1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

This verse appeared on a screen at church as the pastor referenced it in his sermon. As I do many times, I grabbed a pen and paper and hastily jotted down “face off” and “hockey”. So many times I get inspired by material discovered during his sermons. I could just see the eyes of the Lord starring down at the ice, waiting for the referee to throw down the puck in a face off.

The battle of good and evil, who controls the puck. But what is the puck? I need some point of reference, I need supporting scriptures, I need somewhere to go with this vision. I spent the night going over and over in my mind how I could tie this all together into a cohesive devotional.

All I got was a bad night’s sleep.

The Word is God’s real answer to man’s real problems. It is not the answer to vain imagination or flights of fantasy. So what is the point, beyond wasting my time?

How many times have we had an opinion, a belief, a theology, where we search the bible to prove our point? Men with an agenda do it all the time. The ability to abuse the bible to serve man’s own ego, or selfish interests is real. Satan himself abused the bible in tempting Jesus. Luckily for us, Jesus knew the bible better than Satan did and rebuked Satan with the true use of scripture.

Our best defense of abuse of use of the bible is to know the truth. “Rightly discerning” does not come to those who have not exercised their sense to come to know good and evil. We are not meant to be pew potatoes.

Jeremiah 9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

The Word is not a mental exercise, it is meant to be worked out in our lives.

Psalm 1118:5-6 I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

The one thing I take away from this verse more than anything else is, it is all about me. I called, my stress, answered me, I will, unto me, this is all about me. My concerns at the moment are not about me nearly as much as it is about global events, national dangers, that dark cloud rising in the east.

Daniel and his three friends were swept off to Babylon because of what others did, not through sins of their own. They were faithful. I do not know but can imagine they prayed for Israel. Knowing God as well as they did, surely they must have suspect what would happen to Israel considering what the leadership did.

We pray for our nation. We prayer for others in harm’s way. We stress out because we do not see any results according to our prayers, according to our fears, our hopes, and our desires. Still it is about me, even though I am not in this alone.

James 5:16b The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

What I want is the prayers of the righteous man. I need the Lord to pray. I need the Lord’s prayer.

Father, who art in heaven ….