The Upper Room | 13 January 2022 | Daily Devotional | Thursday Message
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Spiritual Nutrition
Neeta Nayna Macwan (Gujarat, India)
KEY VERSE: Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)
TODAY’S READING
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
The Upper Room | 13 January 2022 | Daily Devotional Message
When I was about seven years old, my mother became bedridden with tuberculosis, making it impossible for her to take care of my two brothers and me. But still she invested in our spiritual growth. Although she had to rely on others to provide us with physical nutrition, she made sure we received spiritual nutrition. She would write down the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and Psalm 23 for us to learn. She would give us Bible verses to memorize every day, and I still remember her face beaming with joy when we spoke those verses aloud for her. She passed on her habit of reading The Upper Room devotional every day, and it was through her that we grew in faith.
My mother’s commitment to our spiritual growth became one of her most important legacies. After she died, we held on to our faith and grew into an even stronger relationship with God. This closeness to God has helped us through times of grief and other challenges of life.
Even though our mother was with us for only a short period of time, I am grateful that she taught us how to praise and serve God. Just as my mother encouraged us in our faith, we can be mentors to others as they grow in faith.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Loving Father, thank you for the gift of those who love and care for us physically and spiritually. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
How will I offer spiritual nourishment to someone today?
PRAYER FOCUS
Someone who has nurtured my faith
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. Read More