KNOW YOUR ENEMY 1

 Memorise:

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Proverbs 1:10

Read : Genesis 3:1-5

1 NOW the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Message

One of the earliest weapons of the devil against both spiritual and physical well-being of a man is enticement. He has, from time immemorial, been successfully using this weapon against humanity. The first time he used it was in the Garden of Eden.

And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:4-6a

As a matter of fact, the fruit was not better looking than other fruits of the garden, but the mental picture that the devil painted about it suggested to the woman that the fruits was better than the ones God has generously given them to eat. Today, there are many good things of life that God has provided for humanity and His children in particular, but the enticement of the enemy has robbed many people of the joy and contentment in God's benevolence. For example; if am man goes about chasing a woman who is not his wife, he is deluded and enticed to think that the strange woman possesses something that his wife does not have. It is the lie of the devil when you think that a second marriage will give you the joy that you did not have in the first. Read this confession of the first polygamist in history:

And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah... And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zalilah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to hurt. Genesis 4:19,23

Though we may not have the full details of Lamechs lamentation in this passage, the fact remains than an increase in the number of his wives did not spare him from the agony that instigated this lament.

Beloved, in what areas have you been deceived through the enticement of the devil? I pray that the enticement will loosen its grip over you from today in Jesus name.

Prayer Point :

Father, when sinners come around to entice me, may I not consent in Jesus name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 1 Kings 4-6 and Proverbs 15:25-16:5

AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 9: MY FAITH HAS FOUND A PLACE

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device or creed;
I trust the ever living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

Chorus:
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,
He'll never cast me out.

Chorus:

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The living Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior's Name,
Salvation through His blood.

Chorus:

My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.

Chorus.

BELATED OFFERING?

Memorise : Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. - Luke 24:1

Read: Luke 24:1-8

1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

8 And they remembered his words,

MESSAGE :

Some offerings are acceptable while some are not; some offerings are given at the right time while some are belatedly offered.

On the morning of the resurrection, some people brought spices to the sepulchre of Jesus, meanwhile, a few days to His crucifixion, a woman anointed Jesus Christ’s feet with expensive ointment. This woman’s kind gesture was just in time.

“When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.”
Matthew 26:10-12

Incidentally, when Jesus Christ died, no one was there to perform the customary anointing before burial for Him. It was in lieu of this that certain disciples came to the resurrection morning that they may anoint Jesus in arrears. However, He had resurrected!

Beloved, there are many lessons to be learnt from this resurrection story; whenever the Holy Spirit asks you to do something, no matter how illogical it may sound, do it immediately. The reason is that if you do it later, it will be a belated offering or service.

The disciples who came to anoint Jesus went back with their perfume because the Master was no longer in the grave. James, an apostle of Jesus Christ wrote:

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be Unclad, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit.”
James 2:14-16

If I may answer the apostle; there can be no profit whatsoever. There could, however, be a loss of that person in need, and it may be a physical or spiritual loss as the fellow may die of hunger or backslide. In this same vein, whenever the Holy Spirit asks you to do something and doing that thing attracts criticisms from men, be undeterred, go ahead and do exactly as you were told. Your critics will soon realise that they were wrong to have criticised you.

May the Holy Spirit continue to guide us, and may we continue to obey Him as we journey from the world to our eternal home above.

ACTION POINT :
Listen to the Holy Spirit and do all that He asks you to do immediately.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR :
1 Kings 2:13-3:28;
Proverbs 15:11-24

IDENTIFYING WITH JESUS?

