40 Days In The Word
Daily Devotionals
Week 4
Day 1: God's Unfailing Love
Reading: Psalm 51:1-12
Devotional: David's story reminds us that even when we fail spectacularly, God's love remains steadfast. Like David, we may face consequences for our actions, but God's grace is always greater than our sin. Today, reflect on areas in your life where you need to experience God's forgiveness and restoration. Remember that no matter how far you've strayed, God's love can reach you and make you new again. Ask God to create in you a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you.
Day 2: Finding Strength in Adversity
Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Devotional: Just as David faced rebellion from his own son, we too may encounter unexpected challenges that shake our foundations. Paul's thorn in the flesh teaches us that adversity can actually draw us closer to God. When we're at our weakest, God's strength shines through most brightly. Today, consider the difficulties you're facing. Instead of asking God to simply remove them, pray for the grace to depend more fully on Him through your struggles. How might God be using your current challenges to shape your character and deepen your faith?
Day 3: The God of Angel Armies
Reading: Psalm 91
Devotional: The sermon emphasized that God is the "God of angel armies," always by our side. Psalm 91 beautifully illustrates this divine protection. Even when enemies surround us or disaster looms, we can take refuge in God's presence. Today, meditate on the image of God as your shield and fortress. What fears or anxieties do you need to surrender to Him? Practice declaring God's promises of protection over your life, family, and circumstances. Remember, no matter what you face, the Lord of Hosts fights for you.
Day 4: Beauty from Ashes
Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3
Devotional: The pastor highlighted how God can bring beauty out of our brokenness. Just as He used Solomon (Bathsheba's son) to build the temple, God can redeem our past mistakes for His glory. Isaiah speaks of God exchanging our ashes for beauty, our mourning for joy. Reflect today on painful experiences or regrets in your life. How might God be working to bring something beautiful out of those situations? Ask the Holy Spirit to give you eyes to see the redemptive work He's doing, even if it's not yet fully visible.
Day 5: Crying Out to Our Abba Father
Reading: Romans 8:15-17, 31-39
Devotional: The sermon emphasized our ability to cry out to God as "Abba Father," even in our darkest moments. Paul reinforces this intimate relationship we have with God through Christ. When we're facing accusations (internal or external), we can rest in the assurance that God is for us. Today, practice approaching God as your loving Father. Pour out your heart to Him, holding nothing back. If you struggle with feeling worthy of His love, meditate on verses 38-39. Let the truth that nothing can separate you from God's love sink deep into your soul. Close your time by declaring, "If God is for me, who can be against me?"
Day 6: Are You Only Fooling Yourself?
Reading: James 1:22
Devotional: Nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific. That’s why when you read God’s Word, you try to move it from what it was to what you need to do now — your application. A great habit to get into after you read your Bible is to write a one-sentence application to what you’ve just read. It’ll help you become a “doer of the Word,” not just a hearer.
What makes a good application sentence? It has four characteristics:
It’s personal. You can't write an application for somebody else. It’s not about what the world needs to do or what your husband needs to do or what your kids need to do. It’s about what you need to do!
It’s practical. Your application should be something you can actually do and something you are able to make a plan to do. Broad generalities won’t help you. In fact, they’ll produce little action and will make you feel helpless.
It’s possible. If you can’t actually accomplish your application, you’ll likely get discouraged. If your application is that you need to pray five hours a day, you won’t do it. Don’t go a day without prayer. That’s practical. Praying for five hours isn’t practical.
It’s provable. You need to set yourself a deadline to check on yourself. Until you set a deadline and a goal, you can’t check yourself. Then it’s just a dream.
You can do this with any portion of the Bible you’re reading. The Bible says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22 NLT).
This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Day7: Quiet Time with God: It’s Simple, Really
Reading: Proverbs 21:5
Devotinal: Having a quiet time is like many other activities you might do in life — in at least one respect. To be successful, it helps to have a plan. The Bible says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5 ESV). If you’ve never had a quiet time before, you may not have a good, simple plan for doing one. All you really need for an effective quiet time is a Bible, notebook, and maybe a hymn or songbook.
So what does a daily quiet time look like? First, be quiet before the Lord. The Bible calls it waiting on God. You start by simply sitting down and shutting up. As you do this, you’ll find yourself revving your engine down and calming yourself. Second, pray briefly. Start off with a short opening prayer. Ask God to open your mind and guide you. Ask him to cleanse your mind.
Read a portion of Scripture slowly. This is where your conversation with God begins. He starts speaking to you through his Word, and then you speak back to him through prayer. Read the Bible slowly. Don’t try to read too quickly or too much. The more slowly you read Scripture, the more you’re forced to think about what you’re reading.
Meditate on the Word. Spend some time chewing on what God is saying. Chew on the Word like cows chew on cud. Ponder and wrestle with it in your mind. There are lots of great methods for meditating on the Word. You can find specific ideas on how to meditate on the Bible in my book “Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods.”
Write down what you discover. When God speaks to you through his Word, care enough about what he is saying to write it down. Writing enables us to remember what God has said to us and record our discoveries.
Pray again. Be quiet. Ask God to show you his Word. Talk to God about what he has said to you. Tell him what you’re thinking about what he is saying. Talk to him about anything else that’s on your mind.
There’s not just one way to have a quiet time but following a plan similar to this can get you started on a rewarding devotional journey.
