Weekly Spiritual Meditations - 9/26

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When we pray and God’s answer is “not yet,” we must understand that God has his reasons for waiting. --Henry and Richard Blackaby

Look back. Do you remember that difficult situation you faced, and you wondered how you were going to handle it? Do you remember that tough conversation you knew you had to have with a loved one, and the right words came just when you needed them? What about that crushing grief, when you didn’t think you were going to make it through another hour? But you did. That was the Holy Spirit, working in your life to give you the strength and the power to do exactly what needed to be done, at just the right time. --Rocky Henriques

You are a precious gift from God. God wants to bless you. There are a million little miracles waiting in your life to help you be all that you can be in the eyes of God. You cannot dwell on the negative that others dish out. You cannot put store in the criticisms that others aim in your direction. You have to keep your eyes and focus on God. It has nothing to do with anyone else and what they think or their put downs and little digs to hurt you. It has everything to do with you and who you are in the precious eyes of Jesus. --Melinda Clements

It’s not too late to become who God created you to be. --Kerry and Chris Shook

God can bring good out of the extremes of our own folly. --J.I. Packer

God will be no different tomorrow than he is today. His love for us is the same. His power to meet our needs is unchanged. --Jim Cymbala and Dean Merrill

Remember that God is never surprised. He knows the future as thoroughly as He knows the past and has provided for us. He has everything in hand, and we should lean on Him. He will not fall over! --Jill Briscoe

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In a Hurry by Sally I. Kennedy
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1
Things can change in a hurry. On Labor Day, the skinny white-trunked aspen trees were very green due to a long wet summer season. Three days later, they were tinged with yellow. In less than a week, they were solid gold. What a majestic sight!
Maybe you, or someone you know, is in a not-so-great place, and can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. It seems to go on forever, like it's never going to change.
Change it will, though. Everything has a season. Nothing is forever, except the love of God. The bible tells us, in the book of Psalms, the love of the Lord endures forever.
While waiting for things to change, reading the Psalms can give us comfort and assuredness that there is a God who loves us and does have a good plan for our lives.
Never give up! It's said that it's always darkest just before dawn. Hang in, and hold on to the Lord. We may get in a rush. But when everything is ready, all things will come together and there will be change, likely in a hurry.

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How do you feel about change? from Senior Living
Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. - 1 Corinthians 3:1-2
In his book, Holy Sweat, Tim Hansel recalls how a close friend of his was asked back to his forty-year high school reunion. For months he saved to take his wife back to the place and the people he’d left four decades before. The closer the time came for the reunion, the more excited he became.
The day came to leave. Tim recalls how, as he drove the couple to the airport, their energy was almost contagious. “I’ll pick you up on Sunday evening, and you can tell me all about it,” he told them. “Have a great time.”
Sunday evening arrived. As this couple got off the plane, they seemed almost despondent. So Tim asked his friends, “Well, how was the reunion?”
“Tim,” the man said, “it was one of the saddest experiences of my life. It wasn’t what happened but what didn’t happen. It has been forty years, and they haven’t changed. They had simply gained weight, changed clothes, gotten jobs... but they hadn’t really changed.”
People choose not to change. They grow content with the status quo and live there the rest of their lives. But God has called us to grow, to break out of young, inexperienced ways of thinking, and to develop into fully devoted followers of Him. So for His sake, be willing to grow in your faith, getting a swift kick when you need it, and following Him ever more each day!
Prayer Challenge: Pray for God to give you a “swift kick” in the right direction when you need it so you can follow Him more each day.
Questions for Thought: In what areas of your life do you resist change the most? How can you become more open to change, allowing the Lord to give you a “swift kick” in the right direction when you need it?

