Voice: Doreen
Today is Monday, 15th of December. At the start of another week in Advent, take a moment to be still in His presence.
We pray:
Almighty and everlasting Father,
we thank you that you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day.
Keep us from falling into sin or running into danger;
order us in all our doings;
and guide us to do always what is right in your eyes:
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 40:1-5
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.
Isaiah 38:1-8
In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.
7 “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: 8 Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Fifteen more Years
King Hezekiah fell critically ill, and the prophet Isaiah told him that he would not recover and should set his house in order. In response, Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, prayed earnestly, and wept before God. The Lord heard his prayer and responded with mercy, promising to add fifteen years to his life and to deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrians. As a sign of His promise, God caused the shadow on the sundial to move backward, demonstrating His sovereign control over time itself.
Did God turn back time? Or did He alter the light or its angle so that the shadow reversed its course? Scripture does not explain the mechanism. It may be similar to how God darkened the sun in the Exodus or at Calvary — a real event in creation, but not necessarily a reversal of time. And this was not a cosmic reset; it was a personal and local assurance to Hezekiah that God is Lord of time.
Hezekiah appealed to God on the basis of his faithfulness. God granted him more time — another fifteen years — during which he would live to see Jerusalem liberated. Yet, the gift of time unfolds only as it is lived, day by day. So God gave him a sign — another miracle — to assure him that His promise was real.
In a similar way, we cannot see eternal life from where we stand. Will we live again? And for how long? In 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, Paul calls Jesus “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” In the Old Testament, the firstfruits were the first portion of the harvest offered to God, a guarantee that the full harvest was coming. The resurrection of Christ is that sign for us — the visible pledge of the life to come.
There is another beautiful promise in Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He makes all things beautiful in His time.”
How long will you live? What remains on your heart to accomplish? We all know that we cannot complete everything we desire, and the day will come when we must depart. Yet it is enough to know that our time — both here and in eternity — is in His hands.
In this Season of Advent, as we witness the passage of time, like King Hezekiah, may we walked before Him in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and do what is good in His sight.
We pray the Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Be blessed by this song, Forever:
The moon and stars they wept
The morning sun was dead
The Savior of the world was fallen
His body on the cross
His blood poured out for us
The weight of every curse upon Him
One final breathe He gave
As heaven looked away
The Son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken
The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting
Our resurrected King
Has rendered you defeated
Forever He is glorified
Forever He is lifted high
Forever He is risen
He is alive, He is alive
We sing Hallelujah, we sing Hallelujah
We sing Hallelujah, the Lamb has overcome
Link to today’s Morning Office
About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.
Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.
For feedback, please write to us at info@mpcc.org.sg
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