40 Days of Prayer 2026! Day 32
Welcome to day 32 of our 40 day challenge! Today, we are in Psalm 105 and John 8
(You can catch up on our Intro, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23, Day 24, Day 25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28, Day 29, Day 30, Day 31 if you missed them)
Psalm 105:4-11
4 Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.5 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion you will inherit.”John 8:51-59
51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
I’ve spent so much time in the Psalms. Any time I’m overwhelmed or upset, I know I’ll find a Psalm to echo what I am feeling. David is often even more dramatic than I am, and he always ends in praise. He knows the Lord. His relationship with God isn’t intellectual or transactional.
That’s the problem the Pharisees have. Their relationship with God is only intellectual and transactional. And that’s a problem that much of the Church has as well. Jesus tells them, my father who you claim as your God. He knows they don’t know the Lord. But do they understand that they don’t? I can feel the power in the words Jesus says to them, and I don’t know if I would recover if Jesus said those words to me. The fact that Jesus spoke so harshly to them and they remained unchanged, and even dug in harder in their obstinacy, shows us that they don’t have a relationship with Him.
In this Psalm, David is celebrating bringing the ark to Jerusalem (we find it in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 as well). He knows the importance, and he has made the importance his own. It’s not a transaction to him. When David serves the Lord, it’s not an intellectual exercise or transactional. It’s out of his relationship with God. David knows all the Lord has done for him, and he doesn’t take it for granted. David is the first to praise God and give Him the glory for all that is done.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always
The Pharisees, and many of us in the Church today, would benefit from following David‘s advice.
Options for further journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:
- Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
- Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
- Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.
We’ll see you tomorrow for Day 33, in Psalm 18 and John 10
♥ Samantha