The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14 (Life Application Study Bible)
Jesus Tells Us, Every-where you go, I go. Nothing can separate you from My Love. I love you so much that I even gave My Life for you. You can trust Me to take care of you. Sometimes, though, when you aren’t really focusing on Me, you start to rehearse and practice your problems, going over them again and again in your mind. What will you do about that grade, this friendship, of that temptation? You start to feel alone and worried. Then you try to fix it yourself. But you are never alone, because My Presence goes with you wherever you go. There is no need to worry, and you don’t have to fix anything by yourself. Bring your problems to Me. In My Presence, many problems simply vanish, and others become much easier to handle.
Jesus Concludes, don’t practice your problems, practice bringing your problems to Me.
Exodus 33:14; Romans 8:38-39 Study Notes
Footnotes Exodus 33:11 God and Moses talked face-to-face in the tent of meeting, just as friends do. Why did Moses find such favor with God? It certainly was not because he was perfect, gifted, or powerful. Rather, it was because God chose Moses, and Moses in turn relied wholeheartedly on God’s wisdom and direction. Friendship with God was a true privilege for Moses, out of reach for the other Hebrews. But it is not out of reach for us today. Jesus called his disciples, and, by extension, all his followers, his friends. This includes you. Will you accept his invitation to openly communicate with him? He desires this kind of relationship with you.
Passage Romans 8:38-39 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes Romans 8:38-39 Powers are unseen forces of evil in the universe, forces such as Satan and his demons. As believers who have Jesus’ power available to us, we will experience great victory both now and for eternity. Hold these two verses deeply in your heart and mind. Claim them for yourself so you will never doubt God’s love and care for you, especially when you are facing great adversity.
Jesus Tells Us is from the Jesus Calling 365 devotions for kids.
THE WORLD…we see history
PASTOR JACOB DUCHE, THE FIRST PRAYER OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me
PSALM 35:1
Amid fear and rising tensions, delegates from across the Colonies arrived in Philadelphia on September 4, 1774, to convene the First Continental Congress. Before tackling the weighty issues of the day, they acted on a motion by Thomas Cushing from Massachusetts to begin their business with prayer. Some opposed the motion because of the diversity of denominations represented by the delegates. But Samuel Adams, the firebrand of the Revolution and a devout member of the Congregational Church, rose and “asserted that he was no bigot, and could hear a prayer from any gentleman of piety and virtue, who was at the same time a friend to his country.” Adams nominated a local Anglican pastor, Jacob Duché, to lead in prayer, and the delegates agreed. About the same time, a rumor swept through Philadelphia, which later proved untrue, that Boston was being shelled by British cannons. So the next morning when the delegates assembled in Carpenter’s Hall for the agreed-upon prayer, they were tense and confused. In that room were such icons as George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Patrick Henry. Duché opened his Anglican prayer book to the prescribed reading for the day, and the delegates instantly sensed the selection of scripture was providential, Psalm 35: “Plead my cause O LORD, with those who strive with me, fight against those who fight against me. Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor who seek after my life, let those be turned back and brought to confusion who plot my hurt”. Duché then led in a powerful prayer, lasting about ten minutes, which has been called the most famous prayer of the American Revolution. He said, in part:
The WORD…we see Jesus, His Story!
O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings and Lord of lords, who dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires, and Governments, look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these our American States, who have fled to Thee form the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly, enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation that the scene of blood may be speedily closed, that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety prevail and flourish amongst the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and the vigor of their minds, shower down in them and the millions they represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.
Afterwards, John Adams described the event in a letter to his wife, Abigail:
Mr. Duché appeared, and read several prayers in the stablished form, and then read the Collect for the seventh day of September, which was the Thirty-fifth Psalm. You must remember this was the next morning after we heard the horrible rumor of the cannonade of Boston. I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that morning. After this Mr. Duché, unexpectedly to everybody, struck out into an extemporary prayer, which filled the bosom of every man present. I must confess I never heard a better prayer or one so well pronounced, such fervor, such ardor, such earnestness and pathos, and in language so elegant and sublime, for America, for the Congress, for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and especially for the town of Boston. It has had an excellent effect upon everybody here. According to other accounts, many of the delegates were in tears, and some were on their knees. It was as though the Lord Himself had come down into the room to receive the prayers of the frightened but determined revolutionaries. Duché’s prayer so braced the Continental Congress that he henceforth started each day’s session in prayer, becoming, in effect, America’s first Congressional Chaplain.
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