The One Year Praying the Promises of God

Introduction: Praying in the Light of God’s Promises

Welcome to a devotional book written specifically to encourage your spiritual journey by praying God’s promises. Those precious promises, of which there are hundreds throughout the Bible, are provided to stir us and inspire us to pray. Yet sometimes we fail to notice, believe, and pray these promises. British pastor F. B. Meyer said, Though the Bible be crowded with golden promises from board to board, yet they will be inoperative until we turn them into prayer.

As you read this One Year devotional book, you have the opportunity to turn God’s golden promises into prayer each day and experience the blessings of a praying life. As we pray God’s promises, the starting point is the nature of God. The essence of God’s character is, in itself, a promise: [God] keeps every promise forever (Psalm 146:6). Throughout the Scriptures, each time God reveals something of his nature, he is promising us that he will be true to that nature in any circumstance.

God has always dealt with his people by communicating promises to them. By promising first and then performing what he has promised, he awakens in us the faith, desire, and expectation that point us toward him and find their outlets in the prayer of faith.

We might illustrate that process like this. Recently, I (Jennifer) saw an ad in a magazine for noise-canceling headphones. Until I saw that ad, I had no desire for noise-cancelling headphones. But once I knew they were available, I began to notice how loud the world was and to imagine how much better it might be if only I had noise-canceling headphones too. Knowing they were available awakened in me the desire to possess them. And knowing where to find them motivated me to seek them out. God makes promises to us for much the same reason. He is letting us know what he has available if only we will ask.

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Sometimes people have been disappointed when they prayed God’s promises and didn’t get the answer they hoped for. If you have experienced that, you’re not alone. Let us suggest some things for you to consider and warn you about some misunderstandings to avoid.

First, remember that there is a difference between believing in a certain outcome and having faith in God. Sometimes we decide what God should do, then construe a promise so that it matches what we want. We might pray that promise with the subtext being our definition of the impact that promise should have on our situation. Over all the years that the Lord has had the two of us in his school of prayer, a lesson we continue to learn at deeper levels is how to let the Word of God speak without imposing our own interpretations and preconceived expectations on it.

Second, avoid thinking of the promises as tools to use to get your way with God. Some people pray as if God occasionally forgets his promises or tries to renege on them and is depending on us to remind him of them. The truth is, God made promises and bound himself to us in a blood-sealed covenant so that we would know exactly what we could expect from him. The purpose of his promises is to give us confidence and peace. Instead, sometimes we pray as if we are responsible for finding the scriptural promise so we can guarantee the outcome we want, and then taking that promise to God to hold him to his Word.

This kind of prayer treats God’s Word as if it’s a catalog. We decide what God should do, look through the Bible to find a verse that will match our plans, and order it. As we do in catalog shopping, we then skim over everything that holds no appeal for us. We pick and choose.

Remember, Scripture is not God’s words; it is God’s Word. Scripture is a whole and can’t be cut apart and pasted together to match our agendas. Rather, the golden promises are for God to use to inspire faith and confidence within our hearts and to shape our prayers as we look to his Spirit to guide us.

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We encourage you to use this book as a personal devotional or to read it with prayer partners or your family. It is also an ideal small-group resource. The One Year Praying the Promises of God is meant to be a companion book to The One Year Bible, so you’ll find the readings move chronologically throughout the year. Each day is a devotional thought from either the Old Testament, the New Testament, Psalms, or Proverbs. As you read the pages ahead, we pray you’ll be drawn closer to the Father through Christ, that you’ll sense him speaking to your heart, and that you’ll experience his love more and more.

If you are using this book with others—either in a small group, with your girlfriend, or with your spouse, you might want to underline thoughts that speak to you in specific ways. You can use the questions below as you think about, process, and discuss what you’ve learned.

What did you underline this week, and why was it significant to you?

What promise this week gave you a new perspective on something you are dealing with?

What action steps or active changes will you make because of something you read this week?

As you read these devotionals, may you be encouraged and strengthened. May your burdens be lifted as you cast your cares upon the Promise Maker. May you see over and over the Lord’s faithfulness and be filled to overflowing with joy. Thank you for joining us on this journey through God’s Word and his promises!

Cheri & Jennifer

January

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JANUARY 1

Fruitfulness

They delight in the law of the LORD,

meditating on it day and night.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season.

Their leaves never wither,

and they prosper in all they do.

