A Dangerous Trap!

 

 

 

Fearing people is a dangerous trap,
    but trusting the LORD means safety.

 

—Proverbs 29:25 (NLT)

 

 

Loving and Caring LORD,

 

Keep me far from the dangerous trap of fearing people—whether it is a fear of what they may think of me, or a fear of what they might try to do to me, or even a fear of what they might choose to do to themselves—and help me find my safety and rest in trusting You.

 

Don’t allow me to let my fear of people keep me from doing that which You have called me to do, or from being who You have called me to be—but help me keep my eyes focused on You, so that I won’t be enslaved by the power that the fear of others can hold over me.

Let me fear You only—to respect, reverence, and honor You with wholehearted trust—knowing that You are well able to turn what others intend for evil into great good, and to protect me and provide for my every need, through Christ Jesus.

And let me fully experience the liberating freedom of rejoicing in all things, by placing them and leaving them all—both the overwhelmingly big and the seemingly small—in Your hands for safe keeping, with the absolute assurance that You are always in control and want the very best for us all.

Keep me far from the dangerous trap of fearing people—whether it is a fear of what they may think of me, or a fear of what they might try to do to me, or even a fear of what they might choose to do to themselves—and help me find my safety and rest in trusting You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Into Light

 

You, LORD, keep my lamp burning;

    my God turns my darkness into light.

 

—Psalm 18:28 (NIV)

 

 

 

 

Light of my life,

 

May the oil of Your Holy Spirit always keep the light of my lamp burning brightly—illuminating me from within and turning my darkness into glorious light!

 

When I begin to allow my troubles and trials to overwhelm me, pour out again the oil of Your Holy Spirit within me to keep my lamp burning—to comfort my spirit with hope and lead me forth in peace.

 

When I find it hard to see the way which You would have me go, help me step out in faith and believe that You will lead me, as You make the way clear before me—lighting each next step along Your path for me.

 

Cause my lamp, which is the Light of Christ, to shine so brightly within me, that it drives out all the darkness hidden there. And make that same Light shine through me, to touch a dark world that so desperately needs to know the joy of Your Presence and the depth of Your love for them.

 

May the oil of Your Holy Spirit always keep the light of my lamp burning brightly—illuminating me from within and turning my darkness into glorious light!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Everything!

 

 

Our hearts ache, but we always have joy.  We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others.  We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

 

—2 Corinthians 6:10 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Thank You for making it possible for me to experience a deep and abiding joy in You—a joy that is not dependent on my circumstances and is mine to keep—as I fix my eyes on Christ and look to Him to be everything I need, and more.

 

There will always be times when my heart will ache—because of the loss, disappointments, and injustices that I experience personally, or that I may observe in the world around me.  

 

But You came to give me hope, that my heart would rejoice in You—as I trust in Your sovereignty, mercy, grace and love, as I watch for You to work all things together for my good, and as I trust You to guide me to my forever home with You.

 

Help me to remember that You have given me this hope-filled joy, so that I will always have something to give to others—no matter how poor I might be—that their joy might also be full.

 

What joy is mine to know that—even though I own nothing in this world, because everything I have belongs to You—I have everything I need and more, in Christ!

 

Thank You for making it possible for me to experience a deep and abiding joy in You—a joy that is not dependent on my circumstances and is mine to keep—as I fix my eyes on Christ and look to Him to be everything I need, and more.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

I Sought the LORD!

 

 

I sought the LORD, and He answered me,
    And delivered me from all my fears.

 

—Psalm 34:4 (NASB)

 

 

 

 

 

O LORD, My Deliverer,

 

Thank You for delivering me from all my fears!

 

For far too much of my life, I lived full of fear—not knowing intimately, nor trusting completely, the One who could deliver me from that fear and usher me into the abundant life that He wanted me to experience.

 

But then I sought You. I searched Your Word for Truth, studied to understand who You are and all that You have done, and I prayed to You. I found that You are the God who can be found—the Father who wants to have a deep and personal relationship with each of His children.

 

I found that You are the God who hears and answers my prayers, according to the perfect plans that You have for me, always with my best interests at heart—out of Your great love for me. 

 

I discovered, through my personal experience of relationship with You, that You are faithful—that You are who You say You are, and that You do what You say You will do—and that my trust is never misplaced when I put my trust in You.

