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January 1 - December 31, 2019
Lord, my culture presses me to spend and spend in order to be happy and secure. But remind me that I have joy and peace in you, and then help me be open to constantly giving a greater and greater percentage of my income away as the years go by. Amen.
“My daily bread” (cf. 1 Timothy 6:8) refers to a modest lifestyle, lower than what we would call middle class.
Lord, don’t let my heart regard my money and possessions as my treasures and you as just a means to various ends. Rather, direct my heart to make you my most precious treasure (1 Peter 2:7) and so see and use my worldly things as mere tools for serving others. Amen.
The Bible’s view of wealth and economics does not fit neatly into either socialism or capitalism.
Hard work and private property are highly valued, yet property rights are not absolute, because we are only stewards of what God has entrusted to us.
Lord, the wisdom of your Word can be reflected but never fully captured by any human political project or economic system. May your people love their neighbors, and give themselves to be salt and light in society (Matthew 5:13–14), yet never put our hopes too much in any social program. Amen.
On one level it means that all leaders are effective only to the degree that they acknowledge at some point the givens of God’s wisdom—that they are not too wise in their own eyes, that they are relatively free from the power of money, that they know themselves and the times and seasons and how relationships work. On another level, however, reigning by me means all leaders, whether they know it or not, exercise authority by the permission and power of God
Lord, instead of grumbling about our civic leaders, move your people to both thank you and pray for those in authority, that they would be given enough wisdom that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (1 Timothy 2:1–2). Amen.
You cannot be a real leader without character that all can see, respect, and therefore trust.
Lord, I pray for the leaders of our states and nations, of business and commerce, of the arts and cultural institutions, of scholarship and the academy, and of social and welfare institutions for their honesty, wisdom, skill, and virtue in their duties, that their work would be a public blessing. Amen.
“a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.
Father, as your Son could read people’s hearts but did not despise them, but rather died for them, so enable me to discern the good and the bad in people. Let such insight, a gift from you, move me only to love them more deeply and more wisely. Amen.
We must not think that any human leader has the insight to completely remove wickedness from a church or organization.
Lord, help me overcome both the fearfulness that leads to indecision and the pride that leads to stubbornness. Give me sound judgment, oh Judge of all the earth, who can only do right (Genesis 18:25). Amen.
Father, we pray that our leaders in the nation would seek loving service instead of power and glory, and that our leaders in the church would fully conform to the pattern of your Son, who came not to be served but to serve. Amen.
Lord, may our nation’s leaders not be motivated mainly by a desire for personal advancement. Let them be animated instead by a vision for peace (the end of violence and conflict), for prosperity (the lifting up of the poor, sick, and hungry), and for freedom (the breaking of systems of injustice). Amen.
Disorganization is selfishness, a lack of sacrificial love in little things.
Father, I have had many captivating ideas for new projects, but too often I lack the wisdom to know how to make the dreams a reality. By your grace, help me be organized enough to finish what I start so I become like your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
What this means is that if you have been given authority—whether as a parent, a teacher, a government official, or a small group leader—it is something God gave to you (Daniel 4:17), and God holds you fully responsible for what you do with it
Lord, leadership made me anxious that I wouldn’t look good, but now it brings, I hope, a godly anxiety that I won’t represent you as I should. Give me all the integrity, unpretentiousness, love, and decisiveness I need to be a good leader. Amen.
Bribes can be legal or illegal depending on the situation and the country, but the Bible universally condemns the practice (Deuteronomy 10:17–18; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Proverbs 17:23, 29:4). It does so not just for the sake of honesty but for the sake of justice. The poor cannot afford to bribe, and so bribery is a way of privileging the rich unfairly. It makes advancement out of poverty impossible.
Father, there are so many forms that a bribe can take! Don’t let me defer to those with wealth and power, even in subtle ways. Let me remember your Son, who left the wealthiest neighborhood in the universe, to live with us, the powerless and poor. Amen.
We may pin all our expectations for justice on an audience with a ruler, when it is only from the Lord that we can be sure it will come.
If we are to trust God as our only true hope for social order and peace, we must avoid either adulatory naïveté or bitter cynicism about human leaders.
Lord, I confess to being shaken when some of my most admired leaders were revealed to have feet of clay. The result was I became too cynical and unwilling to trust and follow anyone. But save me from each form of sin, remembering that both are failures to trust you, my Rock and my Refuge. Amen.
good citizenship is not merely pragmatic but part of a wise and godly life.
Christians respect and love their country, but never uncritically.