Psalm 1:2-3

The Word of God is to your life as a river is to trees. And the trees to which the psalmist points us didn’t just spring up naturally. They have been planted. Placed in that location deliberately so that they have direct access to nourishment and refreshment and the flow of life. They put down their roots where water is abundant.

The trees take in the water through their roots, letting it circulate to every cell and molecule. The water that once flowed in the river now flows in the trees. The fruit the trees bear season after season is the visible evidence of what we don’t see— strong root systems.

We find another description of trees in Jeremiah 17:8:

Such trees are not bothered by the heat

or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,

and they never stop producing fruit.

A tree deeply rooted and continuously nourished will be fruitful even during times when the environment is brutal and deadly.

Today, sink your roots deep into the living and active Word of God. Let its truth circulate to every corner of your life. As it nourishes your soul, you will find yourself resilient even when the heat is on. The difficulties of life will just force your roots deeper and make you drought-proof.

Lord, let me drink deeply from your Word. Let it inform my life and transform my circumstances so that I will bear hardy fruit.

The trials of the saint are a divine husbandry, by which [God] grows and brings forth abundant fruit.

—CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON (1834–1892), English preacher and writer

JANUARY 2

Faithful and True

This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my Son out of Egypt.

Matthew 2:15

God always keeps his word—always.

We all find ourselves in times when chaos seems to reign and our situations feel out of control. It must have seemed that way to Joseph—newly married under less-than-optimal conditions, away from familiar surroundings, and having to navigate the treacherous waters of intrigue and danger. He must have felt that all the experiences that recently had defined his life were sweeping him up in a tidal wave. Who could have planned ahead for a middle-of-the-night escape to Egypt?

But how events look and feel at the time is almost never the true picture. God knows every tremor long before a tidal wave forms. Things are never out of his control. He is shaping events in a way that will highlight his faithfulness.

Joseph followed God one step at a time and found himself in Egypt, a place he never thought he would call home. But he settled in and waited until the next summons came. Do you imagine that between the times when the guiding voice of the living God was clear and Joseph’s faith was strong, Joseph wondered when and how, and even if? Do you suppose you might have looked at those circumstances and wondered, Did I make a mistake? Is God really guiding me?

Step back and see how God is telling the story. He is doing as he promised he would do. He spoke his intentions generations before and did not vary one iota from his plan. No matter how things might appear on the surface, God is always working out his purpose in his way, in his time. His promises will not fail. If your circumstances seem to be running on their own steam with no escape in sight, take another look through the prism of God’s promises and know that everything is proceeding under God’s careful management.

Lord, I believe that you are working everything out for your own good purposes. I trust in your love for me and in your power to do all you have promised.

You cooperate with the immediate inevitable because you know that in and through things God’s will is being worked out.

—E. STANLEY JONES (1884–1973), American missionary and theologian

JANUARY 3

Walking with God

Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

Genesis 5:23-24

Tucked into one of those who-begat-whom chapters in Genesis, we stumble across a statement about a man named Enoch. The statement reveals more about God than it does about Enoch. It gives us another little glimpse into the character of God, showing us a promise about how he will act in our lives.

As you read the chapter, watch the rhythm. So-and-so lived . . . and then he died. Someone lived, and then he died. Over and over, generation after generation. Someone lived, and then he died. The drumbeat never varies—until Enoch. Enoch throws everything out of sync.

My late husband was very tall. His stride was much longer than mine. When we walked together, he would sometimes forget and be far ahead of me, talking to me as if I were right beside him. He had to be intentional about pacing his steps so that I could walk with him instead of behind him. He had to want to walk with me.

When I read that Enoch walked with God, the first thing that amazes me is that it means God also walked with Enoch. God was willing to calibrate his stride for Enoch’s sake—to take into account Enoch’s frailty.

So intimate was the relationship between Enoch and God that when the time came for Enoch to leave earth and enter eternity, his walk just continued. One last step on earth’s ground, the next step in heaven’s vast expanse. Death for Enoch was the natural extension of his life. He just kept walking with God. He received the promise early that came later to the followers of Christ: He who believes in me shall never die.

Thank you, Father, for the gift of your presence. I am filled with wonder, amazed and awed, that you love me so much you actually desire my presence. Teach me more each day what it means to walk with you.

Forbid, O Lord God, that my thoughts be wholly occupied with the world’s passing show. . . . Grant rather that each day may do something to strengthen my hold upon the unseen world.

