Brothers and Sisters,
I won’t spend long on today’s devotional, but I do want to reflect for just a moment on prayer. I was reminded this morning, reading Joshua 9, about how central prayer is, and must be, for we who live as children of God. Joshua 9 recounts the failure of Joshua and the Israelites to accurately discern the deception practiced on them by the people of Gibeon. In verse 15 we’re told the reason for this failure: “…[they] did not ask counsel from the LORD.” How quickly and easily we neglect asking our Father in heaven for his counsel in everything we face! Next Sunday (April 26th), when we reach the beginning of Luke 18, we’ll consider a parable that Jesus tells his disciples “to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). It’s a good time for us to ruminate on a life of prayer.
To help in that rumination, let me share with you one of my favorite (and famous) photographs, titled Grace.
According to Wikipedia, the photograph is a shot taken in 1918 or perhaps 1920 (Note: Wikipedia also asserts the book in the photo is not a Bible, but a dictionary…a point which, if true, I choose to ignore). This photograph hung as a print in my grandparents’ home, and thus I will always associate it with their steadfast love for Jesus…a love which took them often to prayer.
May the Lord bless and keep you in prayer tonight.
In Christ,
P.J.
Fix Your Mind 