From: September 11, 2025
“Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:17 ESV).
David’s psalm reveals a rhythm of life anchored by prayer. He speaks of calling upon the Lord evening, morning, and noon—a way of saying that prayer framed his entire day. The unusual order beginning with evening probably reflects the Jewish reckoning of time: the day began at sunset (Gen. 1:5). His prayer was often filled with complaint and groaning, yet he was confident: “He hears my voice.” Like Daniel, who prayed three times a day (Dan. 6:10), David was committed to regular and real communion with God. His prayers were not about eloquence but earnestness. David’s constancy in prayer marked his days more than meal times.
Psalm 55:17 teaches that prayer should be persistent, regular, and sincere, not limited to special occasions but woven into the daily rhythm of life. David’s prayers are full of complaint and groaning, yet they are confident in God’s attentive ear.
Just as we eat three meals a day to sustain our bodies, so we should feed our souls by communing with the Bread of Life in prayer. David’s prayer life marked his days more than his meal times. What marks your day? The ping of a notification? The rhythm of work or school? Or is it the voice of God in prayer? This verse calls us to develop a spiritual discipline of daily prayer times—not as a legalistic duty, but as a joyful necessity. Imagine how your life might change if every morning began with surrender, every midday pause reminded you of God’s presence, and every evening closed with trust in His care. Prayer would not just punctuate your day—it would shape your life.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we confess how easily our days are marked by busyness instead of prayer. Teach us to order our days with You at the center. Help us to begin, continue, and end every day in communion with You. May our complaints, our groans, and our joys all be lifted to You with confidence that You hear our voice. Shape our hearts so that prayer becomes our daily bread, feeding us with the presence of Christ, the true Bread of Life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: September 11, 2024
“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise” (2 Corinthians 12:2-3 ESV).
In the climax of Paul’s “boastings,” he spoke of himself in the third person as a man who was “caught up to the third heaven.” Perhaps he felt it too immodest to speak of himself in the first person as one who had been entrusted with such a heavenly experience. Yet, he shared it with the Corinthians as a part of his apostolic resume to refute those who had challenged his authority.
Some have misunderstood Paul’s reference to the “third heaven,” imagining three levels of spiritual elevation. A simpler explanation is to understand it as the Jews of that day did. In their view, the first heaven was the blue sky at day, the second, the night sky with its starry host, and the third, the unseen heaven, where God and His heavenly host dwell. Paul clarifies this by calling the third heaven, “paradise.”
The word “paradise” is only found in the Bible three times (Luke 23:43, 2 Cor. 12:3, Rev. 2:7). It has the original meaning of a beautiful garden and was used in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) to describe the “garden” of Eden. In Luke’s gospel, Christ promised the thief on the cross, “Today, you shall be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). So “Paradise” may be taken to be another name for the Present Heaven, where the saints who have passed from this life dwell with the Lord until the Day of Christ’s return.
Paul did not go into detail about what he had experienced, only saying that he heard “things that cannot be told.” He apparently experienced first hand what Isaiah had prophesied and what he had written about in his first letter to the Corinthians, that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (Isa. 64:4; 1 Cor. 2:9).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we may not know the details, but we know the promise that we will be with You in Paradise. We know and believe that wherever Christ is, we are and will always be. Therefore, help us to live with our hearts and minds set on things above. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: September 11, 2023
“Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” (Psalm 55:22 NLT).
Who carries your burdens? Are you trying to carry them alone? Why would you keep laboring under such a weight when the Lord offers to take care of you? Cast your burdens on the Lord. Pull them off your back and put them on His. For He is able to carry them and you. And when the storms of life come to blow you away, He will not permit you to be moved, nor shaken. After the storm, He will strengthen you to continue to stand.
Remember the invitation of Christ Jesus: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). We can find rest in our Lord Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we give our burdens to You today. For You are able to carry them and we are not. Replace our anxiety with Your peace. Give us Your rest. Strengthen us to always stand for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: September 11, 2022
CHRIST’S STRENGTH IN MY WEAKNESS
Paul told the Corinthians that he had learned to glory in his weaknesses, for it was in weakness that he had experienced the power of Christ at work in and through him. He had learned that real strength comes out of weakness which, distrustful of itself, gives itself up to God.
The weak learn to lean on God. Just as the Israelites in the wilderness learned to gather enough manna for the day, so we can learn to depend on Christ’s power for the troubles of today. The Lord will empower us to face each day when we call on Him, for the Scripture says, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deut. 33:25).
Do you already own the strength and resources to accomplish the dreams God has given you? Then, your dreams are too small and your labors are too self-dependent. Yet God calls us to things too big for us to do without Him.
Paul’s pedigree included admitting his personal weakness and total reliance on Christ’s power. He never claimed to be a hero. He lifted up Christ as the Hero!
Do you feel weak today? Good. Don’t see it as an excuse for inaction, but rather as the perfect opportunity to call on Christ’s power! For when we are weak, then in Christ, we are strong.
PRAYER: Dear Father, give us this day our daily bread. Give us strength for today. Empower us to do Thy will. Give us both the will and the power to accomplish that which You have ordained for us. And we will give You all the glory. For it is in Jesus’ name that we pray, amen.
From: September 11, 2016
On this 15th anniversary of 911, it is good to be reminded that God hears our heartfelt prayers. This Davidic psalm speaks of the spiritual discipline of praying three times a day. Just as we eat three meals a day to sustain our bodies with bread, so we should commune with the Bread of Life in prayer to feed our souls. David started with “evening” prayers because the Jewish day began at sunset. He arose at daybreak to morning prayers and paused at noon for midday prayers. Prayer times marked his days more than meal times. Do you have a spiritual discipline of daily prayer times?