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Calling all pilgrims!
Join us for the first-ever Emmaus Ministries Virtual Walk and Challenge , October 1–November 12. Together, Read More
The Upper Room is here for you in these anxious times. Click Here
Bruce C. Birch | Read Psalm 13:1-6
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Sign Up Today“How long, O Lord?” Four times in the first two verses the psalmist cries out in distress to the Lord. He is beset by enemies. He feels that God has forgotten him. His language borders on impertinence. He implies that God is not properly coming to his aid. He even...
Receive our prayer, O Lord. Even in our most troubled and impatient times, encompass us in your grace. We trust that your grace will be sufficient for all aspects of our life. Amen.
The passages this week highlight several different themes. Abraham is put to the ultimate test. There is no denying how terrifying God’s request must have been, yet Abraham ultimately is commended for his faith. We will not face this same challenge, but are there things dear to our hearts that God is asking us to give up? The psalmist is in deep despair and weary from awaiting God’s deliverance, yet even now there is confidence. Paul continues to instruct the Romans about the necessity of living a new life, no longer being slaves to the desires of the flesh. Jesus teaches that when we receive those doing his work, we receive him. When we interact with pastors, missionaries, and even nursery workers, do we treat these servants as Jesus himself?
Read Genesis 22:1-14. What has this familiar story meant to you in your faith? How do you embody or struggle against this type of obedience and trust?
Read Psalm 13. When has your lament allowed you to move from anger with God to praise? How long did that process take?
Read Romans 6:12-23. How does the definition of death as a life cut off from God rather than a biological reality change your understanding of this passage? How might incorporating this definition of death change your life?
Read Matthew 10:40-42. Who is in your wider community of witnesses? How does their example prompt you to turn to others in service?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I could not have found The Upper Room Moments of Prayer (on Facebook Live) sooner. For it is during these moments of centering spiritual practices, meditating on the words of scripture, praying with and for the world, that I find moments of transcendence, hear whispers of peace and hope, see glimpses of truth and justice, behold visions of love and beauty amid all the stark realities that are around me.”
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