Mainstreet | Daily Prayer Guide

Excerpt from One Heart Full of Love by Mother Teresa:

“With God nothing is impossible. Our sisters are living proof of that. When I watch them, I perceive the infinite greatness of God, a greatness that we can tap into. I see how He works through us. Because you and I have nothing on our own, we need Him. As the Bible says, God waits and looks. Will we respond?

“Just consider what God has accomplished through the sisters and the co-workers scattered throughout the world. We must ponder it in order to admire the greatness of God shown among us. This is not pride. It takes humility to recognize the greatness of God shining through us. Boasting of our greatness before men is pride. Great humility arises when we recognize that it is God’s kindness and His greatness that shows through our hands, our work, and our love, because that is the simple truth. Jesus is the truth that must be shared. All those who have witnessed our work have been able to see that God is the source. Just as Jesus said, ‘Likewise, when men see your good deeds, they will give praise to your Father who is in heaven.’”

Prayer Focus:
Pray that each and every one of us at DBC will develop ownership of our God-given dream to build. Ask God to revive the church leaders of this dream as they continue to work toward it—our pastor, the staff, the church leaders, and the campaign team leaders. Ask God to revive you in an area of your life that needs it.

A Prayer from Brenda Russell:
Dear God, Your goodness is without measure; it is abundant and overflowing! We thank You for Your steadfast love and unwavering mercy. Already we have been richly blessed, both individually and corporately as a Church, and for this we are grateful! With humble hearts we ask that You give us the faith and direction to continue to become the people You created us to be. We know it is Your will that we live a life worthy of Your calling. Give us Your vision and the strength and means to carry it out. Help us to share our time, talents and treasures unselfishly. Be with us as we work together and multiply our gifts so that the building campaign will succeed, and as a result, we will be able to better reach our neighborhood, community and the world with Your love and grace. In Your Holy name we pray, Amen.

Today we continue our look at Jacob’s encounter with God. Because of this experience, Jacob went from being characterized as a taker, to being known as a giver. It was all due to meeting the living God personally. God was seen in new ways!

• God is a Dream-Maker (Genesis 28:12).
  God came to Jacob with a dream for a glorious future. Jacob awoke to a wonderful truth. Beforehand, he did not know that he was at the house of God and the gate of heaven. God delights in giving us dreams and then seeing them come to pass.
• God is a Promise-Keeper (Genesis 28:13).
  God reveals Himself with more than generic terms, but with the covenant name of Yahweh. God is One who keeps promises.
• God is a Work-Giver (Genesis 28:13).
  He speaks to us. God reveals Himself clearly to His people through the Bible, which is His word in written form. Jacob had been stumbling around wondering, until he heard the voice of God; then he had direction.
• God is a Living God (Genesis 28:13).
  God does not identify Himself as, “I was the God of your father Abraham.” Rather, He says, “I am the God of your father Abraham.”

Prayer Focus:
Take time in prayer to praise and worship God for who He is to you. Love Him back in a real and personal way today.

A Prayer from Jeff Reams:
God, all I am, all I see, all that is or ever has been comes from you. You are the Creator and Sustainer. Nothing can thrive without Your allowing it. Help us to always remember that we were made to know You and live for Your glory. May the expansion and renewal of our campus be for Your praise and honor. It is not for the glory of Dunwoody Baptist that we take this journey. We dedicate it all to You to be used by You for Your purposes. Help us experience your presence throughout the process. Encourage us. Remind us to trust You and be faithful. Thank You for all of the people You are using in our church now to plan this project. To You be the glory, Amen.

Today’s passage finds Jacob running from the consequences of his actions and falling asleep at a place called Bethel. While he was asleep, God revealed Himself in a very personal way. It was then that the God of his fathers became Jacob’s personal God, too.

Jacob was at the end of his rope! His scheming and trickery had brought him nothing but failure and rejection. When he stopped running and fell asleep at Bethel, he had nothing. It is when you are at the end of your rope that God reveals Himself to you in a personal way.

Jacob was alone. Throughout Scripture, God has used a person’s solitude as an opportunity to reveal Himself. God came to Moses when he was alone with his flocks in Midian. God came to Isaiah while he was alone in the temple praying. When we provide God with the chance, giving ourselves time alone, God can have our undivided attention and can reveal Himself to us, as well.

Personal encounters with God result in changed lives, and Jacob was transformed at Bethel. When God became personal to him, he was moved to promise God a tenth of everything, and Jacob was changed from a taker in life to a giver.

Prayer Focus:
Pray that everyone touched by DBC will experience a personal relationship with God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Ask the Father to meet you at your ‘Bethel’ and reveal Himself; then consider how the giving of your time, talent, and treasures can reveal your personal faith in Him.

A Prayer from Allen Taliaferro:
Loving God, thank you for hearts that are not trodden, but strengthened by You and unafraid to journey on when falseness and betrayal are laid bare. In these times, may we know the assurance that He who is within us is stronger than he who is within the world. Through You, may we seek to live Your commandment to forgive others, as You have forgiven us. Empower us by Your Spirit to allow love for those who have hurt us to be the mark that reveals we are your true disciples. Amen.