<< Download all Five Days >>
Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to himself. Confess any known sin. Thank him for his forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and his sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s word. Pray for others in your life that they too would know and love God today.
Read:
Psalm 35:11-18
11 Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about. 12 They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved. 13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, 14 I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother. 15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge. They slandered me without ceasing. 16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me. 17 How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. 18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you.
Understand:
Even though false witnesses have come against David, we see him standing firm in confidence in the LORD.
David feels betrayed by those he had earlier cared and ministered to—even to the point of walking alongside them when they were in the midst of great troubles, he has wept for them, he’s fasted for them, and he has prayed for them. Now they want nothing to do with him. They’ve turned completely against him.
At this point he feels as though the LORD is far from him, he’s wondering if God is even hearing him, he wonders if God even sees what is happening. So he wonders how long it will be before God will act.
But David is determined to be steadfast in his belief that God would act, it’s an expression of Hope. On that day David says he will give thanks among the people! He is confident that the Lord will move.
Apply:
Our Hope is in Christ! So like David we stand firm.
Reflect for a moment on the lines from this old Hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing less”
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
Now reflect on Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
Let the truth of this verse and Hymn speak to you.
Live:
(Personalize this prayer for today, make it specific to the circumstances that face you.) Ask God to lead you through his Spirit as you go through your day. Ask him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell him “Yes” to his will today and ask him for his power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask him to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY TODAY.