The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.
1 Peter 3:12
Honor
Daily Devotion – December 12, 2017
Devotion based on 1 Peter 3:12
See series: Devotions
About 350 years before Jesus’ birth, a man walked onto the world stage by the name of Alexander. Alexander did not live to be very old; he was only 32 when he died. In addition, his reign as king of Macedonia was not unusually long; he ruled for only 12 years. However, in his short life and within 12 short years, Alexander established an empire the size of which the world had never seen. In an age when armies traveled everywhere by foot, Alexander amassed a kingdom that was over 3,000 miles long. For some perspective, keep in mind that the coast-to-coast length of the United States is only 2,000 miles. Alexander was called “the Great” for a reason.
During Alexander’s reign, a respected philosopher needed money to carry out his work. Alexander told his treasurer to give the philosopher whatever he needed. The philosopher’s request, however, turned out to be a massive one. The treasurer hesitated. He decided to check with Alexander before he turned the money over. When he did, Alexander gave a memorable reply. He told the treasurer to give the philosopher his money at once. Then Alexander said this, “The philosopher has done me a singular honor. By the largeness of his request he shows that he has understood both my wealth and generosity.”
You and I can do the same thing when we approach our Lord in prayer.
Too often, in our sinful weakness, we can doubt our Lord’s wealth and generosity. We can talk ourselves into thinking that our requests to him need to be small and vague. When we come into the Lord’s presence with such a mindset, however, we do not give him honor. Rather, we display our skepticism. We politely question how much our God can really do.
When God became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ, he washed away our displays of dishonor with the blood he shed on the cross. And because he was willing to serve as the One who rescued us from the curse of our sin, he has demonstrated not only that he possesses all things, but that his generosity is beyond description.
The next time you bring a request to your Lord, take that to heart.
Prayer:
Lord, you possess all things and your heart is a heart of undeserved love for me. Move me to honor you with requests that are bold. Amen.
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