“But as I continued to pray, God helped me see that my whole perspective was skewed. He then tweaked my prayers and massaged them and refined them – and then He answered. It’s as if He then was telling me, “That’s the prayer I want you to pray.”
david jeremiah, the prayer matrix, p. 18.
Share a Comment: Consider sharing a comment in the box below with something God is showing you either about fasting, prayer, or making room in your heart – as an encouragement to others.
Daily Devotionals: As we step into this next season in the life of our church, we are asking the Lord to help us “Make Room in our Hearts” – for the people Jesus loves, and the people Jesus brings. During these 21 Days, our whole church will be reflecting and meditating on these same thoughts and prayers together, with one mind, guided by and depending on one Spirit.
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Engage the Word: Making Room In Our Hearts
Read 1 Samuel 15:22
22 And Samuel said,
“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…”
Connect the Heart
If you read the entirety of this story, it seems Saul had good intentions: saving out some of the best sheep and oxen to sacrifice to God instead of destroying them with the rest of the Amalekites and their possessions. However, even though sacrifice was a good thing, the prophet Samuel declares that sacrifice wasn’t what God had asked of Saul. God first asked Saul to be obedient to His commands. In the story, we also see that Saul “set up a monument for himself.” He had essentially become his own god, determining for himself what was right and wrong. He hadn’t made room in his heart for what God really wanted.
While it’s easy for us to point fingers at Saul, it’s also easy for us to convince ourselves that we know what God wants, and that obedience to His commands isn’t that big of a deal. After all, we are under the new covenant of grace, right? But the truth is, God wants us to surrender our will to His way, and to make room in our hearts to obey His commands- first.
Reflect on the Truth
- How is God speaking to you through this verse today? Is there an area of your life where He is calling you to obey Him and trust that His way is best?
- Our obedience is an outflow of God’s love for us, and our love for Him. While we can try to obey perfectly, we will always fall short. Thankfully, Jesus obeyed His Father perfectly, and we rest in His righteousness. Take some time to thank God for His grace in your life through the perfect gift of Jesus.
Depend on the Spirit
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the deeper longings, desires or motives in your heart that these thoughts are pointing to. (for example: you may write down, “There are some things that seem so right and good to me, even though I know they aren’t right to You. Please help me trust Your love and obey You, even when I don’t understand.”) The Lord can help us discern the path forward – through His Word, His Spirit, His people.
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For Prayer
As you conclude your devotional time, pray that Jesus will help each of us, through His Spirit, to walk in a way that follows His commands and what He asks of us. May we be known as a church family who follows the ways of Jesus.
Fasting
Please read the first blog post entitled “Why Fast?” This explains what fasting is and why we follow Jesus in this spiritual discipline as together we seek the heart of God.
Previous Posts
To read yesterday’s blog post devotional, please click here.
To read our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Introduction, please click here.
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Some parts of our 21 Days devotionals are adapted using various resources on scripture and prayer like The Bible Exposition Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, The New Bible Commentary, Logos Bible Software and other resources.
Share a Comment: Consider sharing a comment in the box below with something God is showing you either about fasting, prayer, or making room in your heart – as an encouragement to others.
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