Promises

 

 

He will cover you with his feathers.
    He will shelter you with his wings.
    His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

 

—Psalm 91:4 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Out of Your great love for me, You cover me—lovingly sheltering me under Your wings.  Help me to put my hope in the armor and protection of Your faithful promises. 

  

Just as a hen gathers her chicks close to herself and covers them with her protective wings, so gather me to Yourself and shelter me there—that my life would be hidden in You.

 

Thank You that throughout my life I can personally experience Your faithfulness to all Your promises—because You are always faithful to Your Word.

 

Help me to find within Your Word all the armor I need to cover me when attacked, and the protection that keeps me from harm. 

 

Out of Your great love for me, You cover me—lovingly sheltering me under Your wings.  Help me to put my hope in the armor and protection of Your faithful promises.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Not Conformed . . . Transformed!

 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

—Romans 12:2 (ESV)

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Transform me into a new person by changing the way I think—so I can learn to know Your good and pleasing and perfect will for me.

 

Grant me the wisdom not to copy any of those behaviors, customs and values of this world, which are birthed out of selfish pride and nurtured with corruption—those things that this world so quickly and casually accepts.

 

Do the work of transformation in me—by the power of Your Holy Spirit—so that my thoughts will be like Your thoughts and Your ways will become the only ways that I choose to follow.

 

Help me to learn to know Your will for me—and to trust that Your will is good, pleasing and perfect—so that I can walk down every path You place before me in willing obedience, confident that it will lead to Your very best for me.

 

Transform me into a new person by changing the way I think—so I can learn to know Your good and pleasing and perfect will for me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Walk by the Spirit

 

 

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 

—Galatians 5:16 (ESV)

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Make me make aware of Your Holy Spirit within me and help me submit to His guidance—so I won’t find myself doing what my sinful nature desires to do.

 

May my actions reflect my character, and my character be an overflow of the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that I find in Christ. 

 

Help me to be able to discern the difference between my own subjective feelings and the leading of Your Holy Spirit—as I commit to listen for, to hear, and to willingly obey all the instructions You give me through Your Word and by Your Spirit.

 

Strengthen me to live every moment of my life under the guidance and control of Your Spirit. Fill my heart with the words of Christ and cause my actions to reflect Your truth. Show me how to rely on Your power within me to control of my selfish and sinful desires. 

 

Make me more aware of Your Holy Spirit within me and help me submit to His guidance—so I won’t find myself doing what my sinful nature desires to do.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ's Home, Our Heart

 

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

—Ephesians 3:16-17 (NLT)

 

Gracious God,

 

Empower us by Your Holy Spirit, so that we would be made spiritually stronger—that our hearts, rooted and nourished in Your love, would be a place for Christ to call His home, as we put all our trust in Him.

 

According to Your glorious and unlimited resources, pour spiritual strength into us—change us by the working of Your Spirit within us—so our outward lives would be made visibly different, to the Glory of Christ.

 

Help us to surrender anything that doesn’t honor Christ, to the sanctifying work of Your Spirit—making Him Lord of our hearts, so that our hearts would be a place suitable for our King to make His home.

 

And grant that our roots would go down deep and be nourished by Your amazing love—so that we would be made strong and firmly established, forever abiding with You.

 

Empower us by Your Holy Spirit, so that we would be made spiritually stronger—that our hearts, rooted and nourished in Your love, would be a place for Christ to call His home, as we put all our trust in Him.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

What to Wear Today

 

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

—Colossians 3:12-14 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Help me today, as I seek to live a holy life—in grateful response to Your amazing love for me.

 

Help me to put on tenderhearted mercy for others—as I see each person through Your eyes of compassion.

 

Help me to clothe myself in kindness to all—having experienced for myself the abundant kindness of my Savior.

 

Help me put my own selfish desires aside and dress myself with humility—as I consider others before I consider myself.

 

Help me to put on the garment of quiet and gently disciplined strength—as I look to You as my only source of strength.

 

Let the clothing of tireless patience be mine to wear, as I bear with those around me, forgiving them freely, quickly, and completely—just as You, through Your Son, Jesus, have forgiven me.

 

And over all of these, help me to wear Your love—which holds every virtue in perfect unity—so that I might be known by the love of Christ in me.

 

Help me today as I seek to live a holy life—in grateful response to Your amazing love for me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Don't Speak Evil

 

Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters.  If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law.  But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.

 

—James 4:11 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Help me never speak evil against my brothers and sisters—never say anything about someone which would hurt them or defame their character in the eyes of someone else—as I choose instead to live by Your law of love.

 

Replace any critical spirit within me with a spirit of grace and truth.  Grant me the wisdom to discern truth in every situation—and as I seek after what is just and right, help me remain submitted to Your laws of forgiveness, kindness and grace.

 

Help me to capture and bring my every thought into obedience to Christ and His character, as revealed in Your Word—so that any word I speak would be true and useful to bring encouragement and unity between myself and others.

 

And if I ever feel offended by someone, keep me from sharing that offense with others.  Rather, help me always to go directly to the offender to express my complaint against them—in humility, with kindness and love—so that understanding can come, our relationship can be restored and strengthened, and the enemy’s plans to bring division between us can be stopped.

 

Help me never speak evil against my brothers and sisters—never say anything about someone which would hurt them or defame their character in the eyes of someone else—as I choose instead to live by Your law of love.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Spirit Lead Me

 

Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

 

—Psalm 143:10 (NASB)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Teach me, both to know what Your will is and to do it always, so that my journey here on earth is marked by a faithful and settled course of holy living—as You lead me, by Your good Spirit, on that level ground that takes me to my eternal home with You.

 

Teach me!  Let Your good Spirit open the eyes of my understanding, so that I am fully able to discern the depths of meaning found in Your Holy Scriptures—so I can always know Your will.

 

Teach me!  Let Your good Spirit usher me into the plans You have for me, as I step out in faith to do Your will—so I can always walk within the safety of Your will.

 

Teach me!  Let Your good Spirit continue to do Your work of sanctification within me, so that my life would become wholly set apart for You—so I can always live to the glory of Your will.

 

Teach me, both to know what Your will is and to do it always, so that my journey here on earth is marked by a faithful and settled course of holy living—as You lead me, by Your good Spirit, on that level ground that takes me to my eternal home with You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.