—JOHN BAILLIE (1886–1960), Scottish preacher

JANUARY 4

Calling Toward

The LORD had said to Abram, Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.

Genesis 12:1

God calls us to something, not just away from something. When he called Abraham to leave the land of his birth, it was so he could give him the Promised Land. When God called his people out of Egypt, it was so he could bring them into Canaan. He is always calling us to the place where his provision awaits us. God’s commands are, in the end, always related to his promises. He commands an obedience that will clear the way for his promised provision.

Notice the structure of the command he issued to Abraham and the corresponding structure of the promise: in Genesis 12:1, The LORD had said to Abram, ‘[1] Leave your native country, [2] your relatives, and [3] your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.’ The command does not end with what Abraham must leave behind. It commands him to possess and embrace what lies ahead. Let go of what is in your hand right now so that your hand will be ready to grasp what I am about to give you.

Now, look at the promises in Genesis 12:2-3: [1] I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and [2] make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. [3] All the families on earth will be blessed through you. This was not sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice, but rather sacrifice for the sake of something more. When God’s call comes, don’t let yourself dwell on what you might be called to leave behind. Instead, fix your heart on what you will be receiving into your life.

Jesus, I eagerly follow you. Give me the wisdom to let go of the baubles in my hand and reach out for the treasures of the Kingdom. Help me to trust your promise when it comes wrapped in a call.

When Christ calls us by his grace we ought not only to remember what we are, but we ought also to think of what he can make us.

—CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON (1834–1892), English preacher and writer

JANUARY 5

Be Weak to Be Strong

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Matthew 5:3

The word was out about a new rabbi on the scene. He had been preaching and teaching and healing and was drawing larger crowds each day. This was apparently his first substantive address, though he had been teaching in their synagogues. What would he say? What agenda would he push? Would he razzle-dazzle them? Would he scold and rant?

His first words were those of today’s verse, above.

The word translated poor is a word that means destitute; it describes those with no ability to provide for themselves, those who are completely dependent on others to supply their needs. It describes a beggar. Jesus could have used a less stark word, one that would mean the working poor, those who barely got by day to day. Instead, he used a word that meant utterly impoverished.

The first thing he wanted to say was that the Kingdom belonged to those who recognized that they were incapable of providing spiritually for themselves. They brought nothing with them that would give them entrance to the Kingdom. They could do nothing that would give them stature in the Kingdom. They could possess the Kingdom only by receiving everything from the hand of another.

Our weakness is our greatest asset in the Kingdom. It is in our weakness that God meets us and displays his power most clearly. Only when we are confronted with our own helplessness can we experience the power of Christ in us. He promises his power in our weakness.

Let your helplessness and your weakness be the offering you bring to him. He is not waiting for you to be strong. He is waiting for you to recognize that you are weak.

Lord, I freely admit that, apart from you, I am empty and weak. Let my emptiness be the condition that gives you room to fill me with yourself.

Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness.

—OLE HALLESBY (1879–1961), Norwegian pastor and writer

JANUARY 6

Step-by-Step

All who listen to me will live in peace,

untroubled by fear of harm.

Proverbs 1:33

We live in tumultuous times. An economy once thought to be unassailable seems to be crumbling. The structures of our society have been exposed and revealed to be shaky and uncertain.

Yet God promises us an untroubled peace: All who listen to me will live in peace. Where does our fearlessness come from? God’s voice, speaking to our hearts.

We don’t study a God who spoke only long ago. We live in relationship with a God who continues to speak today. He communicates the words of Scripture into our lives in real time. Clear your life of its noisy clutter and listen to him. Marinate your life in his Word. Believe what he promises, and do what he says. Listening means responding to what you hear. He promises peace to all who listen to him.

Some time ago I had a situation in my life that was disruptive and nerve racking. There was no escaping it, no way around it. I had to work my way through it. I could have easily sunk into worry and felt overwhelmed. Only one thing kept fear at bay: God’s voice. Whenever fear inserted itself into my thoughts and demanded my attention, I deliberately turned to God and heard him speak to my heart: Jennifer, I will never leave you or forsake you. Jennifer, you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Jennifer, Jennifer, I have redeemed you; you are mine. I found that I could focus on each required step, not worrying ahead about the next one, and step-by-step work my way through the trouble.

When I face difficult situations, I can walk through them with worry dogging my every step, or I can do it with settled peace. God’s voice changes the atmosphere of my circumstances.

