Effective, Powerful, and Accurate

 

 

I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective and powerful because of your accurate knowledge of every good thing which is ours in Christ.

 

—Philemon 1:6 (AMP)

 

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Help me to share my faith effectively and powerfully—so that others might come to know You, too.

 

Teach me from Your Word every good thing which is mine in Christ—as I read and study Your Word, and as I listen for Your Spirit to instruct me—so that my knowledge would be accurate.

 

As I share my faith, remind me to begin with what I know to be true from my own life about the good things that are mine in Christ.  

 

And don’t let the things that I don’t yet fully understand hold me back from sharing what I do know to be true—those things I have learned from the riches of my personal experience with You.

 

Remind me that it is easy to tell the story of my faith, because You have written that story on the pages of my life—with the pen of Your love for me.

 

Help me to share my faith effectively and powerfully—so that others might come to know You, too.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Our Present Troubles

 

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

 

—2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (NLT)

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Renew me once again today, so that I won’t be tempted to give up!

 

Help me to draw on the power of Your Holy Spirit within me, to renew my strength, so I can boldly face what lies before me today.

 

Remind me that though my body has been aging since the day I was born, You cause me to be renewed in the inner man of my spirit—so that I can find new life in You, discover more about who You are, and become more like You every day.

 

Show me how to trust and hope in You, for I know the temporary troubles that I face, You will use for my good—to mold and fashion me into the person that You want me to be, for Your glory.

 

Grant me the humility to accept my human limitations, recognize my dependence on You, and to take my eyes off my troubles long enough to see You—for it is only by Your great power that I am saved me out of them all!

 

And help me to embrace each moment of the life You have given me and walk in the joy and peace that You have called me into—until You call me home to be forever with You in glory. 

 

Renew me once again today, so that I won’t be tempted to give up! 

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Seven Detestable Things

 

There are six things the LORD hates—
    no, seven things he detests:
haughty eyes,
    a lying tongue,
    hands that kill the innocent,
a heart that plots evil,
    feet that race to do wrong,
a false witness who pours out lies,
    a person who sows discord in a family.

 —Proverbs 6:16-19 (NLT)

 

 

 

LORD of my Heart,

 

Help me surrender all my heart and life to You—so You would have no reason to detest the things that You find in me.

Remove any haughtiness or conceitedness from within me—especially when my eyes show contempt for others. Keep me from sinning by thinking more highly of myself than I ought to, while undervaluing others.

 

Check me by Your Spirit should any lie be formed in my heart—before it spills across my tongue—that my words would always reflect that I hold Truth as sacred in my life.

 

Purge from me any desire for the shedding of innocent blood—for cruelty or bloodthirstiness.  Help me to have precious reverence for the sanctity of life.

 

Expose any tendency to devise wickedness in my heart or to entertain or rehearse evil plans in my mind—that I might chose to meditate only on what is good and right.

 

Make my feet quick to run to do what is good, so that my feet will be kept from that which is evil.

 

Let me only speak the truth about others—and let those words be pleasing to You—so that I cannot be used as a tool of the enemy for his purposes.

 

And stop me from sowing any seeds of discord among my family—whether my natural family or my brothers and sisters in Christ—that unity would be preserved.

Help me surrender all my heart and life to You—so You would have no reason to detest the things that You find in me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

The Word

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 

—John 1:1-3 (ESV)

 

 

 

 

Ever-existing Jesus,

 

Help my finite mind and limited understanding grasp the depths of this truth: You exist outside of the limits of time—You always were and always shall be, from eternity past to eternity future—and are the Creator of all there is and that You created it from nothing!

 

Help me to understand that You have always been here—that You were here before You created time and set it into motion . . . before there was a beginning, “In the beginning.”

 

Help me to understand that everything that was created was created through You—that nothing that was made was made without You.

 

Help me to understand that You are, and always have been, fully God—that even though You took on human flesh and became fully man, You never ceased to be fully God.

 

Help me to understand that when I look to You, Jesus, I am looking to the Creator of the universe, the highest revelation of God to man, the living example to me of perfect and complete holiness, and the One who holds everything together by the power of His might.

 

May all my praise and worship forever be lifted unto You, my God, my Savior, my Lord, and my soon-returning King!

 

Help my finite mind and limited understanding grasp the depths of this truth: You exist outside of the limits of time—You always were and always shall be, from eternity past to eternity future—and are the Creator of all there is and that You created it from nothing!

 

All Glory to Your Name, Lord Jesus, Amen.

The LORD and His Strength

 

Search for the LORD

 and for his strength;
    continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
    his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
you children of his servant Abraham,
    you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

 

—Psalm 105:4-6 (NLT)

 

 

 

Loving LORD,

When I lose my way, when I no longer feel Your strength in me, stir my heart to search for You—to continually seek You.

 

Help me to remember that, just as You chose the descendants of Abraham and Jacob as Your own, You chose me and received me as Your own.

 

And help me not to forget all the wonders that You have performed, Your miracles, and the rulings and instructions that You have given—both as recorded in the Bible, and as I have experienced personally in my own walk with You.

 

Then move me to respond to Your immeasurable love for me, with a grateful heart, and in faithful obedience to everything You have taught me and to everything that You ask me to do.

 

And help me to walk through each moment of all the rest of my days in that strength, so I will come to understand more and more how You are at work in me, through me and all around me—both now and always.

 

When I lose my way, when I no longer feel Your strength in me, stir my heart to search for You—to continually seek You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

I Sing, I Cling!

 

 

Because you are my helper,
    I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

I cling to you;
    your strong right hand holds me securely.

 

—Psalm 63:7-8 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Almighty God, My Helper,

May I always sing for joy, and may I forever cling to You!

 

While there are those who seek to find their help from the things of this world, You have shown us the Truth in Your Word—that our help is found in You alone.

 

You are the One who spoke the heavens and the earth into existence—so where else would I go to find help for my life, if not to the Creator of life, Himself?

 

Because You are my helper, I can always sing for joy—no matter what outward circumstances I face—for You shelter me under the protection of Your covering wings from the troubles of this life. 

 

As I cling to You, You hold me securely—You take on Yourself the force of each storm that comes against me—so I can fulfill Your plan and purpose for me.

 

So, let my unending song in this life be a joyful song of praise, worship and thanksgiving offered to You—my only help and my sure salvation!

May I always sing for joy, and may I forever cling to You!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Because People Disobey

 

 

Rivers of tears gush from my eyes
    because people disobey your instructions.

 

—Psalm 119:136 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Ever-Loving LORD,

 

May my heart break—along with Yours—and may my tears gush over the disobedience of Your people!

 

I confess that my heart has not been truly broken and far too few of my tears have been shed over the choices that Your own people have made to disobey, dishonor, and disregard Your instructions.

 

Instead of being broken, my heart has been self-righteously critical and judging of others when I witness the mess that they have made of their lives by the choices that they have made—thinking in my heart that they have gotten what they deserve.

 

Then I am reminded that I, too, have broken Your heart through my own disobedience and am deserving of much worse than I have received—and yet, You have loved me back to Yourself, time and time again.

 

Help my heart to break over sin—both mine own and the sins of others—and show me how to love others in the same way You have shown Your love to me. 

 

Grant me the humility of heart to love them as You would have me love them—to love them enough to love them back to You!

 

May my heart break—along with Yours—and may my tears gush over the disobedience of Your people!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.