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Intention
The ultimate answer to life and godliness is found in the gifts God has already given.

Scripture

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”
—2 Peter 1:3

Reflection
The opening chapter of Second Peter is a rich vault of wisdom, especially the road to spiritual maturity outlined in verses 5-11. Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love — each attribute builds upon those before until they “keep [us] from being ineffective and unproductive”.

However, in verse 3, Peter makes it clear that this process begins with the fundamental principles that:
1) God’s power is completely sufficient for life and godliness. Nothing else is required.
2) Life and godliness are gifts, freely granted by God through knowledge of God.
3) The purpose of life and godliness is for us to be called to God’s glory and excellence.

As we pray for life, godly leadership and spiritual revival this October, the truths of this verse are particularly pertinent. First and foremost, the greatest need of every man, woman and child right now is for a saving, sanctifying relationship with God. Any attempt to reform our laws or nation without God is an effort in futility. Our words and actions should reflect that salvation is the most important matter.

Secondly, even as we stand for life and godliness, we remember that the result is firmly in God’s hands. God has given us His gift and we have received it with joy, but we cannot force others to do the same. Our task as faithful servants is to present His truth and trust that He will accomplish His purpose. Take comfort in the knowledge that success does not depend upon you, but upon our all-powerful God.

Finally, we are called for His glory and excellence, which means that our work is not for our own glory, satisfaction, or benefit. We seek God’s glory, and so in both what we do and how we do it, we place God above all, and say, “Your will be done” as the final authority.

Prayer
O God, thank You for Your gifts. Thank you for Your Son, Your Spirit, and for salvation. Thank You for providing us with the assurance that everything we need is found in You.

Lord, today we ask forgiveness for the times when we have resisted Your will, when we have elevated our own opinions and desires above Yours. We are sorry for the times we have sought to pursue morality apart from You, or have let Your Kingdom take a backseat to our politics and ideas.

We ask now that You would guide us in bringing the knowledge of You to our friends and family, that You would make us Your hands and feet. We ask that You would give the people of this nation a deep and personal knowledge of You, and that it would radically change the heart of each and every one of us.

We ask that we would see men and women rise to power who will govern according to Your will, and that we would see life valued and cherished in word and deed. Make life and godliness evident in this land, so that all people may receive a glimpse of Your glory and excellence which we will one day see face to face. Amen.

Prayer Points for October 2020
1. Pray for a Breakthrough for LIFE, specifically an end to abortion and euthanasia in our nation. Exodus 20:13
2. Pray for a Breakthrough for INDIGENOUS LIFE, specifically an end to high youth suicide and premature death due to ill health. 3 John 1:2
3. Pray for new POLITICIANS for LIFE, especially pray for the upcoming elections in Queensland (31st October), ACT (17th October) + USA (3 November) & New Zealand (17 October). Proverbs 29:2
4. Pray for the Revitalisation of SPIRITUAL LIFE, namely repentance, renewal & transformation, that our nation might return to God. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Kurtis Budden lives in Newcastle, NSW with his wife and daughter. In addition to his work in medical research, Kurtis runs the youth group of the independent Baptist Church he attends and spends his weekends playing soccer.

We invite you to join the daily 1-hour Zoom video National Prayer Call every night:
DATES: 1st– 31st October 2020
TIME: 8pm-9pm AEST
ZOOM URL LINK: https://zoom.us/j/776881184
ZOOM MEETING ID: 776881184
See Zoom tutorial here.

Daily devotions brought to you by the Canberra Declaration.