Oswald Chambers reminds us today that prayer is never meant to be an exercise in empty words or a pious routine. Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:9 describe a good child asking for a good thing, not an entitled spirit demanding a gift. Chambers presses us to take a spiritual inventory of our lives before God. The state of our relationships, both with Him and with others, matters deeply when we come to Him in prayer.

Miles Stanford draws us to the heart of the believer’s growth in Colossians 3:3, reminding us that we have died, not merely changed. This distinction is crucial. Our old Adamic life was not improved or modified. It was crucified with Jesus. Realizing what the first Adam is prepares us for the greater realization of who the Last Adam is.

Witness Lee draws our attention to the difference between outward imitation and inward participation. Jesus’ words, “You shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” can sound like an impossible command if taken as a rule of behavior. Many try to copy God’s actions, thinking that if they mimic His love or mercy, they will somehow measure up. But this leads only to frustration, because we cannot imitate divinity through human effort. It would be like teaching an animal to act like a person. No matter how convincing it appears, it will never be real, because the nature is missing.

Today’s devotional from Nick Harrison reminds us of the abundant sufficiency of God’s grace. The writer recalls a moment of heaviness and weariness after a long day when the Spirit brought to mind the promise from 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you.” That truth struck like a lightning flash, transforming despair into laughter. Suddenly the idea of God’s grace not being enough seemed as absurd as a tiny fish worrying that it might drink a river dry, or a mouse fearing famine while sitting inside the granaries of Egypt.

E. Stanley Jones reflects on the truth that being in Christ is the same as being in the kingdom of Christ. Paul writes that no one who lives in immorality, impurity, or idolatry has any inheritance in this kingdom, for the kingdom of Jesus is holy and whole. What Jones stresses is that our union with Christ is not just a private matter tucked away in the hidden places of our hearts. To be in Him means to be brought into a kingdom that is corporate, relational, and all-encompassing.

T. Austin-Sparks invites us to consider what it means for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened, as Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:18. He reflects on the days following the resurrection of Jesus, when the disciples slowly began to see Him in a new light. At first, there were faint hints, like the dim glow of dawn on the horizon. Then the light grew stronger until, on the day of Pentecost, the glory of the risen Lord was revealed in full brilliance. What once seemed a mystery suddenly became clear. The Scriptures opened like a new book, and Jesus was seen not only as the glorified Son of God, but as the very embodiment of God’s eternal plan and heavenly order.

Ray Stedman invites us to see the wonder of God’s promise of the New Covenant, first spoken through Jeremiah and fulfilled in Jesus. Unlike the Old Covenant, which placed demands on people from the outside, the New Covenant places God’s life on the inside. What the people of Israel could never accomplish by trying harder, God Himself has accomplished by giving a new motive, a new power, and a new family.

Bob Hoekstra draws our eyes to a precious promise tucked in Psalm 138:8, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.” This is not simply a hopeful wish, but a declaration of God’s unwavering commitment to bring His purposes to completion in the lives of His people. We often carry anxieties about whether we will ever grow into maturity, whether our marriages will flourish, or whether we will gain true understanding of God’s Word. Yet here God Himself speaks: He will complete the work that He began.

A.B. Simpson points us to a truth that reorients the way we understand the Christian life. John writes that everyone who has this hope in Jesus purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure. That verse is not calling us to strain toward imitation but to rest in union. God’s goal is not for us to mimic His Son by self-effort but to be made new in Him. Jesus imparts His own life to us, and out of that union comes a purity that reflects His nature.

Oswald Chambers directs our eyes to the reality that prayer is not simply a vague drifting of thoughts toward God, but a purposeful act of the will. Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:6 are clear: when we pray, we are to enter the secret place, shut the door, and speak to our Father who sees in secret. Prayer requires focus and intent. It is not daydreaming, nor the indulgence of a wandering mind, but a deliberate turning of the heart toward the Father.

