Join us in today’s devotion and prayer-
Read Amos 8 in your favorite version or in the following KJV and then join us in praying below:
Amos 8
8 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.
2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
7 The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again. (KJV)
Our Father,
Through the prophet Amos you declared judgment upon the ancient nation of Israel because of their treatment of the poor and needy in their nation; for over charging them for food and necessities and for ultimately enslaving them. Part of the sanctions upon the nation would include a famine not of food but of the Word of God.
Father, inspire us through your Holy Spirit to pay attention to your Word and bless the poor that they might receive what they need. Let us always be among the champions of justice that we might help in providing them with a way out of poverty.
Lord, we also stand in intercession for our culture that is increasingly ignoring your teaching and Word. May this self-imposed famine of your Word end and let there be a new Spiritual awakening that brings respect for your teaching once more in this nation.
Let the light of revival turn on in every city across America. Let the churches rise up and be a blessing once more in the land; and let your people carry your light wherever they go, changing the atmosphere. Let them demonstrate the truth of your Word and teaching in this generation with signs and wonders, healings and miracles following.
In Jesus name, Amen.