 

And then, I looked back at where I started and followed my path to where You have brought me thus far, and I realized I was no longer afraid. You had delivered me from all my fears. Now, fear no longer has a hold on me, and I am free to continue becoming all that You have called me to be in Christ.

 

Thank You for delivering me from all my fears!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Effective, Powerful, and Accurate

 

 

I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective and powerful because of your accurate knowledge of every good thing which is ours in Christ.

 

—Philemon 1:6 (AMP)

 

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Help me to share my faith effectively and powerfully—so that others might come to know You, too.

 

Teach me from Your Word every good thing which is mine in Christ—as I read and study Your Word, and as I listen for Your Spirit to instruct me—so that my knowledge would be accurate.

 

As I share my faith, remind me to begin with what I know to be true from my own life about the good things that are mine in Christ.  

 

And don’t let the things that I don’t yet fully understand hold me back from sharing what I do know to be true—those things I have learned from the riches of my personal experience with You.

 

Remind me that it is easy to tell the story of my faith, because You have written that story on the pages of my life—with the pen of Your love for me.

 

Help me to share my faith effectively and powerfully—so that others might come to know You, too.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

The Light That Leads to Life

 

 

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

 

—John 8:12 (NLT)

 

 

 

Gracious Heavenly Father,

 

Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be the Light of the World—so that we wouldn’t have to walk in darkness!

 

Thank You that the darkness of evil doesn’t have the power—nor will it ever have the power—to overcome that Light we find in the Creator of life itself, Jesus Christ, whose life brings light to all humankind.  

 

Thank You that though I once was a prisoner to the evil at work in me—an evil which held me captive in sin—I am now free from its bondage, because of the Light, which exposed the works of darkness in me and showed me my desperate need for a Savior.

 

Thank You that, as I follow after Jesus, I don’t have to walk in darkness—blindly stumbling through life, driven by evil to fall into sin—but I can choose to walk in the Light of Your Truth, which leads me to life, because of the power of Christ within me.

 

Thank You that, in Jesus, I experience Your presence with me, Your love for me, Your protection over me, Your provision for all my needs, and Your guidance, as You reveal Your plan for me to truly live in the freedom of Your marvelous Light.

 

Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be the Light of the World—so that we wouldn’t have to walk in darkness!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

I Devoured Them!

 

 

When I discovered your words, I devoured them.
    They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
    O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.

 

 —Jeremiah 15:16 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Dear LORD,

 

Keep me hungry—eager to receive and ready to apply every word that You would speak into my life. Let Your words be my joy and my heart’s delight!

 

Continue to speak to my heart through Your Holy Spirit, and by that same Spirit reveal and illuminate the words of the Bible to my spirit—that I might devour the fresh Truth that You have waiting there for me to discover.

 

Use that Truth to help me grow in obedience and faithfulness to You, so that I can live my life submitted to Truth and can become all that You have planned for me to be in Christ—for Your own glory and honor and praise.

 

For it is in Your words that I find my strength and hope! And in them I discover the responsibilities of obedience that I carry, because I have been chosen—and I have chosen—to bear Your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies!

 

Keep me hungry—eager to receive and ready to apply every word that You would speak into my life. Let Your words be my joy and my heart’s delight!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Each Heart

 

 

Each heart knows its own bitterness,
    and no one else can fully share its joy.

 

—Proverbs 14:10 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Help me to remember that only You can fully know the depths of the hearts of the those around me—and help me to carefully consider that truth, and love them with all the love of Christ.

 

Teach me to look through eyes of compassion at each person I encounter, realizing that I do not fully know the particular experiences that have helped to shape them into the persons that they now are—whether for the good, or for the bad.

 

Don’t let me forget that each person’s heart carries its own bitterness and pain—each heart its own hurts, wounds and brokenness—which cry out, searching for healing wherever it might be found.  

 

Use me to help point the broken-hearted to Your Son, and our Savior, Jesus—the only One that can bring true healing to the broken—as I speak truth and grace, motivated by love, into their lives.

 

And help me also to rejoice with those whose hearts are rejoicing—though I can never fully share the joy that is uniquely theirs—in order that my own joy would be awakened within me, and my mouth would be filled with praise to You.

 

Help me to remember that only You can fully know the depths of the hearts of the those around me—and help me to carefully consider that truth, and love them with all the love of Christ.

