Daily Bible Study for Friday August
5, 2016
By: Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N
Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying
God’s Word Around The Globe”
Chapter Reading
for Today: Please read in
your Bible before proceeding. Note that most translations are considered
paraphrases. The Young’s Literal Translation provides a more accurate
translation since he is the one who authored a concordance. Others are helpful
for seeing a different perspective, but we cannot always depend on their
wording. I hope this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another version,
that is fine. I am studying from the KJV, but for the purpose of this study, I
will keep it with the New King James Version.
One final note: I will put the scripture in italics to differentiate from my
own writing. I am adding red to the letters when
it is Jesus talking – just like the Bible. Thank you.
Bible
Gateway Verse of the Day
Psalm 119:130
The entrance of Your words
gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.
Psalm
100:4
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless
His name.
Song: The Prayer
By: Celine Dion & Josh Groban
Psalm 28
Praying For God’s People
This chapter can be easily summed up into four parts. The
Lord shows us…
Ø David as he prays for himself
Ø What the reward of the wicked
will be
Ø What God has done for David
and what His response was
Ø David’s prayer for the
strength, blessing, the feeding of and lifting up of God’s people
When we consider the last point, this is a wonderful example
of how our prayer lives should be. David prayed not only for himself, but also
for the rest of God’s people, or we can say His chosen, or anointed ones. As we
mentioned in an earlier study, because he loved God he loved God’s people – His
chosen ones. That’s us, right? Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father;
Thank You once again for this
time in Your word. It is a blessing, privilege and honor to belong to You.
Lord, we value You and Your things highly, above all else. Like David, we want
to pray for the blessing to be upon all Your people – those You have chosen and
anointed to do Your work. Father, I ask You to use my mind, heart and hands
today to touch the depths of those hearts who will take the time to read this and
absorb Your meaning in it for them. Cause Your word to go forth across the
globe and reap a harvest so big that our nets won’t hold it all. Lord, as You
teach us we will purpose to be doers of Your word and not forgetful hearers
only. Make this message go out unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or
my flesh. Thank You for always watching over Your word to perform it in our
lives. We give You all the glory, all the honor and all the praise in Jesus
name. Amen.
To pray for ourselves is
necessary and important, but to pray for others is even more important. The
body of Christ is the chosen people of God, a royal priesthood…
1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you
may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of
God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Yes, we who are born again
have been anointed, or set apart to do God’s work. In so doing, we need the strength
and blessing of God to be upon us as we do. We need to be fed so the Lord can
use us to feed others (His word) and we need to be lifted up (in prayer) so we
can be used to lift others up. It is critical that we pray for the body of
Christ daily.
Jesus is praying for us –
always interceding at the throne, and we on the earth must also be in constant
prayer for the body. We face great trials and tribulations. Some areas are so
heavily persecuted that they face murder daily – either themselves or their
family members. The middle east is compounded with murderous threats on a regular
basis. And prayer gets things done. Taking the time to pray for the children of
God – His anointed ones, is time well spent. Jerusalem is the “hotspot” or
target of all the wars that are going on around the globe.
They may seem independent, and
take on meanings of their own in different regions, but in one way or another,
all the battles going on stem from a spiritual battle that is going on in the heavenlies
such as this world have never seen or known. With the end of all things right
at the door, the fight is heating up, and it comes out of the heart of where it
all began, over there in Jerusalem, God’s holy city.
Today, let’s take a look at a
man who went bound in the spirit to Jerusalem. He was going to suffer plenty of
persecution. His name was Paul. Though his company tried to encourage him not
to go, he knew that Holy Spirit had a plan for him to go there for God’s
purposes among the Jews. If ever a man needed prayer, it was Paul. He would go
through anything for the Lord who was anointed to be his Redeemer – anything! Let’s
pick up in the book of Acts, chapter 21 and starting in verse 28. I would
strongly suggest that you read the previous chapter along with this one to get
the full picture of what Paul went through as he brought God’s anointed word to
the people of Jerusalem…
Acts 21:28-22:24
28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the
man who teaches all men everywhere
against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought
Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 (For
they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the
city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
30 And all the city was disturbed; and the people
ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately
the doors were shut. 31 Now as they were seeking to
kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an
uproar. 32 He immediately took soldiers and
centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the
soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the
commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was
and what he had done. 34 And some among the
multitude cried one thing and some another.
So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he
commanded him to be taken into the barracks. 35 When
he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the
violence of the mob. 36 For the multitude of the
people followed after, crying out, “Away with him!”
37 Then as Paul was about to be led into the
barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?”
