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Numbers |
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| Chapter 1 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 19 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 2 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 20 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 3 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 21 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 4 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 22 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 5 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 23 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 6 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 24 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 7 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 25 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 8 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 26 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 9 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 27 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 10 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 28 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 11 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 29 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 12 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 30 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 13 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 31 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 14 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 32 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 15 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 33 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 16 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 34 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 17 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 35 | Prayer | Devotional | |
| Chapter 18 | Prayer | Devotional | Chapter 36 | Prayer | Devotional |
Lord God Almighty, You brought Your people out of the land of slavery, and brought them into the wilderness. You appointed leaders of the tribes, and numbered Your people for military service. We have been brought into the church by Your grace. We are numbered not according to our natural descent, since we are now Your adopted children through Jesus Christ. In Him, our heritage is in the tribe of Judah. We too have been delivered from the bondage of sin through the blood of Christ. Our home is not on this earth, since our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. This is a cause of the greatest rejoicing for us. We are the priesthood of all believers. We are part of the church militant. We are a force of loving service. Forgive us, for we regularly forget that there is a battle going on all around us. Thank you for preserving our lives to this day.
Sovereign Lord, You set up Your people according to their tribes under the leadership of the men that You appointed. We too have leaders in spiritual battle in our churches today. Will we follow their lead in our service of You? We pray that we might be led forward in the strength of God-centered worship. Help us to do all things decently and reverently. We go forth in a mission of conquest, not bringing judgment and death to the nations, but the light and life of the Word of Your Son. Help us in this great endeavor, and forgive our sins.
Father God, You ordained priests to serve before You in the days of Aaron. In our day, all Your children are called to be Your priests. May we offer up prayers to You on behalf of the people, and speak words of blessing from You upon our brothers and sisters. It is our duty and privilege to be dedicated to Your worship and to guard its purity and dignity. Make us to be faithful to You in all that we do. Help us to love the body of Your Son, the church. We thank You that we have a great High Priest over the house of the Lord. His priesthood is eternal, and He is perfectly faithful in His office. We have a great sanctuary in the heavens. We long for Your house above. What would it be like for us to be among Your people there? May we be filled with all the fullness of Your presence even now. May we rejoice in the redemption that we have in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. There is no price that we could have paid for our freedom. We receive our liberty even now as a precious gift from Your hand.
Holy God, You have work in Your house that You have prepared for Your people. Your work today is not the work of the tabernacle and its furnishings. You desire that we would have hearts for the needy and for the weak all around us. Bless Your service in our midst day by day. Your people are on the move. We go as You direct Your church, and we stay according to Your command. We have gathered to do our duty. Help us to bear one another’s burdens. Thank You for the deacons that You have granted for important work in the midst of Your church. May Your ministers be able to rightly focus their efforts on Word, sacrament, and prayer. Teach us to give honor to those who are worthy of honor. Help us to have a right regard for those who are in need among the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. Thank You for those who serve in various duties of finance, facilities, and administration. Protect us from the evil one. Help us to love peace and to forsake unnecessary disagreement. May we pursue godliness and love together for Your glory.
Sovereign Lord, You have the right to direct Your people according to Your will. Grant us wisdom by Your Word to rightly understand who should be received into Your church. You will preserve Your people through these challenging days. The church is Your Kingdom and not ours. May she be a faithful bride by Your grace, Your Son has faced the curse of the Law for us. He has taken our bitter pain. We are now free from iniquity through the sacrifice of one Man. In Him we have been given a new beginning.
Father, there yet remains a way of holiness for Your people. We are all called to this life of righteousness in imitation of Jesus Christ. That way of life is not merely outward and symbolic. It begins in the depths of a cleansed heart, and is expressed in actions of justice, mercy, and humility. We long for the day of perfect holiness for Your people. You will bring us into Your heavenly sanctuary. There we will not have even the tiniest remaining blemish of sin in our offering of our lives to You. There will be nothing unclean in that place. Here below we live in churches that are a mixed multitude, but even now Your name has been put upon Your people, and You bless us. Yet O how we long for that Day!
Almighty God, You have a perfect plan that You are bringing about in a wonderful way. In the days of the Law, symbolic ritual actions were performed in Your presence. These offerings hinted at the provision of lives that would be fully consecrated to You. These gifts were not only for the leader who brought them forward. They represented the offering of a whole tribe. We celebrate the return of Your Son to the heavenly sanctuary. He is our Head. He is the One perfect Worshipper, our representative before You. His offering was the fulfillment of every picture of the ceremonial Law. Now we are called to offer our lives to You day by day. We cannot do this in our own strength. We give ourselves to You in Him who had no sin, and who lives forever to intercede for us. We worship and serve You in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit. We rejoice when we see Your people making wonderful progress in the way of sanctification. Nonetheless, no matter how great our service to You might ever be as a church, our full confidence is in the perfect offering of Your Son on our behalf. We have peace with You through Him alone, and our lives are perfectly Yours in Him.