Memorise:
That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death.
Philippians 3:10
Read: John 19:38-42
38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a
disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the
Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away
the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He
came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the
first came to Jesus by night, and brought a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred
pound weight.
40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound
it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner
of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there
was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre,
wherein was never man yet laid.
42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the
Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh
at hand.
Message
From the beginning of the New Testament
Church, identifying with Jesus takes dogged
determination. Jesus Himself said it in Mark 8:34:
“And when he had called the people unto him with
his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me.”
In the above passage, Jesus Christ demands total
commitment from His followers. Whoever will not
totally put himself under the Lordship of Christ
does not belong to him. John 8:31-32 says:
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on
him, if ye continued in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free.”
Identifying with Jesus is identifying with the Word
from above. In the Bible reading for today, we
read about two secret disciples, Joseph of
Arimathaea and Nicodemus who came forward to
claim the body of Jesus for burial. This is
noteworthy, because it must have taken very
important personalities to go to the governor to
demand the body of a ‘condemned criminal’. On
the other hand, it must have taken someone who
did not only love the so-called criminal but also
believed in his innocence, to go through the
trouble of asking for Christ’s body and burying it.
Identifying with Jesus has to do with believing
and living by His ideals. Many so-called born-
again Christians have become so nominal that
the Word of God is of no effect to their lives any
more. Some pastors have tuned the Christian
faith to a mere vocation. One wonders whether
they mean to go to the same heaven that
apostles like Paul worked hard for. Our Lord
Jesus Christ said to his disciples:
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me
before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the
world would love his own; but because ye are not
of the world but I have chosen you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you.”
John 15:18-19
Therefore beloved, let us take the yoke of Jesus
Christ upon ourselves with all seriousness and
steadfastness. We will all make it to heaven in
Jesus’ name.
Action Point:
Decide to follow Jesus all the way in spite of the
hostility of the world around you.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 1:1-2:12 and
Proverbs 4:32-15:10
AUTHOR: Pastor E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 13: WONDERFUL STORY OF LOVE
1. Wonderful story of love;
Tell it to me again;
Wonderful story of love;
Wake the immortal strain!
Angels with rapture announce it,
Shepherds with wonder receive it;
Sinner, oh, won’t you believe it?
Wonderful story of love.
Chorus:
Wonderful! Wonderful!
Wonderful, wonderful story of love.
2. Wonderful story of love;
Though you are far away;
Wonderful story of love;
Still He doth call today;
Calling from Calvary’s mountain,
Down from the crystal-bright fountain,
E’en from the dawn of creation,
Wonderful story of love. [Refrain]
Chorus:
3. Wonderful story of love;
Jesus provides a rest;
Wonderful story of love;
For all the pure and blest,
Rest in those mansions above us,
With those who’ve gone on before us,
Singing the rapturous chorus
Wonderful story of love. [Refrain]
Chorus.

IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME

Memorise:

And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 1 Corinthians 11:24

Read : 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Message
There is one Significant and fundamental reason ( among other Important reasons ) why the Holy Communion ( The Lords Supper ) was inaugurated by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us. Shedding His blood to atone for our sins because it is written, ".... and without shedding of blood there is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22 ). Consequently, Jesus Christ said we should observe the Holy Communion often in remembrance of Him, but it takes a deep level of wisdom to understand and remember what He went through for our redemption. One important thing to note here is that Jesus Christ knew what He would go through to die for His friends. Having died for us, He surely doesn't want His gesture of love to be forgotten by the people he did it for. We unfortunately often forget the passion of our Lord, which led to His ignoble death. This is why we do things that, by implication, necessitate our Lords going back to the Cross frequently.

" If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Hebrews 6:6

Most people backslide because of their loss of memory about agony of the death that the Saviour suffered in order to procure salvation for us the Bible says:

"If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained." 1 Timothy 4:6

What should we put ourselves in remembrance of ? Paul, the apostle wrote :

"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:" 2 Timothy 2:8,11-12

In all ideal situation, communion should be taken as frequently as possible in order to enable us remember the death of our Lord and the reason for it. The Bible says we should not be forgetful hearers but doers of the Word ( James 1:25 ). When we gather for Holy communion, everyone is compelled to carry out self-examination so that he or she does not eat to damnation according to our Bible text for today. May the passion, suffering and death of Jesus Christ avail for us through eternity in Jesus name.

