Quiet Walk

[Judy Harder]

May 20

1 Samuel 2

Hannah dedicates Samuel to the service of the Lord.

INSIGHT

We rarely give God sufficient thanks and praise for the things He does for us, and we rarely give Him adequate worship for who He is and for His significant answers to prayer.

By contrast, notice Hannah's song of thanksgiving. She prays earnestly for a child, and when the Lord gives her one, she expresses her gratitude in full-blown poetic praise. Her response is fitting for the gift.

PRAYER

· Because the Lord is so merciful to us, we give Him heartfelt praise and thanksgiving with the psalmist:

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God
(Psalm 98:1-3).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed (Hebrews 12:11-13).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater thankfulness to the Lord,
· unsaved family members,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

A day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness
(Psalm 84:10).

[Judy Harder]

May 21

1 Samuel 3

The Lord speaks directly to Samuel, and all Israel recognizes Samuel as a prophet.

INSIGHT

For all the glory of speaking directly with the Lord, Samuel is given a very difficult task: He must deliver to Eli a troubling message from the Lord. With a pure heart and nothing to gain or lose by the encounter, Samuel tells Eli the truth.

We too must sometimes confront people with truth, knowing that the truth will hurt. Ephesians 4:15 instructs us to speak the truth in love. Speaking the truth without love is destructive.

Samuel's example is a difficult one but a good one. Like Samuel, we can only fulfill such a task if our hearts are pure and we do not manipulate the situation for our own benefit.

PRAYER

· Because we can know the truth and the truth can set us free, offer your praise to the Lord:

I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts
(Psalm 145:1-4).

· Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

"For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,"
Says the Lord, your Redeemer
(Isaiah 54:7-8).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater love for your family,
· the work of missions in North and South America,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

[Judy Harder]

May 22

1 Samuel 8

Israel demands a king from the Lord.

INSIGHT

The Lord intends to rule Israel by theocracy, which means that God will rule through a man who will be His spokesman. In rejecting this method, the Israelites are not rejecting Samuel but God. To be sure there is a problem with Samuel's sons not walking after the Lord, but rather than ask God for another theocratic administrator, they demand a monarchy. In seeking to correct a legitimate problem, they make matters worse because their motives are wrong. They have a selfish desire for a king like the nations around them.

When we see legitimate problems, we must be careful that we do not demand wrong solutions. There is no substitute for pure motives when it comes to problem solving.

PRAYER

· Praise the Lord because we need not fear His solutions to problems:

Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness. . . .
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works
(Psalm 145:6-9).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart-
These, O God, You will not despise
(Psalm 51:16-17).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

This is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment (1 John 3:23).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater faithfulness with your finances,
· revival among Christians in America,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:17).

[Judy Harder]

May 23

1 Samuel 9

God instructs Samuel to anoint Saul as the first king over Israel.

INSIGHT

The sovereignty of God is a difficult concept to keep in balance. Often we find ourselves making too much or too little of it.
It is true, however, that many of the events in our lives, which seem to come at random with no significance, are actually events that the Lord is using to orchestrate His purpose in our lives.

For example, Saul goes looking for donkeys and ends up discovering that he will be king of Israel. We should always bathe our daily activities in prayer, for we never know what the Lord might be preparing for us.

PRAYER

· Even though you may be in pain, praise the Lord that He loves you and cares for you:

Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who delights greatly in His commandments
(Psalm 112:1).

Unto You I lift up my eyes,
O You who dwell in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us
(Psalm 123:1-2).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

O Israel, return to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
Take words with you,
And return to the Lord.
Say to Him, "Take away all iniquity;
Receive us graciously,
For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips"
(Hosea 14:1-2).

· Pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:.

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater wisdom in decision making,
· the needs of personal friends,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Finally, offer this closing prayer:

Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered
(Psalm 40:5).

[Judy Harder]

May 24

1 Samuel 10

Samuel publicly introduces Saul to the nation of Israel.

INSIGHT

Leadership is at the same time a blessing and a curse. Leaders like to have the allegiance and esteem of their followers, but such is rarely the case. Inherent in humanity are differences of opinion, and those differences cause some to be for certain leadership and against other leadership.

The day Saul is presented as king over Israel, a faction of "worthless men" grumble against him. If you are in a position of leadership, you should not be insensitive to dissension, but you must also realize that you will never make all the people happy all the time.

PRAYER

· Use the following psalm to express your gratitude and praise to the Lord for all He has done for you:

Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord! . . .
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant. . . .
I know that the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places. . . .
Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the Lord!
(Psalm 135:1, 3, 5-6, 21).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise
(Psalm 51:14-15).

· Pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

"He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels" (Revelation 3:5).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· spiritual victory over temptation,
· opportunities to serve the Lord,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

[Judy Harder]

May 25

1 Samuel 15

Saul breaks the Law of the Lord then offers sacrifices to the Lord.

INSIGHT

Saul's fall is fast and far. His spiritual leadership is destroyed before he really gets a good start. Such a profound disparity between how he starts and how he ends is difficult to explain.

It stands as a warning, however. None of us is above falling, no matter where we are in our spiritual walk.

Our regular prayers ought to include what Jesus teaches us to pray: "Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13). Again, Jesus says, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (Matthew 26:41).

The price of our spiritual welfare is eternal vigilance.

PRAYER

· Offer your praise to the Lord for His protection from evil:

All the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts. . . .
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness
(Psalm 96:5-8, 11).

· Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
O Lord, correct me, but with justice;
Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing
(Jeremiah 10:23-24).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· a stronger desire to be like Christ,
· local churches around the nation,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen (1 Timothy 6:15-16).

[Judy Harder]

May 26
1 Samuel 16

David is anointed to be king.

INSIGHT

David is indeed an outstanding individual. As a teenager, he is known to be "skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him" (v. 18). In each of these things, David is not just lucky. David works hard at all the things for which he is known, including the fact that "the Lord is with him."

Each of us has been given talents and abilities. Like David, if we are to achieve our God-given potential, we must be slaves to the things that advance those abilities.

PRAYER

· Offer your praise to the Lord that we are the objects of His tender mercies and powerful leading:

You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
For I believe Your commandments.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
You are good, and do good;
Teach me Your statutes
(Psalm 119:65-68).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

Unto You I lift up my eyes,
O You who dwell in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us
(Psalm 123:1-3).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:

· greater trust in God's sovereignty,
· the spiritual condition of our national leaders,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
(Psalm 90:14).

[Judy Harder]

May 27
1 Samuel 17

Goliath the Philistine challenges Israel's army.

INSIGHT

When God goes to war, there are no accidents. Just as He uses Gideon and an army of only 300 to rout the Midianite army that was "without number," so He uses a boy with a slingshot to rout the Philistine army. In 2 Chronicles 18:33, "a certain man drew a bow at random," but it "struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor." There are no accidents when God goes to war.

We can take comfort in this fact in relationship to the spiritual warfare in which we all find ourselves. The obstacles may seem insurmountable. But if we are on God's side, no foe is too great.

PRAYER

· Offer to the Lord this psalm of praise as you rejoice in the power He uses in controlling the events of history:

We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old:
You drove out the nations with Your hand,
But them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.
For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them;
But it was Your right hand,
Your arm, and the light of Your countenance,
Because You favored them
(Psalm 44:1-4).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled;
But You, O Lord-how long?
(Psalm 6:1-3).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me
(Psalm 138:7).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater courage in the midst of trials,
· your pastor,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands
(Psalm 138:.

[Judy Harder]

May 28

2 Samuel 5

After many years of delay, David assumes Israel's throne.

INSIGHT

Earlier, Samuel had anointed David-then a young, inexperienced boy-to be king over Israel. Fourteen years elapsed between Samuel's anointing and the time when David actually assumes the rule over all of Israel.

Instead of luxuriating in the royal palace during these years, David runs from cave to cave, trying to escape from Saul who is bent on killing him. But it is these difficult experiences that build into David the strength of character, the convictions, the sensitivity to right and wrong, and the vision to be a great king.

Even for us today, the road to transformation always goes through the tunnel of trials.

PRAYER

· Because the Lord uses the difficult times to create Christlikeness in our lives, we can praise Him for all things:

The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever
(Psalm 145:17-19, 21).

· Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain
(Psalm 127:1).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater love for others,
· the work of missions in the Middle East, the islands, and Australia,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 5:10-11).

[Judy Harder]

May 29

2 Samuel 7

David prepares for building a temple, but God tells him that David's son will build it.

INSIGHT

With all his heart, David wants to build the temple of God. Yet because David is a man of war, God reserves that privilege for David's son Solomon, whose very name means "peace."

While David cannot actually build the temple, he does draw the plans and begins amassing the materials. And Solomon's job is much easier because of David's work.

In fact, the Lord commends David's deep desire to build the temple even though he is not permitted to do so (see 2 Chronicles 6:8.)

There may be things in your heart that you would like to do for God that you cannot do. Even so, it is good that it is in your heart to want to do them.

PRAYER

· Praise the Lord that He rewards us because of our motives:

"Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints!
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify
Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested"
(Revelation 15:3-4).

One cried to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!"
(Isaiah 6:3).

· Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world (1 John 2:1-2).

· Pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· faithfulness in sharing Christ,
· the Lord's work in world affairs,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:

"Amen!
Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen"
(Revelation 7:12).