 

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)

 

 

 

Gracious and Loving God,

 

You are love!  May I receive all Your love for me and return that love by loving You above all others. May the proof of my love for You be evident in the way I love others, just 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—so that the same compassionate and merciful love, with which You have so graciously loved me, would overflow from me to others.

 

You are love!  May I receive all Your love for me and return that love by loving You above all others. May the proof of my love for You be evident in the way I love others, just as You have first loved me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Do What It Says!

 

 

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

 

—James 1:22 (NLT)

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Don’t allow me to fool myself!  Help me not only to listen to Your Word, but also willingly choose to do what it says!

 

Save me from the self-deception that I am accomplishing something good when I merely listen to Your Word, but then walk away—failing to embrace and apply its instructions to my life.

 

Help me always to approach Your Word carefully and with proper reverence for the power of the Truth that it contains—that power to change me, from within, into all that You have called me to be.

 

Help me to invest the time to look carefully into the perfect law that sets me free, so that I can understand it, do what it says, remember what I have heard, and enjoy the freedom that living by Your Word can bring me.

 

Don’t allow me to fool myself!  Help me not only to listen to Your Word, but also willingly choose to do what it says!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Come and Talk!

 

 

Hear me as I pray, O LORD.

    Be merciful and answer me!

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”

    And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.”

 

—Psalm 27:7-8 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Gracious and Loving LORD,

 

When within my heart I hear You calling, “Come and talk with me,” let my response always be an eager, “LORD, I am coming!”

 

Grant me the kind of faith that fully believes that You hear me when I pray—and that You answer me in Your perfect timing, according to Your sovereign purpose and plan for my life, and always with my best interest at heart.

 

Let me experience the wonderous depths of Your merciful love and goodness—as You faithfully answer me and draw me into the unfathomable peace of Your abiding presence once again.

 

Give me the strength to push aside every distraction and accept this gracious invitation into Your glorious presence, knowing that it is in Your presence—within that place of intimate fellowship with You—that everything I need to accomplish Your will for my life is supplied.

 

When within my heart I hear You calling, “Come and talk with me,” let my response always be an eager, “LORD, I am coming!”

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

No Rock Like Our God!

 

 

No one is holy like the LORD!

    There is no one besides you;

    there is no Rock like our God.

 

—1 Samuel 2:2 (NLT)

 

 

 

Unchanging and Holy LORD,

 

There is no one like You, LORD!  You are my Rock—firm and unchanging—the strong and solid foundation of my life.

 

Because you are Holy—and because there is no one Holy as you are—I can confidently place all my trust and hope in You. 

 

May I build upon the foundation of unchanging truth that I find in You—as declared in Your Word, revealed by Your Spirit, and demonstrated in my life through my experience of trusting You.

 

May I set my eyes only on those things eternal, so that when the things of this world slip through my hands and fall away, I will remain standing on the Rock—my ever-present, never-changing, and never-failing Hope!

 

There is no one like You, LORD!  You are my Rock—firm and unchanging, the strong and solid foundation of my life.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

Those Who Wish to Boast

 

This is what the LORD says:

“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,

    or the powerful boast in their power,

    or the rich boast in their riches. 

But those who wish to boast

    should boast in this alone:

that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD

    who demonstrates unfailing love

    and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,

and that I delight in these things.

    I, the LORD, have spoken!”

 

—Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NLT)

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

May I never boast in my own wisdom, power, or riches—but may I instead know You for who You are and understand that You are the LORD!

 

Help me not to depend on my own wisdom to get me safely home to You—but rather help me depend on the wisdom I find in Your Word, as revealed by Your Spirit.

 

Help me not to depend on my own strength—but rather help me to find my strength in the power of Your righteous right hand to hold me up so that, though I may stumble, I will not fall.

 

Help me not to depend on my own riches, which are here today and gone tomorrow, to sustain my needs—but rather help me to depend on Your unending provision for every need that I have by Your immeasurable riches in glory.

 

Help me to seek to know You more intimately—so that my understanding of the truth of who You are, and of who I am in Christ, will carry me through all things, according to the power of Your unfailing love for me.

 

May I never boast in my own wisdom, power, or riches—but may I instead know You for who You are and understand that You are the LORD!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.