Action Point :

Do you remember what Christ went through for you often enough?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 2 Samuel 16-17 and Proverbs 12:15-28

AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 5: OH SPREAD THE TIDING ROUND
Oh, spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found,
Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;
Let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound: The Comforter has come!

Chorus:
The Comforter has come,
The Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from heav’n,
The Lord’s dear promise giv’n;
Oh, spread the tidings ’round,
Wherever man is found,
The Comforter has come!
2. The long, long night is past, the morning breaks at last;
And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills the day advances fast!
The Comforter has come
3. Lo, the great King of kings, with healing in His wings,
To every captive soul a full deliv’rance brings;
And through the vacant cells the song of triumph rings:
The Comforter has come!
4. O boundless love divine! how shall this tongue of mine
To wond’ring mortals tell the matchless grace divine
That I, a child of hell, should in His image shine!
The Comforter has come!

LESSONS FROM THE TRIUMPHANT ENTRY

Memorise:

Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. Mark 11:10

Read: Matthew 21:1-9

1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

Message

A lot of lessons can be deducted from the historic entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Right from verse two of our Bible text, we are exposed to revelations from the Lord’s actions. Jesus had not entered into the village, but He knew there was an ass tied; not alone but with its colt. We can see the omniscient attribute of Jesus Christ, like that of His Father. He said loose them, and bring them unto me. To soul winners, you are expected to loosen your converts before bringing them for the Master’s use. He said:

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.”
Mark 16:17-18

We are not supposed to dialogue with the devil and his cohorts; all we need is to exercise authority (Luke 10:19). Since all these are written for fulfilment, we have a date with destiny to fulfil our divine mandate. As missionaries and soul winners, we must endeavour to go after our entire household to win them for Christ. It was not the ass alone but also its colt. The disciples decorated the ass and its colt for the use of the Master. Before our converts can be useful for the Master, we must work on them through the teaching of the Word. The Bible says:

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
2 Timothy 4:2

Another lesson from the story of the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem is the high praise of God through His beloved Son. Whoever will glorify God the Father must do that through the Son because God has given Him a Name that is above every other name.

Our Lord Himself said:

“…I am the way the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
He said,
“Behold I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20

If we do not shut Jesus out of our lives, we are bound to be happy like the inhabitants of Jerusalem in our Bible text for today. I implore someone reading this devotional; open your heart to Jesus, let Him have full control of your heart and you will find rest for your soul.

Prayer Point:

Holy Father, take absolute control of my life today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Samuel 14-15 and Proverbs 12:1-14

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 2: O JESUS, I HAVE PROMISED.

1. O Jesus, I have promised,
To serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me,
My Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle
If Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway
If Thou wilt be my Guide.

2. Oh, let me feel Thee near me;
The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
The tempting sounds I hear;
My foes are ever near me,
Around me and within;
But, Jesus, draw Thou nearer,
And shield my soul from sin.

3. Oh, let me hear Thee speaking,
In accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion,
The murmurs of self-will;
Oh, speak to reassure me,
To hasten, or control;
Oh, speak, and make me listen,
Thou Guardian of my soul.

4. O Jesus, Thou hast promised
To all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory
There shall Thy servant be;
And Jesus, I have promised
To serve Thee to the end;
Oh, give me grace to follow,
My Master and my Friend.

5. Oh, let me see Thy footmarks,
And in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
Is in Thy strength alone.
Oh, guide me, call me, draw me,
Uphold me to the end;
And then to rest receive me,
My Savior and my Friend.

......................................WISE SAYING......................................

ALL THAT GOD DEMAND FROM YOU IS YOUR LOVE FOR HIM TO OPERATE IN HIS POWER.
YOUR TOTAL SACRIFICE; GENUINE BROTHERLY LOVE; TIME; 
e.t.c.

