Marie’s daily verse: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. JAMES 1:2-3

DAILY DEVOTION, November 18, 2022

The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26).

This beautiful Old Testament prayer is good to memorize and pray it over others. When we pray this prayer for another, we are asking God to bless them, to be close to them, to be gracious to them, and to give them peace. So many of our public prayers center on healing and that is okay. This is more of a prayer for the healing of the soul. If I pray this prayer for my wife, it would go something like this. The Lord bless you, Marie. May the Lord always keep you from harm. Marie, I want you to feel close to God, that His very face is shining upon you. I want God to be gracious to you, Marie. I pray that His peace will fill your soul.

Wouldn’t you love to have such a prayer prayed over you? Why not pray it over others and maybe others will pray it over you. Yes, continue to pray for the sick but we are learning in our Wednesday Bible study that our greatest needs are spiritual. When we pray for the body, we are praying for something that will eventually die. When we pray for the soul, we pray for that which will live forever.

Father, I am concerned when others are sick, but help me realize that our greatest needs are spiritual. Help me to remember this biblical prayer when I pray for others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.