Our Daily Bread 21 September 2017 Devotional – The Daily Prayer

Topic: The Daily Prayer — Thursday September 21, 2017.

Read: Ephesians 6:18–19, Bible in a Year: Ecclesiastes 7–9; 2 Corinthians 13

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Ephesians 6:18

Singer/songwriter Robert Hamlet wrote “Lady Who Prays for Me” as a tribute to his mother who made a point of praying for her boys each morning before they went to the bus stop. After a young mom heard Hamlet sing his song, she committed to praying with her own little boy. The result was heartwarming! Just before her son went out the door, his mother prayed for him. Five minutes later he returned—bringing kids from the bus stop with him! His mom was taken aback and asked what was going on. The boy responded, “Their moms didn’t pray with them.”

In the book of Ephesians, Paul urges us to pray “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers” (6:18). Demonstrating our daily dependence on God is essential in a family since many children first learn to trust God as they observe genuine faith in the people closest to them (2 Tim. 1:5). There is no better way to teach the utmost importance of prayer than by praying for and with our children. It is one of the ways they begin to sense a compelling need to reach out personally to God in faith.

When we “start children off” by modeling a “sincere faith” in God (Prov. 22:6; 2 Tim. 1:5), we give them a special gift, an assurance that God is an ever-present part of our lives—continually loving, guiding, and protecting us.

Prayer: Help me to depend more fully on You in every moment of the day and to rest in the assurance that You are always with me.

Daily prayers lessen daily worries.

Insight:

Ask God to help you model faith and prayer this week to the younger generation—children or grandchildren, youth in your church, or children in your neighborhood.

This message was written By Cindy Hess Kasper [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]