Lord God, Your Son is the Light of the World, and we are the light of the world in Him. We are ashamed of our sin. Bring Your people a new repentance, that we might serve You more faithfully. We are to be separated from this world in some ways, and yet we live in it. We must keep on going through the pain and misery of this life. We must also lay hold of the joy of the age to come. As we taste of the goodness of Your Word and experience something of the power of heaven, we rejoice in Your Son Jesus Christ. He never grows too old to serve You. In Him we have eternal life. We will serve You forever and ever.
Great God, You established the Passover as a powerful display of redemption through the blood of a Substitute. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. Not only was He perfectly clean before You in His holy obedience, He has also carried the horrible weight of our sin. We have been bought with a price. You are present with us now in a special way as we celebrate the Supper that Your Son instituted at the time of the final Passover. Now we walk in the Spirit as those who abide in Your Word. In the light of Your sacrament of communion we remember Your Son’s death for sinners, and we know that we must be imitators of Him in the way of the greatest love ever known.
O Father, we long for the sound of the great trumpet from heaven, signaling the return of Your Son. We long to be gathered together in perfect covenant assembly. Today we face exhausting spiritual warfare. May we not be weary in well-doing, but press on as You lead us in the way of joy. You have appointed elders among Your people, that we might journey with order and obedience. Surely there is an enemy who seeks those whom He may devour. May we move forward in holy assembly as Your Son speaks to us in Your Word. He knows the pathway to heaven, for He Himself is the Way.
O God, we must not murmur against You. We will only bring trouble upon ourselves with our continuous complaining. Please forgive us, O Lord. You send Bread from heaven, and we still find fault with You. We deliberately ignore all of the blessings that You have granted to us, even seeking the day of our death. We should be thanking You for our salvation and serving You with a joy that is forever full and real. Forgive us, and restore us again to useful service. Father, we thank You for taking us out of the land of sin. We thank You that Your hand is not shortened. You are able to pour out Your Spirit upon our leaders. They point us forward in holiness, but it is not as if we are devoid of the Spirit throughout Your church. We are filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in our hearts to You, thanking You in Christ in all situations, and submitting to one another out of reverence for our Redeemer. The promise is for us and for our children, as many as You will call to Yourself.
Lord God, we have not been afraid to speak against Your chosen leaders in ways that have been inappropriate and harmful. Forgive us, O Lord. As when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, our sniping against Your servants is an offense against You. Worse than all of this, have we actually spoken against Your Son Jesus Christ? Forgive us, and restore us to life.
O God, You send us forth in mission, and we need to move forward in faith. Our flesh would rebel against Your clear commandments. We would be filled with fear, forgetting Your power, Your love, and Your faithfulness to Your own holy Name. Teach us to follow Your will, and not to prefer ourselves to You. Where You want us to go, we will go. When You want us to stay, we will stay. Help us, O Lord. How are we to know Your will? Please direct us according to the means that You have appointed, moving us and restraining us according to Your sovereign plan. How quickly we would believe and promote lies when we do not want to do what You have told us to do. Please forgive us.
Our Father, we have sinned against You. We have refused Your clear direction. We have a continuing need for further repentance. Will we now return to the world, spurning the gift of the kingdom? We will not rebel against You, O Lord. You will move us forward in holy obedience. You will glorify Your servants. How we long for that day! You have directed us and have given us strength from on high. We are on the path that You have granted to us. Please continue to pardon us according to the greatness of Your steadfast love. Please do even more than this. Be with us. Have mercy on our children, that our rebellion and sin will not be passed on to our young ones. Show us the way to go. Grant to us godly men and women that will be good examples for us of courage and faithfulness. Though You discipline us, grant us a measure of assurance that nothing can overturn Your eternal promises. We do not want to be presumptuous in our service of You. We do not want to make up challenges for ourselves, as if we knew the beginning from the end. You must lead us in the way to go.
