Whether you are making new year’s resolutions or not, spending more time engaging with the Bible might be on your list of “what’s in for 2024”.
Daily Strength, a little pocket-sized booklet, has verses for each day of the month that encourage us to ask for God’s help and remind us of God’s promises.The Lord’s Prayer, along with three Psalms, is included in the booklet’s final pages.
Perhaps you are familiar with the following line of the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us today our daily bread…” These words speak of relying upon God for what we need each day, not only for the physical things we need to sustain us, but for the strength and perseverance to continue living for him each day.
Suneel came across Daily Strength many years ago and regularly gives the resource to others including friends and neighbours. He’s found people are very happy to receive Daily Strength and that the resource has been the start of many spiritual conversations.
“When I give it to a friend, we read in turn a page aloud, each looking for a phrase that strikes us personally. We talk about why it strikes us and then turn it into a prayer. When I’ve used it with someone who doesn’t have a faith in God, I might pray for them based on what they’ve said, but sometimes they’ve proclaimed how they’ve felt, or said their own prayer. In some cases, I’ve been able to teach them the prayer I used to start a relationship with Jesus.
"For those exploring the Christian faith or new believers, the idea of reading the whole Bible can be overwhelming, but reflecting on a few verses and finding a phrase to turn into prayer is much more achievable. Used in this way, I've found the Daily Strength resource has given people a springboard into prayer from the heart."
Suneel’s found that it helps to be intentional about spreading God’s word, as most of the opportunities he's had wouldn't have arisen on their own. Some of Suneel’s Christian friends also now give Daily Strength as a way of introducing Jesus to them and starting a conversation about the Christian faith.
Pray with us that through Daily Strength, many would come to understand more of God’s love and sustaining power and that they would continue to find hope for every day and strength for every circumstance.
