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. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 31, 2026

 August 31 -- John 6: 16-21 "When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, 'It is I; do not be afraid.' Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going."

Prayer focus for today:  As we end the first month in the book of John,  let us start our prayers today thanking God for His Word and the blessings of praying through these first chapters. Pray for each of us to better understand the Scriptures as we continue through this Gospel of Jesus which is PACKED with so much to learn. Pray for wisdom to be able to share these powerful stories with someone who doesn't know Jesus or who is a new believer. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 30, 2026

August 30 -- John 6: 8-15 "One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 'There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?' Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, 'Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.' So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, 'This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!' Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself."

Prayer focus for today:  Anyone who has grown up with any connection to the Christian faith knows something of today's Scripture story. Typically entitled, 'Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand' or 'The Miracle Meal' or something similar, there have been countless songs, stories, and adaptations throughout recent time. If we look past the fact that hungry people were fed, we see a deeper significance in this story ... we see God keeping His word to ALWAYS meet our every need. To the human - thinking of the disciples, these people needed to go away and figure out a solution to their hunger problem on their own; there was NO WAY they could do anything to feed so many. But to the 'God thinking' Jesus, these people needed to just sit down and trust that the God who created them would meet every need they had ... not just physical hunger. 

Pray today for faith to just sit and trust Jesus to meet your every need. Set aside the worry, fear, doubt, and time being wasted trying to solve your own problems. Pray for strength to stay peace-filled despite the temptations Satan will send to try to stir you up into worry, being distracted by thoughts that NEVER were yours to have. Jesus has a perfect plan to meet every need - even I need to remember this today. Praying today we can all sit down and trust in Him alone. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 29, 2026

 August 29 -- John 6: 1-7 "After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?' He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, 'Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.'"

Prayer focus for today: How many times have you worried whether or not your paycheck would meet all of your needs until the next check came in?  How many times have you  doubted you'd have enough money to feed your family and still be able to pay school fees?  Pray today for faith -- pure and simple trust in Jesus Christ alone.  He already knows what He will do to meet your every need. Pray today for the strength to trust in Him alone ... and not worry.