To Represent My Lord Jesus

 

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

 

—Colossians 3:17 (NLT)

 

Father God,

 

Help me to represent my Lord Jesus well this day—in my thoughts, words and actions—so that my very life becomes a continual act of giving thanks, through Him to You.

 

As a grateful follower of Your Son, Jesus, let every aspect of my daily life reflect well on the One whose Name and Love I carry with me—into this dark and lost world. 

 

Let me ever be conscious of the impression that I leave with others, so that I would always show them the love of Christ—that they might be changed by the Christ they see in me, for Your glory.

 

Help me remember to speak only words of life, truth, love and encouragement to everyone that I encounter, both today and every day.

 

Help me always remain obedient to Your commands and submitted to Your authority—to depend on Your strength and remain in Your peace, serving You in all things with joy.

 

Let my life be an offering of grateful worship to You for all the gentle compassion, patient mercy, complete forgiveness, amazing grace, and unfailing love that You have poured out over me through Jesus Christ.

 

Help me to represent my Lord Jesus well this day—in my thoughts, words and actions—so that my very life becomes a continual act of giving thanks, through Him to You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Called to be Holy!

 

For I, the LORD, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy.

 

—Leviticus 11:45 (NLT)

 

Holy LORD,

 

Thank You for being the One who called me and brought me out of my slavery to sin, in order that You might be my God—for being the One who makes me holy in Christ Jesus.

 

I praise You, for You are holy! Just as You brought Your people, Israel, up out of their slavery in Egypt, so have You brought me up out of my slavery to sin, through the redeeming sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus.

 

I exalt You, for You are holy!  Just as You called Your people, Israel, to be holy—set apart and uniquely different from the world around them—so have You called me to be holy in Christ—set apart and uniquely different from the world around me.

 

I worship You, for You are holy!  Just as You desired to be the only God of Your people, Israel, so You have called me into a personal relationship with You through Christ—so that You would be my only God!

 

Thank You for being the One who called me and brought me out of my slavery to sin, in order that You might be my God—for being the One who makes me holy in Christ Jesus.

 

In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

God's Faithful 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,

 

Thank You that, 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. 

 

Thank You that You cover me, that You draw me close to You—that You hide me from the attacks of the enemy and shield me from the storms of this life.

 

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 I can know and experience the truth, that all Your promises are true—and that You are always faithful to Your promises.

 

For within the Truth of Your faithful promises, I find the armor I need to cover me when attacked, and the protection that keeps me from all harm. 

 

Thank You that, 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.

Transform Me!

 

 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

 

—Romans 12:2 (NLT)

 

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.

Holy Spirit, Guide My Life

 

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

 

—Galatians 5:16 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Heighten my awareness of Your Holy Spirit within me and help me be submitted to His guidance—so I won’t find myself doing what my sinful nature desires to do.

 

Let my actions reflect my character—and let 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, hear, and willingly obey all the instructions You give me through Your Word and Your Spirit.

 

Strengthen me to continue to live every moment of my life under the guidance and control of Your Spirit—by filling my heart with the words of Christ, by causing my actions to reflect that truth, and by showing me how to rely on Your power within me to control of my selfish and sinful desires. 

 

Heighten my awareness of Your Holy Spirit within me and help me be submitted 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 in Our Hearts

 

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.

Obey the Law of Love

 

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.

Teach 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.

I Will Listen to You

 

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

 

—Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NASB)

 

Loving LORD,

 

Give me the wisdom to call upon You, come to You, pray to You—with an unwavering faith that believes You listen to hear my every prayer.  Help me seek You with my whole heart, fully confident that You are the God who can be found—the God who desires that all His children find Him.

 

Thank You that You are not a god who is unconcerned about those things that concern me—but rather, the God who is intimately acquainted with my every need, and with every desire of my heart.

 

Thank You that, when I come to You in prayer, You are eager to put into action Your already existing plan to provide for my every need—in accord with what is the very best for me—because You always have my best interests at heart.

 

So, help me to seek You with all my heart—holding nothing back—knowing that as I seek You, You will reveal Yourself to me and draw me into that close, intimate and personal relationship that You desire to have with me. 

 

Give me the wisdom to call upon You, come to You, pray to You—with an unwavering faith that believes You listen to hear my every prayer.  Help me seek You with my whole heart, fully confident that You are the God who can be found—the God who desires that all His children find Him.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Our Refuge and Strength, Our Helper

 

God is our refuge and strength,
    always ready to help in times of trouble.

 

—Psalm 46:1 (NLT)

LORD God Almighty,

 

Thank You for being my place of shelter and protection, my source of strength for every moment I face in life—and for always being ready to help me in my times of trouble!

 

Thank You that this is not only something that I believe, but it is something that I have seen proven again and again in my relationship with You—throughout my entire lifetime.

 

It is Your presence with me and Your magnificent power—alive within me, flowing through me, and at work all around me—which has delivered me through, or out of, every trouble that I have ever faced.

 

Help me always remember Your faithfulness to me, so that—in response to Your demonstrated love for me—I might become ever more faithful in my relationship with You.

 

Thank You for being my place of shelter and protection, my source of strength for every moment I face in life—and for always being ready to help me in my times of trouble!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Deep Waters

 

When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you.

     —Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

 

Loving LORD,

 

You are the One who is always with me—for you have placed Your loving affection upon me! You take each step of this life with me and are always faithful—never letting go of my hand—so that I never walk alone!

 

When I feel as if I am in too deep, like I am no longer able to touch bottom, and am drowning in my troubles, You are there to give me my next breath and to help me to regain my footing once again.

 

When I feel as if I am going to be swept away by the raging currents around me—the tides of evil that come against me—You are there to help me stand firm and to discover that You are my refuge and strength.

 

When I feel the burning oppression of the enemy seeking to consume my very soul, You are there to shield me in Your loving arms—to remind me of who I am, and assure me of Your immeasurable love for me, so that I can continue to walk with You through every attack, in victory.

 

You are the One who is always with me—for you have placed Your loving affection upon me! You take each step of this life with me and are always faithful—never letting go of my hand—so that I never walk alone!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

You Must Love!

 

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD.  And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’  The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  No other commandment is greater than these.  —Mark 12:29-31 (NLT)

 

Dear LORD God,

 

Oh, that I could more perfectly return to You that same love with which You first loved me—and then actively love others in the same way that I love myself!

 

Help me to make room within my heart, so that You can fill it completely with Your love—that love that overwhelms me and consumes my soul—so that I would never miss any opportunity You give me to participate with You in loving those around me.

 

Help me to avoid the trap of believing that there could ever be anything more important than these all-inclusive commands—commands that are not restricted by time or place, commands I should follow no matter where I may find myself.

 

Just as You have loved me, help me to love others well—with that same compassion, patience, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and grace that You have shown me—by willingly and obediently reflecting Your love for them in all my thoughts, words, and actions.

 

Oh, that I could more perfectly return to You that same love with which You first loved me—and then actively love others in the same way that I love myself!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.