Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Ephesians 6:10-23
Set – Song of Songs 1-2; Ephesians 6
Go! – Song of Songs 1-4; Ephesians 6
Ephesians 6:10-23
10 Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. 11 Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. 12 We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places.13 And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. 14 Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate, 15 and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. 16 Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. 17 Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed. 19 And please pray for me. Pray that truth will be with me before I even open my mouth. Ask the Spirit to guide me while I boldly defend the mystery that is the good news— 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains—so pray that I can bravely pronounce the truth, as I should do.
21 I am sending to you Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful minister in the Lord. He will tell you everything that has been going on here with me 22 so you will know how I am and what I am doing. He’s coming with news that will hopefully comfort your hearts. 23 Brothers and sisters, let me leave you with a blessing:
May peace and love with faith be yours from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
Paul admonishes you to talk to Me, to pray. He tells you to pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how. Paul demonstrated prayer and interrupted his short letter to the Ephesians with short interludes of prayer written into his letter. Paul believed in prayer.
Why is it so hard for you to grab hold of that concept and understand the importance of prayer in your life? Why is prayer such a battle for you? Why do My children struggle so to spend time talking with Me, sharing their thoughts with Me in quiet times of prayer and meditation?
All My saints discovered the importance of the discipline as part of their growth in their spiritual maturity. You can’t get close to Me without it. It’s a natural progression in maturing your relationship. Just like talking with your friend is important in maturing your relationship with your friend.
Can you imagine a friendship growing if you never spoke to each other? Can you imagine a marriage surviving if you never shared your inner most thoughts? Communication is vital to the success of any relationship. So how can your relationship with Me grow and abound if we don’t talk with each other? Pray is vital to your spiritual life.
So pray. Pray about everything. I’m interested in the smallest items in your life. I’m interested in your joys. I’m interested in your children. I’m interested in your hurts. I’m interested in your job. I’m interested in your phone calls. I’m interested in the clothes you buy and the food you eat. I’m interested in everything about you. So talk to Me.
It’s the only way we really get to know each other.
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