Quiet Walk

[Judy Harder]

July 27

Psalm 37

The righteous will receive eternal life, while the wicked ultimately will be destroyed.

INSIGHT

Serving the Lord does not always pay temporal dividends. The righteous still experience misfortune, financial reversals, physical illnesses, natural disasters, and persecution. At the same time, the unrighteous often prosper, enjoying wealth, fame, honor, and health. David realizes God's justice wins in the end. So do not be discouraged in doing right, even when the unrighteous prosper. Do not be tempted to copy them. "Depart from evil and do good" (v. 27). "Wait on the Lord, and keep His way" (v. 34). "Mark the blameless man" (v. 37). "The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord" (v. 39).

PRAYER

Praise the Lord that while serving Him might cost us in "time," it will reward us in "eternity:"

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).

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

You have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
"My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives" (Hebrews 12:5-6).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:

By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-9).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- A stronger desire to be like Christ
-- Local churches across the nation
-- Your activities for the day
-- Whatever else is on your heart

Finally, offer this 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]

July 28

Psalm 63

Spiritual thirst is satisfied only by spiritual intimacy with God.

INSIGHT

There is a God-shaped vacuum in every human heart. Man was made for God, and his soul will be restless until it finds its rest in Him. Our longings for love, relationships, belonging, security, meaning, purpose, and identity are ultimately met only in the Lord Jesus Christ. We find temporary fulfillment in the pursuit of people, possessions, and circumstances; but eventually, these will pass away or we will change and they will no longer satisfy. We have been made for God, and we will find our deepest longings met only in Him. Make David's prayer your own prayer for spiritual fulfillment.

PRAYER

It is amazing to think that the Creator of the universe desires a relationship with us. Praise God for His love:
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes (Psalm 19:7-8).

As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to God:
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression (Psalm 19:12-13).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:9-11).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Peace in the midst of difficult circumstances
-- The various ministries of your church
-- Spiritual growth for family members

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).

[Judy Harder]

July 29

Psalm 90

God is eternal in time past and future--while man is temporal and weak.

INSIGHT

In this psalm, Moses declares the eternality of God in verses 1-2. Then he contrasts the frailty of man in verse 3. God's displeasure with sin next occupies his attention: "We have been consumed by Your anger . . . You have set our iniquities before You" (vv. 7-8). Based on these three realities, Moses calls upon God in a series of petitions: "Teach us to number our days . . . Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy . . . Make us glad . . . and establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:12, 14-15, 17). You can make these petitions your own.

PRAYER

Although we are inclined to do evil, God has chosen to forgive us. For this we praise Him:
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout, you lower parts of the earth;
Break forth into singing, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And glorified Himself in Israel (Isaiah 44:23).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:
We must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. . . How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him? (Hebrews 2:1, 3).

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren (Hebrews 2:9-11).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Patience with others
-- Missions in Great Britain
-- Local hospital and prison chaplains

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
We also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

[Judy Harder]

July 30

Psalm 100

All men are exhorted to praise the Lord because He made us and we are His.

INSIGHT

Psalm 100 is perhaps the finest example of a praise psalm in the Bible. The righteous heart pours forth a spontaneous stream of undefiled praise. First, he calls upon all men everywhere to praise the Lord. Then he identifies the relationship which God has with His children. We are not our own; He has made us. "We are His people and the sheep of His pasture" (v. 3). Next he calls for us to praise God again: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise" (v. 4). Give thanks. Bless Him. Then he finishes by listing attributes of God. God is good; He loves forever. Make this psalm your personal psalm of praise.

PRAYER

Offer the Lord your praise that He is good and loves us forever:
Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. . . .
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite. . . .
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God . . .
The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy. . . 
He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His judgments, they have not known them.
Praise the Lord! (Psalm 147:1, 5, 7, 11, 20).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:
Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,
For I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart have enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses!
Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins (Psalm 25:16-18).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Greater love for others
-- Missions in the Middle East
-- Elderly members of your family

Offer this closing 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).

[Judy Harder]

July 31

Psalm 145

The Lord is extolled for the goodness of who He is and what He has done.

INSIGHT

There has never been a generation that did not praise God. Since the beginning of time, salvation and praise have been passed down in unbroken succession. David writes, "One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts" (v. 4). That praise is directed to God for who He is (His character) and what He has done. Of God's character, David writes: "The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy" (v. . The Lord is good. Writing of God's work, he says, "The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up those who are bowed down" (v. 14); "is near to all who call upon Him" (v. 18); and "will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him" (v. 19). "The Lord preserves all who love Him" (v. 20). For these reasons, we praise Him along with David.

PRAYER

All the earth will one day praise the Lord. We can begin now in the words of this psalm:
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! . . .
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:1-2, 6).

As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession:
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 pray this affirmation to the Lord:
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Faithfulness in sharing Christ
-- The Lord's work in world affairs
-- Your activities for the day

Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
"The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26).

[Judy Harder]

August 1

Proverbs 1

Solomon writes a metaphorical warning from the perspective of "Wisdom."

