The Upper Room 10 January 2024 Devotional
The Upper Room 10 January 2024 Devotional, Wednesday Message by Norman A. Thomas (Virginia, USA)
TOPIC: Before We Ask
TODAY’S READING
Ephesians 3:14-21
Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. – Hebrews 10:23 (NRSVUE)
As I write, my beloved wife is undergoing her seventh surgery for breast cancer in just over three years. She has also endured 13 months of chemotherapy. After checking in at the hospital this morning, we prayed together.
Once she was taken back for anesthesia and surgery, I prayed earnestly for her and for all the doctors, nurses, and technicians involved in her surgery. I then read my daily devotional. When I completed that reading, it occurred to me that in my prayer life I have asked for many things. Although I do thank God for the gift of grace through Jesus Christ and for the many blessings of my life, I feel as though most of my prayers ask for a particular outcome for my loved ones, for those in need or suffering, or for myself.
I wondered if God ever tires of my many requests. So I turned to the Bible. In numerous passages I received assurance that God desires my prayerful requests. Those prayers tell God of my true and abiding faith in God’s grace. Paul said it well in his letter to the Philippians, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). That is exactly what I am doing today. God is love, and I am most thankful for that and for God’s listening ear.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Lord, you know what we need even before we ask. May our prayerful requests reveal our sincere and abiding faith in you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Our prayerful requests profess our faith in God.
PRAYER FOCUS
Those undergoing surgery
The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together.