In our own homes – let us put our trust in Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Lord, we need Your wisdom (2 Chronicles 1:10). We need Jesus – He is Your wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). Without Jesus, we’re fools. We may think that we’re wise – but we’re not. Jesus makes us wise. True wisdom comes from Him. When we build our lives on Jesus, we are truly wise (Matthew 7:24-27). Lord, give us Your wisdom – the wisdom that knows the most important thing: Jesus is our Saviour.

Lord, You call us to work for You, to “work in the Temple of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 4:11; 2 Chronicles 5:1). This is no ordinary work. It’s spiritual work. It is “most holy” (2 Chronicles 3:8,10; 2 Chronicles 4:22). Real work for You emerges from true worship of You. Before we can be Your workers, we must be Your worshippers. Teach us, Lord, to worship You. As we worship You, may we receive from You the strength that we need to work for You.

Without Your blessing, Lord, our worship is empty. We need Your blessing. We pray for Your blessing. May “the glory of the Lord fill the House of God” (2 Chronicles 5:14). This is our prayer. We pray for the preachers. We pray for the people. May each and every one of us be blessed by You. May we be “clothed with Your salvation.” May we “rejoice in Your goodness” (2 Chronicles 6:41).

Lord, You’re calling us to pray – and You’re giving us Your promise of blessing (2 Chronicles 7:14). We ask, “Where is the blessing?” You turn our question around. You say to us, “Where is the prayer?” This is challenging, Lord. Help us to keep on praying – and to keep on believing that there will be blessing, Your blessing – the forgiveness of our sin and the healing of our land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Lord, we look at Solomon – and we see ourselves. There is strength (2 Chronicles 8:16) – and there is weakness (2 Chronicles 8:11; 2 Chronicles 9:12). We want to love You more, but the world keeps on pulling us back – away from you and into sin. We come to You, Lord. We come in our weakness. We ask for Your strength. May our comfort and convenience never become more important to us than our consecration and commitment to You.

Lord, we see division among Your people: “Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day” (2 Chronicles 10:19). You are not pleased. You say, “Do not go up to fight against your brothers” (2 Chronicles 11:4). This is not just ancient history. It’s our problem. It’s a big problem. We still need to hear the words of Jesus – “a house … divided against itself cannot stand” (Mark 3:25). There are to be “no divisions” among us (1 Corinthians 1:10). We are “all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Lord, help us, in our praying and our living, to echo the prayer of Jesus: “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me” (John 17:21,23).

Lord, You’re calling us to make our choice – What kind of life will we live? Will it be “He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord” (2 Chronicles 12:14)? or Will it be “As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him” (2 Chronicles 13:10)? When, Lord, unbelief and disobedience are threatening to take over our lives, help  us to hear Your Word of warning: “Do not fight against the Lord … you will not succeed” – and help us to speak the words of faith: “God is with us; He is our Leader” (2 Chronicles 13:12).

Lord, we see so much of ourselves in Asa. He started well – “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 14:2). He ended badly – “He did not rely on the Lord his God … even in his disease he did not seek the Lord” (2 Chronicles 16:7-9,12). Help us, Lord, to hear and heed the words of Jesus: “No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62); “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13). Help us to “go on” with You and for You (Hebrews 6:1).

Lord, we read of “the first ways of … David” (2 Chronicles 17:3). He had started off so well – “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power” (1 Samuel 16:13). Sadly, he took his eyes off You – and he fell away from You (2 Samuel 11:2-5). What about us, Lord? Have we “lost our first love” (Revelation 2:4)? You’re calling us back to Yourself. Help us to return to You – “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Break me, melt me, mould me, fill me.”

Lord, we see two sides of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 19:2-3) – two sides of ourselves! There is the godly side – “O Lord … our eyes are upon You” (2 Chronicles 20:12). There is the sinful side – “Jehoshaphat … made an alliance with Ahaziah … who was guilty of wickedness” (2 Chronicles 20:35). Lord, You know our weakness. Help us to come to You, in our weakness. Help us to receive new strength, Your strength, the strength that we need to live a more godly life, a life that brings glory to You and blessing to us.

Lord, we’re living in difficult times. Many are choosing to do what is “evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 21:6). Help us to make another choice, a better choice. Help us to choose to “be the Lord’s people” (2 Chronicles 23:16) – “O happy day! that fixed my choice on Thee, my Saviour and my God … ‘Tis done, the great transaction’s done! I am my Lord’s, and He is mine! … High heaven that heard the solemn vow, that vow renewed shall daily hear… .”

