From Him, Through Him, To Him

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

—Romans 11:33 and 36 (NASB)

 

LORD GOD Most High,

 

May all glory be forever given to You, for You alone are worthy of it all!

 

The deepest ocean depths can in no way compare to the depth of the riches of both Your wisdom and Your knowledge. Your judgments are unsearchable and Your ways unfathomable for us.

 

For by Your unlimited knowledge, You see with clear perfection all that ever was, is now, or ever will be. And according to Your divine wisdom you orchestrate it all into a symphony of Your amazing work of love for Your creation, breathing meaning and purpose into each note along the way.

 

From You are all things—there is nothing except what comes from You. Through You are all things—all things pass through You according to Your direction, plan, and for Your purposes. To You are all things—all things exist to ultimately give You glory.

 

May all glory be forever given to You, for You alone are worthy of it all!

 

In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Teach Me, Lead Me

 

Teach me to do your will,

    for you are my God;

may your good Spirit

    lead me on level ground.

 

—Psalm 143:10 (NIV)

 

Gracious LORD,

 

Teach me to do Your will, and by Your good Spirit lead me!  For You are my God—the One who leads me on level ground, ever unfolding before me Your very best plans and purposes for my life.

 

Help me to overcome my great tendency to be self-centered and self-willed—to do only what I want to do—expecting You to bless my plans and cause my self-serving purposes to succeed.

 

Show me how to set aside my own will and trust You to direct my steps according to Your will—according to Your very best for me—knowing that only by submitting myself to Your will can I ever hope to bring You honor and glory with my life.

 

Lead me, by Your good and gracious Holy Spirit, so I might walk uprightly along the level ground of Your unfailing love—on that path of willing obedience that You have called me to travel.

 

Teach me to do Your will, and by Your good Spirit lead me!  For You are my God—the One who leads me on level ground, ever unfolding before me Your very best plans and purposes for my life.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

A Warrior Who Saves

 

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 mindful of Your ever-abiding presence with me and help me honor You by my faithful obedience to Your Word and Your Spirit.

 

Thank You that You always remain with me, that You never leave my side, but continue Your unrelenting pursuit to have all my heart—even when I wander from off the path You have placed before me.

 

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 mindful of Your ever-abiding presence with me and help me honor You by my faithful obedience to Your Word and Your Spirit.

 

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 LORD Bless You

 

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 receive Your blessing of pardon, protection, provision, peace, and joy with each new day!

 

Thank You for making Your blessing available to any person who opens his or her heart to receive it by faith, that they may be 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 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 receive Your blessing of pardon, protection, provision, peace, and joy with each new day!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

The Unworthiness of Idols

 

The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold,

    shaped by human hands.

They have mouths but cannot speak,

    and eyes but cannot see.

They have ears but cannot hear,

    and noses but cannot smell.

And those who make idols are just like them,

    as are all who trust in them.

 

—Psalm 135:15-18 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Save me from worshiping anything or anyone but You.

 

Keep me from counting on anything made with human hands, as if those things could save me. Let me instead count on You, the One who created all there is by the power of Your Word.

 

Keep me from worshiping anything that cannot speak to me, anything that cannot reveal the Truth. Let me instead worship only You and listen to hear You speaking to me through Your Word and Your Spirit, in every moment of every day.

 

Keep me from looking to anything that cannot see and understand what I am going through. Let me instead look to You, the One who is personally and intimately acquainted with every trial I face.

 

Keep me from crying out to something that cannot hear or help. Let me instead cry out to You, the One who patiently and compassionately waits to hear my cry for help and is ready and able to supply all my needs.

 

Keep me from trusting in anything that cannot sniff out trouble coming my way. Let me instead trust You to smell the stench of evil coming and warn me by Your Spirit, so I can avoid the disaster of succumbing to its temptations.

 

Keep me from becoming like those things I am tempted to put in front of You—powerless and unable to speak, see, and hear the truth, and unable to smell trouble coming and avoid it. Let me instead be empowered by You to become more like Your Son, Jesus.

