6 days till the National Day of Prayer: Pray For Our Military and their Families
And he set combat commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
2nd Chronicles 32:6-8 (ESV)
As you can clearly see in this passage, Hezekiah is offering his army a battle cry of encouragement. His men were tired, have walked and worked tirelessly for their king and for their land. He encourages them to continue in strength and courage and to cast away the fear of men. He reminds them that the Lord is with them, to help them and fight with them.
The Assyrian army may have countless men, but that means nothing against the might of the Lord. From this battle cry, Hezekiah raises his people back up, fills them with confidence in God, and gives them hope. If you notice, Hezekiah could have been making plans of preparation, making plans of attack, but instead he leads by relying on the strength of God.
When in war or serving a post, it can sometimes be easy to lose faith, feel drained, and simply get discouraged. That is why encouragement and prayer for our men and women in the military is so crucial. Just like the warriors in Hezekiah’s army, our men and women serving our nation also face pain, loneliness, and feelings of being under-appreciated by our nation.
Remind our troops that the Lord is with them, to help them, and to fight with them. Let them know that they are appreciated, loved, and prayed for by you today. Pray for our military and its leaders. Pray this day that God will grant our service men and women and their families courage, protection, and strength.
PRAY FOR OUR MILITARY AND THEIR FAMILIES TODAY
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41–42
The story is told that one day a man went into the bookstore owned by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. After looking around, he identified a book he wished to purchase, but when the clerk told him the book cost one dollar, he objected. “That price is too high. Ask your boss if he will lower it.” The clerk went to get Franklin, who after hearing the man’s request said, “The book costs one dollar and a quarter.” The man protested that he had been told one dollar and asked again for the price. Franklin replied, “A dollar and a half.” The man asked why the price kept increasing. Franklin said, “Do you not see that you are wasting my time? The price of the book was one dollar. But because you are wasting my time, the price of the book has to go up.”
None of us has enough time to do everything that could be done or that we would like to do. Many times we are faced with a choice between two good things, only able to do one of them. The key to making good decisions and spending our lives wisely is to order our priorities so that the best of our time, energy, and resources are devoted to the things that truly matter. The noted management guru Peter Drucker pointed out that most people are so busy trying to do things right that they fail to stop and consider whether they are doing the right things. We must work to remain in control of our schedules, keeping our focus on doing what will matter for eternity rather than frittering away our lives on the temporal.
Today’s Growth Principle:
A major part of wise living consists of spending our time and resources on the things that really matter.
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