SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Hebrews 13:15 -Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name (NLT).
PRAYER FOCUS
In yesterday’s Scripture, Paul exhorted the Philippian church to couple thanksgiving with their prayer requests. Today’s Scripture focuses on offering a sacrifice of praise to God. Praise and thanksgiving both are a verbal response to the Lord for His love and goodness to us and for His care for us.
How can we offer continual praise and thanksgiving in the middle of our cares and concerns? Do we deny our feelings? The psalmist David certainly was honest about how he felt about his circumstances. Often he would begin with praise and then express his emotions and perplexities. He then would continue by praising God again, even though he was struggling.
A key for the New Testament believer is that this continual sacrifice of praise to God is offered through Jesus. In the previous chapter, the writer of Hebrews encourages us to “look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2, KJV). Ask the Lord to uncover the loveliness of Jesus, the completeness of His redemption, and the magnitude of the spiritual blessings that are laid up for us. This revelation will catapult you into a time of praise and thanksgiving that will make these days of Prayer Focus especially rich and meaningful.
RESPONSE
Let’s spend time today proclaiming our praise to God, thanking Him for all Jesus has done for us!