INSIGHT

To be free to sail the seven seas, you must make yourself a slave to the compass. Every freedom has a corresponding slavery. We can be free from the toothbrush and a slave to cavities or a slave to the toothbrush and free from cavities. For everything we want, we must give up something else. Wisdom calls us to slavery. If we become a slave to wisdom, we must heed the Word of God and shun sin. If we neglect these, distress and anguish will come. We will experience the natural consequences of our actions. There is no escape from this cause-and-effect law. Rededicate yourself to becoming a "wise" person. Wisdom begins with "fearing" (respecting) the Lord. It is to His glory and also to our best interest.

PRAYER

Offer the Lord this psalm of praise as you ponder your need for wisdom:
Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth (Psalm 33:2-4).

Now pray this confession to the Lord:
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:10-12).

Pray this affirmation to the Lord:
It is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).

The Lord encourages us to come to Him with our concerns and desires. As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Health and strength to serve Him
-- That His will be done on earth as it is in heaven
-- Whatever else is on your heart

Finally, close with this prayer:
This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).

[Judy Harder]

August 2

Proverbs 2

Wisdom must be sought after with our entire being.

INSIGHT

Nothing of value is easily obtained. If it were, it would no longer be valuable. Inherent within the concept of value is the feature of scarcity. If all gravel were made of pure gold, then gold would not be valuable. The same is true with intangibles like wisdom. She is an exceedingly valuable life commodity, but she is not easy to come by. If we want wisdom, we must incline our ears, apply our hearts, cry for her, lift our voice for her, seek her as we would silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures (vv. 2-4). Then, and only then, will we understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God (v. 5).

PRAYER

Offer the Lord this psalm of praise as you consider His goodness:
Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints! . . .
All nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested (Revelation 15:3-4).
And 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).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful,
And have forgotten the God who fathered you (Deuteronomy 32:18).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- That others might see Christ in you
-- That the Lord of the harvest would send laborers into His harvest,
-- Your activities for the day.

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful, . . .
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord (Psalm 31:23-24).

[Judy Harder]

August 3

Proverbs 3

The benefit of wisdom is better than gold.

INSIGHT

Inherent within the human heart is a longing for peace, love, and joy. Among Christians and non-Christians alike, the desire is the same. Yet peace, love, and joy do not answer just any beck and call. They will come only by certain means; they are fruits on the tree of wisdom. Wisdom will bring length of days (v. 2), peace (v. 2), favor with God and man (v. 4), strength to your bones (v. , honor (v. 16), pleasantness (v. 17), paths of peace (v. 17), confidence in life (v. 26), and freedom from the snares of life (v. 26). Foolishness brings harm (v. 29), oppression (v. 31), and shame (v. 35). We all long for the benefits of wisdom. We must remember that she comes with a price: submission to the will of God and the truth of Scripture.

PRAYER

As you consider the benefits of wisdom, praise the Lord that we may share in His character:
Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness (Exodus 15:11).

You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You,
nor is there any God besides You, according to all that
we have heard with our ears (2 Samuel 7:22).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord:
Has the Lord as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Greater sensitivity to sin
-- The ministry of your church
-- Whatever else is on your heart

Offer this closing prayer to God:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever (Psalm 23:6).

[Judy Harder]

August 4

Proverbs 31

An excellent wife cares for her home, is kind to the needy, and is an example of good character.

INSIGHT

One view of women is that they are merely caretakers of the home and have no role other than changing diapers, cooking, and cleaning house. Another view seeks to free women from the responsibilities at home. Both are wrong. Women are to care for their homes and maintain certain responsibilities--just as men should. But their role carries with it great flexibility and variety. The Proverbs 31 woman is a skillful, industrious person who models integrity and esteems her home and family highly.

PRAYER

Thank God for the women you know (mothers, grandmothers, friends) who exemplify Christ's love:
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name" (Luke 1:46-49).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin (Psalm 51:1-2).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path (Psalm 119:103-105).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- A more Christ-like character
-- Strengthening of the church in China
-- Your activities for the day

Offer this closing prayer to God:
This I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9-11).

[Judy Harder]

August 5

Ecclesiastes 12

The pursuit of temporal things is futile.

INSIGHT

Our society tends to breed materialism. Young couples expect to own a house, two cars, and maybe a boat. We dream of the day when we can afford to take exotic vacations and own a bigger house. Game shows offer spectacular prizes, and lottery tickets are sold by the thousands. But Solomon experienced tremendous wealth and found himself unhappy. He learned that eternal things matter most. God wants His children to invest their brief lives in others--not just in material things.

PRAYER

God has promised that He will provide His children's needs. Let's praise Him:
"Why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? . . . But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:28-30, 33).

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? . . . Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" (Matthew 6:25, 27).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? . . . If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:7-9, 11).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Contentment with the material possessions you own
-- God's provision for the less fortunate
-- Safety of missionaries in Central America

Offer this closing prayer to God:
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).