Thank you for speaking peace into my life. I choose to live in untroubled peace by listening to your voice in my heart.

Come, and however feeble you feel, just wait in His presence. As a feeble, sickly invalid is brought out into the sunshine to let its warmth go through him, come . . . and sit and wait there with one thought: Here I am, in the sunshine of His love.

—ANDREW MURRAY (1828–1917), South African pastor and author

JANUARY 7

The Secret Place

When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Matthew 6:6

Jesus draws a sharp contrast between those who perform prayer and those who pray. Some people treat prayer as if its power lies in the petitioners’ words—their eloquence or pitch or volume. Those who pray in public for the purpose of being seen and admired or who use public prayer as a platform from which to display their own great spirituality have the reward they seek. In many cases, they experience the admiration of others, just as they hoped they would. Their spiritual lives may well be applauded and admired. However, they will have settled for a cheap reward. They will not be rewarded with the presence of God. And theirs will be a perishable crown.

Jesus tells us there is a better reward, a higher pursuit. The reward God offers is himself, and that will be more than enough. When you pray, let the Father be your focus. In his presence we find everything we are looking for: You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever (Psalm 16:11). He will display his presence through our lives to those around us. What we experience in the secret place of his presence will transform every aspect of our lives. He keeps his promises, and he promises that private time seeking his face is not wasted time, but time that yields rich fruit. Time alone with God is time rewarded.

How do you take hold of his promised reward? Make time alone with God a priority.

Lord, I crave your presence, and all my longings find their fulfillment in you. You are my reward and my one desire. Draw my heart to the secret place of your presence.

With Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship. . . . In the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. [In] the New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.

—BONO (1960–), Irish musician and humanitarian

JANUARY 8

Kingdom First

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Matthew 6:33

Is anxiety leaching the joy from your life? Then let this promise infuse you with hope and comfort.

These words come on the heels of an animated teaching about God’s provision. Jesus wants his followers to understand how carefully the Father watches over them and is aware of their every need. Imagine Jesus, out in the open, surrounded by his disciples and crowds of eager listeners. He sees a bird in flight. Sweeping his arm skyward, he says, Look at the birds of the air! He glances at the ground and sees one of the hardy lilies indigenous to the region. Pointing at one, or perhaps plucking it and holding it up for all to see, he says, Observe the lilies! He wants to frame a picture in our minds that will focus our hearts on the Father and take our eyes off our worries.

When we view our needs through the prism of the love and power of the Father, our view is transformed. Our needs become the platform for his power, his entry point, his opening into our lives. He created you with needs. By his design, you require food and water and clothing and shelter. He knows you need all these things.

What to do when need looms large and anxiety takes you captive? Seek his Kingdom and his righteousness. Take all the energy that would go into fear and worry, and turn it toward the Kingdom. Let the King rule in your situation, and put your attention on worshiping and serving him. Let him use the situation that could distract you from him to draw you to him instead. Let your anxious heart come to rest in the promise that he will give you everything you need.

Father, thank you for providing for my every need. Thank you that I don’t have to spend my days consumed with worry; I can be consumed with you. No need enters my life for which you have not already planned and provided. I choose to keep anxiety from cluttering my heart, and instead let it be filled with you.

Prayer is but the opening of a channel from my emptiness to His fullness.

—E. STANLEY JONES (1884–1973), American missionary and theologian

JANUARY 9

Sheltered from the Storm

The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed,

a refuge in times of trouble.

Psalm 9:9

The Lord shelters the oppressed—the broken, crushed, disappointed, disillusioned, grieving. Life can be brutal, but God is our safe place. He stands between us and life, absorbing its blows on our behalf.

What’s the first thing you do when you know a tornado is headed your way? Seek shelter! You know the storm is too big for you. You can’t withstand its power. So you find a refuge and let the storm pass over you.

The news introduces us to people who have weathered killer storms. Observing the littered landscape, we are left to imagine the force that created such devastation. Yet people are still standing. The storm that leveled everything in sight somehow missed them. How did they escape the storm’s power? They found a shelter. They found a place strong enough to withstand the force of the storm.

This is what God is saying to you right now: I’m stronger than your storm.

