Morning Manna by Rufus Parker: 2014 April 15

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

2014 April 15 - Morning Manna

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
(Luke 11:1-4)

Today's Morsel: I was pondering on my prayer life the other day, and I came to the conclusion that I probably spend more time interceding for folks than just giving God thanks and praise for what He's already doing. Because my mind is so programmed for interceding, I often find myself as more of an intercessor than a praiser. I've read so many books on prayer, and prayer indeed is so important for us all, but I wonder have and are we missing the mark sometimes in our understanding for the purpose of prayer? The disciples asked Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray", not "How to pray." I think all of us that have been around the church for a while know how to pray, but many haven't caught the purpose for prayer. I read that Jesus rose early before day and entered into a solitary place and prayed. And I've heard many reasons given that He did so, but none of them are found in scripture. The disciples knew that Jesus prayed, and they were curious for the reason. And so they asked Him to teach them to pray. If I know the reason, I can figure out my own way how to do it. As General George Patton said, "Don't tell a person how to do things, tell them what needs to be done and they'll surprise you with their ingenuity." In some ways, I think our prayer should be somewhat like our alms, don't let the right hand know what the left is doing. Maybe this is why we have people requesting unspoken prayer requests. Someone once asked an old man why he always hummed songs. He replied, "That way the devil doesn't know what you are saying."

Sing: Hear my cry O' God, attend unto my prayer, from the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, and when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to that Rock, that is higher than I, so much higher than I.

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About Morning Manna

And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat (Exodus 16:10-15).

“Morning Manna” is a short daily devotion which began in 2002, with just a short note of encouragement to a friend who was facing difficulties at the time. Through their response, I was encouraged to begin a daily devotion via email and send it to people who asked to be put on the distribution list. It is now reaching around the globe. Its birth came about during Morning Prayer. The Lord revealed to me that I should forward my friend a word of encouragement, since it is through patience and comfort of the scripture that we find hope. Thus, I forwarded him the words the Lord had given to me for him, and he forwarded it on to someone else who was having difficulties in their life as well, and thus the original list began.

The goal of “Morning Manna” is to provide people with a quick, thought provoking Word from the Lord, as well as provide encouragement from His Word that can help them through the day and during unexpected trails and circumstances in their daily lives.

Several years ago, Jesus moved on my heart to start writing daily devotions; thus began “Morning Manna”. Today, many people are receiving these daily devotions and many of these people are forwarding it on to their family and friends. It is my hope to encourage even more through posting the devotions to this blog-page.

I pray that you, too, will enjoy reading the manna from this site.