He replied, “Can you speak Greek? 38 Are
you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four
thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”
39 But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in
Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to
the people.”
40 So when he had given him permission, Paul stood
on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a
great silence, he spoke to them in
the Hebrew language, saying,
22 “Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before
you now.” 2 And when they heard that he spoke to
them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent.
Then he said: 3 “I am indeed a Jew,
born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel,
taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward
God as you all are today. 4 I persecuted this Way
to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5 as
also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from
whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in
chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near
Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. 7 And
I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are
you persecuting Me?’ 8 So I answered, ‘Who are You,
Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are
persecuting.’
9 “And those who were with me indeed saw the light
and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.10 So
I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go
into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for
you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see for the
glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came
into Damascus.
12 “Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according
to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there,13 came
to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at
that same hour I looked up at him. 14 Then he said,
‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see
the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. 15 For
you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And
now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins,
calling on the name of the Lord.’
17 “Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem
and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance 18 and
saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for
they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ 19 So
I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those
who believe on You. 20 And when the blood of Your
martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and
guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ 21 Then
He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the
Gentiles.’”
22 And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices
and said, “Away with such a fellow from
the earth, for he is not fit to live!” 23 Then, as
they cried out and tore off their clothes
and threw dust into the air, 24 the commander
ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be
examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against
him.
Like David had been anointed
to be the King of Israel after Saul’s great failure, so Paul was anointed to
preach the good news to the poor and blind of Israel – in Jerusalem.
Prayer is really critical
saints. David understood prayer. We see it in every Psalm we have read so far –
and that will continue. We will go through the entire book of Psalms, one day
at a time, every Monday through Friday until we finish and move on to Proverbs.
Aren’t you glad we can have a daily walk with the Lord through His holy word?
Praise His name forever! Jesus Himself needed the prayer of His brethren in His
most troubling hour before facing all the trials that lay before Him. Look at
this…
Mark 14:32-42
32 Then they came to a place which was named
Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and
He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. 34 Then
He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and
watch.”
35 He went a little farther, and fell on the
ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And
He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this
cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said
to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one
hour? 38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak.”
39 Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the
same words. 40 And when He returned, He found them
asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer
Him.
41 Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are
you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the
Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise,
let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
If the King of kings needed prayer, and He
was our example for everything we should be doing, then shouldn’t we model the
requests He made to those who were His followers by praying for our brethren as
well? So many are facing terrible trials like we said already said. Like Paul
who was bound in the spirit to go to Jerusalem to preach the good news to the
spiritually poor there, many across the globe are anointed to preach and teach
and minister to God’s people. And everyone in the body of Christ has an
anointing to do something – even if it is to scrub the floors of the preacher,
etc. We all have been called by God and given a job to do His work in some way as
a part of the body; we all need prayer.
Just this morning while I was in the
shower (I hear a lot in the shower for some reason) the Lord spoke to my heart
and revealed that a friend I have known since childhood is going to die – and she
is not saved. He told me to pray for her, so I got right on it. Then He told me
He would take care of it – I call it done and I call her saved before she
leaves this life – praise the Lord! If we don’t pray, bad things can happen.
Prayer is pivotal. David knew that and he was constantly praying.
Now let’s take a look at some sections of
the New Testament where we can use God’s word to pray over our brothers and
sisters in Christ. You can even get your Bible out and make a prayer list so
you can remember to pray certain things over the body every day. That is not
repetitious or vain repetition type of praying. Some things need to be prayed
afresh over us every day, while others, once we have asked, we just thank the
Lord as we wait for the already answered prayer to manifest. I would like to
call your attention to Kenneth E. Hagin’s Bible Prayer Study Guide. You will
get so much out of it if you study it through. It is helping me and my husband
immensely!
Pray For The Harvest
Luke 10:2
2 Then He said to them, “The
harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
A Prayer For Boldness
Acts 4:29-30
Now, Lord, look on
their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak
Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and
that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
Prayer For Spiritual Wisdom
Ephesians 1:15-21
15 Therefore I also, after I
heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do
not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is
the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in
the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of
His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which
He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the
heavenly places, 21 far
above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
To Be Strengthened & Filled
Ephesians 3:14-21
4 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole
family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He
would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with
might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and
grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with
all the saints what is the
width and length and depth and height— 19 to know
the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the
fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in
us,21 to Him be glory
in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Praying In The Spirit For All
The Saints
Ephesians 6:18-20
18 praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that
utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the
mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador
in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Thankfulness In Prayer
Philippians 1:3-11
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always
in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for
your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being
confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will
complete it until the
day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me
to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in
my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are
partakers with me of grace.8 For God is my witness, how
greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still
more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that
you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and
without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being
filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Finding Peace In Prayer
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; 7 and the peace of
God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
Strength, Fruitfulness, & A Worthy Walk
Colossians 1:9-12
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard
it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the
knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk
worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing
in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might,
according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to
the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in the light.