Holy Lord, You are giving us the Kingdom. We should offer up our lives to You together as a living sacrifice. This sacrifice is a pleasing aroma to You only because of the perfect sacrifice of Your Son for us. We are Your people. As Your Son’s body here on earth, we have Christ as our Head. Gather into this one body of Christ both Jews and Gentiles who call upon Your Name. Thank You that we who were strangers to the covenants of promise have been brought near to You through the blood of the Lamb. Forgive us for our many sins. We have sinned unintentionally, but we have also sinned in ways that were not accidental. Is there any hope for the man who commits high-handed sin? Who can be saved if only unintentional sins have been atoned for? Thank you that all of our iniquity has been laid on Jesus. You have made clear that the wages of sin is death, but Christ has died for us, and we are forgiven. Speak to us, O Lord, from Your holy Word. Remind us of Your Law. Remind us of our sinful inclinations. Remind us also of the sacrifice appointed to cancel our sins, and assure us, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we have been justified through His abounding righteousness.
O Lord God, what will we do when a movement of ugly rebellion rises up within our hearts and within the covenant assembly? What will we do when the power of our envy seems stronger than any holy impulses? Surely if our security among Your people came from our own holiness and obedience we would be utterly lost. Forgive our disrespectful thoughts and words against those who serve You in righteousness. Forgive us for our arrogant presumption that we would somehow do better than others in the tests that You have brought before them. O God, have mercy on Your people. Help us to stay far away from those who would encourage us in rebellion and covetousness. Their way is the way of lies and destruction. We want to live and to serve You. Give us hope for those who are weak, for we and our children are very weak. Help us to hold firmly to the truth. We do not want to go down to the pit forever. May our hope be real and heavenly. Make us holy, O Lord, for You are holy. May we remember forever that You have called us to a life of peace, obedience, and joy. Will we join the congregation of the disobedient and cause great trouble for ourselves and others? Give us a strength that comes from outside ourselves, that the plague of rebellion all around us will be stopped.
Our Father, You have given us many demonstrations that Your Son is to be High Priest forever. Your Word on this matter is clear. The resurrection and ascension of Your Son has set Him far above every pretender to heavenly authority. We should bow before Him forever. He died for our sins so that we would not have to perish in our unrighteousness. There is nothing lacking in His perfect leadership over Your church. There is nothing lacking in His love for us. May He rule His people forever by His Word and Spirit.
Great God, Your Son has borne our iniquity in His death on the cross. He has made the way for us to worship You. Without His mediation we would surely face Your wrath for all our sins of false and foolish worship. Now we have bold access to You. What a great privilege it is for us to gather in Your name! Yet we forget the wonder of this privilege. We become weary in well-doing. Please forgive us for this foolishness. We have been redeemed by the perfect blood of Your Son. We do not want to profane that blood with a life of continuing sin. Move us in the direction of the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ. Throughout His days of service, You were His portion. He was no man-pleaser. He lived for You in perfect holiness. He fully gave of Himself to You. May we be true imitators of His devotion to You day by day. You already own us, but we freely give ourselves to You again. Move us in whatever direction You see fit. We only ask that You give us hearts that would obey You and love You forever.
Glorious Lord, the days of Old Testament ceremonies are now long completed. We rejoice in the true answer to the massive problem of sin in the blood of Jesus Christ, our holy Substitute. We know that there is nothing from outside a man that can make him unclean, but the things that come out of our hearts, these things are defiling. Yet even in the case of gross and willful wickedness we are able to come to you through Christ, confess our sins, truly repent, and believe. It is as if the most amazing and cleansing water for impurity has been poured out upon us. By faith in Christ we are clean. Thank you for the assurance that we have of new life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Father God, You lead us in pathways of righteousness, but we wander into rough patches of rebellion. Our sin grows in our hearts and is expressed in words and actions of impatience and evil. You are solid and stable. Your Son is a great provision for Your people. Grant special grace to our leaders in the faith as they deal with the strain of loving sinners. Help them not to hate us or mock us, for You have granted to them the privilege of loving the weak. Our Father, we pray that You would protect Your church as we travel through this world. Help us to accept the limits of what You have ordained for our lives. Be with us as we mourn the loss of those who have completed their earthly journey. Surely there is a place of perfect righteousness where You dwell. Surely You have a purpose for the pain among us.
O God, what shall we do when our enemies seem too strong for us? What will we do when our own sin becomes a more formidable adversary than any outside foe? You have caused Your Son to be the Man of Redemption. We look to Him and live. Throughout our journey You are our constant Protection and our holy Companion. Provide us water day by day for our travels through this dry land. Fill us with Your Spirit and grant us joy as we continue on, though others have already completed their earthly days. Again and again Your people face the frustrations of those who will not live at peace with us. Grant us grace for the day of strife. The hour will surely come when You will judge those who have troubled Your people. Until then, we pray that many will be rescued from the snare of sin that they might know Your grace and forgiveness. We trust You, O God, and we extend forgiveness and love to all.
