Daily Team Devotions for August 2025
Friday, August 1
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
Luke 11:1
Bible Reading:
There is a general perception among Christians that prayer is a topic for the New Testament rather than the Old.
But prayer was not an unknown subject among the Jews as evidenced by the fact that John the Baptist had instructed his disciples how to pray.
That makes Jesus’ disciples’ request to Him a little unusual: “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Perhaps they had learned from Jesus that prayer could be a very personal discipline instead of just a religious practice.
Their request to Jesus suggests a newfound dimension to an ancient practice: prayer to a personal Father rather than only to the God of the nation (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2).
And perhaps the disciples had done what we often do—taking conversation with our Heavenly Father for granted rather than entering into it as life’s greatest privilege.
If prayer for you has become more of a formality than an adventure, consider using the prayer Jesus taught His disciples as a model for your own prayers (Matthew 6:9-13).
Prayer is the key of heaven; faith is the hand that turns it. Thomas Watson
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Rousing Send-Offs: The Great Commission
Saturday, August 2Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. Matthew 28:19-20
Bible Reading:
According to Nations Outreach, 31 percent of the world identifies as Christian, 23 percent as Muslim, and 16 percent as atheists, agnostics, or people who do not identify with any religion.
Forty-two percent of the world’s population has heard the Gospel.
But the most unreached nations are still largely in darkness: India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Iran, and Turkey.
Turning Point and many other groups are working around the clock to spread the message of Jesus. Sometimes the work is dangerous, especially in restrictive nations.
Persecution is widespread. Yet God is moving, the Gospel is spreading, and we’re still taking the Great Commission of Christ seriously.
The One who sent off His disciples two thousand years ago is still sending you and me in our day. Let’s take our job seriously!
God forbid that I should travel with anybody a quarter of an hour without speaking of Christ to them. George Whitefield
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Sunday, August 3, 2025
Wisdom from the Psalms
August 3
Psalms 98:7
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.Paul's nerves were shot. Everywhere he turned there were crowds of people. Cars sped by on all the streets, and the noise of the city was deafening. He was beginning to feel like there was nowhere to go to find peace and quiet. A little silence was all he was looking for. Nothing more.
If this world of noise and confusion, where can we find a place of peace and tranquillity? If Christ is the Lord of our hearts, then we can turn inward. Christ is the giver of peace. He transforms our hearts into refuges, where the clamor of the outside world cannot enter in. Call upon the Lord, and He will surely grant you peace.
Prayer: Father, I am tired of the furious pace of the world. Sometimes I just want to run and hide. Allow me to run to You. Be the source of my peace, Lord. Amen.
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A Penny for Your Prayers
Monday, August 4And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. Matthew 6:5
Bible Reading:
Visitors to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago saw a machine that took a penny and pressed a design of the Lord’s Prayer into it.
The coin would no longer be round but oval-shaped. In the mid-1900s, self-service machines like this showed up at vacation spots and amusement parks.
Some machines would also press nickels, dimes, quarters, and half-dollars into Lord’s Prayer tokens.
These are collector’s items now, but we all know that a prayer on a smashed coin isn’t the same as a prayer from a sincere heart.
The Lord’s Prayer shows us that we are not to pray like the heathen.
While there are many ways to pray—using written prayers, singing hymns addressed to God, using memorized prayers—it’s important that we pray sincerely and thoughtfully.
The Lord wants to hear our heartfelt cries of praise and petition.
The Lord hears every single sigh and syllable of our heartfelt prayers, and He goes to work providing the answers we need.
Trust Him, and make sure your heart and mind are working together in approaching the throne of grace.
In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. John Bunyan
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Preparation for Prayer
Tuesday, August 5Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4
Bible Reading:
The final editors of the book of Psalms appear to have grouped Psalms 93–100 together because of their consistent theme: the greatness of God over all creation (Psalm 95:3). Psalm 100 serves as a summary of the section, instructing the reader to “enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.”
Why is praise the proper introduction to prayer? Because praise recognizes that God is greater than everything, including what is happening in our life.
When we come to God with our petitions and requests, if we have first spent time in praise of Him, we are prepared to receive from Him that which is His will.
Praise says, “You are sovereign, O Lord, and You are good. Therefore, I can trust You with the concerns of my life. However You answer my prayers, I know that Your answers will be best for me.” Praise is the perfect way to prepare for prayer—the perfect way to acknowledge that God’s will is our greatest desire.
Practice incorporating praise into your prayer life and anticipate the peace that will result as you make your requests known to God (Philippians 4:6-7).
The best atmosphere for prayer is praise.
Peter Anderson1