Author: dennisconrad

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Wisdom Prayer

Cried to the Lord?

Cried to the Lord?

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for anyone who has cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

Verses 6, 13, 19, and 28 of Psalm 107 (ESV) are the same:

“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.”

Turn on the nightly news, and it seems everywhere there is trouble. How comforting to know the Lord delivers from distress. Are you experiencing trouble? Ask God to walk with you through the trial.

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Wisdom Prayer

Been Forgiven?

Been Forgiven?

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who have sinned and been forgiven. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In Psalm 106 there is a long recitation of how the descendants of Abraham sinned against God. It includes reference to the golden calf, how the people intermarried with the people of Canaan, and worshipped idols.

Psalm 106:47-48 (ESV) ends with an appeal to Almighty God. In effect, it is a renunciation of the past sins. It has the effect of drawing people closer to the Lord.

“Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!”

Have you sinned but hesitated to confess? It is not too late to turn away from evil. Perhaps, in contrast, you have already confessed, and God has forgiven you. Stop. If you need to confess, take action now. Join with those who have been forgiven. Rejoice and praise the Lord!

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Wisdom Prayer

Sacrificed Their Sons and Daughters?

Sacrificed Their Sons and Daughters?

Dear Lord, I pray for the wisdom for those who never want to make the mistake of serving idols. In Jesus’ name, amen.

King Ahaz was Hezekiah’s father.

2 Kings 16:2-3 (ESV) says,
“Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God, as his father David had done, but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.” (See 2 Chronicles 28:1-4 for a similar account.)

Hezekiah’s bother was one of those sacrificed.

In Psalm 106:34-38 reminds of the horrors of human sacrifice.

“They did not destroy the peoples,
as the Lord commanded them,
but they mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;
they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.”

Scripture is full of stories of kings who served foreign gods. God’s word tells the truth about those who disobeyed him. Let this be instructive. If you or someone you know is worshiping idols, tell them how knowing God personally can give them new life.

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Wisdom Prayer

Manna From Heaven?

Manna From Heaven?

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who know you gave the descendants of Abraham quail and bread from heaven in abundance. In Jesus’ name, amen.

After the exodus from Egypt, the people wandering in the desert grumbled.

Exodus 16:12 (ESV) tells us what happened when God said, “‘I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

Psalm 105:39-45 (ESV) recounts the miracles that transpired when the people wandered in the wilderness including those mentioned in Exodus 16.

“He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quail,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.

So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!”

God is in the miracle business. We do not have manna from heaven today, but God provides for our basic needs, including food, and more. Praise the Lord!

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Wisdom Prayer

Plunder the Egyptians?

Plunder the Egyptians?

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who recall how you allowed the descendants of Abraham to plunder Egypt. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In Exodus 3:21-22 (ESV), God shares his plan with Moses about transferring wealth from the Egyptians to the descendants of Abraham.

“And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

In Exodus 11:2 (ESV) the plundering is about to happen.

“‘Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.’”

In Psalm 105:37-38 (ESV) the psalmist memorializes the event.

“Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.”

God tells Moses what will happen. Scripture records what happened. Then the psalmist reports what happened. God is faithful. God’s word is faithful. Whatever your situation, trust God to make a way.

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Wisdom Prayer

The Plagues of Egypt?

The Plagues of Egypt?

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who know the plagues in Egypt were a sign of your great power. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Even one of the plagues of Egypt would have been a terrible thing. Taken together, they became a national disaster.

Pharaoh was not about to let God’s people go. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The Lord told Moses in Exodus 7:3-4,

“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.”

In Psalm 105:26-36 (ESV) we find God’s signs and wonders.

“He [God] sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they did not rebel against his words.
He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.
Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
He spoke, and the locusts came,
young locusts without number,
which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their strength.”

Pharaoh would not permit God’s people to leave Egypt. How is your heart? Hard? Soft? Listen for God’s still quiet voice. Respond.

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