God set apart the priests to carry the ark of the covenant, to stand before Him to minister to Him, and to bless the people in His name (Deuteronomy 10:8).
The perpetual assignment of the priests was to uphold the word and presence of God, worship Him and pray to Him, and bless His people (Jeremiah 33:18).
Under the new covenant, we are a royal priesthood by the blood of Jesus (1 Peter 2:5,9; Revelations 1:5b-6) with the same charge of continual worship, prayer, and blessings. (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Hebrews 13:15).
Prayer is the most powerful means of protecting your family.
Pray for your family each evening. You might start with this prayer for your household.
Prayer suggestion:
Father, I bow before You to worship and adore You. You are all-loving, all-wise, and all-powerful. You are worthy of all honor, praise, and glory. I come to You in Jesus’ name and by the sacrifice of His atoning blood which covers our sins this day. I confess my sins of ______________. I repent and ask Your forgiveness. You are faithful and just to forgive me of sin and cleanse me of all unrighteousness. Thank You for Your mercy. I am clothed in the righteousness of the Lamb of God and anointed with the oil of Your Spirit. You have blessed me with every covenant blessing in Christ Jesus.
In Your delegated authority in this home, I present our family to You. Thank You for the protection of the blood of Jesus covering us, our property, our possessions, and everything in our personal and spiritual jurisdiction. Put the cross of Jesus between us and the schemes of the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy. You have clothed us in the full armor of the Lord Jesus to withstand all the flaming missiles of the enemy. The blood of Jesus is between my family and all evil footholds of the enemy, which we may have invited by ignorance or disobedience. Break the power of any soulish prayers not in Your perfect will that we have prayed or that have been prayed about us. Captain of the Lord’s hosts, command any encroachment of the evil one to leave this home. Send mighty angels to surround us, dismiss all enemy assignments, and protect us from harm (Psalm 91). As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
You are in sovereign control. Do what You know is best for each of us and that which will bring Jesus the most glory. Fill our household with Your Spirit, so that sin has no dominion here. Minister to us Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. You are our rear guard throughout the night (Isaiah 52:12, 58:8). Bless us with refreshing and renewing sleep to awake to a new day of Your plans for us. May we grow in trusting You with all our hearts, leaning not on our own understanding, and acknowledging You in all our ways. Go before us to show us the way we should go, and make our paths straight
(Proverbs 3:5-6).Thank You for the assurance of Your covenant of faithfulness to us. Draw us closer to You, give us a passion for Jesus, and enable us by Your grace to fulfill Your highest purposes. Equip us to stand firm and courageous in all Your will. Thank You for the right and privilege of protecting my family by this prayer offered in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” At that, Paul left the council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed.” Acts 17:32-34
When the gospel is preached, there are always three responses. Some will mock and ridicule the resurrection. By God’s grace, others hear the truth and believe. But it’s another group I want to talk about today.
Many enjoy hearing the message but aren’t quite ready to believe and follow the Lord. King Agrippa told Paul, after hearing of Jesus being raised from the dead, “you almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28).
Felix, after listening to Paul speak on the judgment to come, was afraid saying, “Go away for now, when I have a convenient time, I will call you” (Acts 24:25).
I remember being in the same place. I enjoyed hearing the message and knew it was the truth. But I was also afraid, knowing I deserved to be judged for my sins. I thank God for drawing me back and enabling me to believe.
What about you, friend? Are you almost persuaded? Are you afraid? Or are you like Thomas who said, “Unless I put my finger into the print of the nails, I will not believe.” Today is the day of salvation! Jesus will not turn you away.
God is patient and long-suffering. It’s his goodness that leads us to repentance. But he also says, “Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Hell is full of those who mistakenly thought they had plenty of time to make a good decision. “We will hear you again on this matter.” These words muttered on the earth will surely haunt them forever.
Lord Jesus, thank you for patiently bringing all your sheep into the fold. I am forever grateful that I heard your voice and followed you. Bring in the rest by your grace and for your glory!
What is God asking you to believe him for today? Will you sneer, hesitate, or full-heartedly trust in him?
