OUR DAILY BREAD TODAY 10TH JANUARY, 2024 DEVOTIONAL
Welcome!!! Read Our Daily Bread Today’s Devotional for Wednesday. The word of God is food to the spirit man. Read and digest the word of the Lord for today and see how powerfully it will impact you.
Our Daily Bread Ministries is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. Read More Daily Devotional Message on DAILYDEVOTIONAL
Today’s Topic: A Call to Prayer
Bible in a Year: Genesis 25–26; Matthew 8:1–17
Bible Verse: I sat down and wept. . . . I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. – Nehemiah 1:4
Today’s Scripture: Nehemiah 1:4–11
INSIGHT – 10TH JANUARY 2024 OUR DAILY BREAD:
In response to hearing about the struggles of the exiles who’d returned to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1-3), Nehemiah prays a prayer of repentance for both his own sin and that of his nation (vv. 5-11). In his prayer, he finds hope in God’s past promises to restore His repentant people. In verses 8-9, the writer lifts up God’s promise to return repentant exiles to their land where they’d flourish once more if they’d fully commit to serving God (see Deuteronomy 30:1-4, 9-10). By: Monica La Rose
ODB 10 JANUARY 2024 (WEDNESDAY MESSAGE)
Abraham Lincoln confided to a friend, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” In the horrific years of the American Civil War, President Lincoln not only spent time in fervent prayer but also called the country to join him. In 1861, he proclaimed a “day of humiliation, prayer and fasting.” And he did so again in 1863, stating, “It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God: to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon.”
After the Israelites had been captives in Babylon for seventy years, King Cyrus decreed that any Israelite who wanted to return to Jerusalem could return. When Nehemiah, an Israelite (Nehemiah 1:6) and cupbearer to the king of Babylon (v. 11), learned that those who had returned were “in great trouble and disgrace” (v. 3), he “sat down and wept” and spent days mourning, fasting and praying (v. 4). He wrestled in prayer for his nation (vv. 5–11). And later, he too called his people to fast and pray (9:1–37).
Centuries later, in the days of the Roman Empire, the apostle Paul similarly urged his readers to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1–2). Our God still hears our prayers about matters that affect the lives of others. By: Alyson Kieda
Today’s Reflect & Prayer
Why do you think God calls His people to pray for everyone? Who beyond your own circle can you pray for?
Dear Father, we’re in trouble. Please help and heal us.