ABUNDANT BLESSINGS

MEMORISE:

Blessing shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Deuteronomy 28:3

READ: Deuteronomy 28:1-2
1 : And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

MESSAGE:
Jesus Christ said; “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33).

In other words, there are abundant blessings in the kingdom of God. It goes without saying that there is wisdom in seeking to please God above all other ambitions. The Almighty God revealed the secret of abundant blessings of His people in today’s scriptural reading; abundant blessing is embedded in perfect obedience to the Word of God.

Many people think that the moment they become Kingdom seekers, they will enter into a world of penury. This is the deceit of the devil which has unfortunately been believed through the ages. The devil has succeeded in making many people believe that unless they serve him, they cannot make it in life. He even had the audacity to attempt deceiving Jesus Christ during the temptations in the wilderness, but our Lord defeated him (Luke 4:5-7).

Beloved, I want to announce to you that there are abundant blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ; my life is a living testimony of this.
Before I gave my life to Christ, I used to borrow money from my own drive to fuel my car two weeks into a new month. It was when I gave my life to Christ that I began to know the true meaning of prosperity. Deuteronomy 8:18 says:

“But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”

The Psalmist says that unless the Lord builds a house, the builders build but in vain (Psalms 127:1). Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ also corroborates this when he wrote:

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”
1st Corinthians 3:6-7

May the abundant blessing from the throne of God be your portion in Jesus’ name.

PRAYER POINT:
Father, please let Your abundant blessings be my portion this season in Jesus’ name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR :
2 Samuel 12-13 and Proverbs 11:18-31
AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN :
O LORD MY GOD

1. O LORD my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made;
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed:
Chorus:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

2. When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze:

3. And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in:
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:

Chorus:
4. When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home - what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!

LET GOD HELP YOU, {2}

MEMORISE:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of man be lifted up. John 3:14
READ: Numbers 21:7-9
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We
have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and
against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away
the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the
people.
8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery
serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to
pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh
upon it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon
a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had
bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass,
he lived.
MESSAGE:
The coming of sin into the human race brought about a
lot of calamity into human life. One of the calamities
is sickness. As sin can be very contagious in effect,
so can sickness too. The good news, however, is that
the Almighty God is also ready to help the human race
get over this. He promised the people He chose for
Himself through their progenitor, Abraham, that He
would spare them the agony of sickness and diseases:
“And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness,
and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which
thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all
that hate thee.”
Deuteronomy 7:15
From time to time, the devil causes man to sin
against God so that he may be destroyed by the One
who created him, thus frustrating the divine love
which God bestowed upon humankind. As if this is not
enough, the devil goes ahead to deceive man not to
accept the divine help that can rescue him from all
his diseases. In the story we read in the Bible
reading for today, the children of Israel sinned
against the God of their fathers and God sent fiery
serpents to kill them. After much plea by Moses, God
decided to help them.
It is unfortunate that many refused to look and live
when they were bitten by the fiery serpent. They did
not allow God to help them (1st Corinthians 10:9).
Jesus said, just as Moses lifted the serpent in the
wilderness and those who looked up to it were healed,
so also whoever will allow God to help him will look up
to Jesus for healing (John 3:14). The reason is that
He came to pay for the sin of humanity and so, by His
stripes we were healed (1st Peter 2:24). Beloved,
what infirmities are you suffering from? Have you
tired and suffered by the hands of physicians like the
woman with the issue of blood? Come believing the
Great Physician today. Jesus Christ will heal you as
He did to the impotent man at Bethesda (John 5:1-9).
For you to enjoy divine healing, however, you must
belong to the Great Physician. The food meant for
children cannot be given to dogs or slaves (Mark
7:26-30). Allow the Great Physician to help you today.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please heal my infirmities today in Jesus’
name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 2 Samuel 8:15-11:27 and
proverbs 11:4-17
AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN :
WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee
thou wilt find a solace there.