The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Speechless” for Friday, 2 January 2015 - Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7

The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Speechless” for Friday, 2 January 2015 - Scripture: Philippians 4:4-5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.[Romans 8:26 (NRSV)]
In this age of communication — tweets, texts, cams, blogs, and status updates — we are rarely speechless. But coming to God during the most difficult times, during the most daunting situations, often leaves us speechless. We are utterly at a loss for what to say, what to pray, or what to ask. How do we bring to God our deepest concerns when we cannot find the words?
When we communicate with people it is important to be clear and concise. But God has no such expectations. God knows that sometimes our circumstances leave us totally speechless, and God long ago gave us the Holy Spirit to intervene for us in just those situations.
Read more from the author, here.
Parables
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.“[John 5:30 ESV]
When I read the Bible, I always see Jesus teaching through life examples.  It is no wonder he is still doing the same thing.  Today Jesus is still crafting intimate personal parables in each of our lives to teach us something different.  
My parable for this season is the woman on bed rest.  Typically, I am one of the most independent people I know.  In fact, I actually struggle with not just asking for help, but even with accepting it. I have mastered the art of getting things done by all by myself. Over the years, I have learned to rely on Christ, but people are another story. 
This season Jesus is using my own personal story to teach me how to not only rely on God but to rely on others.  As I lie in bed or on the couch on bed rest, God has allowed me to be at a point of utter dependence on others for transportation, food, cleaning, and even mailing Christmas packages.  He is teaching me to release my pride and not only accept help but to ask for it.  God knows that none of us can exist alone – that we can do nothing all by ourselves.  Oddly enough for some it takes losing all ability to provide for oneself that we learn that. 
Using my current situation God has taught me that it is not weak to rely on others but that God will bless me in my weakness with and by the love of others. 
What parable is God creating in your life? Will you share it with others?[Latoya Morris]
The Author: Latoya M. Morris (Virginia, USA)
Thought for the Day: Through the Holy Spirit, God knows all our prayers.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for understanding our silence, our quiet moments, and our tears. Thank you, God, for knowing what we need before we ask. As Jesus taught us, we pray, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever” (Matt. 6:9-13, kjv). Amen.
Prayer focus: Those who struggle to pray
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