May 19

1 Samuel 24:1-25:44, John 10:22-42, Psalm 116:1-19, Proverbs 15:20-21



Pray: Spend a moment in prayer reflecting on God’s mercy in your life. How has He spared you, protected you, withheld what you deserve, and even given you breath for today? In His mercy “He bends down to listen, (therefore) I will pray as long as I have breath!” (Psalm 116:2). Join the psalmist in prayer today.

Read: Observe as you read how the Lord is merciful and how things go well for those who show mercy. 

Edify: It’s easy to live your life quick to take offense. We can fall into an unhealthy pattern where we live our lives with a spirit of offense, where we believe even those with our best interests at heart are against us. Saul had this spirit of offense, yet David disarmed him by showing undeserved kindness and mercy. Notice David’s language such as “Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you” (1 Samuel 24:12) and “may the Lord therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one…the Lord is my advocate…” (1 Samuel 24:15). We are able to show mercy when we surrender our prideful desire to be judge and jury over everyone and instead trust that the Lord is the judge. David lost sight of this when he was infuriated with Nabal, but Abigail’s kindness reminded him that he is to show mercy and trust in the Lord’s justice. And as always, the clearest picture of God’s mercy comes in the person of Jesus, who shows great patience towards those who do not understand and even want to harm Him. 

Practice: Join the psalmist in praying as long as you have breath. A common liturgy in traditional churches has the pastor call out, “Lord, in your mercy.” The congregation responds, “Hear our prayers!” Let today’s psalmist inform your prayer life as you pray short, one-sentence “breath prayers.” Let your prayer life disarm you, enable you to have self-control, wisdom, lowered anxiety, growing in childlike faith, gratitude for God saving you, etc. Throughout the day, tell Him what He is like and how you desire to respond. Close these brief breath prayers with “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers!”