Deuteronomy 15 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Deuteronomy 15.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/deu/15/1/s_168001

Meditate on verse 9a.

 

Beware that there is no base thought in your heart.

 

What an amazing verse to meditate on today!  Think about a few of the words. 

 

^·              Beware means “to guard and observe; to keep watch and protect; to keep oneself from.”¹

 

^·              Base means “worthless, good for nothing, unprofitable, wicked, destructive.”²

 

^·              Thought means “word, thing, matter, utterance.”³

 

^·              Heart means “mind, inner being, thinking, inclination, seat of appetites.”⁴

 

Ask the LORD to make you aware of every time your mind wanders to worthless things.  Train your mind to immediately “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

 

Pray Deuteronomy 15:9a over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, please make ____________ and me beware that there

 is no base thought in our heart.

In Your name, Jesus~”

 

 

 

 

1.      Retrieved from www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H8104&t=NASB

2.      Retrieved from www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1100&t=NASB

3.      Retrieved from www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1697&t=NASB

4.      Retrieved from www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H3824&t=NASB

 

 

 

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 4 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Deuteronomy 14 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Deuteronomy 14.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/deu/14/1/s_167001

Meditate on verse 2.

 

For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the

LORD has chosen you to be a people for His own possession

 out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

 

God not only chose Israel to be His people; He chose people who are born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3).

 

But you are a chosen race, a

royal priesthood, a holy nation,

 a people for God’s own possession,

so that you may proclaim

 the excellencies of Him who has

 called you out of darkness into

 His marvelous light; for you once

were not a people, but now you

 are the people of God; you

had not received mercy,

 but now you have received mercy.

—1 Peter 2:9-10

 

Holy people, chosen by Almighty God, behave differently from the rest of the world.  By obeying the commands in Deuteronomy 14, the Israelites set themselves apart from those not belonging to God.  Do your behaviors make it obvious you belong to God instead of to the world? 

 

As a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7), use the words from Deuteronomy 14:2 and 29, praying for God to choose and bless those you love.

 

“LORD, please make ____________ a holy people to You.

 Choose them to be a people for Your own possession

 out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

LORD our God, please bless us in all the work of our hands,

 so the Levite, the alien, the orphan, and the widow

 can come to us and eat and be satisfied.

In Your name, Jesus~”

 

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 4 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

 

Deuteronomy 13 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Deuteronomy 13.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/deu/13/1/s_166001

Meditate on verses 4 and 17a.

 

You shall follow the LORD your God and

fear Him, and you shall keep

His commandments, listen to His voice,

serve Him, and cling to Him. 

Nothing from that which is put

under the ban shall cling to your hand.

 

In this chapter, God contrasts clinging to Him and clinging to things that take your allegiance from Him.  He commands the purging of evil and putting to death things which seduce you away from Him (vs. 5, 10).  This is strong language, demanding serious attention.  

 

Think about your life.  To what or whom do you cling besides Almighty God?  Who and what seduces you not to wholeheartedly walk with Christ and love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?  Ask God to help you purge things distracting you from Him.*

 

Pray Deuteronomy 13:4-5 and 17-18 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, help _______ and me

follow You and fear You.

Help us keep Your commandments,

listen to Your voice, serve You,

and cling to You.  Let us put to death

anything counseling rebellion against

You, LORD our God, for You redeemed

us from the house of slavery to sin.

 Help us put to death anything

that seduces us from the way

in which You command us to walk. 

Purge the evil from among us.

Let nothing which You have

banned cling to our hands. 

LORD, please turn from Your burning

anger and show mercy to us.

 Have compassion on us and make

 us increase as we listen to

 Your voice, keep Your commandments,

and do what is right in Your sight.

In Your name, Jesus~”

 

*Prayerfully consider relationships, music, media, books, habits, etc. that God wants to you to purge.

 

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 4 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Deuteronomy 12 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Deuteronomy 12.  Notice the repeated words, “the place.”

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/deu/12/1/s_165001

Meditate on verse 5.

 

But, you shall seek the LORD

at the place which the LORD

 your God will choose from

all your tribes, to establish

 His name there for His dwelling,

and there you shall come.

