Watch and Pray!

 

 

"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

 

—Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)

 

 

Heavenly Father,  

 

Help me to watch and pray.

 

Help me keep watch against all the schemes of the enemy by living each moment of my life in prayerful fellowship with You—so that my spirit will remain sensitive to every prompting of Your Holy Spirit within me, and my life can be lived in the peace You offer to those who will trust and obey.

 

By Your Holy Spirit, grant me wisdom and discernment to identify and confront any deceit that may lead to temptation. Enable me to counter these falsehoods with the truth of Your Word, so I may experience the liberty inherent in truth.

 

I acknowledge that, although my spirit is willing, my flesh is weak. May I rely on Your Spirit to strengthen me and enable me to resist every temptation I encounter, ensuring that my life is filled with only the best that You have for me.

 

Help me to watch and pray.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Along the Best Pathway for Your Life

 

 

The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.

    I will advise you and watch over you.

Do not be like a senseless horse or mule

    that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

 

—Psalm 32:8-9 (NLT)

 

 

 

Loving LORD,

 

Guide me along the best pathway for my life—advise me and watch over me always.  Let my heart be fully submitted to Your will, Your plan and Your purpose for me.

 

I don’t want to find myself fighting against You—like a senseless or stubborn horse or mule—only to end up having to endure the discipline and deal with the consequences of my foolish disobedience.

 

Help me to remember that the path You lead me down is the best way for me to go—the way that will keep me safe and the direction in which I will find my every need met according to Your plan and Your perfect timing.

 

Help me to seek out Your counsel, listen for Your advice, willingly obey Your instruction—and then, by faith, rest in Your provision, protection, peace, and joy.

 

Guide me along the best pathway for my life—advise me and watch over me always.  Let my heart be fully submitted to Your will, Your plan and Your purpose for me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Cared For by God!

 

I have cared for you since you were born.

    Yes, I carried you before you were born.

I will be your God throughout your lifetime—

    until your hair is white with age.

I made you, and I will care for you.

    I will carry you along and save you.

 

—Isaiah 46:3b-4 (NLT) 

 

 

Everlasting LORD GOD,

 

You are the one true God—the One who made me and loves me, who cares for me, carries me, and saves me!

 

Yes, it is You who made me, and You who has cared for me every day of my life, even from before I was born—always loving me, despite my wanderings—always calling me back into intimate fellowship with You.

 

It is You who has carried me safely into, through, and out of every trial and storm that has come against me—my constant source of strength and the supplier of my every need along the way.

 

And, it is You who will remain faithful to save me, just as You always have—because Your love for me never falters nor fails, and Your plans to bring me good will never change and can never be stopped.

 

So, help me to walk forever in Your peace and experience the fullness of joy that comes from being conscious of Your ever-abiding Presence in every moment of the day ahead—as I choose to believe that what You have said, You will do.

 

You are the one true God—the One who made me and loves me, who cares for me, carries me, and saves me!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Really Listen, Then Act!

 

 

“You see and recognize what is right

    but refuse to act on it.

You hear with your ears,

    but you don’t really listen.”

 

—Isaiah 42:20 (NLT)

 

 

 

Merciful LORD,

 

Help me be the kind of person who not only sees and recognizes what is right but also acts on it—someone who not only hears with his ears, but also really listens, eager to obey every prompting of Your Spirit.

 

When I already know the right thing to do, help me not to hesitate to do it—knowing that my obedience to Your Word is a direct reflection of my love for you, and will be used by You to bring glory to Yourself.

 

From all the things that my ears hear, help me to listen only for Your Voice—knowing that You will tell me everything that I need to know to accomplish Your plan for my life, and will lead me into every good thing that You have for me.

 

Help me to walk with You, by faith, the path that You unfold before me—knowing that Your very best for me can only be found as I trust in Your unfailing love for me, and return that love to You through my heartfelt obedience.

 

Help me be the kind of person who not only sees and recognizes what is right but also acts on it—someone who not only hears with his ears, but also really listens, eager to obey every prompting of Your Spirit.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

The Plans You Have 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 the midst of every circumstance I find myself in, 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.

Live in Truth and Love!

 

 

Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.

 

—2 John 1:3 (NLT)

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Thank You for the promise that Your Word gives me—that grace, mercy and peace will continue to be with me, if I live in truth and love!

 

Thank You for revealing to believers the absolute Truth and the unfailing Love found both in Your written Word and in Your Word made flesh—Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior—who is the perfect expression of love and of truth.

 

Save me from the lies of the enemy which would try to convince me that there is no absolute truth, that I can decided for myself what truth is, or that I can trust my feelings to show me what real love is.  Help me always look to You to guide me into all Truth, that I may always live in the Love you intended for us all to experience.

 

And should I ever find my peace disrupted, Your mercy for me in question, or feel as though Your grace to me is running low, remind me to examine my heart to see if I have walked away from truth and love—and by Your Holy Spirit bring me back to Your Word, that I might repent and be restored.