This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Reading: Psalm 51:1-12
Devotional: David's story reminds us that even when we fail spectacularly, God's love remains steadfast. Like David, we may face consequences for our actions, but God's grace is always greater than our sin. Today, reflect on areas in your life where you need to experience God's forgiveness and restoration. Remember that no matter how far you've strayed, God's love can reach you and make you new again. Ask God to create in you a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you.
Day 2: Finding Strength in Adversity
Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Devotional: Just as David faced rebellion from his own son, we too may encounter unexpected challenges that shake our foundations. Paul's thorn in the flesh teaches us that adversity can actually draw us closer to God. When we're at our weakest, God's strength shines through most brightly. Today, consider the difficulties you're facing. Instead of asking God to simply remove them, pray for the grace to depend more fully on Him through your struggles. How might God be using your current challenges to shape your character and deepen your faith?
Day 3: The God of Angel Armies
Reading: Psalm 91
Devotional: The sermon emphasized that God is the "God of angel armies," always by our side. Psalm 91 beautifully illustrates this divine protection. Even when enemies surround us or disaster looms, we can take refuge in God's presence. Today, meditate on the image of God as your shield and fortress. What fears or anxieties do you need to surrender to Him? Practice declaring God's promises of protection over your life, family, and circumstances. Remember, no matter what you face, the Lord of Hosts fights for you.
Day 4: Beauty from Ashes
Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3
Devotional: The pastor highlighted how God can bring beauty out of our brokenness. Just as He used Solomon (Bathsheba's son) to build the temple, God can redeem our past mistakes for His glory. Isaiah speaks of God exchanging our ashes for beauty, our mourning for joy. Reflect today on painful experiences or regrets in your life. How might God be working to bring something beautiful out of those situations? Ask the Holy Spirit to give you eyes to see the redemptive work He's doing, even if it's not yet fully visible.
Day 5: Crying Out to Our Abba Father
Reading: Romans 8:15-17, 31-39
Devotional: The sermon emphasized our ability to cry out to God as "Abba Father," even in our darkest moments. Paul reinforces this intimate relationship we have with God through Christ. When we're facing accusations (internal or external), we can rest in the assurance that God is for us. Today, practice approaching God as your loving Father. Pour out your heart to Him, holding nothing back. If you struggle with feeling worthy of His love, meditate on verses 38-39. Let the truth that nothing can separate you from God's love sink deep into your soul. Close your time by declaring, "If God is for me, who can be against me?"
Day 6: Are You Only Fooling Yourself?
Reading: James 1:22
Devotional: Nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific. That’s why when you read God’s Word, you try to move it from what it was to what you need to do now — your application. A great habit to get into after you read your Bible is to write a one-sentence application to what you’ve just read. It’ll help you become a “doer of the Word,” not just a hearer.
What makes a good application sentence? It has four characteristics:
It’s personal. You can't write an application for somebody else. It’s not about what the world needs to do or what your husband needs to do or what your kids need to do. It’s about what you need to do!
It’s practical. Your application should be something you can actually do and something you are able to make a plan to do. Broad generalities won’t help you. In fact, they’ll produce little action and will make you feel helpless.
It’s possible. If you can’t actually accomplish your application, you’ll likely get discouraged. If your application is that you need to pray five hours a day, you won’t do it. Don’t go a day without prayer. That’s practical. Praying for five hours isn’t practical.
It’s provable. You need to set yourself a deadline to check on yourself. Until you set a deadline and a goal, you can’t check yourself. Then it’s just a dream.
You can do this with any portion of the Bible you’re reading. The Bible says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22 NLT).
This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Day7: Quiet Time with God: It’s Simple, Really
Reading: Proverbs 21:5
Devotinal: Having a quiet time is like many other activities you might do in life — in at least one respect. To be successful, it helps to have a plan. The Bible says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5 ESV). If you’ve never had a quiet time before, you may not have a good, simple plan for doing one. All you really need for an effective quiet time is a Bible, notebook, and maybe a hymn or songbook.
So what does a daily quiet time look like? First, be quiet before the Lord. The Bible calls it waiting on God. You start by simply sitting down and shutting up. As you do this, you’ll find yourself revving your engine down and calming yourself. Second, pray briefly. Start off with a short opening prayer. Ask God to open your mind and guide you. Ask him to cleanse your mind.
Read a portion of Scripture slowly. This is where your conversation with God begins. He starts speaking to you through his Word, and then you speak back to him through prayer. Read the Bible slowly. Don’t try to read too quickly or too much. The more slowly you read Scripture, the more you’re forced to think about what you’re reading.
Meditate on the Word. Spend some time chewing on what God is saying. Chew on the Word like cows chew on cud. Ponder and wrestle with it in your mind. There are lots of great methods for meditating on the Word. You can find specific ideas on how to meditate on the Bible in my book “Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods.”
Write down what you discover. When God speaks to you through his Word, care enough about what he is saying to write it down. Writing enables us to remember what God has said to us and record our discoveries.
Pray again. Be quiet. Ask God to show you his Word. Talk to God about what he has said to you. Tell him what you’re thinking about what he is saying. Talk to him about anything else that’s on your mind.
There’s not just one way to have a quiet time but following a plan similar to this can get you started on a rewarding devotional journey.
This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.