I’ve written before on this site about the challenge of writing Daily Prayer 2 – one that between the years 2010 and 2011 almost exhausted me completely but that I undertook in response to numerous letters of appreciation from readers, telling me how much they had enjoyed the first book and begging me to write another. Daily Prayer 2, Which finally came out in 2012, follows the same pattern as Daily Prayer 1, offering a complete devotional session for each day of the year, as well as a seasonal supplement giving material for special seasonal occasions, such as Shrove Tuesday, Holy Week and Easter. Each day begins with a short reading, followed by a ‘Ponder’ section, which explores that these words have to say to us today. Next come two or three questions under the heading ‘Ask yourself’, following by a prayer, another short passage of Scripture that encapsulates the theme of the session, and a brief closing prayer.
I’ve had more correspondence thanking me for Daily Prayer 1 and Daily Prayer 2 than for all my other books combined. Both seem to strike a chord with readers, speaking to them in a special way that leaves me feeling moved, astonished and inspired. If you enjoyed the first book but haven’t yet tried the second, perhaps this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Until 6 December, you can purchase Daily Prayer 2 from Kevin Mayhew Ltd at a 10 per cent discount, using the code DAILYPRAYER10 when ordering the title from the company’s website. With the book normally retailing at £19.99, that’s a saving of £2. Just type the code into the relevant box at the online checkout between the dates given.
Here, meanwhile, is the first of the sessions I’ll be posting this week from the book, to run alongside this promotion. I’ve taken them all from November and December, to fit in with this time of year.
Turned to good
Read
‘Come nearer,’ Joseph urged his brothers, so they edged closer. ‘I am your brother Joseph,’ he continued, ‘the one you sold into Egypt. Don’t reproach or punish yourselves any longer for what you did, for God sent me here ahead of you so that I might help to save lives.’ Genesis 45:4, 5
Ponder
One of the things that has kept me alive over the past couple of years is the drug thalidomide. It’s hard to believe that a drug with such a horrific reputation, that once caused so much heartache and suffering, can possibly find a valuable therapeutic role, yet that’s precisely what has happened, thalidomide today helping extend life for many cancer sufferers. It’s a classic example of something bad being put to good use.
We see something similar in the story of Joseph above. He’d been sold by his brothers into slavery, their resentment over his arrogance leading them first into treachery and then into deception as they told their father that Joseph had been set upon and killed by a wild animal. It was a callous and despicable act, yet, incredibly, it led finally to Joseph being in a position to help his brothers and fellow countrymen in their hour of need. Good came out of evil, to the point that Joseph could declare that God had willed the whole thing from start to finish. I don’t personally believe that God wills evil upon any of us, but I am convinced of the message at the heart of this story: that God is able in all things to work for good. Whatever mistakes we make, whatever misfortune we experience, whatever adversity we come up against, he is able to bring a positive out of a negative, good out of bad.
Ask yourself
What would claiming God wills everything actually say about him? How would you reconcile such a claim with the countless atrocities that have scarred human history? What concrete examples are there of good coming out of evil?
Pray
Almighty God, I don’t believe there’s a reason for everything, that whatever happens is meant to be, but I do believe that, whatever befalls us, you are always at work, seeking to work out your loving purpose despite everything that conspires against you. Where hatred seems to have conquered love, falsehood eclipsed truth, darkness extinguished light, evil defeated good, somehow you are able to turn the tables and open up new and unimagined possibilities, unexpected ways in which you are able to move. For the knowledge that even in life’s bleakest moments you are at work, that no situation is irredeemable, receive my praise. Amen.
Remember
We know that all things work together for good with those who love God, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Close
Come, Lord, into the darkness of our world, its hatred, suffering and evil, and somehow, through your grace, work through them for good. Amen.