 

Thank You for the promise that Your Word gives me—that grace, mercy and peace will continue to be with me, if I live in truth and love!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Do Not Love This World

 

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.  For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.  And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

—1 John 2:15-17 (NLT) 

 

Almighty God,

 

Help me to set my love on You alone—so that, through my faith, I would please You with the things that I think, say and do.

 

Help me not to set my love on the world, or the lesser things that this world offers, but help me to find the true treasure of knowing and experiencing all that You are—to me, for me, and in me.

 

Help me to turn away from a self-focused pursuit of the physical pleasures of this world and a desire for everything I see.  Instead may I look for more opportunities to experience You working in me, through me, and all around me.

 

Help me to turn away from prideful attitudes over those things that I have accomplished—knowing that You alone bring me success, and that the success that You bring me is not as the world measures success.

 

Help me to turn away from finding my identity in the possessions I have accumulated—knowing every good thing I have been given has come through Your hands and is not mine at all, but only temporarily entrusted to me to meet my needs—as well as the needs of others—while I am here on earth.

 

Remind me that this world, and all that is in it, is quickly fading away—and that my hope for joy, peace, and everlasting life can only be found in You.

 

Help me to set my love on You alone—so that, through my faith, I would please You with the things that I think, say and do.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Wait Expectantly!

 

 

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice;

    in the morning I lay my requests before you

    and wait expectantly.

 

—Psalm 5:3 (NIV)

 

 

Loving LORD,                        

 

Every morning, let me call out to You with confidence, humbly placing my requests before You. Then let me wait expectantly, in Your Presence, believing You hear me and will answer the cry of my heart.

 

Help me come eagerly and boldly before You each morning—with a deep and abiding reverence for You—knowing my reward will be that I will always find You lovingly waiting to meet with me.

 

Help me to approach Your throne with a heart full of gratitude for this great privilege I have been granted of being welcomed into Your Presence—and for the interest that You have in every detail of what I have to say to You about everything I have on my heart.

 

And when I have shared my heart, help me to remember to be still and wait, quietly and expectantly in Your presence, for You to speak to me about Your best plans for me—knowing that You will withhold no good thing from me and trusting that You always want what is best for me.

 

Every morning, let me call out to You with confidence, humbly placing my requests before You. Then let me wait expectantly, in Your Presence, believing You hear me and will answer the cry of my heart.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

All Your Worries and Cares!

 

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

 

—1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Loving and Compassionate Heavenly Father,

 

Help me remember that when I give all my worries and cares to You, I am giving You a welcomed gift of my faith in Your abounding love for me.

 

May I never forget what Jesus endured on the cross so I can better understand the depth of Your love and care for me and trust You more fully with my life.

 

Show me that when I anxiously try to carry my own worries and concerns—rather than giving them over to You—I am rejecting Your love, walking away from Your care, and discounting what Christ did for me.

 

Let me never allow my circumstances to have control over me. Help me never believe the lie that what I am facing cannot be overcome by You. 

 

Help me always look to You in faith, patiently waiting for the good plans that You have made for me to unfold before me—as You work all things together for my good.

 

Help me remember that when I give all my worries and cares to You, I am giving You a welcomed gift of my faith in Your abounding love for me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

Glorious Splendor, Wondrous Works

 

 

 

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,

And on Your wondrous works.

 

—Psalm 145:5 (NKJV)

 

 

 

Almighty and Glorious God,

 

Let me meditate on the majestic and glorious splendor of who You are and on the wondrous works of Your hand—works that are on full display before me in every moment of my life.

 

Help me to constantly consider the magnificence of Your sovereign power and stand in awe of You, who—by Your great power and by the Word of Your  mouth—created all there is from nothing.

 

Help me to be overwhelmed by the perfect brilliancy of Your character and—since You have made me in Your own image—walk in the hope that I might reflect enough of that brilliance of character that others would be drawn to You by the Christ they see in me.

 

Help me to recognize the wondrous works of Your hand in the beauty that surrounds me and overtakes me—as well as in the minutest details of my personal life—as You reveal to me Your intimate interest in every facet of my existence, by Your faithful and unfailing love.

 

Let me meditate on the majestic and glorious splendor of who You are and on the wondrous works of Your hand—works that are on full display before me in every moment of my life.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

In Humility Value Others

 

 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

 

—Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Save me from my own self-centeredness and any impure, attention-seeking motive in me—so that I might walk in true humility, thinking of others before myself.

 

Help me not to be selfish—always looking at everything to see what’s in it for me, rather than how it might be an opportunity for me to be a part of what You are doing to benefit others.

 

Help me not to try vainly to impress others, but simply just do all I can to please You—as by faith I follow Your will, plan and purpose for me in each and every moment You give me.

 

Keep me humble before You and before others—and help me to value them above myself, so that I am never found to be arrogant, irritable or unapproachable.

 

Help me not to look out for my own interests alone—but make my first effort to look out for the interests of others, with the love of Christ.

 

Save me from my own self-centeredness and any impure, attention-seeking motive in me—so that I might walk in true humility, thinking of others before myself. 

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.