 

Keep me from merely making You first among the many objects of my worship. Let me instead worship You—and You alone.

 

Save me from worshiping anything or anyone but You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Living as I Should

 

As I learn your righteous regulations,

    I will thank you by living as I should!

I will obey your decrees.

    Please don’t give up on me!

 

—Psalm 119:7-8 (NLT)

 

Merciful and Gracious LORD,

 

Please don’t give up on me!  Don’t leave me to my own limited understanding and imperfect wisdom—but continue in Your unrelenting, passionate, pursuit of my heart, as You patiently guide me into all Truth.

 

Let the commandments of Your Word permeate my heart, as I listen for Your Spirit to reveal how every commandment plays a part in protecting, providing for, and preserving my life—according to Your perfect plans and purposes.

 

By that same Spirit within me, strengthen me to live as I should—to fully understand and apply Your righteous regulations to my life—that I might live the abundant life that is available to those who choose to follow after Truth.

 

And help me to be grateful—not only in my thoughts and words, but even more so in the way I live my life—so that my entire life might become a continuous offering of thanksgiving and praise to You!

 

Please don’t give up on me!  Don’t leave me to my own limited understanding and imperfect wisdom—but continue in Your unrelenting, passionate, pursuit of my heart, as You patiently guide me into all Truth.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

You Offer Forgiveness

 

LORD, if you kept a record of our sins,

    who, O Lord, could ever survive?

But you offer forgiveness,

    that we might learn to fear you.

 

—Psalm 130:3-4 (NLT)

 

 

Gracious and Merciful God,

 

Thank You, that for my sin You offer me Your forgiveness—You completely remove my sin from me and choose to remember it no more—so that there is nothing left between us to keep me from You.

 

If You kept a record of my sins, how could I ever survive?  For my sin would be an ever-enlarging, impenetrable wall of judgment that kept me separated from You—that kept me from the strength of Your presence and left me to face this world on my own.  How could I live without You?

 

But You, LORD, hold no grudge against me, when I sincerely repent of my sins—when I turn my back on my sinful behavior, ask for Your forgiveness, and pursue the ways of truth and life. 

 

You remove my sin—that wall of separation—and You look upon me as if I had never sinned, so that I can continue in fellowship with You, being strengthened by Your presence, so I can offer You the reverential respect and awe that is due You.

 

Help me to use Your model of complete forgiveness, when I forgive others—by not keeping a record of wrongs—so that the walls between myself and others may be torn down and I can live at peace with all men.

 

Thank You, that for my sin You offer me Your forgiveness—You completely remove my sin from me and choose to remember it no more—so that there is nothing left between us to keep me from You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Another Advocate

 

“If you love me, obey my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.”

 

—John 14:15-17a (NLT)

 

Lord Jesus,

 

May I never fail to demonstrate my love for You, through my willing obedience to Your commandments, as I look to the Holy Spirit within me to guide me into all Truth.

 

Let my love for You be so much more than just words that I push carelessly across my lips without thinking. Rather let my words reflect my love for You—a love which permeates everything that I think, say and do.

 

Help me to look to the Advocate the Father has given—the Holy Spirit—to be my Comforter when I am hurting; my Encourager when I am discouraged; my Counselor when I need guidance; my Helper when the work gets hard; my Strengthener when I need to take a stand; my Friend when I need to know I am never alone; and my Teacher when I need to hear and know the Truth.

 

Keep me sensitive to the promptings of Your Spirit—who lives within me, and never leaves me—so that I might not miss any good thing that You have for me along my journey to know You more intimately.

 

May I never fail to demonstrate my love for You, through my willing obedience to Your commandments, as I look to the Holy Spirit within me to guide me into all Truth.

 

In Your most Precious and Holy Name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

My Refuge, My Shelter

 

If you make the LORD your refuge,

    if you make the Most High your shelter,

no evil will conquer you;

    no plague will come near your home.

