13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:13-20 (NASB) Read verses 17-20 on the site.
This is the 1st day of 2022. In October last year I turned 70. Just a month earlier I celebrated 20 years as the Senior Database Administrator at the hospital corporation where I worked. Just a couple of week after I turned 70 my wife and I celebrated 40 years of marriage….
Lastly, December 24th was my last day at work as I retired. I must confess it was that last thing that has caused the most stress for my wife and me. Why? Well, now we are not getting that paycheck every couple of weeks nor the health insurance that goes with the job. As we prepared for this my prayer time changed quite a bit. I found myself praying extensively along the lines of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Why? Here it is.
9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] Matthew 6:9-13 (NASB)
I start out my prayer time with this prayer as the outline. I praise our God and worship Him. I pray that my will be lined up with His. I pray that all my works will be according to His will and that He will be glorified, not me. I pray that His Kingdom will come as His will is done on earth as it is Heaven. Then we come to v11. This is where I start praying about our Lord’s provision. Do I ask to be rich? Do I ask for Health, Wealth, and Prosperity? No, I ask for healing where it is needed according to His will. I ask for God to take care of my wife and me in our old age. I pray for wisdom, discernment, personal holiness, and Christlikeness. After that I pray v12 and v13 then I ask for God to save the people from a list and heal others by name, etc. What we must remember is that it is God who provides. He is sovereign. He allowed me to save up some money at my job that is being managed by a good money manager. I am by no means wealthy, but it should provide for us for many years unless our economy falls apart, but then, who is sovereign? Who is in control? All of these things are in His hands. What I pray for is that my will be lined up with His and that He uses me for His glory.
Now with all that in mind, how are we to look at our needs and God’s provision? Below are two of the devotions I had this morning from Tabletalk Magazine and from Spurgeon’s Morning by Morning. Both deal with this. I knew right then what this post was to be about. Be blessed my brethren.