Early in King Solomon’s reign, God appeared to him in a dream, saying “Ask what I shall give you.” What an offer! Solomon’s response reflected a heart that both knew God’s grace to his father, David, and his own desperate need:

King David wrote many hymns and psalms in the Book of Psalms, about 73 out of the 150 books. Many of these prayers in the Bible that David wrote were personal and highly emotional. That is why many regard the Book of Psalms as anatomy to the soul. Every range of emotions from thanksgiving to forgiveness, petitions for protection and deliverance, and even anger are written in Psalms. Here, David wrote a thanksgiving prayer , one of the most comforting prayers in the Bible. He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. As you persevere in following Jesus, ask God to keep you. Ask Him to present you blameless before His presence with great joy. He is able! We can always come to God and seek His wisdom when we face challenges or conflicts that are above us. But instead of asking God for solutions, we should ask God for wisdom as Paul did in verse 17, that God so freely gives to us through the Holy Spirit. So that we can know God better. In doing so, we can comprehend God’s character and have a breakthrough to understand how God wants us to resolve certain conflicts or overcome situations. We can be taught about God, but unless we ask for wisdom from the Holy Spirit, we can never truly know God. Pray For A Hope That Embraces The Future

Father God we thank you for reconciling us through Jesus Christ, and we praise you for choosing to make redeemed sinners like us your gospel ambassadors to this broken world. Please continue to equip us and use us in your redemptive mission as you graciously bring peace to sinners. Sanctify us for your glory as we confess, repent of, and remember the trespasses that we’ve committed against you. Keep us all humble as we seek reconciliation with other people we’ve wronged. Protect us with the Holy Spirit from our spirit of pride whenever we serve our families, our church, our coworkers, or strangers in need. Though we don’t deserve your forgiveness, we praise you for the unfathomable love and grace that you demonstrate at the cross. Please nourish our hearts daily this week with the words of the Bible and give us courage to proclaim your gospel boldly to all. We pray all this in the name of Jesus and for his sake. Amen. 2 Corinthians 5:21 Life can be very hard and tiresome indeed. There’s so much trouble happening in the world right now. Sometimes we wonder where to get that extra push and how to soldier on through our daily struggles. All these answers we seek only lead us to one thing: an unshakeable faith in God. This short prayer of the apostle Paul is rich. We learn that the fountain of joy and peace is our God of hope. This God of hope is able to give us not a little joy and peace, but all joy and peace. And the result of filling us with peace and joy in believing is that we abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

While being stoned, Stephen still cried out to God. He knew that even while being persecuted, God will still hear him. Stephen’s life ended just as how it began: full of faith. So be bold of your faith! We should keep honoring God with our conduct and words, hoping that others may see Christ in us. Remaining Christ-like Until The Very End The key to praying the Prayer of Jabez is understanding its context and praying it in Jesus’ name, which is a key to all prayer. The books of Chronicles were written after Israel had returned from exile in Babylon. The books’ purpose was to encourage God’s people that He had not abandoned them nor His promises to them. Thus, Jabez and his prayer reminded God’s people of His grace and blessing to His people, encouraging them to believe and pray in a similar fashion. God, how I want to follow you, to take up my cross and follow you, yet too often I’m like Peter. Too often, I’m focused on earthly matters, human priorities, my own wants.Even when he faced persecution, Stephen was still compassionate in bringing more people to God. His hope was for the conversion of those people who persecuted them, eventually. His final prayer was highly similar to Jesus’ final prayer on the cross as well ( Luke 23:34). He boldly held on to his belief in Christ and as such, his actions reflected Christ as well. Are we able to still be identified as God’s children in distressing times? God Hears Your Prayers Until The Very End Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him. 4 Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. 5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the LORD. 6 Many, LORD, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us. 7 Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. 8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” Lessons We Can Learn From David’s Prayer Being Angry Is Valid

The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. King Hezekiah was the 13th successor of David to rule Judah. He was a remarkable king that kept great faith in God despite being ill during his reign. Even when a group of kings was plotting to battle with Hezekiah and the Israelites, he prayed for courage and deliverance. Should anyone need a reminder of what our God can do, this is one of the most powerful prayers in the Bible. Ask in God’s name for the things that we need such as strength, guidance, and wisdom to overcome whatever circumstance we might be facing. Prayer of Confession and ForgivenessOh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! But Jesus’ anger was holy because he was angry for God. He was angry at how they have dishonored God. But when we get angry, most of the time our anger is not holy anger like Jesus’. Instead, we act on our anger and we tend to sin and thus, the purpose of verse 4. A good reminder for us is this: the anger of men does not produce the righteousness of God. Do Not Normalise Your Angry Thoughts Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Asaph opens this Psalm crying aloud to God (1). “In the day of my trouble I will seek the Lord…my soul refuses to be comforted” (2). Asaph then confesses the depth of his anguish: “I am so troubled that I cannot speak” (4). Has God removed His favor, abandoned His promises, and shut up His compassion? Asaph wonders (7–9). The turning point for Asaph comes when he takes his eyes off of his situation and sets them on the glorious works of God in the past: