The LORD Your God is in Your Midst

The LORD your God is in your midst,
A Warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with joy;
He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins],
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

—Zephaniah 3:17 (AMP)

 

O LORD My God,

Make me always conscious of Your ever-abiding Presence with me—that I would honor that Presence by my faithful obedience to Your Word and Your Spirit.  And help me to believe, and never forget, that it is You who rejoices over me with shouts of joy!

Thank You that You always remain with me, that You never leave my side, but continue in Your unrelenting pursuit to have all of my heart—even when I yield to the temptation to wander from You, to follow after my own rebellious desires.

Thank You that You are the Mighty and Victorious Warrior who saves me—my Rescuer, my Redeemer, my Defender, and my Guardian—both now and forevermore!

Thank You for drawing me into the quietness of Your love—a place where the power of Your love has separated me from all my sins, a place where they are remembered against me no more, and I am seen as righteous in Your eyes.

Thank You for being the One who rejoices greatly over me—with thundering shouts of joy—because You have set Your affection on me, and take great delight in calling me Your own.

Make me always conscious of Your ever-abiding Presence with me—that I would honor that Presence by my faithful obedience to Your Word and Your Spirit.  And help me to believe, and never forget, that it is You who rejoices over me with shouts of joy!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

Do Not Fear

 

Yes, you came when I called;
    you told me, “Do not fear.”

Lord, you have come to my defense;
    you have redeemed my life.

—Lamentations 3:57-58 (NLT)

 

Faithful Lord, My Redeemer,

Thank You that, because of Your faithfulness to me, I don’t ever have to be afraid.

Thank You for being the God who hears me when I call out to You in prayer—the One who comes to me and speaks words of comfort to my soul, the One who speaks only truth and tells me, “Do not fear.”

Thank You for coming to defend me, by surrounding me with Your angelic armies—who fight against every attack of the enemy as he seeks to destroy me—and for ushering me safely through every battle by covering me in Your unfailing love.

Thank You for redeeming my life—for sending Christ to lay down his life and pay the price I could never pay—that I might find my life in Him, and live that life for Him alone!

Thank You that, because of Your faithfulness to me, I don’t ever have to be afraid.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

The Blessing

 

The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

—Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV)

 

Loving and Gracious LORD,

Let me fully walk in the favor of Your blessings of protection, provision, pardon, and peace, each and every day!

Thank You for making Your blessing available to any person who opens his or her heart to receive it—so that we can all live in contentment and joy, as we are kept safe in every way, within that blessing.

Thank You for the way You make Your face to shine upon us, to smile on us, to enlighten us and give us comfort and life—just as the sun that You hung in space shines upon the earth and warms it to bring it life.

Thank You for lifting up Your countenance upon us in loving adoration—like a gentle and caring father who gazes upon his children with such amazing love that they are always at peace, assured of the special favor and unreserved acceptance that is theirs in Him.

Thank You that within Your blessing I am protected and provided for—by the power of the Creator of all things; I am pardoned for all of my sin—by the gracious sacrifice of my Lord Jesus; and I have peace—because my Comforter, the Spirit of peace, lives within me.

Let me fully walk in the favor of Your blessings of protection, provision, pardon, and peace, each and every day!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.