Follow Jesus!

 

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

 

—Luke 9:23 (NLT)

 

 

Dear Jesus,

 

Grant me the strength to turn away from my selfish ways and to embrace with courage and patient endurance any challenge I may face—as I daily commit to follow You, wherever You may lead me.

 

Help me always remember that my life is found in Christ—that I belong to Him and that the life I am called to live serves Your plans and purposes, not my own selfish ways.

 

Give me a sacrificial heart—one that is willing to deny myself—and give me hands and feet that move quickly and willingly toward the work at hand.

 

Help me not to merely serve You with my mouth but rather demonstrate my love and my gratitude for You, by obeying Your Word and following Your example—for Your glory, honor and praise.

 

Grant me the strength to turn away from my selfish ways and to embrace with courage and patient endurance any challenge I may face—as I daily commit to follow You, wherever You may lead me.

 

I pray these things in Your Precious Name, Lord Jesus, Amen.

Watch and Pray!

 

 

"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

 

—Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)

 

 

Heavenly Father,  

 

Help me to watch and pray.

 

Help me keep watch against all the schemes of the enemy by living each moment of my life in prayerful fellowship with You—so that my spirit will remain sensitive to every prompting of Your Holy Spirit within me, and my life can be lived in the peace You offer to those who will trust and obey.

 

By Your Holy Spirit, grant me wisdom and discernment to identify and confront any deceit that may lead to temptation. Enable me to counter these falsehoods with the truth of Your Word, so I may experience the liberty inherent in truth.

 

I acknowledge that, although my spirit is willing, my flesh is weak. May I rely on Your Spirit to strengthen me and enable me to resist every temptation I encounter, ensuring that my life is filled with only the best that You have for me.

 

Help me to watch and pray.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Along the Best Pathway for Your Life

 

 

The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.

    I will advise you and watch over you.

Do not be like a senseless horse or mule

    that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

 

—Psalm 32:8-9 (NLT)

 

 

 

Loving LORD,

 

Guide me along the best pathway for my life—advise me and watch over me always.  Let my heart be fully submitted to Your will, Your plan and Your purpose for me.

 

I don’t want to find myself fighting against You—like a senseless or stubborn horse or mule—only to end up having to endure the discipline and deal with the consequences of my foolish disobedience.

 

Help me to remember that the path You lead me down is the best way for me to go—the way that will keep me safe and the direction in which I will find my every need met according to Your plan and Your perfect timing.

 

Help me to seek out Your counsel, listen for Your advice, willingly obey Your instruction—and then, by faith, rest in Your provision, protection, peace, and joy.

 

Guide me along the best pathway for my life—advise me and watch over me always.  Let my heart be fully submitted to Your will, Your plan and Your purpose for me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Cared For by God!

 

I have cared for you since you were born.

    Yes, I carried you before you were born.

I will be your God throughout your lifetime—

    until your hair is white with age.

I made you, and I will care for you.

    I will carry you along and save you.

 

—Isaiah 46:3b-4 (NLT) 

 

 

Everlasting LORD GOD,

 

You are the one true God—the One who made me and loves me, who cares for me, carries me, and saves me!

 

Yes, it is You who made me, and You who has cared for me every day of my life, even from before I was born—always loving me, despite my wanderings—always calling me back into intimate fellowship with You.

 

It is You who has carried me safely into, through, and out of every trial and storm that has come against me—my constant source of strength and the supplier of my every need along the way.

 

And, it is You who will remain faithful to save me, just as You always have—because Your love for me never falters nor fails, and Your plans to bring me good will never change and can never be stopped.

 

So, help me to walk forever in Your peace and experience the fullness of joy that comes from being conscious of Your ever-abiding Presence in every moment of the day ahead—as I choose to believe that what You have said, You will do.

 

You are the one true God—the One who made me and loves me, who cares for me, carries me, and saves me!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Really Listen, Then Act!

 

 

“You see and recognize what is right

    but refuse to act on it.

You hear with your ears,

    but you don’t really listen.”

 

—Isaiah 42:20 (NLT)

 

 

 

Merciful LORD,

 

Help me be the kind of person who not only sees and recognizes what is right but also acts on it—someone who not only hears with his ears, but also really listens, eager to obey every prompting of Your Spirit.

 

When I already know the right thing to do, help me not to hesitate to do it—knowing that my obedience to Your Word is a direct reflection of my love for you, and will be used by You to bring glory to Yourself.

 

From all the things that my ears hear, help me to listen only for Your Voice—knowing that You will tell me everything that I need to know to accomplish Your plan for my life, and will lead me into every good thing that You have for me.

 

Help me to walk with You, by faith, the path that You unfold before me—knowing that Your very best for me can only be found as I trust in Your unfailing love for me, and return that love to You through my heartfelt obedience.

 

Help me be the kind of person who not only sees and recognizes what is right but also acts on it—someone who not only hears with his ears, but also really listens, eager to obey every prompting of Your Spirit.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

The Plans You Have for Me

 

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

 

—Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

 

 

Dear LORD,

 

Thank You that I can trust that Your plans for me are for my good and extend throughout eternity, as evidence of Your love for me—and that I can live in perfect peace because of this hope!

 

Interwoven among all the things that have ever happened, the things that are happening now, and anything that has yet to happen, is that marvelous plan for my individual life that was authored by You.

 

Limited by my humanness, I do not fully understand where I have been, where I am now, or where I am going.  I do not even fully know my own heart and I am uncertain of my own mind, at times.

 

But there is no uncertainty within You.  You know everything—past, present and future—and have designed a plan to bring me good and not disaster, to give me a future with You, and with that, great hope, as I put my trust in You.

 

Thank You that I have no reason to fear anything that may have happened in the past, nor the things that are happening around me now, nor anything that may happen to me next—because the plan You have for me is a plan to use it all to greatly benefit me and not to cause me harm.

 

And though trouble may come to me—because I live in a fallen world, full of evil—You will always be working in the midst of every circumstance I find myself in, to carry me through it in peace and bring good out of it for me.

 

Thank You that I can trust that Your plans for me are for my good and extend throughout eternity, as evidence of Your love for me—and that I can live in perfect peace because of this hope!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Live in Truth and Love!

 

 

Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.

 

—2 John 1:3 (NLT)

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Thank You for the promise that Your Word gives me—that grace, mercy and peace will continue to be with me, if I live in truth and love!

 

Thank You for revealing to believers the absolute Truth and the unfailing Love found both in Your written Word and in Your Word made flesh—Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior—who is the perfect expression of love and of truth.

 

Save me from the lies of the enemy which would try to convince me that there is no absolute truth, that I can decided for myself what truth is, or that I can trust my feelings to show me what real love is.  Help me always look to You to guide me into all Truth, that I may always live in the Love you intended for us all to experience.

 

And should I ever find my peace disrupted, Your mercy for me in question, or feel as though Your grace to me is running low, remind me to examine my heart to see if I have walked away from truth and love—and by Your Holy Spirit bring me back to Your Word, that I might repent and be restored.

 

Thank You for the promise that Your Word gives me—that grace, mercy and peace will continue to be with me, if I live in truth and love!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.