Give Mercy, Receive Mercy

 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.  There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

—James 2:12-13 (NLT)

Just and Merciful God,

 

May all my thoughts, words and actions be the evidence that I truly understand the depths of the mercy You have offered me—for I know I will receive mercy according to my willing obedience to extend that same mercy to others.

 

Help me remember that the same law that sets me free—that moral law that sets all obedient followers of Christ free from the bondage of sin—is the law by which I will be judged.

 

For while I have been saved by grace through faith, the evidence of my having received that salvation is my obedience to Christ—which is the path upon which perfect freedom is found—and my ability to extend mercy to others is a proof that I am walking out that salvation which the Gospel of Christ has provided.

 

Let the mercy that You have poured over me be reflected in me, to all those around me, through my obedience to Christ’s command to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. For therein lies the power to love my neighbor as myself.

 

May all my thoughts, words and actions be the evidence that I truly understand the depths of the mercy You have offered me—for I know I will receive mercy according to my willing obedience to extend that same mercy to others.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

The Peace that Comes from Christ

 

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

 

—Colossians 3:15 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Help me to answer Your call to live in the peace that comes when I allow Christ to rule my heart.  And let me be forever thankful.

 

Though the storms of life in this fallen world rage all around me and the cold winds of change blow against me, You have given me the amazing privilege of allowing Your peace—the peace that comes from Christ—to rule and reign in me.

 

It is not a peace that anyone or anything in this world could ever give, but it is a peace that transcends all circumstances or situations I may face, and is a measure of my faith—a direct reflection of whether I truly believe You, and the promises I find in Your Word.

 

Only as I allow Your peace to live in my heart, can I take up my responsibility to live at peace with others in the body of Christ and do my part to bring unity within the church, so that, together, we can be a beacon of hope to a lost and dying world.

 

So, let my heart become so saturated with the peace of Christ that it flows from me, bringing peace to all those around me—that You might be glorified in my life.

Help me to answer Your call to live in the peace that comes when I allow Christ to rule my heart.  And let me be forever thankful.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Incline Your Ear, O LORD!

 

O LORD, God of my salvation,
    I cry out day and night before you.

Let my prayer come before you;
    incline your ear to my cry!

 

—Psalm 88:1-2 (ESV)

 

LORD God of my salvation,

 

Help me to truly believe that You watch and listen for anyone who will seek You with their whole heart!

 

Move on me by Your Spirit to cry out to You day and night as I face the struggles of this life—reminding me that all my help comes from You, for You alone are my salvation.

 

Assure me with the truth that my prayers do come rising before You—reaching all the way into Your Holy Presence.

 

May You always incline Your ear to the voice of my cries, hear the pleading of my heart, and answer me in love—according to Your perfect will and purpose for me.

 

Help me to truly believe that You watch and listen for anyone who will seek You with their whole heart!

 

In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Always Ready to Do What is Good

 

Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.  They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone. 
—Titus 1:2-3 (NLT)

 

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help me to take seriously my responsibility to submit to the government and its officers—as long as doing so does not violate Your commands.

 

Your Word commands me to be obedient—especially to Your Word and Your Spirit—and to be ready to do that which is good.

 

Your Word commands me to never slander anyone and to avoid quarreling—to speak only truth, with grace, in love.

 

Your Word commands me to be gentle with others, and to show true humility to everyone—not thinking more highly of myself than I ought to but living within the truth of who I am in Christ, and with the knowledge that any good in me comes from You.

 

Help me to take seriously my responsibility to submit to the government and its officers—as long as doing so does not violate Your commands.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

What is Right, What God Requires

 

 

 

No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good,
    and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
    and to walk humbly with your God. 

—Micah 6:8 (NLT)

 

Gracious and Loving LORD,

 

Thank You for sending us Your Word—for through Your Word I learn what is good and what You require of me.

 

Help me to do what is right.  Reveal to me the Truth of Your Word and help me to fully believe it—knowing it flows from Your unfailing love for us all.  Help me obediently apply that Truth to all my thoughts, words, and actions, as I choose Your ways over my own.

