John 6.35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

You and I were made with a hunger and a thirst that can only be satisfied by relationship with Jesus. As we start this forty days of devotion, we are responding to the invitation of Jesus to come and be satisfied in Him.

Psalm 1.1-3 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

Everyone is going to start their day meditating on something. It might be our anxieties, our problems or even our uncertainties. It might be the news, the sports, or whatever video comes up on the next social media swipe, but we are all going to meditate on something.

Lamentations 3.23 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. 26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Matthew 5.6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Another reason that daily time with the Lord matters, is that it brings the promise of reward.

Daniel 5.14 "I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom.”

Daniel found himself serving in the courts of Babylon. In the midst of that hostile environment, his wisdom stood out, and people recognized that the source of his wisdom from from God’s Spirit.

Exodus 33.11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

One of the most remarkable themes in Scripture is the truth that God calls and relates to people as His friends.

John 15.5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Psalm 97.1 The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.

Psalm 103.1-2 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—

Revelation 5.9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Psalm 63.3-4 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Luke 17.17-19 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Romans 6.13b …but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

Isaiah 6.1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Psalm 119.103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Isaiah 55.8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Matthew 7.24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Luke 24.32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Mathew 7.28-29 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Proverbs 4.20-22 "My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh."