23rd. September. 2022.Daily Devotions.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. ~ Psalm 34:3
Worship rises or falls in any church altogether depending upon the attitude we take toward God, whether we see God big or whether we see Him little. Most of us see God too small; our God is too little. David said, “O magnify the Lord with me,” and “magnify” doesn’t mean to make God big. You can’t make God big. But you can see Him big.
Worship rises or falls with our concept of God; that is why I do not believe in these half-converted cowboys who call God the Man Upstairs. I do not think they worship at all because their concept of God is unworthy of God and unworthy of them. And if there is one terrible disease in the Church of Christ, it is that we do not see God as great as He is. We’re too familiar with God.
So I said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” —Isaiah 6:5
his low concept of God is our spiritual problem today. Mankind has succeeded quite well in reducing God to a pitiful nothing! The God of the modern context is no God at all. He is simply a glorified chairman of the board, a kind of big businessman dealing in souls. The God portrayed in much of our church life today commands very little respect.
We must get back to the Bible and to the ministration of God’s Spirit to regain a high and holy concept of God. Oh, this awesome, terrible God, the dread of Isaac! This God who made Isaiah cry out, “I am undone!” This God who drove Daniel to his knees in honour and respect. To know the Creator and the God of all the universe is to revere Him. It is to bow down before Him in wonder and awesome fear. ~ from “Worship: The Missing Jewel,” by A.W. Tozer
Lord, I’m struck this morning with a sense of awe in Your presence. I bow before You myself in ‘wonder and awesome fear. Amen.
For the Presence of God
O God, be present with me always, dwell within my heart. With thy light and thy Spirit guide my soul, my thoughts, and all my actions, that I may teach thy Word, that thy healing power may be in me and in all the saints of thy church universal. Amen. Philipp Melanchthon, 1550
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Father in heaven, creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon me and receive my heartfelt gratitude for all that you have done for me and for those I love. Thank you for all the grace and blessings, both spiritual and temporal, you have bestowed upon me, my loved ones, and this community of prayer: Our faith and religious heritage; our food and shelter; our health; the love we have for one another; and the lives of our Lord and friends.
Dear Father, in your infinite generosity, please grant us continued grace and blessings during the coming day. This I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, your only son, who has saved me from death. Amen.
Prayer against war
Merciful Lord, we pray against war. We ask you to resolve all conflicts that may end in war. We pray for divine intervention. Touch the hearts of all war instigators and turn them from their evil ways. Let them reconsider their evil plans. We don’t want any war. Let peace reign amongst us Resist the evil that seeks to divide us and help us conquer our fears in Jesus’ Name, Amen.