 

Help me to love mercy.  Out of my overwhelming gratefulness to You for my own personal experience of Your continual mercy towards me—and an understanding that it is that same merciful love You offer to every one of us—let me be a loving reflection of Your mercy to everyone around me.

 

Help me to walk humbly with You.  Don't allow me to disobediently lag behind You, or arrogantly run ahead of You, but let me walk submissively with You, intent on doing Your will.

 

Thank You for sending us Your Word—for through Your Word I learn what is good and what You require of me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Your Plans 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 every circumstance I find myself, 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.

Set Apart to be Holy

 

So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

 —1 Peter 1:14-16 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Since You have adopted me into Your family, claiming me as one of Your own, help me to live as Your obedient child—rejecting my old life and embracing completely the wonderful new life that You have freely offered me in Christ.

 

Save me from slipping back into the attitudes and patterns of behavior from which You rescued me—those old selfish ways that I once thought served me well, but in fact, only led me closer to my own destruction and death.

 

Since I now know better, let me always be led by Your Spirit, according to the Truth of Your Word. May I be found grateful in every circumstance and willing submitted to You in all things.

 

Continue to sanctify me, making me holy, because You are holy. Help me daily put on the clothing of Christ’s righteousness and be set apart for Your service.

 

Since You have adopted me into Your family, claiming me as one of Your own, help me to live as Your obedient child—rejecting my old life and embracing completely the wonderful new life that You have freely offered me in Christ.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Be On Guard

 

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.

 

—1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

In these difficult and uncertain times, as I await the return of Your Son, Jesus, may I never let my guard down. May I always stand firm in my faith, be courageous and strong, and do everything You ask of me with love.

 

Help me to stay on guard—alert, aware, and ready to respond—to any attack of enemy, whether it comes as an overt threat, or a subtle attempt to deceive me and lead me away from what I know is true.

 

Help me to stand on the truth You have shown me in Your Word and refuse to exchange it for the so-called “wisdom” of this world—remembering that it is by faith alone, in Christ alone, that I am able to stand.

 

Make me fearlessly courageous and forever strong. As Your dearly loved child, never let me forget who I am in Christ. Keep me sensitive to Your Spirit and willingly obedient to Your Word, for my confidence and strength is found in You.

 

Cause grace and truth to coexist within my heart—in the purest form of love—and let my thoughts, words and actions be a God-honoring reflection of the love of Jesus Christ in me.

 

In these difficult and uncertain times, as I await the return of Your Son, Jesus, may I never let my guard down. May I always stand firm in my faith, be courageous and strong, and do everything You ask of me with love.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Perfect Instructions, Trustworthy Decrees

 

The instructions of the LORD are perfect,
    reviving the soul.
The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.

 

— Psalm 19:7 (NLT)

 

Dear LORD,

 

Thank You for giving me Your Word—that perfect instruction manual for my life! Your Word brings new life to my soul and shows me how even a simple man like me can become wise.

 

Thank You, that Your instructions are perfect and pure—full of only that which is good for me, and designed to equip me in every way, for every good work that You have planned for me.

 

Thank You, that Your instructions revive and renew my mind, will, and emotions, with new strength, so that I can continue to walk in that close, personal relationship with You which brings me life.

 

Thank You, that Your decrees are trustworthy, that Your words represent Your holy will and go forth in Your power.  They endure throughout all generations and fulfill their purpose, as I honor them with my life.

 

Thank You that as simple-minded as I am, through Your words I grow in understanding and judgment. They give me insight into Your ways, and even grant me revelation of things that are yet to come.  Your words make me wise.

 

Thank You for giving me Your Word—that perfect instruction manual for my life! Your Word brings new life to my soul and shows me how even a simple man like me can become wise.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

You Saw Me Before I Was Born

 

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.   —Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)

 

All Wise Creator God,

 

Let me forever praise You! For You are the Designer of my most intricate parts, the Composer of their delicate harmonies, the Architect of the frame of this temple, and the Author of my amazing story—the God who breathed life into my spirit and accounted for every moment of my life, before a single day had passed!