 

Six times in this chapter Moses talks about the place God will choose to establish His name (vs. 5, 11, 14, 18, 21, 26).  Interestingly, he never names a geographical location.  God did that on purpose because He had a very special place in mind for His name to dwell.  Although the tabernacle would be erected in Gilgal, Shiloh, and Gibeon, and the temple would eventually be built in Jerusalem (Joshua 4:19; 18:1; 1 Chronicles 21:29; 2 Chronicles 3:1), an even more incredible place would be home for God’s name.  That place is you!

 

Do you not know that you are a temple of God

 and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

—1 Corinthians 3:16

 

God always knew that His name would be established and dwell in you.  He purposely called it the place because you are the place God chose for His name to dwell.  God had you on His mind when He gave Moses these words nearly 3,500 years ago.  Amazing!

 

Pray for those you love who still need to give themselves to God as His dwelling place.  Pray for them to desire to be the place.  As their faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7), pray for them using Deuteronomy 12:5.

 

“LORD, please let _________ seek

You and be the place

which You will choose to establish

Your name for Your dwelling.

In Your name, Jesus~”

 

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 4 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Deuteronomy 11 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Deuteronomy 11.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/deu/11/1/s_164001

Meditate on verse 7.

 

But, your own eyes have seen all the

 great work of the LORD which He did.

 

As Moses recounted the miracles and disciplines of the LORD over the past 40 years, he reminded the older generation that they, too, were eye-witnesses to these works of God, and they were to tell their children about God and His mighty deeds (v. 19).  Then, their children would see with their own eyes the work of the LORD and teach their children how to recognize God and His ways.

 

Ask God to help you see with your own eyes all the great work He is doing in your life and the lives of those you love.  Tell others what He has done, so they, too, can recognize His hand on their lives.

 

Pray Deuteronomy 11:7, 13, and 18-22 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, please help ________ and me

see with our own eyes all the

 great work You are doing.  Help us listen

 obediently to Your commandments

to love You and to serve You with all

our heart and soul.  Help us impress

Your Words on our heart and on our soul. 

Let us bind them as a sign on

 our hand and as frontals on our forehead. 

Let us teach them to our

 children, talking of them when we sit in

 our house and when we walk along

 the road and when we lie down and when

 we rise up.  Let us write them on

 the doorposts of our house and on our

gates, so that our days and the days

of our children may be multiplied.  Let us be

careful to keep all this commandment

 to love You, LORD our God, to walk in

all Your ways and to hold fast to You.

In Your name, Jesus~”

 

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 4 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Deuteronomy 10 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Deuteronomy 10.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/deu/10/1/s_163001

Meditate on verse 10b.

 

The LORD listened to me that time also;

the LORD was not willing to destroy you.

 

Does prayer make a difference?  God did not destroy Aaron and the Israelites after they made and worshiped the golden calf because Moses begged God to spare them (Deuteronomy 9:18-20).  Do not lose heart in prayer because your prayers move the heart of God on behalf of those you love.  Deuteronomy 10 is full of verses to pray; pray verses 8-10, 12-17, and 20-21 as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, set apart __________ and me to stand before You to serve You

 and to bless Your name.  LORD, You are our inheritance.

 Please listen to me this time also; do not destroy us. 

Help us do what You require from us:

to fear You, LORD our God,

 to walk in all Your ways and love You,

and to serve You, LORD our God, with all

our heart and with all our soul,

and to keep Your commandments

and Your statutes which You command for our good.

Behold, to You, LORD our God, belong heaven

 and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.

 Yet, You set Your affection to love us

 and our descendants after us.

 So, circumcise our hearts; let us stiffen our necks no longer.

  For LORD, You are the God of gods

and the LORD of lords, the great, the mighty,

 and the awesome God who does not

 show partiality nor take a bribe.

  Let us fear You, LORD our God, and serve You and cling to You.

 You are our praise, and You are our God

who has done great and awesome things

 for us which our eyes have seen.

Thank You, in Your name, Jesus~”

 

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 4 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Deuteronomy 9 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Deuteronomy 9.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/deu/9/1/s_162001

Meditate on verses 6-7.

 

Know then it is not because of your righteousness that

 the LORD your God is giving you this good land

 to possess, for you are a stubborn people.

