EBENEZER: Your help comes from the LORD - 1 Samuel 7:12

So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the LORD as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the LORD to help Israel, and the LORD answered him. Then Samuel took a stone, set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and said, "The LORD has helped us all the way"--and he named it "Ebenezer" ('which means 'the stone of help'). 1 Samuel 7:9,12

Prayer:
Never, Lord Jesus, will You leave me or forsake me. Therefore,  

I will confidently declare, "The LORD is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" No matter what challenges, trials, or hardships I face in this life, I will trust in Your unfailing presence, which gives me hope and assurance that You are always with me. Holy Spirit, guide someone across my path today who feels helpless and desperately in need of hope. Open the door for me to pray with and for them, as Samuel pleaded to the LORD for Israel. God of miracles, as I place a stone in their hand and call it "EBENEZER," please come to their rescue. I ask for Your help in the mighty name of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

INTERCESSOR: Jesus intercedes for you - 1 Samuel 7:5

Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.” 1 Samuel 7:5

Prayer
Abba Father, Samuel's faithful words, "I will intercede for you," remind me that my Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, lives to intercede for me before Your throne of grace. Lord Jesus, I praise You as my faithful Mediator and Advocate, who never ceases to pray for me. As You prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail, I ask You to strengthen my faith and keep me steadfast through every trial and temptation. Thank You that I never face life's battles alone, for You are with me and always intercede for me. I exalt Your holy and mighty name and will forever trust in it, Lord Jesus Christ!

Eternal Truth:
There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. Hebrews 7:23-25

DELIVERANCE: Return to the LORD and He will deliver you - 1 Samuel 7:3

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 1 Samuel 7::3

Prayer:

Father of mercies, I praise You for forgiving me when I strayed from You to pursue the foreign gods and Ashtoreths of this world, which left me bankrupt and were unable to satisfy my soul's deepest needs. Thank You for showing such great mercy to a prodigal son like me by receiving me with open arms when I returned to You. Lord Jesus, like the grateful leper You healed, I return to praise and worship You for Your deliverance in my life. Holy Spirit, please guide someone across my path today who has wandered far from God, is in great danger, and feels enchained by fear. Open their heart to this truth: "If you return to the LORD with all your heart, He will deliver you from the powers of darkness." Mighty Savior, please break their chains of idolatry and deliver them as we pray in Your mighty name. Hosanna (save now)!  

LIVING TRUTH:
"You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah [pause and think upon this]." Psalm 32:7

STAND: Jesus Christ opens the way for you to stand in God's presence - 1 Samuel 6:20

And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?” 1 Samuel 6:20

Prayer & Praise:
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus my Savior. In reverence I come before You, LORD God, entering Your Most Holy Place through the new and living way opened by Jesus Christ. As I reflect on the question of the people of Beth Shemesh, 'Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?', my heart replies: only those cleansed by the precious, sinless blood of Christ that makes atonement for our sins. Lord Jesus, I can never thank You enough for reconciling all who trust in You to our Heavenly Father. I draw near with full assurance of faith to stand before God's throne of grace, where I find mercy and help in time of need. To You alone be all glory, honor, and praise, forever and ever. Amen.

LIVING TRUTH:

• "Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Placed by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body, and since we have a Great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:19-21 
• "But now, in union with the Messiah Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah." Ephesians 2:13

HAND: Your life is in the hand of God - 1 Samuel 5:6

But the hand of the LORD God was heavy upon the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. And He brought up against them rats, and they burst out in their ships, and rats sprang up in the midst of their land, and there was a great terror of death in the city. 1 Samuel 5:6

Prayer & Praise:
I acknowledge, Almighty God, that Your omnipotent hand can bring both great destruction and retribution in the blink of an eye, as the people of Ashdod experienced due to their prideful irreverence and idolatrous hearts. My soul sings with joy and praises You, Lord Jesus, for Your saving grace. Thank You for rescuing me from idolatry and delivering me from the painful consequences of my past sins. Please give me a heart like Yours that hates sin and loves righteousness, so I may commit to walking in Your footsteps as a God-pleaser and experience His good hand of grace in my life. I pray in Your mighty name.

LIVING TRUTH:

• "And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work." Nehemiah 2:18
• "The hand of the LORD was on me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones." Ezekiel 37:1
• "The king's heart is in the LORD's hand like the watercourses. He directs it wherever He desires." Proverbs 21:1
• "The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him." Ezra 7:6b
• "For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:30-31

ADVENT: The LORD God has come! 1 Samuel 4:7

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 1 Samuel 4:7

Prayer & Praise:
As I reflect on this holy scripture, Almighty God, my heart is filled with deep gratitude for sending Your beloved Son into my camp [life]. I praise You, Lord Jesus, for coming to save me, not to destroy me. Your presence, Abba Father, no longer strikes dread of woe into my soul as it does into the minds and hearts of Your adversaries and the cynics of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, please guide someone across my path today who sees God as their enemy and says, "Woe is me. Nothing good from God ever comes my way." Stir their soul to cry out, "Come, Immanuel, into my camp and save me!" Permit them to experience an epiphany of salvation as they pray in Jesus' mighty name.

Eternal Truth:

• "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him IMMANUEL, which means ‘God is with us.’" Matthew 1:23
• "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them." Revelation 21:3
• "The time promised by God has come at last!” He announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!" Mark 1:15

REVELATION: The LORD longs to reveal Himself to you - 1 Samuel 3:21

Then the LORD again appeared in Shiloh, for it was in Shiloh that the LORD had revealed Himself to Samuel through the Word of the LORD. 1 Samuel 3:21

Praise & Prayer:
Jesus is the Word who came to reveal the Father to us. I worship and praise You, Lord Jesus, for revealing God, our Father, to all who believe and trust in You. Almighty God, just as You appeared to Samuel at Shiloh, I ask You to appear and reveal Yourself to me as I read Your living Word, which fills my heart with living hope and fullness of joy forevermore. I truly desire to grow closer in seeing Your glory and ask in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

ETERNAL TRUTH:

• Philip said to Him, “Lord, reveal to us the Father, and that will be enough for us. Jesus answered: “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Reveal to us the Father’? John 14:8-9
• “All things have been committed to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him." Matthew 11:27 
• "The Son is the radiance of the glory of God, and the exact representation and perfect revelation of His essence, upholding all things by His powerful word." Hebrews 1:3-4
• "So the LORD said to Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Please reveal to me Your glory.” Exodus 33:17-18