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In a Plain Brown Wrapper by Greg Cummings
The song service is finished. The sermon begins. During the first three sentences, expectant faces look toward the preacher.
A single mother sighs, praying her children will let her make it through the sermon, maybe even listen. An older man in failing health turns up his hearing aid. Frustrated and angry with diminishing strength and energy, he searches to make sense of his losses. A high school sophomore listens with an MTV-conditioned attention span. She is not trained to listen long. A successful business person caught in the depths of depression hopes for an alternative to suicide.
A Bible class teacher dealing with major failure clings to faith by a fingernail. A married couple, sitting together in the pew but hardly speaking at home, hopes for renewal of lost affection. A frustrated parent of an angry teen looks for confidence. A widow's eyes fill with tears as her hand touches the empty seat beside her. A cancer patient needs a reason to suffer through another chemo session. The mate is desperate for strength to persevere.
A contractor, competing with kickbacks and cheats, wonders if his ethics are antiquated. A nurse, exhausted from a twelve-hour-pressure- filled shift, hopes for renewal. A lonely soul hopes for connection with others. New Christians listen to build faith.Long-time members hope for revival from spiritual lethargy.
Debaters want a convincing argument. Condemners want a reason to feel superior. Tired church volunteers long for a boost. Frazzled church staffers need a shot in the arm. Elders need power to persevere through the pressure. Deacons need to be uplifted.
The confused seek wisdom. The guilty seek forgiveness. The sad seek help. The mad seek release. The glad seek rejoicing.
The preachers stands.
For three sentences everyone listens intently, wondering, "Is there a word from God for me today?"
Who dares to rise to preach in the face of such need? Who can meet such a multiplicity of expectations?
God can. Only God can.
God speaks through the preacher's faltering words, stiff outlines, and overused illustrations. God speaks through his words, his tears, his personality, his humor, his gestures, his spirit. God uses unworthy vessels to anoint hearts, persuade minds, lift spirits, comfort pain, and enlighten understanding.
The power in preaching is not the preacher. It is God. God speaking through a man, gives a beautiful gift in a plain brown wrapper.
God has a word for you. Shhhhh. Listen.

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Words To Stand You On Your Feet by Joe McKeever
Everyone needs a verse of Scripture to call his own. Here is mine.
Old Job was having a time of it. After the death of his children and the loss of his wealth, disease racked his body, leaving him covered with sores. Then, three friends showed up to comfort him - with accusations and blame. He needed a defense attorney and got instead three prosecutors!
The first speaker begins to set Job up for a fall. He's going to accuse him of having sin in his life which has brought the judgment of God. But first, he reminds him of the way God has used him in the past.
"Your words have stood men on their feet; you have helped the tottering to stand." (Job 4:4)
Tell me if that is not one of the finest attributes one man could ever pay another. It has become something of a goal for my preaching, that my sermons would be so filled with life and faith that the falling and the fallen would hear and stand up again and get back into life.
What power words have...
When Eric Plumb entered the fourth grade, he missed the first two weeks due to a case of the mumps. As a result, he never caught on to the math they were studying that year. The teacher was a crabby, negative, cruel woman who was retiring at the end of that school term, the worst possible representative of her profession. She pounced on Eric and held him up to ridicule at every opportunity. When he missed an answer in arithmetic, which was often, she would say, "Eric is dumb. Eric Plumb is dumb. Eric Plumb is plumb dumb." The students laughed at her put-down, no doubt glad someone else was her target for a while. To no one's surprise, Eric grew to hate school.
Not until the tenth grade did something happen to change Eric's perception of school. It was an English literature class, just after lunch when students and teachers alike had trouble concentrating. During a discussion of Shakespeare, the teacher was stunned to see Eric raise his hand for an observation, something he had never done before. When he finished, she said, "Why Eric - how perceptive." For the rest of the day, Eric basked in the glow of those words. "Perceptive. She thinks I'm perceptive."
Eric says, "I'm not going to tell you I became class valedictorian as a result of her comment, and I still hate math. But that one word from my English teacher turned around my self-confidence and helped me believe that maybe I wasn't the total loser I had come to believe. I became a different student for the rest of my schooling."
Cut down by one teacher; stood up by another. The incredible power of words. No wonder Scripture describes the Word of God as a two-edged sword. In a sense, all words are double-edged with power to cut and power to heal.
A couple of years ago, Frank Pollard retired from a lengthy pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Mississippi. This man is so accomplished a speaker that Time magazine once named him one of America's top preachers. Most people are shocked, however, to learn of his humble beginnings. Frank tells it on himself.
When Frank was a child in Olney, Texas, a man named Claude Olney sought him out for his Sunday School class of ten year old boys. He introduced Frank to Jesus, the greatest thing one person can do for another. Then, when Frank was in college and God called him to preach, practically no one believed in him. His classmates wondered how someone too shy to speak to them could ever stand in a church and address crowds.
When Frank gave his first sermon, instead of coming up to shake his hand, people headed for the doors. Only one man in town, Mr. Beverly King - the richest man in the little community -walked up and bragged on him and told him, "I know you will make it." In college, Frank worked as a janitor of the Baptist Student Center and when no one else was around, would preach to the empty seats. He grew discouraged and frequently thought of quitting. And he would have, except for one thing. Every week, Frank Pollard received a postcard from Mr. King back in Olney saying, "I love you, Frank. I believe in you. You can do it."
Frank Pollard confesses, "I am in the ministry today because of that man." A man whose words stood him on his feet.
Standing people on their feet with words is a most Christ-like thing.
Jesus said to a paralytic, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And he did. He said to a fallen woman, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." To a thief dying on the cross, Jesus said, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise."
Bill Glass was an All-American at Baylor and an All-Pro defensive end for the Cleveland Browns football team. These days, he spends a lot of time in prisons telling men how to be truly free by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. I first heard him over thirty years ago tell of a great lesson he learned early in his football playing.
"When I started playing football in school," Bill said, "I thought when you got knocked down was a good time to get some rest. Then I realized you get stepped on and fallen upon, so I started getting up. Then, I began to notice that in college and pro ball, most of the tackles are made by people who were either knocked down and got back up or knocked off balance and kept on going." Bill paused and said, "Now, there's a parallel in life. The devil knocks you down through temptation or hurtful words from someone or your own foolishness or a hundred other things. But it's not enough for him to knock you down, he's got to keep you down. And the way he does that is by working on your guilt."
"'Some Christian you are,' the devil tells you. 'What if the people down at the church could see you now. They'd be ashamed of you.' And he keeps you down. But then, someone comes to you and says," If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) Get back up and get into the game!' You hear that and believe, you confess it and reaffirm your faith in the Lord Jesus, and you get back into the game."
As long as you are flat of your back, wiped out by your own sin or the cruel words or harsh treatment of another, lying there in your misery and self-reproach, the devil doesn't have to worry about you. You'll do the Lord no good and the enemy no harm. But the moment you start believing the Lord and stand up and re-enter the game, a cheer goes up from the grandstand. (See Hebrews 12:1) A champion is back and ready for the next play.
Someone needs to hear words of love and affirmation from you today. Don't assume they already know that you love them. Tell them.
When Fred Rogers was a little boy, his parents would take him into the country for brief visits with his Grandfather McFeeley. Sometime during the visit, the wonderful old man would take the child aside and say, "Freddie, never forget that I like you just the way you are. Don't ever change. God made you this way, and you are something special."
Mr. Rogers lived the rest of his life telling children all over the world how special they were. Standing them on their feet.