Prayer For Spiritual Leaders
Colossians 4:2-4, 12
2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in
it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us,
that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ,
for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it
manifest, as I ought to speak.
12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of
Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may
stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
Giving Thanks
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making
mention of you in our prayers, 3 remembering
without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our
Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,
Increase In Love – Establish Our
Hearts
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
11 Now may our God and Father
Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make
you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may
establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
Prayer For All Men
1 Timothy 2:1-4
Therefore I exhort
first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks
be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in
authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
reverence. 3 For this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all
men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Prayer For The Sick
James 5:13-18
13 Is anyone among you suffering?
Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is
anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And
the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if
he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and
pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of
a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man
with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it
did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And
he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Keeping Prayers From Being Hindered
1 Peter 3:7
7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as
to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs
together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Friends, these are some of the
ways that we can pray daily for the saints, for leaders, and all those in authority.
In summation, we are called to pray for all people – every single one of them,
bar none! It doesn’t matter who they are or what they have done, God loves them
and so should we. He commands us to pray for them in His word, so we should –
for He desires that all men would be saved, even the worst criminal walking the
planet today.
Finally, we can read John 17
independently on our own to see how Jesus gave us a wonderful insight to His beautiful
prayer for the body of Christ – both those who are already in the family, and
those who are yet to come. The resounding desire in His heart throughout this
prayer is that we would be one as He and the Father are one. Friends, that
needs to be the desire of all our hearts before Jesus’ return. He is coming
back for a glorious church without spot or wrinkle – not one that is divided
against itself and hates its own body. Love covers a multitude of sins, and
prayer is what God uses through us to get His will done in the earth – give Him
a shout of praise!
The last point we need to
focus on in today’s chapter is what David said in verse 7…
Psalm 28:7
The Lord is my strength and my
shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my
heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.
As usual with wonderful David,
he recognizes who God is to him and what He has done for him. He tells us that
because he trusted in the Lord, God helped him – He answered David’s prayers –
hallelujah! And what was David’s response (again, as usual)? He praised the
Lord with a heart full of joy. He rejoiced in what the Lord had done for him.
Just today in my “Breaking Free From Addiction” blog, I was telling people how
the Lord had helped me this past week. When I was feeling ill, He healed me.
When I was tempted, He gave me a way out. He showed me the schemes of the enemy
ahead of time so I could avoid a fall – hallelujah! He helped me to accomplish
my exercise goals and get my entire schedule running more like a streamlined ship
that an old beat up row boat – praise His name!
This week as always, I have a
lot to praise the Lord for. This study does not contain enough space for me to
tell of all the wonderful things He has done for me this week. Surely my heart
is rejoicing in God my Savior. How about You? What can you thank and praise the
Lord for? What wonderful things has He brought you through even this past week?
How many things did He help you to avoid, and how many blessings did He pour
out on you? We can’t see all He spares us from, and we don’t even know the
fullness of all He does for us – but we all see a great deal of things in life
that He does for us each and every day. And to that we can shout, “Praise the
Lord forever! Bless His holy name!”
Questions:
List the four main aspects of today’s chapter.
What did David pray for the brethren in verse 9?
How did Paul’s situation parallel what Jesus went through in
Jerusalem?
Why is it so important to pray for the body of Christ?
Why is it important to pray for all people?
What changes will you make to your prayer life as a result of
this study?
What can you praise the Lord for this week?
In what way has this lesson helped you? Why?
There are three main points to
consider from today’s study…
Praying for God’s people is critical
There are many things we can include
in our daily prayers for the saints
It is always right to give the Lord
thanks and praise for the way He answers our prayers for help, etc.
Let’s
pray…
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for continuing to show us the importance of
prayer for the body of Christ and for all men. Lord, help me to see any misunderstandings
that I have had pertaining to this subject. Help me to grow strong in my prayer
life and become the ‘prayer warrior’ that You are calling me to be. Lord, if there
is anyone I need to pray for right now, I ask You to show me. May Your will be fulfilled
in all my prayers as I follow the leading of Holy Spirit. I thank You Father as
I ask it and believe I receive it in Jesus name. Amen.
Who might
need your urgent prayers right now?
And God Said… You fill in the blanks.
James
5:16b
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man
avails much.
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