Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

[Jesus said]: “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.’”
The Lord’s Prayer is all about relationship. It begins by looking to God, because everything in this prayer flows out of our intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. As an Aramaic speaker, the word that would have been in Jesus’ mind was ‘Abba’. He would have used this word to
address His earthly father, Joseph, and it literally means ‘daddy’. It is a warm and intimate word, and Jesus is clearly wanting His followers to enjoy that kind of closeness to God.
As we pray to our heavenly Daddy we are fully aware that He has a unique status. He is holy and set apart from anything that is imperfect. So we begin the prayer by affirming that He is to be totally respected,
or “hallowed”. We aren’t only recognising the importance of respecting God’s name but also honouring Him for all that He is and all that He has done. As we pray “our Father”, we are also affirming that we have
brothers and sisters and that we are part of a community of people which wants to live for God. Christian faith can never be a solitary, private affair, and this wonderful prayer reminds us that we are part of an amazing worldwide family.
The Lord’s Prayer should never be said unthinkingly or quickly. It is the prayer for those who are fully committed to putting their heavenly Father first in their lives.
Question How would you describe your personal relationship with God?
Prayer Loving heavenly Father, we thank You that You have invited us, through Your Son Jesus, into such an intimate relationship with You and one another.
Amen

[Jesus said]: “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Prayer is often described as being like talking to a friend. There is much that is right about that description apart from the fact that God is totally unlike any friend that you or I have ever had. For a start, He knows everything. One of the key features of a conversation with our friends is that, wonderful as they might be, they don’t know everything. In a conversation we spend plenty of time sharing information with them. So the big question is this: if God knows everything, what is the point
of praying? The answer is a wonderful one.
Relieved of the necessity of informing God, prayer is all about relationship. As we pray, we affirm the fact that we are His children
and that we are totally dependent on Him.
That’s why it is so important to spend time alone with God – time to be completely honest and time to listen. The joy of our relationship with God is that we can be completely sure He knows our situation more intimately than we know it ourselves. So we don’t need to ‘babble
on’ for ages as some religions taught. The moment we come into God’s presence,
we can be sure we are enveloped by His love and totally understood. Isn’t that wonderful?
Question In what ways are your quiet times with God important to you?
Prayer Lord God, thank You that You know everything about me and yet still love me and want to fill me with Your life.
Amen

[Jesus said]: “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Jesus was reacting against people who made a great show of their praying. They prayed in the synagogues and at street corners because they were looking for an audience. Jesus obviously wasn’t saying that it was wrong to pray in synagogues and at street corners but that it was wrong to turn prayer into a religious performance totally focused on people and not on God.
Jesus drew attention to the importance of private prayer, because this reveals where the heart is.
Jesus could see that many of the most religious people in His society lived their lives furthest away from God. The word ‘religion’ is often thought to mean ‘bind back’. It ties people to a particular set of beliefs and practices, but it is easy for religion to become merely a performance. Jesus’ desire was to renew people’s hearts so that, through their relationship with God, they would want to honour and serve Him.
At the end of the day, anyone can pray a long prayer, give money or fast, but what matters is where their heart is.
I wonder where you find it best to have your quiet time with God. In a busy life and noisy household this can be hard to achieve, but it will be the most important moment of your day.
Question Why is it so crucial to have a quiet time with God each day?
Prayer Lord God, help me to live so close to You that my words and actions flow out of my relationship with You. Amen

Matthew 6:3-4
When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Is there anything worse than hypocrisy? Jesus certainly hated it and had the harshest things to say about the hypocrites of His day. He wanted everyone to have the joy of a real relationship with their heavenly Father. In this part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasted the hypocrite’s play-acting with true devotion to God. The giving of donations to the poor and needy is a responsibility that everyone has, but the way in which it is done is what matters most. Jesus pointed to the hypocrites who, ridiculously, announced their giving with trumpets. His point is clear. When you give, you shouldn’t make a show of it, because the audience that really matters is God alone.
It clearly wouldn’t be possible for our left hand to keep secrets from our right hand. The brain doesn’t work like that! But it’s not difficult to understand what Jesus meant. He was saying that all of our giving should be done in the most secret way we can achieve. Anything short of that will miss out on the blessing which God longs to give to us as we make our gifts. What matters above anything else is that our gifts are an expression of our personal love for God, just between Him and us.
Question
What have you learned about your giving from this passage?
Prayer
Loving God, thank You for Your amazing generosity to me. Help me always to be generous in my giving. Amen

Proverbs 25:12
Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.
Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer, said: “I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.” All I can say is: “Good for Johannes Kepler!” I suspect we all really enjoy people saying nice things about us. A rebuke might be very good for us, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to hear, even if it is as valuable as an ornament of fine gold.
There are two challenges here. Firstly, how can we become better at sharing valid criticism with others? Every time I have received helpful criticism, it has been embedded within encouragement. It has often been said that if you need to offer criticism, 80% of what you say should be encouragement. This isn’t a clever political ploy, but a way of ensuring that the criticism is set securely within a relationship of affirmation.
Secondly, how can we become better at receiving criticism? People’s ability to receive criticism undoubtedly varies. Past hurts and traumas make some people very wary of anything that is not entirely positive. Others appear to be so secure that they are able to receive even negative criticism with equanimity. This emphasises the importance of us all finding someone with whom we can be completely honest. Within a loving and trusting relationship we are likely to find that their rebuke is as valuable as a piece of gold jewellery.
Question
In what ways could you give and receive criticism more effectively?
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, help me to be more loving in offering criticism to others, and more gracious in receiving it. Amen