Today's Devotional:The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Password Prayers" for Monday, 11 May 2015 - Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:11 With this in view, we always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill by his power every good purpose of yours and every action stemming from your trust. 12 In this way, the name of our Lord Yeshua will be glorified in you, and you in him, in accordance with the grace of our God and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
We always pray for you.[2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NRSV)]
Every month or so, a message appears on our computer screens at work: “Your password has expired. Change it now.” Changing our passwords routinely is a way of safeguarding access to the computer network and to confidential information on it. However, coming up with a new password every 50 days and remembering it can be a challenge.
Most of us have devised a system to help us create memorable passwords. I have settled on the practice of letting my passwords remind me of people or situations I want to remember in prayer. As I enter the password and wait for the computer to come to life, I have at least a moment to call to mind a person or situation and pray. Over the last several years, I have password-prayed for my wife; for our daughters and their partners; for faith, hope, and love; and for various events in my life.
This simple practice has become an important way for me to remember to pray for people or situations in my life.
The Author: William W. Barnard Jr. (Ohio, USA)
Thought for the Day: What we pray for shapes the people we will become.
Prayer: Gracious Lord, in your mercy you are always present with us. Help us remember to bring to you the people and concerns that matter most to us. Amen.
Prayer focus: Computer Technicians____________________________
Today's Devotional:The Upper Room Daily Devotional "A Spiritual Breakfast" for Sunday, 10 May 2015 - Scripture: Luke 18:15 People brought him babies to touch; but when the talmidim saw the people doing this, they rebuked them. 16 However, Yeshua called the children to him and said, “Let the children come to me, and stop hindering them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Yes! I tell you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it at all!”
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.[Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)]
My mother was a beautician and worked hard at her job. She loved to sleep, probably because of the long, hard hours she put in, but she got up early every day to make sure we had breakfast. She also fed us with God’s word. The first thing we did after coming downstairs was to listen to the reading of The Upper Room. Leaning on my mother’s arm, I mostly slept as she read the devotional. Often she would shake her arm to wake me and say, “Did you understand that?” or “God is just so good!” and I would always say, “Yeah.” She knew I had been asleep, but she kept telling me about the importance of a relationship with God. Even though I missed most of her words, she still sacrificed her own sleep to ensure that I started the day hearing God’s word.
After leaving home, I didn’t give God much thought. I would pray for help when I was in trouble, but in general, I just trudged on through life. I was 45 when I finally gave myself to God. A lot of people were involved in helping me turn my life around. And even though my mother was no longer living, her spiritual nurture was at the core of my acceptance of Jesus as my Lord. I am grateful that God gave me such a faithful and loving mother.
The Author: Janice D. Denton (Tennessee, USA)
Thought for the Day: I can keep speaking about God, even when it seems as if no one is listening.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us be your faithful witnesses today. Give us the wisdom to know how to show your love to those who don’t yet know you. Amen.
Prayer focus: Barbers And Beauticians
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