 

How well You know me! You know me completely, and yet You love me still! Let me never speak ill of what You have done, are doing, and have yet to do, within me, through me, and all around me.  

 

But rather let me come before you with reverent fear of Your awesome power and with quiet confidence in Your love for me—knowing that out of everything You created, You set Your affection on the ones You made in Your image.

 

So, grant that all that I am—physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually—would bring You glory, honor, and praise forever, for all that You are and for all that You have done in my life!

Let me forever praise You! For You are the Designer of my most intricate parts, the Composer of their delicate harmonies, the Architect of the frame of this temple, and the Author of my amazing story—the God who breathed life into my spirit and accounted for every moment of my life, before a single day had passed!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Don't Pretend, Really Love!

 

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

 

—Romans 12:9 (NLT)

 

Loving LORD GOD,

 

With Christ as my example, teach me to love others in Spirit and in Truth, to hate what is evil, and hold tightly to what is good—for You are the source of all that is good.

 

Keep me from the hypocrisy of only pretending to love others—from “loving” others out of impure motives that falsely promise to serve me well, but in the end leave me empty and far from You.

 

Out of a grateful heart for Your love for me, help me to love others as You do—with complete selflessness—putting the needs of others before my own selfish wants and desires, so that they might see Your love for them through me.

 

Like Christ, help me to fight passionately against all that is evil—wherever it may raise its ugly head—by always speaking truth, always giving grace, and always walking in His perfect love.

 

With Christ as my example, teach me to love others in Spirit and in Truth, to hate what is evil, and hold tightly to what is good—for You are the source of all that is good.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Perfect Peace for Those Who Trust in Him

 

You will keep in perfect peace
    all who trust in you,
    all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Trust in the LORD always,
    for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.

 

—Isaiah 26:3-4 (NLT)

 

LORD GOD of Peace,

 

Grant that I would abide—would remain for the rest of my life—in that perfect and constant peace that You give me, when I trust You completely, and You permeate my every thought.

 

Help me to place all my trust in You—no matter what hardship or pain, no matter what circumstances or situations I may face—knowing that You will deliver me out of, or carry me safely through, every attempt of the enemy to steal my peace.

 

And help me to fix my thoughts on You, rather than trying to find my own way out of my troubles—because every answer I am looking for is found in You.

 

Grant that I would live in the kind of peace that not only remains in me, but radiates outwardly, from deep within me—to a world that needs Your peace so desperately. 

 

Establish within my heart this unchanging truth:  that You are, and forever will be, my strength and the firm, unchanging and never-failing Rock upon which all my faith and hope stands.

 

Grant that I would abide—would remain for the rest of my life—in that perfect and constant peace that You give me, when I trust You completely, and You permeate my every thought. 

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

All Wisdom and Power!

 

He said, 

“Praise the name of God forever and ever,
    for he has all wisdom and power.
He controls the course of world events;
    he removes kings and sets up other kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the scholars.”

—Daniel 2:20-21 (NLT)

 

Sovereign God Almighty,

 

May I never forget that it is You who controls the course of world events.  It is You who removes kings and sets up other kings—for Your divine purposes, by Your unlimited power, and according to Your infinite wisdom.

 

Let me praise Your name, O God, forever and ever, for You have all wisdom and power—and it is You who gives wisdom and knowledge to men who are wise enough to seek You, and who study to know You.

 

So, may I never second-guess the wisdom of things that You do—as if I could ever know better than You.  Let me instead trust in the Truth that You control everything and will use all things to accomplish Your Will.

 

Help me to continue to seek You, that I might grow in wisdom and understanding, and teach me the lessons You have for me, when things don’t go the way I think they should.  Then lead me forward by Your Spirit in the good  work You have given me to do.

 

May I never forget that it is You who controls the course of world events.  It is You who removes kings and sets up other kings—for Your divine purposes, by Your unlimited power, and according to Your infinite wisdom.

 

In the Name of Jesus, Amen.