16 Oct 2025
Our trust in God should cause us to be desperate for the change we want to see. Blind Bartimaeus believed Jesus could heal him. Despite being reprimanded to shut up, his desperation made him call out to God harder. And that led to his healing. Let us not get tired calling out to our God, and let us believe that God can help us. Mark 10:46-52
Daily Prayer for October 16
I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge. 1 Corinthians 1:4–5, NIV Lord our God, we thank you that you are so near to us that we may feel and know we are your children, your children who are in your hands with all that belongs to our earthly life, all our needs and temptations, all our efforts and pain. We come together to thank you, and our thanksgiving wins a victory over everything that makes life difficult for us. In this thanksgiving the harshness, crookedness, and injustice on earth cannot harm us. Protect us with your light, which gives us wisdom for all situations and which lifts us above everything that is base and meaningless and must pass away. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Simone Weil and the Sacred Work of Doubt Stefani Ruper For Weil, doubt was not the opposite of faith. It was the most faithful posture she could imagine. Read now Lord, Teach Me to Pray Dorothy Day If you have to force yourself to pray, those prayers are of far more account with God than prayers which bring comfort. Read now Down There by the Train Brandon McNeice Tom Waits’s outlaw hymn reminds us that there will be a place at the wedding feast for some unlikely characters – and for each of us sinners. Read now Introducing Another Life Podcast Joy Marie Clarkson, Peter Mommsen and Maureen Swinger To live better we have to begin with the conviction that another life is possible. That is what this podcast aims to explore. Read now Mind Your Own Scapegoats Frank Mulder René Girard has influenced both conservative and liberal thinkers, yet few have been as sharp in dissecting the violent tendencies in each of us. Read now
Today’s Verse – Psalm 34:16
The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. —Psalm 34:16 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… God hates violence and demands that we not admire those who are violent or share in their violent lifestyles (Proverbs 3:31). God abhors those who do evil. God not only opposes them when they are alive, but he also mitigates their influence and poisons any memory of them after they are gone. God helps us see “those who do evil” for who and what they really are and what they have done. Far from being viewed as heroes, their legacy of hate and wickedness is spurned, shunned, disdained, and forgotten. God will “cut off the memory of them from the earth.” My Prayer… In our own time, dear Father, help us see the wickedness done by “those who do evil” for who they are. O LORD, please render their threats impotent and ensure that any remembrance of them is a foul stench in the nostrils of those who come after them. Please, don’t let them deceive and co-opt others into doing their evil will after they are gone. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
15 Oct 2025
We also have to learn to trust God, for He knows us better than we know ourselves. If I were Moses, I would also have doubted that I would become the deliverer of Israel from Egypt. After a long discussion, Moses decided to trust God. May the Lord show us what to do, and may we trust Him. May this bring hope and victory to the glory of His name. Exodus 4:10-17.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 34:15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry… —Psalm 34:15 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We are righteous because of God’s mercy and grace (Ephesians 2:1-10). These were given to us in Jesus! We received them because of our faith in him. We are remembered because of God’s faithfulness. We are heard because of God’s lovingkindness. We are blessed because God is good. Let’s choose to live in righteous ways, seeking to live up to who Christ has declared us to be (Colossians 1:22). As we do, let’s know that God, our loving Father, keeps us in his sight and watches over us with loving care. My Prayer… Thank you, Father, for seeing our needs, hearing our cries, answering our prayers, and coming down to save, comfort, and bless us with your grace. In Jesus’ name, we thank you. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
14 Oct 2025
May the victories bring hope, and may our faith grow as a result because we serve a faithful God. He promised that a childless man would be the father of nations, that his barren wife would give birth in old age. He even went ahead to seal his promise with an oath. May He stir up our hope and cause us and many to believe. May the seemingly impossible be made possible for His glory. Hebrews 6:13-20
Today’s Verse – Psalm 34:14
Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. —Psalm 34:14 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… It is not enough to turn from evil. We can clean the putrid things out of our lives and hearts, but if we do not actively pursue what is good, then a worse evil can rush into the void, and our second condition becomes worse than the first (Matthew 12:43-45). So, let’s be people who turn from evil, become eager to do what is good, and with a passion choose to “wage peace.” My Prayer… O Father, please let me be an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, use me to share your love and grace. Where there is injury, sin, and brokenness, please use me to bring healing, forgiveness, and comfort. Please, Abba Father, use me to do your good work in my broken world as I seek to live at peace with all people. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
13 Oct 2025
Victory, however small, goes a long way in giving us the encouragement to keep working towards our goal. May the Lord grant us victory often. May He have mercy on us and cause us to experience breakthrough after breakthrough. Amen. Psalm 44:1-8.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 34:12-13
Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. —Psalm 34:12-13 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… God reminds us that our words and the way we use our speech significantly impact the quality of life we will enjoy. Nothing cuts short a vibrant life like evil speech and the lies we tell. These deadly evils unleash deception and destruction that we cannot control. This unleashed poisonous power not only harms those about whom and to whom we speak, but evil words and lies eventually boomerang, coming back to bring their deadly payload into our own lives. Let’s be people who speak what is right, good, wholesome, holy, true, and a blessing (Ephesians 4:20-5:12). My Prayer… Holy and Righteous God, my Father, purify my heart. Please cleanse my words of all deceit, slander, vulgarity, wickedness, untruth, exaggeration, mean-spiritedness, distortion, guile, and words that wound. May the words of my mouth and the intentions of my heart be pleasing to you, O God, my LORD and my Redeemer. In Jesus’ name. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 34:11
Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. —Psalm 34:11 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Is there any greater definition of what a parent’s role is than this? Let’s make sure that in the swirling demands and involvements of our lives we do not forget the MAIN thing that God has given us as parents, teachers, and friends to do in the lives of children we love. My Prayer… O Master, LORD God my Savior and Sustainer, my Abba Father, please keep my heart set on your priorities with the children in my life. In Jesus’ name, I beg for this grace to be true. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.