Lord, let me rejoice in my country, in its geographical places, and in its people. But let me remember that the glories I see and joys I feel are but foretastes of my true home and people (Philippians 3:20). Then I can take proper pride and true comfort in my country, neither idolizing nor disdaining it. Amen.
Lord, we long for leaders who put the people’s good ahead of personal political gain, and who put truth ahead of ideology. We ask that you would raise up such leaders, and meanwhile prevent us from thinking we would do a far better job, and thereby to despise the leaders we have. Amen.
Lord, I say I only want to witness to the truth but it is often just a way to exert power. I express grief and outrage but it too is sometimes a way to exert power. Let all I do be fueled by a desire for love and service rather than power and control. Amen.
Leadership, then, is lonely. Leaders cannot allow themselves many of the indulgences others have.
Lord, I have come to see that doing right, telling the truth, going against the evil tide—can be so lonely. When I’m tempted to give in, help me to remember your loneliness. In order to save me, you bore rejection not only of enemies and of friends, but of your Father—and all for me. Amen.
Lord, if I live a godly life I will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12) and yet I will also lead people to glorify God (Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12). I confess that neither of these things is happening to me! And so, Lord, make me more godly until I am both more offensive and attractive to the world. Amen.
Father, your Son said that the church’s love relationships should be so powerful that they lead the church to see the truth of the gospel (John 17:20–23). Yet it is the rare church that is seen by its community in this way. Do whatever it takes to raise up churches that glorify you through their good deeds. Amen.
All believers, as citizens, should be deeply concerned for the poor and doing both primary and rectifying justice in their societies, because God is
Lord, the word “charity” strengthens my desire to see care for the poor as merely optional, something I can do if I am having a very good year. However, it is unjust not to share what I have with those who have less. Help me to truly live a righteous life toward those in need. Amen.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. (31:8–9)
Genesis 1:26–27 tells us God made all human beings “in his image.” Because of this, every human life is sacred and inviolable (Genesis 9:6), and every person has a dignity and worth that must be respected.
According to the Bible, then, your neighbor comes into your presence with certain claims on you. Negatively, she has the right to not be assaulted, defrauded, or killed. Positively, she has the right to be treated with fairness and respect. These verses again show us it is the poor and needy who cannot assert those rights without help. Perhaps they cannot speak for themselves because they aren’t instructed enough in the complicated ways of the law, or they can’t speak the language well enough, or they are too poor to get good help and counsel. We must champion the causes of those who do not
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Lord Jesus, you are my advocate (1 John 2:1). You speak for me before the throne of God to which, otherwise, I would have no access. Now, Lord, show me how I can be an advocate for the poor and marginalized. Give me the wisdom to know how to help them get justice. Amen.
Lord, yesterday I asked you to give me the wisdom to be an advocate for the marginalized, but today, I ask for the courage. Give me such grateful joy for what it cost you to be my High Priest, that I will sacrifice for those who have less of the world’s goods and power. Amen.
Father, my heart wants to take full credit for my financial standing and security. Open my eyes to see that my bank account—if there is anything in it at all—is there only through your manifold gifts. Let my generosity to the poor be as unstinting and manifold as your generosity to me. Amen.
Prayer: Lord, if you had come to earth in order to save only those who did not bring their spiritual poverty upon themselves, you could have saved yourself a trip! Though we did not ask for your help, or deserve it, you extended it, at great cost. Help me extend my help to people in need in the same way. Amen.
Father, the more I read through your Word, the more struck I am by how often and how strongly you talk about the poor and call us to do justice for them. Lord, help me to love more the things that you love! And show me how I too can be a defender. Amen.
A society is as strong as its care for its weakest members.
Lord, you want all of society’s main institutions to take their part in lifting up the poor. It seems like such a huge undertaking! But show me practical ways for moving my family, my church, and my government toward active compassion for those in need. Amen.
Lord, bring my country, by your grace, to be more conformed to your Word in how it practices justice on the earth. Amen.
Lord Jesus, the more I contemplate the gospel—how I am sinful yet fully loved—the more I love you with fear and trembling. The gospel answers so many of the deepest riddles. I praise you for its infinite wisdom. Amen.
In short, as Proverbs calls all people to become wise by entering into a relationship with the wisdom that created the world, so the gospel calls all people to get the consummate wisdom, the gospel and the indwelling Spirit of God, through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, if you had stayed in heaven, you would have been a glorious abstraction. But in the pages of the gospel I see perfect holiness in human form. I long for closer personal intimacy with you. Speak to me through your Word. Be real to me in prayer. Amen.
