Overflow Of The Heart

A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

—Luke 6:45 (HCSB)

Heavenly Father,

Help me to ensure that the overflow of my heart always brings glory to You!

Give me the desire to fill the treasure chest of my heart with only good things—things of Truth and beauty—so that that which flows from me might be good and pleasing to You, and encouraging and helpful to others.

Help me not to allow evil thoughts and the lies of the enemy to have any place in my heart—for if they are allowed, they will corrupt all of the good treasure of my heart and leave me powerless to produce anything but evil.

Help me to consistently pour into my heart all of the good things You have made available to me through Your Word and by Your Spirit.

And make my heart overflow from Your abundance, like an unceasing spring welling up from within, leaving me with nothing but good things to declare with my mouth, as a testimony to Your love and goodness to me.

Help me to ensure that the overflow of my heart always brings glory to You!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

To Those Who Trust

Who can stand before his fierce anger?
    Who can survive his burning fury?
His rage blazes forth like fire,
    and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.

The LORD is good,
    a strong refuge when trouble comes.
    He is close to those who trust in him.

But he will sweep away his enemies
    in an overwhelming flood.
He will pursue his foes
    into the darkness of night.

—Nahum 1:6-8 (NLT)

All Powerful, Merciful and Gracious God,

May my choice always be to believe, love, and serve You.

You are the Creator of all that has been created and it is by Your power that it still remains.  Yet, You let me decide what kind of relationship I want to have with You.

To those who would defy You—who refuse to believe You and put their trust in You—Your anger and punishment is a fiercely burning and destroying fury.

But You are good to those who love You—who believe You and put their trust in You as demonstrated by their heart’s desire to obey and follow You in everything that they do.

You are a strong, impenetrable refuge of mercy and grace for those whose heart is set on loving You—inexhaustibly protecting, providing for and preserving safely all who will run to You when trouble comes.

You draw close to those who would draw close to You—who seek after Your heart and actively believe that what You say, You will do.

But You sweep away Your enemies like an overwhelming flood and chase them into the utter darkness of existence without You.

May my choice always be to believe, love, and serve You.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Love In Action

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

—Ephesians 4:2 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

As You have loved me, in humble obedience to Your command, so help me love others.

Grant me a humble heart—that I might not think more highly of myself than I ought to think, realizing that I am totally dependent on You to bring anything good out of my life.

Help me to be lovingly gentle in all of my dealings with others—understanding that You sacrificed Your life out of Your immeasurable love for them, just as much as You did it for me.

Remind me of the patience, mercy and grace that I need from you, every moment of every day—so that I might demonstrate Christ’s patient love toward others at all times.

Help me to make allowances for the faults of others, because of my love—realizing my need for others to make allowances for my faults, out of their love for me.

As You have loved me, in humble obedience to Your command, so help me love others.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.