3-Minute Devotions with Andrew Murray. Inspiring Devotions and Prayers

196 Pages·2014·0.74 MB·English

by  Andrew Murray

© 2015 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
ISBN 978-1-61626-002-6
eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition(.epub) 978-1-63409-123-7
Kindle and MobiPocket(.prc) 978-1-63409-124-4
Prayers written by Shanna D. Gregor.
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Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
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Introduction
A deeper spiritual life cannot grow without deeper daily devotion to God’s Word
and to prayer. No one knew this better than Andrew Murray. One of the best-
loved and most widely read writers on the deeper Christian life, this South
African pastor, preacher, and missions speaker prayed for—and witnessed—
remarkable spiritual revival on three continents, and every day experienced the
need for personal renewal.
If you share that hunger for God’s presence, 3-Minute Devotions with Andrew
Murray will satisfy you with an astonishing banquet of riches. Here,
thoughtfully chosen from the best of Murray’s 240 books and carefully updated
in today’s language, are his treasured insights on prayer along with simple tools
that will help you use them to draw closer to God. A daily scripture selection
deepens your insight, while a brief prayer focuses your devotions and a prayer
prompt inspires application to every area of your life.
“Time alone with the Lord Jesus each day is indispensable,” insisted Andrew
Murray. As you begin to satisfy your hunger for God with this inspiring
devotional, you won’t want to miss a single moment.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus.”
P 4:6–7 KJV
HILIPPIANS
Wait upon God
He [Daniel] prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks
to his God.
D 6:10
ANIEL
The more I think of and pray about the religious situation in our country, the
deeper my conviction becomes that Christians do not realize the aim of
conversion is to bring them into daily fellowship with the Father in heaven.
For the believer, taking time each day with God’s Word and in prayer is
indispensable. Each day, we need to wait upon God for His presence and His
love to be revealed. It is not enough at conversion to accept forgiveness of sins
or even to surrender to God. That is only a beginning. We must understand that
we have no power on our own to maintain our spiritual life. We need to receive
new grace daily from heaven through fellowship with the Lord Jesus. This
cannot be obtained by a hasty prayer or a superficial reading of a few verses
from God’s Word. We must take time to come into God’s presence, to feel our
weakness and our need, and to wait on God through His Holy Spirit to renew our
fellowship with Him. Then we may expect to be kept by the power of Christ
throughout the day.
It is my aim to help Christians see the absolute necessity of spending time with
the Lord Jesus. Without this, the joy and power of God’s Holy Spirit in daily life
cannot be experienced.
Heavenly Father, as I come into Your presence, I desire to know more of You.
Teach me to wait quietly, with expectation that You will reveal Your love to me. I
surrender all to You, Lord. Amen.
From Day to Day
Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
2 C 4:16
ORINTHIANS
All Christians, young or old, must learn the absolute necessity of fellowship with
Jesus each day. This lesson is not always taught at the beginning of the Christian
life. The grace we have received of the forgiveness of sins and of joy in the Holy
Spirit can only be preserved by daily renewal in fellowship with Jesus Christ
Himself.
Many Christians backslide because this truth is not clearly taught. Some are
unable to stand against temptation or their old nature. Though they strive to do
their best to fight against sin and to serve God, they have no strength. They have
never really grasped the secret that the Lord Jesus will continue His work in the
believer every day from heaven. But there is one condition: Time alone with the
Lord Jesus each day is the indispensable condition of growth and power. Read
Matthew 11:25–30. Listen to Christ’s words: “Come to me…and I will give you
rest…. Let me teach you…and you will find rest for your souls.” Let the Lord
teach you just how gentle and humble He is. Bow before Him, tell Him that you
need Him and His love, and He will let His love rest on you. This applies not
only to young Christians but to all who love the Lord.
Lord, I need You. Renew me each day as I spend one on one time with You. Fill
me with Your love so that I may overflow with who You are and treat others as
You would, Father. Amen.
Fellowship with God
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.”
J 15:9
OHN
The three Persons in the Godhead are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—
each one is different from the others. God desires to reveal Himself as a person.
Each one of us is an individual, distinct from others and standing in certain
relationships to others. God will reveal Himself to us as a person, and we are
called to enter into fellowship with Him.
God greatly desires this relationship with us, but sin has come between us and
our God. Even in Christians who know God, there is often great ignorance and
even indifference to this personal relationship of love to God.
People believe that at conversion their sins are forgiven, that God accepts them
so they may go to heaven, and that they should try to do God’s will. But they do
not realize, even as a father and his child on earth enjoy being together, they
must have this intimate fellowship with God each day.
Our relationship to Christ rests on His deep, tender love to us. We are not
capable on our own to render Him this love, but the Holy Spirit will do the work
in us. Meditate quietly on this thought: “And because they love me, my Father
will love them. And I will love them” (John 14:21). Take time to experience this
personal fellowship.
Lord, I pray that I remain in Your love. May the Father reveal Himself to me as I
fellowship with You and come to intimately know each Person of the Godhead.
Amen.
Jesus
“You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
M 1:21
ATTHEW
The Lord Jesus was a person on this earth. He had His own individual name. His
mother, His disciples, all His friends called Him by this name—Jesus. But they
probably thought little of what that name meant. Nor do the majority of
Christians know what a treasure is contained in that name—Jesus—“He shall
save His people from their sins.”
Many think about His death on the cross and His resurrection, but do they
realize that He is a living person in heaven who thinks of us each day? He wants
us to bring Him our love and worship.
When we first ask Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, we know very little
about how this is done. The living Christ reveals Himself to us, and through the
power of His love, our desire to sin is taken away. Through personal fellowship
with Him, Jesus saves us from our sins.
First, we must come to Jesus confessing all the sin in our hearts. We must
know Him as the almighty personal Savior in whom God’s holiness dwells. As
we fellowship together in the expression of mutual love, by the work of His
Holy Spirit in our hearts, His love will expel and conquer all the sin.
Jesus, reveal Yourself to me. As I spend time with You, may the Holy Spirit work
mightily in my heart. Thank You for saving me. I treasure my relationship with
You. Amen.
Alone with God
“When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to
your Father in private.”
M 6:6
ATTHEW
Have you ever thought what a wonderful privilege it is to have the liberty of
asking God to meet with you and to hear what you have to say? We should use
such a privilege gladly and faithfully.
“When you pray,” says Jesus, “go away by yourself, shut the door behind you,
and pray to your Father in private.” This means two things. 1) Shut the world
out; withdraw from all the thoughts and concerns of the day. 2) Shut yourself in
alone with God to pray in secret. Let this be your chief object in prayer, to
realize the presence of your heavenly Father. Let your goal be: “Alone with
God.”
Being alone in His presence and praying to the Father in secret is only the
beginning. Come to Him in the full assurance that He knows how you long for
His help and guidance. He will listen to you.
Then follows the great promise of verse 6: “Then your Father, who sees
everything, will reward you.” Your Father will see to it that your prayer is not in
vain. Prayer in secret will be followed by the secret working of God in your
heart.
God, I shut the world out as I come into Your presence. I deliberately quiet my
mind—setting aside all the things I am concerned about or need to do today.
Consume me with your comforting presence and envelop me with your love.
Amen.