Lord, we read the words – “He turned away from the Lord” (2 Chronicles 25:27), and our hearts are sad. Is this only the story of other people? Is it not also our own story? You’re calling us to stop turning away from You. You’re calling us to start turning to You. Help us to walk with You in the light of Your Word – “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13).

Help us, Lord, to learn from the failure of King Uzziah. He began well – “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord … He set himself to seek God” (2 Chronicles 26:4-5). He lost his way – “When he was strong, he grew proud, and he was false to the Lord his God” ( 2 Chronicles 26:16). Help us, Lord, to become better people – not bitter people!

Lord, You’re calling us to be holy (2 Chronicles 29:5) – and You’re calling us to be joyful (2 Chronicles 29:30). It’s not to be holiness without joy. It’s not to be joy without holiness. It’s to be holiness and joy. Lord, make us holy – and make us joyful.

You call us, Lord, to return to You. You promise to welcome us (2 Chronicles 30:9). Where does our returning come from? Where does our rejoicing come from? They both come from You. You put it into our hearts – to return to You (2 Chronicles 30:12). What joy there is for us when we return to You – “The good Lord pardons every one who sets his heart to seek God” (2 Chronicles 30:18-19).

You call us, Lord, to seek You – and You also call us to serve You (2 Chronicles 31:20-21). Where does our seeking and serving come from? It comes from Your salvation. We read the words, “The Lord saved Hezekiah” ( 2 Chronicles 32::22) – and we think of our salvation. We rejoice in Your precious promise – “All the ends of the earth, turn to Me and be saved” (Isaiah 45:22). We rejoice in our gracious Saviour – Jesus Christ, “the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42).

Very quickly, Lord, good work can be undone (2 Chronicles 33:1-3). Bad work can be undone – if we will make a new beginning with You (2 Chronicles 34:1-4). Help us, Lord, to make a new beginning with You – and a new beginning for You.

We read, Lord, about the reign of King Josiah. There was spiritual revival (2 Chronicles 34:33). Where did this spiritual revival come from? – It came from You. It came from the rediscovery of Your Word. Where was Your Word found? – It was found “in the House of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 34:15). Beyond the written Word, there is Jesus Christ, the living Word of God. When Your Word is preached to us, help us to listen for the voice of Jesus Christ, the true and living Word of God. Open up our hearts to Your Word. Open up our hearts to Your Spirit. Let “rivers of living water” flow out from our hearts to others (John 7:37-39).

Lord, we’ve read good things about King Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:15,33) – but it wasn’t all good: “He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God … ” (2 Chronicles 35:22-24). After Josiah’s time, there was terrible spiritual decline (2 Chronicles 36:1-2 / 2 Kings 23:31-32; 2 Chronicles 36:,5,9,11-12). We think of today’s world. We wonder, “Is there any hope for the future?” Help us to draw encouragement from this: “The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia … to build Him a house at Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 36:22-23). – and help us to say to our neighbours, “Let us go to the House of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1). Help us, Lord, to keep on believing that the time of Your blessing may not be far away.

Keep on praying for our troubled world, and don’t forget to thank God for answers to prayer.

“Rebuild the House of the Lord” (Ezra 1:3). This, Lord, is what You’re calling us to do. Who are You calling? Is it just a few ‘special’ people? – No! It’s “all those whose spirits God had moved” (Ezra 1:5). Help us, Lord, never to say, “There’s nothing for me to do.” There’s always something we can do. Help us to open our hearts to You, to lay our lives before You, and to do the work that You give us to do for You.

At the heart of Your work, Lord, there is worship – “praising and giving thanks to the Lord” (Ezra 3:11). Help us to see the importance of worship. Nothing can take the place of worship. Where would we be without worship? Could we even begin to serve You? Help us, Lord, to come to You, with this heartfelt prayer: “I will worship You with all of my heart … with all of my mind … with all of my strength” (Jude Del Hierro).

Sometimes, Lord, we’re so busy, looking at the opposition that we fail to see the opportunity. Sometimes, the opposition can have some success – “the work on the House of God came to a standstill” (Ezra 4:24). Whenever Satan attacks Your work, You raise up Your servants to keep the work going: “Zerubbabel … arose and began to rebuild the House of God in Jerusalem” (Ezra 5:2). When our heads go down, You will lift them up – and Your work will go on.