For he will order his angels

    to protect you wherever you go.

 

—Psalm 91: 9-11 (NLT)

 

O LORD my Refuge, my Shelter,

 

Be my only refuge, my shelter from every evil thing. Help me not to wander from the sheltering safety of Your Presence, and order Your angels to protect me, wherever You direct me to go.

 

Help me fix my eyes on You. Don’t let me look to anyone or anything else to be my refuge, my place of protection, from the forces of darkness that seek to destroy me.

 

Be my shelter against all the storms of life—that quiet place of peace and rest, amidst the chaos and turmoil of this world.

 

Help me make Your heart my home, and let my heart beat after Yours alone—so that no plague can ever come near me.

 

Be my only refuge, my shelter from every evil thing. Help me not to wander from the sheltering safety of Your Presence, and order Your angels to protect me, wherever You direct me to go.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Don't Let Anyone Capture You!

 

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

 

—Colossians 2:8 (NLT)

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Let me experience all the freedom that comes when I fully understand, and live my life in complete agreement with, The Truth—The Truth that is revealed in Your Word, The Truth I find in Jesus Christ!

 

In my search to know Truth, let me not be satisfied to accept those philosophies that are merely built on human thinking, or understanding—but always look to Your Word to reveal The Truth to me.

 

Don’t let me be misled by man’s deceitful words—which, despite the fact that they may sound right, are only counterfeits of The Truth, twisted by the enemy to entrap my heart in lies, in order to lead me to destruction.

 

Keep me from blindly assuming that the traditions of man are Truth—those practiced ideas that have been widely accepted as Truth, but are not confirmed by Your Word—since I know that the spiritual powers of this world are battling to keep me from the freedom that I find in Christ alone.

 

Let me experience all the freedom that comes when I fully understand, and live my life in complete agreement with, The Truth—The Truth that is revealed in Your Word, The Truth I find in Jesus Christ!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Fully Committed to the LORD

 

The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

 

—2 Chronicles 16:9a (NLT)

 

 

O LORD my God,

 

Let it be that You would find in me a heart that is fully committed to You—so that You would strengthen me in every way, for the work to which You have called me.

 

Don’t allow me to settle for having a heart that is only mostly surrendered to You—a heart that is willing to stop at, “At least I’m better than I used to be!” or “Nobody’s perfect, everybody sins.”

 

Purify my heart!  Show me my heart and any darkness I have hidden there!  Help me to root out those things that I am withholding from You—according to the sanctifying power of Your Holy Spirit within me.

 

Grant me a heart that is willing and obedient—willing to seek out the truth of Your Word, and faithful to obediently apply that Truth to my life, so that I would be found faithful in Your eyes.

 

Give me a listening heart—a heart that listens to hear and respond to every prompting of Your Spirit, a heart that is eager to do all that You ask of me.

 

Give me a loving heart—a heart that loves You first, and best, and always, and loves others in the same way that You have so graciously and wondrously loved me—as a proof of my love for You.

 

Let it be that You would find in me a heart that is fully committed to You—so that You would strengthen me in every way, for the work to which You have called me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Love One Another!

 

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.  Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

 

—1 John 4:7-8 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Since You are love, help me to know You more and more each day—so that, as Your very own child, I would love You first, love You best, and love You always. Then help me prove my love for You by loving others as You have first loved me.

 

Show me how apart from You I cannot truly love—that I first must come to know You, through Your Word and by Your Spirit, and in doing so, learn to know, accept, and personally experience Your great love for me.

 

Remind me that I am Your child, made in Your very own image! And that as such, I was created to be a vehicle of Your love—to share with others that same love which I have experienced in my own life, through my personal relationship with You.

 

Continue to fill me to overflowing with Your perfect love—that the same compassionate and merciful love, with which You have so graciously loved me, would pour out from me in love for others.

 

Since You are love, help me to know You more and more each day—so that, as Your very own child, I would love You first, love You best, and love You always.  Then help me prove my love for You by loving others as You have first loved me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.