Daily Devotion and Prayer for December 16th

+ DAILY PRAYER +

This Daily Devotion covers the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy also called the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, in a period of one year in a Monday through Friday format, the Psalms and order of devotion follow those presented in The Treasury of Daily Prayer from Concordia Publishing House.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;

hear me and answer me.

Evening, morning, and noon,

I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you;

He will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 27:1-5, 11-14

        The LORD is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

               The LORD is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

             When evildoers assail me

to eat up my flesh,

               my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

             Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

               though war arise against me,

yet I will be confident.

             One thing have I asked of the LORD,

that will I seek after:

               that I may dwell in the house of the LORD

all the days of my life,

               to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD

and to inquire in his temple.

             For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

               he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high upon a rock.

11       Teach me your way, O LORD,

and lead me on a level path

because of my enemies.

     12       Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;

for false witnesses have risen against me,

and they breathe out violence.

     13       I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living!

     14       Wait for the LORD;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the LORD!

Exodus 18:1-10

Jethro’s Advice

18 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”), and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. And when he sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

Lord’s Prayer

Daily Prayer

Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created. Give us the faith to behold the majesty of Your presence in simple words, plain water, and ordinary bread and wine, as You come to us in the true body and blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in Whose holy Name we pray, amen.

Concluding Prayer

Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to direct and rule us according to Your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.