Remember, do not forget how you provoked the LORD

 your God to wrath in the wilderness;

 from the day that you left the land of Egypt

until you arrived at this place, you

 have been rebellious against the LORD.

 

 

Three times in this chapter the people were told they provoked the LORD to wrath, and three times they were reminded it was not because of their righteousness the LORD worked on their behalf (vs. 4-8, 22).  We have a similar story.  Our hard hearts provoke God, and our righteous deeds are filthiness in His sight (Hebrews 3:8; Isaiah 64:6).  Only Jesus Christ can be our righteousness; through Him we can be filled with the fruit of righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 1:11). 

 

For whom are you praying for God to save from His wrath through the righteousness of Jesus?   Take heart that God listened to Moses when he prayed for the Israelites as they experienced God’s “anger and hot displeasure” (v. 19).  Continue to be a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7) and pray Deuteronomy 9:19-21 over yourself and those you love.

 

“LORD, please listen to me again this time.

Spare __________ and me from Your

 anger, hot displeasure,

and wrath that would destroy us.

LORD, You are angry enough

with __________ to destroy them;

 please save them instead.

Please help us take our sinful things, burn

 them with fire, crush them, grind them

 very small until they are as

 fine as dust and throw them away.

In Your name, Jesus~”

 

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 4 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Deuteronomy 8 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Deuteronomy 8.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/deu/8/1/s_161001

Meditate on verse 3b.

 

Man does not live by bread alone,

but man lives by everything that proceeds

 out of the mouth of the LORD.

 

As you hold the Bible, the Words that proceed from the mouth of the LORD, ponder His desire to strengthen and sustain you with every word in it.  Think about your favorite food, something you crave, something that instantly makes your stomach growl.  Ask God to give you the same craving hunger for His Word.  Ask Him to awaken you every morning with the insatiable desire to feed on His Words.  And just as you eat food throughout the day, meditate on verses from the Bible throughout the day.

 

There is a lot to chew from this chapter.  As you do, pray Deuteronomy 8:3, 6, 10-14, and 16-18 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“Make _______ and me understand we

 do not live by bread alone, but

we live by everything that proceeds

out of Your mouth, LORD.

 Help us keep Your commandments

 to walk in Your ways and fear You. 

When we eat and are satisfied, let us

bless You for the  good You give us. 

Do not let us forget You, LORD our God, by

not keeping Your commandments and Your

 ordinances and your statutes.  When we eat and are

satisfied, and build good houses and live in them,

 and when our herds and flocks multiply, and our

 silver and gold multiply, and all we have multiplies,

do not let our heart become proud and forget

You, LORD our God, who brought us out of slavery to sin.

 As You humble and test us to do good for us

in the end, let us never say in our heart,

 ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’

 Let us remember that You, LORD our

 God, give us power to make wealth.

For the glory of Your name, Jesus~”

 

 

 

Deuteronomy 7 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Deuteronomy 7, focusing on God and His actions and attributes.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/deu/7/1/s_160001

Meditate on verse 9.

 

Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God,

 the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and

 His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation

 with those who love Him and keep His commandments.

 

Take confidence in these facts about the LORD:

 

·      He brings people where He needs them, clearing, delivering, and defeating obstacles (vs. 1-2).

·      He chooses people and sets His love on them (vs. 6-7).

·      He keeps His oaths and brings people out by His mighty hand, redeeming them (v. 8).

·      He is faithful, keeping His covenant and lovingkindness with those who love and obey Him (v. 9).

·      He loves, blesses, and multiplies (v. 13).

·      He removes sickness and diseases (v. 15).

·      He is great and awesome (v. 21).

 

Pray for the great and awesome God to do these things in the lives of those you love.  Pray Deuteronomy 7:6, 9, 13, and 15 as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, make ___________ and me holy people to You,

chosen for Your own possession.

LORD, You are the faithful God who keeps Your

 covenant and Your lovingkindness to a thousandth

generation with those who love You and keep Your commandments.

 May we love You and keep Your commandments.

Please love, bless, and multiply us.  Please bless the fruit of our womb,

 the fruit of our ground, our grain and new wine and oil,

 the increase of our herd, and the young of our flock.

LORD, please remove all sickness from us and

 do not put on us any of the harmful diseases.

In Your name, Jesus~”

 

 

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 4 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell