Daily Devotion for November 4, 2011
Prayers
Scripture
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Prayer for the Morning (written by Metropolitan Philaret)
Lord, give me the strength to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely on Your holy will. Reveal Your will to me every hour of the day. Bless my dealings with all people. Teach me to treat all people who come to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all. In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings. In unexpected events, let me not forget that all are sent by you.
Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me the physical strength to bear the labors of this day. Direct my will, teach me to pray, pray in me.
Prayer for the Departed
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend the souls of your servants departed from this life and beseech you to grant them rest in the place of your rest, where all the blessed repose, and where the light of your countenance shines forever.
And I pray also to grant that my present life may be godly, sober, and blameless, that, I too may be made worthy to enter into your heavenly Kingdom with those I love but see no longer: for you are the Resurrection, and the Life, and the Repose of your departed servants, O Christ our God, and unto you I ascribe all glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Benediction
Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted me as a living member of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have blessed me with the grace of forgiveness through the sacrifice He made for me and for all people. Send me now into the world in peace, and grant me strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord.
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
(Additional prayers may be found at Prayers for All Occasions.)
Psalm 40:10
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.
Romans 8:35-39 (ESV)
The Love of Christ
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Notes on the Scripture
In yesterday's Scripture, Paul taught that no force on earth would be able to oppose Christianity, even though the enemies of Christ might create all kinds of suffering for those who believed in him. Today, he addresses a related theme, which is the strength of Christian faith in the face of earthly tribulation.
Once we have gained faith in Christ and received the Holy Spirit, there is no power in heaven or earth that can take it away from us. People who see life as something that exists only in their bodies, their possessions, and their pride, believe that humans are entirely corruptible. Because they see nothing other than their own skin, they think that others are the same way; they think that faith in God is nonsense that can be defeated by the instruments of the world.
But Paul has seen it all. He has spent his adult life in constant danger; he has been starved, beaten, imprisoned, chastised, stoned and left for dead. And yet, all of this could not dent his faith. In fact, none of them could stop him from standing up in public, anywhere at any time, no matter what the danger, and preaching the Word of Christ.
So he knows. There is nothing outside of us that can ever defeat the faith within us. Hold fast to your faith, he says, because the world can never take it away from you.
