Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your daily prayer,
Speaker 1: where we help you find the words you need to
Speaker 1: connect to your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening
Speaker 1: in your life today, you can trust that God wants
Speaker 1: to hear from you. Right after this short word from
Speaker 1: our sponsors, we'll pray through today's prayer to give God
Speaker 1: first priority. A Prayer to give God First Priority written
Speaker 1: by Kenisha Saunders Lyddy read by Leah Gerard. But seek
Speaker 1: ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
Speaker 1: all these things shall be added. Unto you Matthew six
Speaker 1: thirty three, if you were to take a break and
Speaker 1: sit in a semidark room with no distractions, what would
Speaker 1: you say is your number one priority in life? Let
Speaker 1: me remind you, while you think that the God we
Speaker 1: serve is very jealous when things or others are given
Speaker 1: priority over him, I'm so thankful that I serve a
Speaker 1: God who is long suffering and patient. He sees the
Speaker 1: evil on the earth and the believers losing their first
Speaker 1: love for him. However, He's just waiting for everyone to
Speaker 1: come to repentance. So what did you come up with?
Speaker 1: Who or what is the first priority in your life.
Speaker 1: I know many may say their children, careers, or spouses
Speaker 1: take first place if we were to be honest, But
Speaker 1: God doesn't compete with anything or anyone, and he really
Speaker 1: shouldn't have to. I reminded of the widow of Zaraphath,
Speaker 1: who only had enough to feed her and her son
Speaker 1: one more time. She knew they were going to die
Speaker 1: after they'd eaten, because they'd have nothing left. It was
Speaker 1: extremely difficult for widows in those days without a kinsman redeemer,
Speaker 1: so I'm sure she had already run out of hope
Speaker 1: when the prophet Elijah came to her with his absurd idea.
Speaker 1: It would have been great to read her thoughts. However,
Speaker 1: I think her first thought must have been, this prophet
Speaker 1: has to be insane. Yet she quietly explained to the
Speaker 1: prophet why she couldn't respond the way he desired. Although
Speaker 1: her decision, we see her faith was evident in what
Speaker 1: she knew of the prophet in his God. The widow
Speaker 1: of zarah Fath obeyed God and put the Man of
Speaker 1: God first, and as a result of her obedience, the
Speaker 1: flower and oil lasted during the whole famine. She placed
Speaker 1: God first, and God took care of her and her
Speaker 1: son until the famine was gone. If she had disobeyed God,
Speaker 1: she and her son wouldn't have made it through the famine.
Speaker 1: Obedience is key to putting God first, simply because it's
Speaker 1: what He requires and what he deserves. This should be
Speaker 1: the heart of every believer to live in a way
Speaker 1: that puts God first in our lives. To give God priority,
Speaker 1: one must set aside time to pray, to read God's word,
Speaker 1: to fellowship with fellow believers, and to live a life
Speaker 1: of worship. And we must all do this to the
Speaker 1: extent that it's clear to others that God is first.
Speaker 1: When we wake in the morning, we shouldn't do anything
Speaker 1: before breathing a word of prayer to the giver of life.
Speaker 1: He should be on our mind when we wake, and
Speaker 1: the last thing we think of before we sleep when
Speaker 1: it comes to our finances. I know this is easier
Speaker 1: said than done, because as I'm typing this prayer, I'm
Speaker 1: stuck in a financial predicament and wondering how I can
Speaker 1: continue to put God first. I know what I have
Speaker 1: is from Him, and I can only give back a
Speaker 1: portion of what He's blessed me with. But as things
Speaker 1: get harder, and money seems to outweigh the things we
Speaker 1: need to put first in our lives. Will my faith
Speaker 1: and trust in Jesus stand the test? The widow of
Speaker 1: Zarah fth was obedient, but we don't know her motives
Speaker 1: for her obedience. Was it so that she and her
Speaker 1: son would live? Or was it because she trusted in
Speaker 1: the God she had heard many stories about We put
Speaker 1: God first because he gave up his only son for
Speaker 1: mere flawed humans. We don't put him first because we
Speaker 1: want to receive blessings upon blessings. Our motives should be
Speaker 1: pure to seek to know God and share in everything
Speaker 1: He offers us. As believers, maybe go through this life
Speaker 1: wanting to put God first. May our lives show to
Speaker 1: both believers and unbelievers alike that God is first, that
Speaker 1: He is our priority in this life because the goal
Speaker 1: is to hear well done, thou good and faithful servant.
Speaker 1: The goal is to receive crowns to place them at
Speaker 1: God's feet, because He is worthy of all praise and honoration.
Speaker 1: I believe that to be truly successful in this life
Speaker 1: is to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Speaker 1: When we choose to put God first in all we
Speaker 1: do and there is no compartmentalization in our lives. Let's pray,
Speaker 1: our Father and our God, thank you for your goodness
Speaker 1: to me that extends from generation to generation. What an
Speaker 1: awesome God you are. There is no one like you,
Speaker 1: and no one deserves the honor and glory that is
Speaker 1: yours and yours alone. Thank you God for your unfailing
Speaker 1: love and your kingdom that's a part of man's story.
Speaker 1: May your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Father,
Speaker 1: I come before you today asking that you would bless
Speaker 1: the one saying this prayer. Help me to put you
Speaker 1: first in every area of my life. May my love
Speaker 1: for you grow each day as they think of your sacrifice.
Speaker 1: Remind me, o, Lord that you are always with me,
Speaker 1: so that when I win, it is you, and when
Speaker 1: I stumble, you are there. Father, help me to seek
Speaker 1: the kingdom of God. I asked that you help me
Speaker 1: to die daily to my flesh so that I don't
Speaker 1: idolize myself or anything you've given me. This is a
Speaker 1: new day to serve you, and each day you give
Speaker 1: I promise to honor you by putting you first and
Speaker 1: making you a priority in my life. I pray that
Speaker 1: all the things you have for me would be added
Speaker 1: unto me in Jesus' name. Amen. Your Daily Prayer is
Speaker 1: a production of Life Audio and Salem Media. If you
Speaker 1: liked what you heard today, be sure to follow our
Speaker 1: sister show your nightly prayer. You can find your nightly
Speaker 1: prayer at lifeaudio dot com or in your favorite podcast app.
Speaker 1: By following your daily prayer and your nightly prayer, you
Speaker 1: can be sure that your day begins and ends centered
Speaker 1: on the Word of God and prayer.