Great God, there is no adversary who can sneak up on You. Your enemies flatter themselves. They imagine that they can thwart Your eternal decrees. Their plans seem very serious to us. We become easily frightened. Help us to understand why You laugh from where You sit on high. Surely no weapon formed against You shall prosper. Your plan for Your people is a plan for the greatest blessing. Why do we resist You? Why do we worry? Why do we still imagine that everything that You have granted to us is more ours than it is Yours? It was Yours before You gave us the privilege of serving You in this stewardship. All our possessions are Yours. All our loved ones remain Yours from before the beginning of the world and beyond the end of this age. You can give speech to a donkey, and you can surely bless Your people and protect those we love in the day of evil. When a man falls, surely there must be some plan that is bigger than any moment of weakness and evil. Help us to honor You more than the most powerful men. Help us to remember Your sovereignty and Your wisdom, and to rest in the security and tenderness of Your love.
Father God, men build their pagan altars and make their burnt offerings, yet their wicked purposes will not prevail. There is no room in heaven for two gods. You are the God who made the heavens and the earth. You sustain all things by Your Word. If You will bless Your church, who will be able to stop Your holy plan? If Your Son blesses Your church, we surely will be blessed. Why is man so evil? O how we long for the age to come when wickedness will be put far away from us! Scatter false prophets and wicked leaders even today. Do not allow them access to Your holy sanctuary. Surely the only way to You is through the one gate of Christ. If any man will not enter through that one Gate, He will never know the fullness of Your benediction. We have entered Your kingdom through Jesus Christ, and we shall be blessed forever.
Great God and King, will proud enemies continue to come against us? We become weary in Your service, and we begin to yield our hearts to sinful fears. Rescue us, for You are the exalted King over Your people. Scatter Your enemies who hate us, for we are weak, and are ready to fall. Is there a new day of relief for all who call upon Your Name? Grant us some of tomorrow’s food today. Feed us with bread from heaven. Grant us the water of the age to come, lest our spirits become spent and we give in to all kinds of sin. Help us to remember that our current troubles are temporary. Your people will be blessed forever and ever. Grant us a bountiful supply of faith and remove from our weary hearts the burden of unbelief.
Merciful Lord, will we win a great spiritual battle by the strength of Your Word only to fall to obvious fleshly immorality? Father, put our sinful impulses to death within us. Help us to honor the marriage bed, and to flee all unclean desires and actions. You hate immorality. Would we dare to test You on these matters? Protect us even now from wrong thinking and evil speech. Fill our hearts and minds with good things from above, and make us to be true to You in the day of temptation.
Lord God, we have suffered losses and yet we are here. You have kept us in Your love. We are reminded of the difficulties that we have been through. We still feel Your hand of discipline upon the covenant community, yet You continue to lead us through the wilderness, and prepare us for entrance into the Promised Land. You have granted life to the next generation. They move forward in amazing numbers despite the sins of their fathers. We ask that You would continue to grant us a hope and a future. The land that Your Son has won for Your church in the heavenly Jerusalem is yet before us. Bless us with strength and wisdom that we might continue to serve You over the course of the days that You give to us. We will not make proud boasts concerning our future in this age, for we can only do here what You have given us to do. Be pleased to show forth the greatness of Your love among Your people, and shine the love of Christ through us beyond the borders of Your church.
Great God, thank You for the women of Your church. They are such great gifts among us, and we are very appreciative for the blessing of their lives. May they know that they are highly valued by Your Son. Cause them to have a deep understanding of the rich inheritance that we have in Christ. Lord God, our sin has brought much trouble upon our lives and has hurt our families and congregations. Please forgive us and heal us. Provide for us godly leaders who will follow You. Grant us ears to hear Your Word as it is preached to us through the Scriptures, so that we might serve You with one voice and one heart.
Our Father, it is our privilege to bring to You the offering of our lives. We are acceptable to You because of the perfect offering of our Redeemer Jesus Christ. Bless us as we gather in Your presence. We remember His life, and lift up to You our lives together as we worship You. Week by week we continue in Your presence. We gather on the Day of Your Son’s resurrection, the first day of the week. From the blessing of this covenant assembly, move us forward to serve You in the week ahead. Father, how can we live without Your presence? Please go with us and lead us day by day, reminding us always that the power of Your Son’s perfect offering is with us and is effectual forever.
Lord God, when will the trumpet sound and the dead in Christ be raised? We know that we cannot have a specific answer, but we ask You because our hearts long for the sound of heavenly rejoicing. Until that day, keep us waiting for You with all hope, and working for You with all diligence. Father, when that trumpet is heard, the Lord Jesus Christ shall return. Surely our every hope is in Your Son. Bring us through that Day of Judgment and let us dwell with You forever. Your Son tented among us in His earthly days. May the great festival of eternal salvation come to Your people at just the right time, that we might tabernacle with Him forever. Our hearts long for His appearing. He will bring with Him all who are resting in Jesus. Grant us Your peace now and forever.