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WHERE DO I START CLEANING? by Ron Hutchcraft
It took me awhile to get up the courage to clean our garage. It might have taken you time to do it too, if you had seen what shape it was in! I mean, there was the general accumulated "mess" that hadn't been touched for a while. And then there was the mess left from youth ministry stored there. On top of that, different members of our family and staff had been going, and borrowing and returning, and borrowing and returning, and oh my goodness! The mess was there.
Oh, and then there was the mess from various friends who use our garage to store some of their things. All in all, we had discovered a new peak to be climbed. We called it Mount Mess! And there it was right in front of me. So, get on my work clothes, go downstairs, take a deep breath and I almost turned around and gave up. My first thought, "How about we torch it." No, we need to clean it. I thought maybe that would be the simplest answer. No, it's not good. But the question that depressed me was one that you've probably asked while facing a Mount Mess of your own, "Where do I start?"
Our word for today from the Word of God, John 2 , and I'm going to begin reading verses 13-16. "When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts, He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple area; both sheep and cattle. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves, He said, 'Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father's house into a market.'"
I'll tell you what's incredible about this. This is Jesus' first appearance in Jerusalem. Want to make a good impression? He's going to the big city. You'd think He'd want to make a nice, positive impact there when He arrives. But notice what His first act is. It's not a miracle, it's not a healing, and it's not a sermon. It's an indignity - an attack - against sin in God's house.
Now, you and I are living in a world that morally resembles my un-cleaned garage - it is a spiritual mess. Sex has been divorced from love and commitment. Speaking of divorce, it's the most common "answer" for marital problems. Lying is so common you pretty much expect people not to be telling the truth. There's garbage permeating our media input, and it just goes on and on. Where are we going to start cleaning?
Well, Jesus will say, "Start by cleaning up My house." That's where He started. 1 Peter 4:17 says, "Judgment must begin at the house of God." A. W. Tozer said, "The Bible will not die in the hands of Communists, or humanists, or atheists, or abortionists. It will die in the hands of its friends because they don't use it themselves."
See, we've become amazingly casual about sin. Oh, we're against it, but we flirt with it and we see how close we can get to it. We read about it, we watch it being portrayed, we laugh about it, and we allow creeping compromise to erode what was once a much higher standard in our lives just a short time ago. Jesus takes a whip to sin when it's tolerated in His house, and you're His house now.
See, the Bible says we're the temple of the Holy Spirit; He lives in you. Now, you may look righteous compared to the rest of the people around you, but your standard isn't them. It's the personal holiness of Jesus himself. Oh, sure, we should fight the decay in our lost world, but we should turn most of our guns on our own sin - our own compromise. Many people are not considering Christ because they've never seen an alternative in someone their own age who is really living for Christ, demonstrating the difference.
The history of revival throughout the church tells us that whenever God's people start hating the sin in their own lives, tens of thousands of people start finding Christ. So, where do I start cleaning with the mess inside my own heart?

