Job 3 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Job 3.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/job/3/1/s_439001

Meditate on verses 25-26.

 

For what I fear comes upon me, and

 what I dread befalls me.

 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, and

 I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.

 

For the next 36 days, you have the privilege of listening in on the conversation between Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu.  You may want to make note in your Bible of which one of the five is speaking.  At the end of their discourse, God reveals His thoughts.  Before you read any further, you need to know what God thinks about Job and his friends:

 

It came about after the LORD had spoken these

words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz

 the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you

 and against your two friends, because you have not

 spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has.

Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls

and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and

offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My

servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept

him so that I may not do with you according to

your folly, because you have not spoken of Me

what is right, as My servant Job has."

—Job 42:7-8

 

Keeping God’s Words in mind, learn from Job’s friends what not to say when someone is hurting and learn from Job how to handle difficulty.

 

Pour out your heart to the LORD with Job 3:25-26 as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, what I fear comes upon me,

 and what I dread befalls me. 

I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, and

I am not at rest, but turmoil comes. 

Thank You that I can pour out my heart to You, Jesus~”

 

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

 

Job 2 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Job 2.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/job/2/1/s_438001

Meditate on verse 3.

 

The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job?

For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright

 man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds

 fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause."

 

Satan’s reason for attacking Job, a God-fearing, honorable man, was to get him to lose his integrity.  Yet, despite losing his ten children, servants, 11,500 head of livestock, and being diseased with boils from his head to his toes, “Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 1:2-3, 13-19; 2:10).  Incredible!

 

Be mindful of Satan’s schemes when you are being attacked; his goal is to incite you to sin and lose your integrity.  The psalmist David was often attacked by the enemy; hear what he said to God about his integrity:

 

Let integrity and uprightness preserve

me, for I wait for You.

—Psalm 25:21

As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and

You set me in Your presence forever.

—Psalm 41:12

 

No matter what is happening in your life right now, wait for God to deliver you.  As a Christian, you abide in His presence forever; He will uphold you.

 

Pray Job 2:3 and 10 over yourself and others in difficult situations as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, keep ___________ and me blameless, upright, fearing

You, and turning away from evil.  Let us still hold fast our

 integrity, although it feels like You are against us to ruin us

without cause.  God, shall we indeed accept good from You and

not accept adversity?  Do not let us sin with our lips.

In Your name, Jesus~”

 

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

 

 

 

Job 1 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Job 1.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/job/1/1/s_437001

Meditate on verse 20.

 

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head,

and he fell to the ground and worshiped.

 

The day we began writing the Job devotionals we received two pieces of difficult news concerning our family within a couple of hours.  Our hearts were broken and sad, and we questioned what God was doing in the midst of these situations.  So, it is no accident that God wanted us to write prayer devotionals from a book addressing the fact that bad things happen to us and to those around us.  How do we as Christians respond when we are the afflicted ones, and how do we respond to others in the midst of their affliction?  Thankfully God gave us the book of Job.  As you read these first two chapters, observe God, Job, and Satan.  Let God’s Word teach you how to walk with the LORD.

 

Ponder Job’s response to receiving the horrific news that all of his children are dead.  He worshiped God.  Amazing!  Ask the LORD to make you a worshiper, so that worship is your first response to Him no matter what is happening in your life.

 

Pray Job 1:1 and 20-22 as the LORD’s faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, please make __________ and me like Job—blameless,

 upright, fearing You, and turning away from evil. 

May we always fall to the ground and worship You.

LORD, naked we came from our mother’s womb

and naked we shall return there.

You give and You take away.  Blessed be Your name, LORD!

Through it all, do not let us sin or blame You, God.

In Your name, Jesus~”

 

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

 

Acts 28 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Acts 28.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/act/28/1/s_1046001

Meditate on verse 14b.

 

Thus we came to Rome.

 

Wow!  What a journey (Acts 23:11-28:14)!  Paul finally made it to Rome where he had many day-long conversations with prominent Jews about Jesus (v. 23).  Some believed; some did not (v. 24).  To those who refused to believe, Paul said:

 

"The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the

 prophet to your fathers, saying, 'Go

to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing,

but will not understand, and you will keep on seeing,

but will not perceive, for the heart of this people has

 become dull, and with their ears, they scarcely hear,

 and they have closed their eyes; otherwise

 they might see with their eyes and hear with their

 ears, and understand with their

 heart and return, and I would heal them.”’”

