Tag Archives: prayer for our nation

Will We Humble Ourselves?

04 Friday Jul 2025

Posted by in Psalms

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.


Reading: Psalm 119:73-80

Father God,
I want to be like Jesus.
Thank you for touching my life
and forming me with your hands.
I am yours—
yours by creation—
yours by redemption.
I will meditate on your precepts.
Amen.

— — — —

When I shut up the heavens
so that there is no rain,
or command locusts to devour the land
or send a plague among my people,
if my people,
who are called by my name,
will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven,
and I will forgive their sin
and will heal their land. 
Now my eyes will be open
and my ears attentive
to the prayers offered in this place.
(2 Chronicles 7:13-15 NIV)*

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

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* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Happy Independence Day to my Readers in the United States!

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, Iran, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

A gripping read from David Kitz.
Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
This book points the way forward.

When Israel Abandoned God

03 Monday Feb 2025

Posted by in Psalm 78

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Reading: Psalm 78:56-64

But they put God to the test
    and rebelled against the Most High;
    they did not keep his statutes.
Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless,
    as unreliable as a faulty bow.
They angered him with their high places;
    they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
When God heard them, he was furious;
    he rejected Israel completely.
He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
    the tent he had set up among humans.
He sent the ark of his might into captivity,
    his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
He gave his people over to the sword;
    he was furious with his inheritance.
Fire consumed their young men,
    and their young women had no wedding songs;
their priests were put to the sword,
    and their widows could not weep (NIV). *

Reflection
Sin has consequences. We can pretend it isn’t so, but we’re fooling ourselves. Unchecked sin on a personal level can have devastating consequences—consequences that lead to heartache and an early grave. I think we all know individuals who became trapped in sin and wandered down a self-destructive path.

Today’s reading from Psalm 78 reminds us that a whole nation can abandon God and become mired in the consequences of sin. The nation of Israel did just that. The psalmist tells us they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow (v. 57).

When Israel abandoned God, He in turn abandoned them. We read, “He rejected Israel completely. He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans. He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy. He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance” (v. 59-62).

Has God changed? If the LORD abandoned His people in ancient times, will He treat our nation—any nation that turns away from Him differently today? There are consequences for sin and that truth applies to nations too. When collectively we abandon the ways of God and the precepts He has established from the foundations of the world, we can expect dire days ahead. That’s what happened to ancient Israel, and it can happen to us today as well.

Response: LORD God, collectively as a nation, we have wandered away from you. LORD in your mercy lead us back to the center of your holy will. Give us repentant hearts that seek your face. Amen.  

Your Turn: Are you concerned about the spiritual state of your nation? What are you doing about it?

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

No Signs from God

12 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by in Psalm 74, Psalms

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Reading:                                      Psalm 74

Verses 9-17

We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.
How long will the enemy mock you, God?
Will the foe revile your name forever?
Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.

It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
It was you who opened up springs and streams;
you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.
It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made both summer and winter (NIV).

Reflection

Do you watch for road signs? I’m inclined to say yes, of course I do. But if I am traveling through a familiar neighborhood or to a familiar location, I pay very little attention to road signs. After all, I know where I am going and how to get there. But put me in unfamiliar territory without a GPS, and the situation changes dramatically. I am hunting for road signs like a hungry hawk hunts for field mice. Every sign is spotted well in advance; the details are read and repeated to cement them into my memory. Landmarks and the appearance of the terrain are memorized for future reference. I do all this because I don’t like being lost.

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River Ice Chandelier — photo by David Kitz

In our reading from Psalm 74, the psalmist finds himself in unfamiliar territory. The nation has been invaded and the enemy has desecrated the temple. This is an enormous loss. But beyond the loss, there appears to be no way forward. The psalmist laments, “We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be. How long will the enemy mock you, God?”

When I am lost, I watch for signs. But in this situation God gave no signs. After the psalmist pours out his complaint before God, he does not stay there. He goes on to recall the miraculous works of God. He reminds God of His interventions into the affairs of humankind. He makes this bold personal declaration, “But God is my King from long ago; he brings salvation on the earth.”

As we pray for our nation, we would do well to pattern our prayers on Psalm 74.

Response: LORD God, you see the sins of our nation. Bring us back to you. You are the Almighty God. You do not change. Bring your salvation on the earth even as you did long ago. You are my King. Amen.

Your Turn: Why is it helpful to recall God’s mighty deeds in your life?