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Prayer Warriors or Prayer Worriers? by Rocky Henriques
Don’t be anxious (don't worry) about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6-7)
The graphic on Facebook grabbed my attention with its all-caps, bold orange letters. It read, "Prayer is the most important conversation of your day. Take it to God before you take it to anyone else!"
That was a great reminder as I began my day. Nearly 100,000 others had seen it by the time I did.
At least one person was so touched by those words that she wrote, "I so believe in this magnificent power! This power saved my daughter from having to have major life altering surgery. Praise God and all my prayer worrier friends who joined me in asking for Gods intervention in the matter! Glory Be To God! Amen! Thank You God!"
Yes, you read that correctly. She meant to write "prayer warrior," but it came out "prayer worrier."
I laughed out loud when I read that. But then I realized that "prayer worrier" may be closer to the way we actually practice the art of conversing with God. We take our requests to God and pretend that we are leaving it with Him.
At least that is what we intended to do.
Many times, though, as we come away from prayer, the burden stays with us, and we spend a great deal of time worrying about the very thing we supposedly left with God.
But the Bible says that we can cast all our anxiety on Him, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:6-7). Jesus implied that we cannot even add a single hour to our lifespan by worrying (Matthew 6:27). And we are told that as children of God, we have a special privilege: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken” (Psalm 55:22, HCSB).
According to the Scriptures, we can be prayer worriers, or prayer warriors. I know which I’d rather be.

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Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns
Many of you, My children, are conflicted--as though being caught between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings. This is because there is winding down from the past season and a gearing up for the next. You are in transition. What is passing isn't over yet and what is coming isn't here yet. This is a time when you have to be patient and allow My grace to sustain you, says the Lord. This too will pass. 2 Corinthians 12:9a And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

These are not easy times, but it is a time when you can learn a lot about yourself and your ability to persevere. Make a decision to endure and push through the difficult situations that you face, and you will absolutely have breakthrough. And, when you do emerge from the darkness the light will be brighter, the victory sweeter and the joy more exhuberant. It will be worth all the effort, says the Lord. Stay the course. 1 Peter 1:6-8 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.

I want you to step back and take a look at the bigger picture. While looking at details is admirable, you can miss a greater understanding that is necessary in accurately evaluating a particular situation. Take the time to make adjustments in the way you see things so that you have greater clarity of intent and purpose, says the Lord. Psalms 14:2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

Stand strong in the face of adversity, for I say to you that challenges will come as devastation seems to rule the world. It is up to each of you, My people, to establish righteousness and kingdom principles where you are--in your life and circumstances. You will do this through choosing good over evil, says the Lord. Set yourself apart to reflect My character and nature. 1 Corinthians 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!

Consider where you have been, where you are now and where you are headed. If your life seems to be on a path that has departed from spiritual commitment and consecration, you will need to make a course correction before it leads to destruction. Let Me direct you in the way of righteousness and peace so that I can bless you, says the Lord. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

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The Trumpet by Bill Burns
"Set the trumpet to your mouth!" Hosea 8:1
Awake you who are asleep. These times are more perilous than you even imagine. You can fall into harms way in a moment, in a heart beat, on any given day, in any place and time. So, wake up and stand your watch and I will help you. I will walk with you, and be one with you, and anoint you to overcome all the difficulties that you encounter. Put away evil. Put away those things that cause you to get out of My will. Put away the things that open the door to the enemy. Put away all the things that will allow you to become a victim. You are an overcomer and more than able to stand and withstand the onslaught of the enemy. Rise up, awaken yourself and see the anointing I have provided for you, says the Lord.

