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 77:10-13
“10 Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out His right hand. 11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago. 12 I will consider all Your works and meditate on all Your mighty deeds.’ 13 Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?”
Understand:
We see a remarkable change in the psalmist in verse 10. He begins to remember the age-old acts of God. This is the basis of his faith! He’s remembering that God has been, is, and will always be. He chooses to remember the “deeds of the LORD.” More than likely, he is remembering the exodus, an event that was far removed from him. The exodus from Egypt was the greatest salvation event in the Old Testament. Remembering becomes a bulwark against his present troubles.
Apply:
There’s a great lesson in this passage about the act of remembering. Remembering has an important role to play in our faith. When we find ourselves in times of difficulty, we should look to the stories of old to strengthen us. It builds up our faith. Remembering is not nostalgia; it’s using the past to reshape the present with hope. The stories of the Old Testament point us to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. No matter the circumstance we find ourselves in, we can look to the ultimate act of salvation– Jesus’ death on the cross–and remember His love for us.
Even on a personal level, we can look to memories of His faithfulness. It could be a job that came at just the right time, a word of encouragement when you were feeling down, or protection from an accident or injury. This past week I was sharing with a friend a memory of God’s faithfulness to me. Looking back, it seemed so small. In fact, it was so subtle I almost missed it. The truth is, it had a huge impact on the direction of my life! It’s funny, both he and I were encouraged after reflecting on God’s goodness to us. You see…that’s the power of remembering! Our faith was strengthened that afternoon.
If you haven’t reflected on God’s faithfulness in a while, why don’t you do so now? Remembering has an important role to play in your faith.
Live:
(Personalize this prayer 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 and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.