Father God, Your Son has vowed a vow before You, and He will surely keep His Word. You have delivered Him from death, and He will give You the praise of the nations. You know our weakness, O God. We say we will do things, but have we kept our promises? Have mercy upon us, O Lord. Thank you for the protection that You give to us within our homes and within Your church. May we see the foolishness of promises that are beyond our ability to keep. May we not be caught in sinful or unwise snares because of our impetuous words.
Almighty God, there are those who have dedicated themselves to hating and killing Your people. Surely You know all of their evil plans. They would trap the righteous and murder the unsuspecting. What will the end of such men be? They have no pretense of faith. They have hated Your Word, and have caused great trouble for Your people. It is beyond us to celebrate today in the destruction of the wicked. Cleanse us from our horrible sin, and bring us into the age to come. Then the righteous will know how to rejoice with You in Your justice. How can we be happy about such things today, when we ourselves deserve death and hell? Thank You for the great mercy which is ours in Christ. Cause many people everywhere to see the wonder of the truth of Christ and be saved. Draw many men to Yourself even among our sworn enemies. Provide for all of the needs of Your church today, and grant to us the heavenly glory that You have prepared for Your people in the life to come.
Sovereign Lord, You give us everything that we need for life and holiness. We know that there is much spiritual warfare ahead of Your church. We would not shrink from that battle. Yet we long for a place of safety and happiness now. If we are to be on the front lines of trouble in this age, grant us astounding resources of faith, hope, and love by Your Holy Spirit. If we cannot take that kind of strain, move us to safer territory according to Your plan. It is for You to decide whether we go forth in the most difficult mission fields, or serve Your church in the most pleasant place of service. You know us, and You know what the battle is like on every front in our war against sin. What you want to do with us is up to You. Only You have the wisdom to unfold before Your church Your special acts of providence. We will trust You and follow Your commands faithfully. There is so much ahead of us to do. We must not give up. Grant us new strength, and needed rest, that we might live to fight another day.
Lord God, in Jesus Christ our Passover Lamb we have a new life and a new hope. We are moving toward a destination. Our way is secure in Your grace. Throughout this journey we need the provision of Your Spirit. Those going through the desert need water; we must have Your Spirit day by day. Please send forth this blessing continually for Your church. By Him Your Word is opened up to our hearts. Through the Spirit we rejoice in the life and death of Jesus, our High Priest. Help us to see the wonder of Your providence and the promise of our entrance into our heavenly home. Your Son has gone before us. He has provided a safe way for us through life, and a holy habitation for Your people. We long to be with Him even now, and we are assured that He will be with us forever.
Father God, any inheritance that we have has surely come to us by Your Word and from Your hand. We long to explore the land that Christ has won for us. He has assured us that He went to prepare a place for us, that where He is we also shall be. We want to see this new land, where even now we somehow dwell in our Redeemer. Move us day by day further toward the rising of the sun in that great place. Our King will rule over us there forever, and He will divide for us the inheritance among His people. All that will be granted to us on that day shall come by grace alone through the merit and mediation of Your Son Jesus Christ.
Our Father, we should be serving You continually as a priesthood of believers. One day we will be as holy Levites, fully dedicated to Your worship and service in the sanctuary above. We look forward to the work that You have for us. May we dwell in that great city of refuge even now. We know what we deserve. We have violated Your holy law. Not only have we been greatly disobedient as a result of weakness, or in some way that was unintended, we also have the stain of high-handed, intentional sin. Nonetheless, we have full forgiveness because of the death of Jesus Christ for us. The avenger of blood has been stopped that we might live, for Christ has faced the fullness of Your wrath so that we will live and serve You forever. A ransom has finally come for us. Full justice has been accomplished, and an atonement has been provided. This could never have happened according to the provisions of the Law of Moses. Such a full salvation could only come through Your promise, and by the work of our divine Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. The fullness of Your grace and truth is ours in Him.
Lord God, we live for the day of the fullness of Your Kingdom, but we must continue here below until that new day dawns. You have made provision for us in this world in ways appropriate for the present age. You know all about the reality of misery and death that we face here now. You grant us much hope and many consolations during our time of trouble. You also provide us with everything that we need in order to serve You faithfully. You call us Your beloved children. We are grateful. Keep us working for You while we wait for that new day of the fulfillment of all Your great promises.