A WORKMAN APPROVED BY GOD

PRAYER PRACTICE

Spoken Prayer – Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through your reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.

 DAILY READING

2 Timothy 2:14-26

DEVOTION / REFLECTION

Replace godless chatter with Loving Prayer

by Judy Webb

Avoid godless chatter because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. (v.16)

The Lord knows those who are his, and everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. (v. 19)

Do not have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments because you know they produce quarrels. (v.23)

Opponents must be gently instructed in the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to the knowledge of truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will. (v. 25-26)

These four one-liners from today's reading are simply jumping off the page at me this morning as I pray about our world and where we find ourselves today. I also see myself in these four sections of today's reading. I see how far God has taken me from the unbelieving woman I was, to a faithful servant of God, who seeks his word everyday.

Godless chatter seems so very relevant. The amount of snark and hatred on social media sites are like godless chatter. We expect more from our friends and from our elected leaders, but evil reigns right now. I need to avoid social media in large doses, because I can get caught up in the foolish and stupid arguments. Too often I want to add my 2-cents worth, and even when I resist this temptation, my heart is heavy because of the hatred.

So, what is the answer? How does a Christ follower do just that, follow Christ? Reading His word has done wonders for me. Just reading today's section and deciphering it's meaning I am loving the four points above. I know God led me to these words, so that I could feel his presence and sense his guidance.

When I feel strong and unhealthy emotions bubbling over about scenarios playing out today, and the personal dislike for the people enabling these scenarios, I am humbled by the words from verses 25-26. I feel like God has put a new healthy burden on my heart to pray for the opponents of knowledge and truth, and pray further, that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will.

Dear Jesus, This is my prayer for everyone reading this today, that we can bring our enemies to the foot of the cross in faithful prayer. Come Holy Spirit, do a good work in us. Amen