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Dear Fellow Pray-er,
Prayer Diary for the period Thursday 21st August – Wednesday 8th October 2025.
The reading from Ezekiel on Wednesday ended with “I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Then we jump forward to Ezekiel’s vision of the glory of the Lord entering the temple. Without the glory of the God of Israel, Ezekiel’s temple was nothing more than a building. With the glory of God, it was a sacred place, a habitation for God and the radiance of His presence. Oh, that that glory would return soon!
Now onto Proverbs – and the encouragement to seek wisdom. What a wealth of wonderful teaching. I do urge you not to rush through this but rather to savour each verse and then see how it compares or contrasts with your life. A particular passage that has remained with me over the years is 9:9. “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still.” Such a man has the wisdom to really listen to what is being said to him! Also 15:33 “The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honour.” Both of which I need more of!
We continue with 1 Chronicles starting nearly halfway through the book with the account of David bringing the ark of God to the City of David. It is interesting to notice that Michal, David’s wife, despised him when she saw him dancing and celebrating. Something that nowadays is also often looked down on and yet God is a God of love and laughter. For example, Jesus went to Canaan to celebrate a wedding!
I find it encouraging to read in 17:8 of God’s promise: “Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth.” And we can see for ourselves the truth of that promise, that still after over about 3,000 years, he is still well known. And then his preparations for the building of the Temple by his son, Solomon. Notice David’s humility in telling all the officials of Israel that it is not him but his son that God has chosen to build the house of the Lord. Also, his prayer: “Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” No wonder he was known as a man after God’s heart! Then the death of David – “He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honour.”
Now, David’s son Solomon, and God’s appearance to him offering him whatever he wanted God to give him. Solomon’s response is to acknowledge God’s kindness to his father and that it is God who has made him king and he asks for wisdom and knowledge. Then begins the building of the temple. Although not mentioned here, I remember it being pointed out to me that “In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.” (1 Kings 6:7). Such was the reverence and respect they had for the Lord! Finally, after completion they brought the ark into the temple with great rejoicing and the temple was filled with a cloud “and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.” O that we might also know such a presence of the Lord in our services.
The New Testament readings continue with the Gospel of Mark, one that I find moves at such a pace – it can be read in its entirety in under an hour – you might like to try it, as it does present a different picture of Jesus to that which we get in reading short passages.
We start with John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, his temptation in the desert and then the calling of the first disciples. We have not got to the end of the first page of the Gospel before Jesus starts healing! And on a Sabbath! A particular healing that has always stuck in my mind is the healing of the boy with an evil spirit whose Father said to Jesus “But if you can do anything take pity on us and help us.” to which Jesus replied, “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes.” There is no doubt in that statement! You may care to listen to the account in a song by Don Francisco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_mxqsNuIHQ
I do believe that God has so much more for each of us. We need to join Jesus at the table as he invites us to sit and eat with Him; to read our Bibles with the expectancy that he will speak to each of us. There is so much more that He has for us if we would follow His leading, listening to the Holy Spirit and giving of ourselves to worship him!
We do pray that through the days and months to come that you will know his love for you and the leading of His Holy Spirit in your life.
With our love,
Peter & Sylvia