At some point in the depths of my grief at the loss of my husband, I asked the Lord, If you bear my burdens, then why do I have to feel this pain? I thought about an experience when my son Kennedy asked me to put my hands against his punching bag and hold it steady for him to punch. Big, strong Kennedy put all his power into the punch. On my side, it stung my hands just enough for me to say, Ouch! But it was nothing like the pain I would have experienced had the punch landed on me. I’d have been knocked out!

The Lord seemed to say to me: I stand between you and any blows headed your way. If the pain you feel hurts, just imagine the pain if I had not absorbed the blow for you. God does not promise life without pain. He promises to be a shelter from life’s knockout punches.

Lord, I give myself to you in total trust. I believe that you are stronger than my storm.

He hideth our unrighteousness with His righteousness, He covereth our disobedience with his obedience, He shadoweth our death with His death, that the wrath of God cannot find us.

—HENRY SMITH (ca. 1560–1591?), English Puritan preacher

JANUARY 10

His Healing Touch

Lord, the [leper] said, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean. Jesus reached out and touched him. I am willing, he said. Be healed! And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

Matthew 8:2-3

As Jesus reveals who he is by what he does, we can see the promise he makes to us. The same Jesus who touched the leper—the unclean outcast—reaches out to touch us with his tenderness and his compassion. Imagine the scene with me:

As the leper struggled through the crowd, his bell announced his shame. Unclean! Unclean! The clean ones moved away, avoiding his pain at all costs. The leper worked his way through the religious throng to find Jesus.

Jesus looked past the man’s rotting flesh and saw the hope that was sloughing away with every rejection, every head that turned away, every face that registered disgust and fear. Jesus looked past the decaying skin and saw the little spark of life, almost extinguished and crusted over with loneliness and hurt.

He heard the anguished cry, If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean. He restored the leper’s disease-ravaged body, but more than that, he restored his shame-ravaged soul. The fearless, compassionate touch of the Savior clothed the man in dignity. Jesus gave him more than a reprieve from death. Jesus gave him life.

Do you feel hopeless and alone? Do you feel that if anyone could see you as you are, you would be labeled unclean? Hear the promise Jesus whispers to your heart today: I am willing to reach into your life with my healing, cleansing touch.

You don’t have to hide. You don’t have to disguise yourself so you can be lovable. You don’t have to pretend so you can be accepted. Jesus embodies the promise of restoration and wholeness. He acts in your life in accordance with who he is: the Life Giver, the Sin Washer, the Soul Restorer.

Jesus, I surrender my shame. I let go of my false sense of worthlessness. Hear my cry: You can make me whole! Touch my life.

The cross is the lightning rod of grace that short-circuits God’s wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers.

—A. W. TOZER (1897–1963), American preacher and author

JANUARY 11

Leaning on His Strength

Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.

Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

Then you will have healing for your body

and strength for your bones.

Proverbs 3:7-8

God calls us to an obedience that will position us for the promise. He wants to protect us from the consequences of acting on our own, short-sighted opinions, which are dependent on only what we can observe and interpret. We have access to a wisdom that can see far beyond what we can see. We can tap into the wisdom of God, who can do far more than we can ever imagine. He wants us to act on his best idea, not on our own.

Earlier, the writer had put it this way: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5, NIV). The words bring an image to mind: I’m coming to the end of an arduous hike. I’m tired, hot, thirsty. My shaking leg muscles won’t hold me up for one more step. Just then, I come upon a boulder. It’s cool and strong and immovable. What do I do? I lean. I lean all my weakness into its strength. Its coolness overcomes my heat. It holds me up when I can’t stand on my own. I receive from the boulder what I cannot provide for myself. I just lean.

Trying to navigate life in our own strength, depending on our own wisdom, wears us down. The stress and uncertainty even take a physical toll because God has created us so that all the parts work together—physical, spiritual, emotional.

We learn to trust the Lord and his ways so completely that the only thing we fear is walking outside his ways. His ways are not restriction, but protection. Even when our own perceptions seem to point us in another direction, the way of full and abundant life lies in obedience. Don’t lean on your own wisdom—fenced in by small thoughts and myopic vision. Lean all your weight on him, and let him carry you into his huge, unimaginable plan for your life. He promises that he will do just that.

Whenever I’m tired, discouraged, afraid, hopeless . . . I know these are the symptoms that highlight the places in my life where I’m depending on my own wisdom. Right now, I choose to lean on you. In this moment, I lean my weakness on your strength.

The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen . . . I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees.

—BROTHER LAWRENCE (1614–1691), French lay monk and writer

JANUARY 12

Get by Giving

Honor the LORD with your wealth

and with the best part of everything you produce.

