This week’s promotional discount is on my 2003 book Daily Prayer, the most popular of my many publications, slightly ahead of No Ordinary Man and Prayers for All Seasons. Normally retailing at £14.99 (or £12.99 for the pocket edition), this week, until 20 September, you can purchase it at a 10 per cent discount – a saving of £1.50 – using the code DAILY10 when ordering the book from the Kevin Mayhew website. Just type the code into the relevant box at the checkout between the dates given.
Meanwhile, here’s the first of seven sessions I’ll be posting this week from the book, to run alongside this promotion. This one explores the patriarch Jacob’s unforgettable dream of a ladder ascending to heaven:
An unexpected encounter
Read
Jacob left Beersheba and set off towards Haran. He reached a certain spot and stopped off there for the night, because the sun had gone down. Taking a stone he found there, he tucked it under his head and lay down in that place. And in his dreams he saw a ladder rising up from the ground, its top reaching into heaven, the angels of God climbing up and down it. And the Lord appeared, standing beside him, and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac . . .’ Jacob woke and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I didn’t know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awe-inspiring is this place!’ It is nothing less than the house of God, the very gate of heaven.’ Genesis 28:10-13a, 16-17
Ponder
Of all the great figures of the Old Testament, few showed less initial promise than Jacob. He comes across as an opportunist and a cheat, callously tricking his brother Esau out of his birthright, and then compounding this with the shameful deception of his father. As he made his way towards Haran, it was, no doubt, with a smug sense of self-satisfaction at having secured the prospect of a highly prosperous future. The last thing on his mind would have been God.
God, though, had other ideas, confronting him during the night in a vivid and unforgettable dream. It was the beginning of a gradual change in Jacob’s life. No, he didn’t change over – night – far from it. He continued in many ways to be the wily schemer of old. Yet the seeds had been sown; God had met with him and opened up a new perspective on life and the beginning of a new relationship. It was one, ultimately, that would see Jacob revered as one of the founding fathers of the Jewish faith and a celebrated ‘man of God’.
Ask yourself
Are there times when you have been suddenly aware of God’s presence? Is he trying to break into your life?
Pray
Living God, I thank you that before ever I thought of seeking you, you sought me. I praise you that you had time for me even when I lived only for myself. Teach me that you are always at work in my life, ready to confront me with your searching presence when I least expect it, and challenging me to consider who you are and what you mean in my life. Grant me, then, eyes to see you and a heart to respond. Through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
Remember
The Lord searches the mind, and understands every plan and thought. 1 Chronicles 28:9b
Close
Gracious God, though I forget you, do not forget me. Meet with me and help me to glimpse again your glory. Through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.