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CLEANING Author Unknown
Dear Lord Jesus
As I go about my housework
Let me see each job I do,
As a service for my King
And a way of loving You.
Let me wash away my judgments
Of others right or wrong,
As I wash up the dishes
Place within my heart a song.
As I clean up little fingerprints
And lots of muddy shoes,
May I remember how you cleaned the feet
Of the loved ones you did choose.
As I mend up torn pajamas
And sew a button on,
Show me where I need to mend a breech
That's gone on far too long.
Let me tidy up my thoughts
As I tidy up the toys,
Let me sweep away my fears
Like the dirt from little boys.
May I be just as quick with my forgiveness
As I am with mop and broom,
Sweeping up the clutter
In my heart and living room.
May I rinse out pride and ego
As I rinse the bathtub out,
And while we are at it Lord
Let's take care of anger, hate and doubt.
Please remind me often Lord
That the way I'm called to serve,
Is an honor given me
And not below what I deserve.
You know Lord, as I look
At all the work we need to do,
I think we'd better house clean
At least each day or two.

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When sickness comes to weaken me,
To bring my head down low,
I call upon my mighty God;
Into His arms I go.

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I looked into a flower's face
And saw a work of love and grace.
For who but God could even form
The daffodil so vibrant warm?

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Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2

“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

"Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me." Micah 7:8

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

"Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Rejoice. Change your ways. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you." 2 Corinthians 13:11

"For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you." Isaiah 54:10

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:13

Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord. Ephesians 5:18-19

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800 Grams Author Unnkown
Front-Line Worker Profile: Xuan in Vietnam
She found Christ 13 years ago when she was a garbage collector. Every day, Xuan would pick through the garbage and find things to recycle for cash to support her family. Her husband had left her. She was paid by the gram for paper.
One day, Xuan saw some people worshiping in the area where she was going through garbage. She kept going back to watch them as they sang and prayed. “I found out that they worshiped God in heaven and I realized that they had a different God than me,” she said.
Then, a woman came by and handed her a Bible. She told Xuan, “Read this book.”
Xuan took it home and weighed it on her scale. It was 800 grams, not a large amount to recycle, but she could get a little money for it. She thought, “How could God be in this 800 gram book?” So she read the book, 10 chapters a day. She finished the book in six months.
“The first time I read it, I did not understand, so I was going to give it back to the lady,” Xuan said. “Then I thought I heard someone say, “I will give you wisdom.” She didn’t have electricity in her home, so she raised the candle she was using to read and looked to see who had spoken to her. No one was there.
“The second time I read the Bible, I still did not understand, then I heard the same voice. I lit a whole newspaper to make light to see who spoke to me,” she said. But there was no one.
The third time she read the Bible through, Xuan heard the same voice saying again, “I will give you wisdom.” Though again she saw no one, she began to understand the Bible, and she turned her life over to God. Thirteen years later, Xuan has read the Bible 21 times through.
Today, Xuan is sharing the gospel as a front-line worker. Every week she is teaching the Bible to new converts, sharing the gospel on the streets, at work and in another village. Thursdays are her day for prayer and fasting at the church. She also leads two churches. One of the young boys she mentored went on to Bible school and is now also in full-time ministry sharing the gospel. Another two are currently studying at Bible school.
She owes her new life and the fruit of her ministry to a small, 800-gram God book.
Have you read His Word today?

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Praise Him for being our Father of Faith. Confess to Him the times when you have not have faith in Him to take care of you. Thank Him for loving you and taking care of you no matter what the circumstances. Ask Him to help you develop a faith in Him that is so firm and so strong that you realize ALL you need is Him. --The Voice

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Read Through The Bible
Ezra 5
Restoration of the Temple Resumed
1 Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them. 3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: “Who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this wall?” 4 Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. 5 But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter. 6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent: The governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the king. 7 (They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus) To Darius the king: All peace. 8 Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the temple of the great God, which is being built with heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders, and spoke thus to them: “Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls?” 10 We also asked them their names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them. 11 And thus they returned us an answer, saying: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed. 12 But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon. 13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God. 14 Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon—those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they were given to one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. 15 And he said to him, ‘Take these articles; go, carry them to the temple site that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.’ 16 Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; but from that time even until now it has been under construction, and it is not finished.” 17 Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter.

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God, give us faith to trust you, to know that you are with us and that you hear our prayers. We pray as Jesus taught us, saying, "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation." Amen.