Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 7, 2026

 September 7 -- John 6: 65-71 "And he said, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.' After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you want to go away as well?' Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have beleived, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.' Jesus answered them, 'Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.' He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him." 

Prayer focus for today: Pray today for discernment to know who you follow and why. We are have so many choices to make today; pray for wisdom to make the right choice in the things that matter. Pray for true understanding of God's Word and courage to choose Christ NO MATTER WHAT. Satan will try to pull you away little by little through the choices you make ... pray we will all choose Christ and nothing less. If you or someone you know is struggling in this area, pray for wisdom, courage, and strength to resist the temptation to turn away from Jesus and know with all confidence that HE is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 6, 2026

 September 6 -- John 6: 58-64  "'This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.' Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, 'This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?' But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, 'Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.' (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not belive, and who it was who would betray him.)"

Prayer focus for today: When we were young, we never liked being around the kid who was  "know-it-all". They were annoying and overbearing. However, Jesus is one know-it-all who can wear that title proudly!  While sometimes we do get annoyed at all He knows, deep down, we know it is the truth!  If we say we believe in Jesus, but still believe there are things in our lives we are hiding from Him, we are just listening to the lies of Satan who helps us to fool ourselves. 

Pray today for Jesus to be KING in your life. He already knows ALL and knows every aspect of YOU better than you know yourself. Pray for healing for the areas of your life you keep bottled up - thinking NO ONE knows. He knows, He forgives, He cares, and He wants you to trust Him to heal. And lastly, pray today that you will be willing to allow Jesus to be the voice of truth THROUGH you. Until you listen to King Knows It All ... you haven't found true freedom. Let others hear about Him and see Him through you.

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 5, 2026

 September 5 -- John 6: 50-57 "'This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.'  The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.'"

Prayer focus for today:  These verses are some that often turn people away from Christianity, because they are looking at the literal words Jesus said instead of looking at all the ways/times He used parables to teach. Jesus is talking about himself as food and drink, knowing that this is what we humans know as essential for life. Jesus is NOT suggesting we take up a cannibalistic life. He is teaching that HE is all we need to survive. HE is to be our sustenance when we can't go on. HE is to be our life-giving all-in-all. 

Pray today for a mind to understand the Bible the way God intended it. Pray for wisdom and time to study the original text (even Google can help with that); even a brief tidbit can open our understanding in great ways. Pray that Christ will give you the words to say to help someone who has misunderstood Scripture see clearly today and choose to follow Christ alone. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 4, 2026

 September 4 -- John 6: 41-49 (*My apologies for yesterday. I stated our Scripture was through verse 42, but I only gave you through 40.)

"So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven.' They said, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?' Jesus answered them, 'Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me -- not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.'"

Prayer focus for today: Today it seems people believe something just because a celebrity endorsed it or a social media ad sounded convincing.  When was the last time you believed something to be true, even a news story, only to find it was fake, maybe even just something AI generated?  The Jews had trouble believing Jesus was the Son of God, because they knew him as the son of Joseph and Mary. They had watched him grow up. Even if we had been in their shoes, we probably would have had the same doubting minds. 

Pray today for minds to discern God's truth from all else that is false in the world. Pray for eyes to see God's TRUTH above all else. Pray for the ability and desire to turn off what is "false" whether on your tablet, phone, or television, and spend more time in God's Word. If we would all do that, there would be much more TRUTH than FALSE.

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 3, 2026

 September 3 -- John 6: 36-42 "But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but  raise it up on the last day. For this is  the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.' 

Prayer focus for today:  If you've been with us for the past several day, walking through Jesus' discussions with others might seem like a broken record. (Imagine how He feels still today telling the same message to we humans and getting the same response.....if you've had children, you know what I mean.)  :-) Continue to pray today for all of us who call ourselves Christians to REALLY understand what that means and humbly submit ourselves to Christ's commands and God's WILL today. 

Pray also for those who are in persecuted nations where taking a stand and following Christ can cost them everything. Pray for safety, but also patient endurance for each one currently undergoing persecution. Pray for strength to endure that Christ may be seen in each believers' actions and words. Pray for their lives to make and eternal difference, even when their stories go untold. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 2, 2026

 September 2 -- John 6: 29-35 "Jesus answered them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.' So they said to him, 'Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'' Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.' They said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.' Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'"

Prayer focus for today:  "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."  The plan of God has never changed. His purposes all center around Jesus being sent so that all of us, every human who has and ever will live, might choose to repent of our sins, believe in Jesus, and faithfully follow Him. 

Pray today for faith to truly believe. Hold nothing back. Repent of those "comfortable sins" that you hold on to and see in others, but never recognize in yourself. Pray for faith to trust His perfect plan for your life and rest in Him. Pray today that you won't look to social media 'perfection' as a goal, but simply rest in Him knowing YOU are enough just the way you are. Pray today to live as Christ that others will be drawn to Him.

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 1, 2026

 September 1 -- John 6: 22-28 "On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, 'Rabbi, when did you come here?' Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.' Then they said to him, 'What must we do, to be doing the works of God?'" 

Prayer focus for today:  Today's Scripture passage continues to build on the story. The people who were fed by Jesus' miracle with the five loaves and two fish want more. But they don't really know WHAT they want more of, and Jesus clearly points this out to them in His words. How often do we, today, waste time seeking after the things that look "good, nice, perfect, tantalizing, exciting, fun, ..." ? You name your adjective. In our human minds we convince ourselves we know what we want, and we let Satan distract us, often to the point of numbness towards the things of God. 

Pray today that the Father would open our hearts and minds to His truth and clarify our day's focus to be 'doing the works of God' by faithfully following Jesus. Pray that Christ would make it clear to you what it is that is distracting you and taking your focus off of the things of God. Pray openly with a willing heart and mind to let God the Father cleanse you and renew His purpose within you.