+ 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.
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
He will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 130
1 A Song of Ascents.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
2 O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Reading Num 24
Balaam Continues to Utter Oracles
24 And Balaam saw that ?it pleased? Yahweh to bless Israel, and he did not go ?as other times? ?to seek out? sorcery; instead, he set his face toward the desert. 2 Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes, and the spirit of God was upon him. 3 He ?uttered? his oracle and said,
“The declaration of Balaam son Beor,
the declaration of the man whose eyes are closed,
4 the declaration of the hearer of God’s words,
who sees the revelation of Shaddai,
falling down but whose eyes are uncovered.
5 How good are your tents, O Jacob,
your dwellings, O Israel!
6 They are spread out like valleys,
like gardens on a river,
like aloes planted by Yahweh,
like cedars at the waters.
7 He will pour water from his buckets,
and his offspring will be like many waters;
his king will be higher than Agag,
and his kingdom will be exalted.
8 God, who brings him out from Egypt,
is like the strength of a wild ox for him.
He will devour the nations who are his enemies;
he will break their bones;
he will pierce them with his arrows.
9 He crouches, he lies down like a lion,
and like a lioness, who will rouse him?
They who bless you will be blessed,
and they who curse you will be cursed.”
10 Then ?Balak became angry with? Balaam, and he clapped his hands and said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but look, you have surely blessed them these three times. 11 ?Flee? to your place now. I said I would richly honor you, but look, Yahweh has withheld honor from you.” 12 Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak gave to me the fullness of his house full of silver and gold, I am not able to go beyond ?the command of Yahweh? to do good or evil, from my heart; what Yahweh speaks, I will speak’? 14 And now, look, I am about to go to my people; I will advise you what this people will do to your people ?in the following days?.”
15 And he ?uttered? his oracle and said,
“The declaration of Balaam son of Beor,
and the declaration of the man whose eye is closed,
16 the declaration of the hearer of God’s words,
and the knower of the knowledge of the Most High,
who sees the vision of Shaddai,
who is falling, and his eyes are revealed.
17 I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
a star will go out from Jacob,
and a scepter will rise from Israel;
it will crush the foreheads of Moab
and destroy all the children of Seth.
18 Edom will be a captive;
Seir, its enemies, will be a captive,
and Israel will be acting ?courageously?.
19 Someone from Jacob will rule
and will destroy a remnant from the city.”
20 And he looked at Amalek, ?uttered? his oracle, and said,
“Amalek is first of the nations,
but his future will be forever ruin.”
21 And he looked at the Kenites, ?uttered? his oracle, and said,
“Steady is your dwelling place;
in the rock is your nest.
22 Nevertheless, the Kenite will be burned;
how long will Asshur keep you captive?”
23 Again he ?uttered? his oracle and said,
“Woe, who will live when God establishes this?
24 The ships will come from the hand of the Kittim,
and they will afflict Asshur and will afflict Eber;
also he will be forever ruin.”
25 Then Balaam got up and went and returned to his place, and Balak also went on his way.
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
Almighty God, as Your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
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.
