8th. September. 2021. Daily Devotion.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 11 If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. 12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:9-12
Men are not angered by mere misfortune but by misfortune conceived as injury. And the sense of injury depends on the feeling that a legitimate claim has been denied. The more claims on life, therefore, that your patient can be induced to make, the more often he will feel injured and, as a result, ill-tempered.
Now you will have noticed that nothing throws him into a passion so easily as to find a tract of time which he reckoned on having at his own disposal unexpectedly taken from him. It is the unexpected visitor (when he looked forward to a quiet evening), or the friend’s talkative wife (turning up when he looked forward to a tête-à-tête with the friend), that throw him out of gear.
Now he is not yet so uncharitable or slothful that these small demands on his courtesy are in themselves too much for it. They anger him because he regards his time as his own and feels that it is being stolen. You must therefore zealously guard in his mind the curious assumption ‘My time is my own’.
Let him have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours. Let him feel as a grievous tax that portion of this property which he has to make over to his employers, and as a generous donation that further portion which he allows to religious duties. But what he must never be permitted to doubt is that the total from which these deductions have been made was, in some mysterious sense, his own personal birth right.” C S Lewis the Screwtape Letters
Lord, let me not be greedy of my time, for it is a gift from you. Amen.
For Joy Among the Children of God
Heavenly Father, you take no pleasure in wickedness and evil has no place in your kingdom; the boastful will not stand in your sight. You hate all the workers of evil. You destroy those who lie and defraud; you abhor the bloodthirsty and deceitful.
Bless me that I will not be among them, for I would come into your house in the multitude of your mercy. In fear of you and in the hope of mercy, I worship you. Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness. Make Your way straight before my face. Let all those rejoice who put their trust in you; let them shout for joy, because you defend them; those who love your name, grant them mercy and joy.
And evermore let your word spread throughout the world and make me your servant in this task. In Christ’s name, I pray, Amen.
A Prayer for the World
Dear God, It seems like lots of uncertainty around us. So many people who need prayers. Today, I pray…
For those whose health is compromised by the coronavirus or other health issues. For those who suffer from the economic impact of the virus, in travel, manufacturing, hospitality, energy or so many other industries. For health care workers and first responders, and other public servants who put themselves in harm’s way for us. For our leaders of the world, our countries, states, and cities, as they seek to help manage this challenge God, it can be overwhelming. But you tell us over and over again not to be afraid. Show me how to trust in you. As I examine my heart this Lenten season, help me to turn away from my concern with self, and turn my heart, hands, and prayers toward the concerns of others. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen
Prayer for Christ to be with Us
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us, wherever He may send us. May He guide us through the wilderness, protect us through the storm. May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown us. May He bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors. Amen.