Miles Stanford reminds us in today’s devotional that the law cannot give life, nor can it sustain it. The law only ever dealt with man while he lived in Adam, but in Jesus we have died to the law and been raised into a new standing. We are no longer striving to prove ourselves under commandments, nor are we seeking to squeeze fruit out of our flesh. Instead, we are united with the risen Lord, alive from the dead, and therefore able to bear fruit unto God by His indwelling life.

Witness Lee reminds us in today’s devotional that the high call of Jesus in Matthew 5:48, “You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” is not a demand we meet in our own effort. It is an unveiling of the Father’s life within His children. This new life is not something we earn or grow into naturally, but something given at the moment of new birth. We are begotten of God, and with that new birth comes a new nature, one that reflects the Father Himself.

E. Stanley Jones leads us to one of the deepest waters of the Christian life: forgiveness. Paul’s command in Ephesians 4:32 is not simply to be kind or tenderhearted, but to forgive one another as God in Jesus forgave us. That last phrase is staggering, for it sets the highest standard imaginable. We are called to extend to others what God has already extended to us in His Son.

W. T. P. Wolston, in today’s devotional, points us to the beautiful truth that when we come to Jesus, the Living Stone, we ourselves are made living stones. Peter, once Simon, was renamed Cephas, meaning stone, to mark this new identity rooted in Jesus. What happened to Peter reflects what happens to all of us who respond to the voice of the Son of God. A change takes place that cannot always be explained, yet it is undeniable. We become joined to Jesus, the foundation, and our lives begin to reflect His life.

T. Austin-Sparks draws our eyes to a powerful truth from Daniel 11:32: “The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” This knowledge of God is not a matter of collecting verses, memorizing truths, or attending meetings. Those things can sharpen our understanding, but they cannot release divine power. Sparks reminds us that the knowledge which leads to strength and “great exploits” comes only by revelation from God Himself. It is knowledge that cannot be gained by mental effort, but by the Spirit opening the reality of Christ within us.

Ray Stedman draws us into the mystery of God’s everlasting love, a love that stretches beyond time itself. Jeremiah’s words remind us that even when discipline comes, it flows from the heart of a Father who cannot forget His children. He may speak firmly, but His heart always yearns with compassion. This is not a love that flickers or fades. It is everlasting, a word that carries more than mere duration. It speaks of something greater than we can measure, a love that existed before time and will remain when time itself is no more.

Bob Hoekstra reminds us today of one of God’s “unpopular” promises: the certainty of sowing and reaping. Paul’s words in Galatians 6:7-8 declare that whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. In a world that resists accountability, this truth often goes unwelcomed. Yet God’s principle stands unshaken. Just as a farmer who plants corn will not reap wheat, so every spiritual seed we sow will bear a harvest of its kind.

A.B. Simpson reminds us that many Christians stumble because they focus on their spiritual experiences rather than on Jesus Himself. When the Lord grants an initial joy of deliverance, it can feel as though temptations and trials will never return. But when they do, discouragement quickly follows. Instead of anchoring themselves to the living Christ, some cling to a memory of a past experience, only to find it slipping through their fingers. Their faith is shaken, and they conclude that what they had was either a mistake or something not meant for them.

Oswald Chambers reflects on the deep meaning of John the Baptist’s words, “I indeed baptize you with water, but He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Chambers presses us to ask whether we have come to that place in our lives where we truly say, “I indeed, but He.” That simple phrase captures the dividing line between self-effort and Spirit-filled living. Until we reach the end of ourselves, we do not truly grasp what it means to be baptized with the Spirit.

In today’s devotional, Miles Stanford gently addresses a subject we often resist: the discipline of our Heavenly Father. Our natural instinct is to shy away from correction, just as we did with our earthly fathers. Yet Scripture tells us that the Father’s discipline is not meant to crush us but to lift us into greater participation in His holiness. Hebrews 12 reminds us that His discipline is an expression of His love, shaping us into those who share His character.