Then he will fill your barns with grain,

and your vats will overflow with good wine.

Proverbs 3:9-10

God’s wisdom and my understanding are often diametrically opposed. Get by giving? That doesn’t sound reasonable. Get by hoarding? Now that sounds right. Give God your leftovers sounds right.

But God doesn’t do leftovers. Giving God the first of the harvest, dedicating the firstborn son, and offering the firstborn of the herd were all requirements God placed on his people. The gift of the firstfruits was an acknowledgment that everything belonged to God. He calls believers a kind of firstfruits, his prized possession (James 1:18). He means that we have been set aside for him from among his creation. The firstfruits also represented a portion of what was to come. When Jesus rose from the dead, he was the first of a great harvest of all who have died (1 Corinthians 15:20); in other words, he was the first, and he stood as an assurance that many more would follow.

Giving God our firstfruits is an act of trust and obedience and an acknowledgment of his ownership. Unfortunately, it is our nature to cling to the firstfruits and then see what we might spare for God from what remains. That is the way our own wisdom would call it. We tend to reason something like this: Let me make sure I’ve got all I need first.

But God’s promise is that when we honor him with our firstfruits, he will honor our obedience with his provision. The firstfruits of our day belong to him. The firstfruits of our energy belong to him. The firstfruits of our financial resources belong to him. When we offer him our firstfruits, we are really saying, Everything is yours.

If you want to honor God, to give worship that is more than mouthing words, and to see God’s provision in your real-life experience, it’s all about giving him the firstfruits.

Father, I offer you the firstfruits of my life. Everything I have is yours. It comes from you and is for your use. Surrendering my firstfruits is surrendering all that I am and all that I have to you.

Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self.

—C. S. LEWIS (1898–1963), Irish novelist, literary critic, and essayist

JANUARY 13

My Innermost Being

The LORD is in his holy Temple;

the LORD still rules from heaven.

He watches everyone closely,

examining every person on earth.

Psalm 11:4

Medical technology has come so far in recent years that it’s now possible for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to slice images of the body wafer-thin and create three-dimensional models of organs and tissues to find abnormalities and diagnose disease. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) takes the technology one step further. Instead of creating images of organs and tissues as an MRI does, the fMRI looks at blood flow in the brain and detects areas of activity. It allows doctors to get a physical representation of our mental processes. An fMRI might even be able to detect whether we’re telling the truth.

Amazing! Doctors can see past the surface of our bodies into their deep and hidden places and discover problems not visible to the technologies of years past. What an advantage it is to be able to detect diseases and irregularities in the beginning stages or exactly locate a tumor or lesion for removal.

God says that he is able to see into our innermost beings. He sees the motives behind our words and actions and the wounds that fester inside and release their toxins into our relationships. He sees the scar tissue that has built up over areas of our emotions from our efforts to ward off the pain of exposure.

And then he pours out the healing balm of his Spirit on our inner wounds. He excises cancerous thoughts and memories with pinpoint accuracy to make us whole. The hidden hurts and secret sins may not be obvious at a glance, but they are nonetheless deadly. Our Father-King sees and knows before we become aware, and he is already in the process of healing: I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! (Isaiah 65:24).

Heal me from the inside out. Examine my heart and heal its ills. Pour yourself out in my innermost being.

The all-seeing eye of God beheld our deplorable state; infinite pity touched the heart of the Father of mercies; and infinite wisdom laid the plan of our recovery.

—DAVID BRAINERD (1718–1747), American missionary to Native Americans

JANUARY 14

Pure Promises

The LORD’S promises are pure,

like silver refined in a furnace,

purified seven times over.

Psalm 12:6

The psalmist paints a picture of silver purified beyond ordinary standards. He describes a process that will produce 100 percent pure silver. Every bit of impurity or residue gone. God’s promises are unmixed with any untruth. They’ve been put through the fire.

David wrote, Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much (Psalm 119:140). God doesn’t want his promises to be theoretical; he invites us to put them to the test so we will know for ourselves how trustworthy they are.

When Scripture tells us how to know God, it uses sense words:

How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. (Psalm 119:103)

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand. (Ephesians 1:18)

The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears. (Isaiah 50:5, NIV)

Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Consider this: How would you describe the taste of a strawberry to someone who has never tasted one? You couldn’t. Things that we know through our senses we have to learn firsthand.