—Acts 28:25b-27

 

There are three wonderful truths in this last chapter of Acts:

 

1.     The Holy Spirit wrote the Bible (v. 25). 

2.     The good news for those who do not yet perceive their situation is that God is working and wants all people to hear and repent so Jesus can come into their lives (vs. 26-28).

3.     And finally, Paul arrived in Rome, just like the Holy Spirit said (Acts 19:21). 

 

And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters

 and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching

the kingdom of God and teaching concerning

 the LORD Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.

—Acts 28:30-31

 

Pray Acts 28:30-31 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, let _______ and me welcome all who come

 to us, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning

 the LORD Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.

For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

 

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

Acts 27 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Acts 27.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/act/27/1/s_1045001

Meditate on verses 22-25.  Paul is speaking.

 

“Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for

 there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

 For this very night an angel of the God to whom

 I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying,

 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and

 behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.'

 Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe

God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.”

 

The LORD continued revealing His secrets to Paul as he was sent from Caesarea by the Sea to Rome.  In the meditation passage, the people onboard ship were in dire circumstances and losing hope.  Paul encouraged them he would see Caesar, and all 276 of them would survive the journey (v. 37).

 

As the ship breaks apart, some of the Roman soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to ensure they did not escape (v. 42).  “But the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention” (v. 43).

 

The centurion and the shipwreck are an example of the Holy Spirit working through people and events to fulfill God’s purposes.

 

Pray Acts 27:23-25 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

 

“LORD God, _________ and I belong to and serve You. 

Do not let us be afraid to do what You say we will do.

 Spare those who are with us.  Help us keep up our

courage, for we believe You, God, that it

will turn out exactly as You have told us.

For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

 

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

 

Acts 26 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Acts 26.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/act/26/1/s_1044001

Meditate on verse 1.

 

Agrippa said to Paul, “You are

 permitted to speak for yourself.” 

Then Paul stretched out his hand and

 proceeded to make his defense.

 

In the book of Acts, you see heroes of faith speak to Roman and Jewish leaders, Athenian scholars, royal households, and angry mobs.  They rise to the occasion and say the things God uses to change lives.  What makes them successful is they are prompted by the Holy Spirit to say what God wants the listeners to hear.

Speaking to people of power and those who hate God, results in nervous times for most people.  Jesus said to all of His followers:

“When they bring you before the synagogues and the

rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what

 you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to

say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour

 what you ought to say.  When they arrest you and hand

you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to

 say but say whatever is given you in that hour, for

 it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.”

—Luke 12:11-12; Mark 13:11

 

God wants you to trust Him.  He enables you to speak about and live out your faith in front of others. 

 

Note Agrippa’s response after Paul finished speaking: “In a short time, you will persuade me to become a Christian” (v. 28).

 

Pray Acts 26:29 over those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“I wish to God that whether in a short or

 long time, __________ and all who

 hear me might become as I am, a

 follower of the LORD Jesus Christ.

For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

 

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

Acts 25 - Praying God's Word

 

Please read Acts 25.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/act/25/1/s_1043001

Meditate on verses 18-19.

 

When the accusers stood up, they began

bringing charges against him

not of such crimes as I was expecting,

but they simply had some points

 of disagreement with him about

their own religion and about a dead

 man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.

 

Imprisoned at Caesarea by the Sea for two years was not wasted time for Paul (Acts 24:27).  The Holy Spirit gave him many opportunities to share his faith in this vital port city, and He gave Luke, who was with Paul, time to interview eyewitnesses of Jesus as he penned the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-2).  God’s timing is perfect.

 

The LORD often uses circumstances greater than we can fathom to move us and help us grow.  Paul relied on the Holy Spirit for what to say and do in his circumstances.  And after he did indeed go to Rome to appeal to Caesar, Paul penned these words to the Ephesian Christians:

 

So then do not be foolish but understand what

 the will of the LORD is.  And do not get drunk with wine,

 for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.

—Ephesians 5:17-18

 

Paul lived those words in his passionate plea to the Roman Governor Festus to appear before Caesar (vs. 10-12).  A Texas evangelist once said, “If you are drunk with wine, you say and do things you would not normally do.  If you are filled with the Spirit, you say and do things you would not normally do.”  As the Holy Spirit controls you, you miraculously do and say things you never thought possible for God’s glory.

 

Pray Acts 25:19 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

 

“LORD, make _________ and me

like Paul, always ready

 to declare You are alive, Jesus!”

 

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