The Upper Room Devotional 8th December 2023
The Upper Room Devotional 8th December 2023, Friday Message by Wati Mollier (Nagaland, India)
TOPIC: What We Cannot Express
TODAY’S READING
Psalm 40:1-5
You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record? – Psalm 56:8 (NRSVUE)
My late mother was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer a few years ago. It was a huge test of my faith. Often when I was overwhelmed with the fear of losing my mother, I would find a secluded spot in the hospital and break into bitter tears as I bowed down to pray for her.
Sometimes when we are too overwhelmed by burdens of sorrow and grief, we cannot express them through words. In those times, a sigh, groan, or cry may be the only sounds we can utter when we pray. Sometimes what we cannot express in words is expressed through tears, and this is one of the purest and sincerest forms of prayer. God knows what is in our hearts. God weighs and treasures every prayer, whatever form it takes.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear God, we know that our trials strengthen our faith and make us more like Christ. When we lose our strength, remind us that you are nearby. We pray as Jesus taught us, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matt. 6:9-13, KJV).
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
My tears are prayers that reach to God when I cannot speak.
PRAYER FOCUS
Those struggling to pray
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.
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