So it is with knowing God. You can know him only by firsthand experience and the certainty of his promises. They have to be tested in your fire.

But you cannot trust promises on their own merit. A promise is only as reliable as the person who makes it. If you don’t know the promiser, you have no way of knowing whether or not to rely on the promise. You must trust the Promiser.

Faithful Father, the more I know you, the more faith comes naturally to me. Trust is no longer a generic idea but is becoming instead a deliberate act as I learn to trust in you. Show yourself to me in the comings and goings of my life, teaching me that who you are ensures what you will do.

The promises of the Bible are nothing more than God’s covenant to be faithful to His people. It is His character that makes these promises valid.

—JERRY BRIDGES (1929–), American author and conference speaker

JANUARY 15

Don’t Be Afraid

What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Matthew 10:29-31

Are you a born worrier? Did you learn fear in your family of origin, as I did, or did you perhaps acquire the skill along the way as life’s problems came in waves to crash your serenity? No matter what your income level or situation, your age or stage in life, worry can sneak in and squeeze the joy and strength out of your days. Maybe you were relatively calm, cool, and collected until you got a cancer diagnosis or your spouse lost a job when the bottom fell out of the economy, draining your kids’ college savings and your retirement account. Or things went smoothly until your college-age daughter was in a car wreck that caused her untold pain and months in a rehabilitation hospital.

The truth is, we all have panic buttons. And precisely because we humans are prone to worry, God addressed this emotion and its cousins fear and anxiety hundreds of times in his Word—including today’s passage from Matthew 10. After explaining that the Father’s eyes are on even the seemingly most inconsequential little birds, that he cares for us so much that he knows how many hairs are on our heads, Jesus says, Don’t be afraid. Why? Because to the glorious Lord in charge of heaven and earth, you are more valuable . . . than a whole flock of sparrows, and his care for you is eternally faithful.

When our son was serving in Iraq as a battalion surgeon under enemy fire and was working to save marines’ lives, I wasn’t able to see him for many months. But this promise reminded me that God saw my son and was present with him, even though my loved one was thousands of miles away, and I knew that I could trust my Father’s care. As you meditate on this passage today, I pray it will bring a freedom from worry to your soul and a renewal of God’s joy and peace.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your assurance that you didn’t intend for us to live in fear and worry, that you provided a way out by sending us eternal promises from your Word. Help me to trust in your gracious, loving care each day of my life.

It seems to be God’s plan to allow all sorts of things to happen that would naturally cause fear, but to forestall them by the assurance of his presence.

—AMY CARMICHAEL (1867–1951), Irish missionary to India

JANUARY 16

His Promised Rest

Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

A pastor took some members of his congregation to New Orleans to help people whose homes had been flooded and their community ruined. Everywhere they saw devastation. On Sunday morning as he looked out on the faces of the dwindling group of people who hadn’t left the city after the hurricane, he saw loss, grief, weariness, and despair. Many had been displaced and lost almost everything. These people carried tremendously heavy burdens.

But then on the way home, the pastor thought about those in his own church and realized that though his congregation was in a suburban area, they weren’t that different from the folks in New Orleans. His church family, too, staggered into church, flooded by emotional hurts and spiritual pain. They hobbled in, displaced, sin sick, tired and worn, carrying heavy burdens—some that nobody else on earth knew about.

We all carry heavy burdens. But Jesus says, Come to me, my children, come to me. I know that you’ve been carrying a heavy load, the weight of your pain, the burden of your sins, the load of all your worries. Here. Come here. I will give you a rest.

Blessed be the Lord! The pastor was exactly right, for each day, no matter how stressed we are, He carries us in his arms (Psalm 68:19).

Surely Christ’s invitation to help carry our burdens is one of the most precious promises in the Bible. Whether you’re a heartbroken mom with a son serving time in jail, your mother or sister has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you have marital conflicts, or carry other heavy loads, Jesus means this promise for you. Come to him, and he will give you rest.

What a matchless promise that you, Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, would daily help us carry our burdens. In your infinite care you carried the burden of our sin on yourself on the cross. I thank you and praise you for your great compassion. May my lips sing your praises forever!

The grace of God is given when we are yoked to Jesus and share his burden to love and care for others.

—JOHN J. PARSONS, contemporary American teacher and writer

JANUARY 17

The Life-Changing Power of His Name

His name will be the hope

of all the world.

Matthew 12:21

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