggles it takes just to survive.  The prophets were looking for justice in their own times.  The belief is that God is breaking into the world everywhere and in every moment.  Isaiah 58:8 proclaims, “Your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing will spring up speedily.”  This is when we draw near to the Lord and see God’s ways as a delight, not drudgery or punishment.  God’s sacrifice is to undo oppression, set people free, welcome the homeless, and feed the hungry.  That brings healing.

Dear God, work on our hearts that we may be convicted by the Spirit that we can do your work and be healed. Amen.   

Thursday, August 22, 2024. Prayer 1896. Healing Every Affliction

By faith we say, God’s work is never done.  Every child is an occasion of love and blessing to the Lord.  Jesus welcomed the children and blessed them.  In Matthew 9:35 we are told that Jesus proclaimed the good new of God to all, “healing every disease and every affliction.”  Whenever Jesus saw the crowds in such great need of basic care he was moved with great compassion.  But he knew the great challenge.  “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”  Jesus tells us to pray earnestly that the Lord send out laborers.  Our response is to not be overwhelmed, but to begin to contribute.

Dear God, don’t let me hesitate because of my limitations. Instead, let me be as a contribution to your labor force! Amen.

Friday, August 23, 2024. Prayer 1897. Leaves of Healing

Since before the times of civilization and long before nation states arose, people looked to the natural world for healing.  The leaves of so many plants properly applied brought the hope of soothing relief and a return to strength.  In the beginning in the garden of Eden, and in the vision of the heavenly realm there stands a tree of life drawing from the river of life.  In Revelation 22:2 this tree of life yields 12 kinds of fruit, one each month, and “the leaves were for the healing of the nations.”  What does it mean that God seeks to soothe the world and heal us from our wars and conflicts?

Dear God, it seems impossible to stop the wars that are raging. Heal us with book of wisdom, your leaves of love. Amen.   

PRAYING INTO NEW BEGINNINGS

Monday, August 26, 2024. Prayer 1898. A New Song

God would have us sing a new song.  Here at the change from summer to fall we begin new things.  A new grade in school.  A new season at work.  A new church year.  With the cooler weather comes a sigh of relief from the muggy heat.  We breathe again.  We sing a new song.  Psalm 40:3 proclaims that God will “put a new song in our mouth, we are drawn up from the pit, our feet put upon a rock, our steps are now secure.”  Scripture reminds us that God is always at work, delivering us, being faithful to us, showing steadfast love to us, and rejoices in seeing us.  This is a hope-filled song.

Dear God, the world has a way of knocking us down and making us grow weary, place a new song in our hearts! Amen.  

Tuesday, August 27, 2024. Prayer 1899. A New Earth

This past year has seen enough of war and conflict.  The voices of so many who are suffering cry out for peace.  The prophets of old knew war and the conflict between the nations.  Through them God proclaims a different way.  In Isaiah 65:17 God says, “Behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth.”  The human city shall know joy and gladness.  No more shall infants not live out a full number of days.  Houses shall be built.  Fields shall be planted.  Times of calamity are replaced with times of great blessing.  Even the wolves and the lambs shall graze together.  This is God’s new earth!

Dear God, grant that the whole world may recognize the ways your heavens renew the vision of peace on earth! Amen.

Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Prayer 1900. A New Outfit

As surely as putting on a new outfit for school or work, our life in the Spirit has us put on a whole new look!  We used to be filled with jealousy, selfishness, anger, malice and slander.  Where did our compassion go?  By faith, God has us discard the old way and put on a way that reflects the image of our Lord Christ as Teacher, Healer, and Redeemer.  According to Colossians 4:12, we “put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience and forgiveness, and above all we put on love which binds everything together in  perfect harmony.  A new day, a new song, a new outfit.

Dear God, grant me a new spirit that I may enter into this fall season looking and singing praise with great love. Amen.

Thursday, August 29, 2024. Prayer 1901. A New Nation

In times of destruction, we pray for a new time for peace making.  The prophets of old understood that God’s word has something to say to us right here and now that is a timeless truth.  In Jeremiah 33:6 we see what is on God’s mind after times of violence and death making in the human city.  “Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.  I will forgive them of their guilt and sin.  This city shall be to me a name of joy, praise and glory for all nations to see.”  Surely this new vision of the human world is worth building on.

Dear God, when renewal seems so far away and the way forward illusive, reveal to us the joy of making peace! Amen.

Friday, August 30, 2024. Prayer 1902. A New Possibility

Healing begins with a whole new idea.  We can create peace.  We can enter treatment.  We can open ourselves to the power of God.  In Mark 9:29 Jesus heals a child who has uncontrollable self-destructive seizures and is unable to hear or speak.  When the others asked why they couldn’t cast out the bad spirit Jesus replies, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”  What bad spirits have our children left unable to speak, unable to hear?  War, disease, poverty, oppression, ancient hatreds, lack of food and water and shelter and love.  Jesus has us pray new possibilities for life.

Dear God, for the one who believes all things a possible. Help us in our unbelief to make new life possible for all. Amen.