Lord, Your work makes good progress when Your people receive strength from Your Word. It’s Your Word that inspires us to keep on working for You. Your House is rebuilt, and Your people rejoice (Ezra 6:14-16). Help us, Lord, to turn, often, again and again, to Your Word. May Your Word lead us in the pathway of joyful obedience.

Lord, the return of Your people to Jerusalem was more than a geographical return. It was a spiritual return. Help us to return to You – and to seek Your blessing (Ezra 8:21). Without Your blessing, we are nothing. Help us to hold on to Your promise: “The hand of our God is for good upon all that seek Him” (Ezra 8:22).

Lord, the return of Your blessing comes with a real confession of our sin – “Our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens” (Ezra 9:6), You don’t bless us because we deserve to be blessed. You bless us because You love us. This is where Your blessing comes from. It comes from Your love. Despite all of our sin, You encourage us to believe that You may yet “grant us some reviving to set up the House of our God” (Ezra 9:8-9).

When we have big problems, help us to remember that You are bigger than all of our problems. Where do our problems come from? They come from our sin. That’s our biggest problem. That’s no problem to You, Lord – “Christ has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus. What a great Saviour He is!

What are we to do when we encounter opposition? We’re seeking to serve You – and the enemies of Christ and His Gospel are making life difficult for us. Help us, Lord, to look to You. May we know, in our hearts and lives, the truth of Your Word: “The people who know their God will be strong” (Daniel 11:32).

“Our God will fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:20). What tremendous encouragement there is in these wonderful words! We are not alone in our battle against Satan. You are with us – and You are stronger than Satan! When Satan attacks us, teach us, Lord, to take our stand on Your Word: “The Lord your God will go with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory” (Deuteronomy 20:4).

What are we to do when we face those who are “scheming to harm” Your servants and Your work? We are to devote ourselves to Your work – and we are to pray for Your strength (Nehemiah 6:2; Nehemiah 5:16; Nehemiah 6:9). When Satan, our great enemy, tries to pick an argument with us, help us to give him this answer: “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you” (Nehemiah 6:3). Help us, Lord, to keep on working for You – and to pray that “many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:3).

What kind of people are we? Are we “faithful and God-fearing” people? Lord, it is so easy to lose our way. We forget You – and we wander away from You. Draw us back to Yourself. Speak to us in love. Assure us that You haven’t given up on us. Let us know that “There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin.” Bring us to “Calvary’s Cross” – and let us begin again with You.

What happens when Your people “gather together” (Nehemiah 8:1)? We hear Your Word (Nehemiah 8:2-3,8). We thank You for Your Son (Nehemiah 8:13-18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). We dedicate our lives to You (Nehemiah 9:2). We worship You (Nehemiah 9:5). Lord, help us to enter in, with all our hearts, to all that You promise to bring into our lives when we respond to Your gracious call: “Let us worship God.”

What a great God You are – “You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Nehemiah 9:17). Your love is greater than our sin. We look at ourselves – and everything seems to be hopeless. We look to You – and everything changes. We see Your grace and Your mercy. Your love fills us with hope. When everything seems to be getting too much for us, we remember that Jesus died for us – and we rejoice: “His blood cleanses us from all sin” (1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 John 1:7).

Lord, You’re calling us to commit our lives to You. At the heart of this commitment, there must be worship: “We will not neglect the House of our God” (Nehemiah 10:39). Help us to worship You. This is our reason for coming to Your House. We come to worship You. May our worship be more than words. Help us, Lord, to give ourselves to You.

Our lives lay in ruins until You put us together again. You call us to build our lives on Christ (Matthew 7:24-27). Help us, Lord, to come to You, again and again – confessing our sin, receiving Your forgiveness, building on Christ, our Saviour. When we feel ourselves being pulled away from You, help us to choose Christ. May we choose to be holy. May we choose the way of blessing, the way that brings glory to You.

“Songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46) – Where does the song of praise come from? It comes from You: “God had given them great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43). You look  at the way we are living – and what do You see? “Why is the House of God forsaken?” (Nehemiah 13:11). Does it have to be this way? Is there not a better way? Can we stop forgetting You – and start remembering You? Can we rise above our failure – and be lifted up into Your victory? Help us to keep on believing that You have not abandoned us. You have not turned Your back on us. You still love us. Let Your love come to us – and fill us with Your joy.

God bless you all.

Charlie