The Lord's Prayer
Daily Bible Studies for the Week of August 10, 2009
This Week’s Scripture: Genesis 12: 1-5
1Then the LORD told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
4So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people who had joined his household at Haran—and finally arrived in Canaan.
Monday
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for a new week to love and serve You, and to live in the power of Your Holy Spirit. I pray that as I study Abram’s life this week, that You will write on my heart the reality that You have blessed each one of us so we may be a blessing to others. Fill me with You Holy Spirit that I may be blessed to be a blessing today and always. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word:
1Then the LORD told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.
How do you think you would respond if God gave you the same command that He gave Abram in today’s Scripture? Why?
What assurance does God give Abram for following Him in this verse?
Today’s Challenge: I will follow where God leads me, regardless of the “uncertainty” from my perspective!
Tuesday
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You offered Abraham great blessings for following You. I pray that I will be willing to follow You not only for how You may bless me, but more importantly, because You ARE the one, true and living God. I pray that You will guide and watch over me today, and that by the presence of Your Holy Spirit within me, You will show me the good You have planned for me. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word:
2I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others.
In seeing God’s promises to Abram, would you be more inclined to go WHEREVER He led, even though you didn’t know where that would be? Why or why not?
What risk was Abram taking in responding to God’s call on his life?
Today’s Challenge: I will welcome God’s blessings, and live in a way that glorifies Him and offers blessing to others!
Wednesday
Prayer: Heavenly Father, it is a great responsibility to be a blessing to “all the families of the earth, and yet, if that was Abram’s calling, it is certainly ours through the Great Commission that Jesus gave us. I pray that You will fill me with the Holy Spirit that I may be a faithful messenger of Your Good News in all that I say and do today. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word:
3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
How would you respond if you were offered this kind of authority/responsibility by God?
What does it mean in practical terms to be a blessing to “all the families of the earth”?
Today’s Challenge: I will live in obedience to Jesus, so that my life may be a blessing to everyone I come into contact with today!
Thursday
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as Abram obeyed You, taking his family and all his belongings to a foreign land—at the age of seventy-five—I pray that I will respond obediently to You whatever You call me to do, and whenever You call me to do it! Fill me anew with Your Holy Spirit that when I hear Your voice, I may also do Your will. This I pray in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word:
4So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
What does Abram’s age when God called him, tell us about who God is able to use?
How do you see Abram’s response to God and Noah’s which we studied recently as being similar?
Today’s Challenge: I will do what the LORD instructs me today and always in the power of the Holy Spirit!
Friday
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Abram’s obedience was not an easy matter. He had to uproot his entire family in order to follow you. I pray that You will fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I may have the courage to do whatever You call me to do, whatever the apparent cost. Let me trust You enough to obey You in every matter of life. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word:
5He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people who had joined his household at Haran—and finally arrived in Canaan.
From a logistic standpoint, how challenging would it have been for Abram to obey God?
What does this tell us about obeying God when what He asks seems challenging?
Today’s Challenge: I will trust God enough to obey Him today and always, thus demonstrating my love for Him!
Saturday
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for another week of life, and another week of opportunities to live and move and have my being in You. As I have reflected on Abram’s life and His faith and obedience in You, I pray that You will use me to be an example for others that they, too, may see You in me, and be encouraged to follow You, or to follow You more fully. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word:
3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
After a week of reflecting on Gen 12:1-5, what does it mean to you to have God bless those we bless and curse those we curse?
Today’s Challenge: I will act responsibly with the authority God gives us to be a blessing to others!