The Amazing Deeds of the LORD!

 

 

How amazing are the deeds of the LORD!
    All who delight in him should ponder them.
Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
    His righteousness never fails.

 

—Psalm 111:2-3 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Oh, that I would faithfully delight in You—pondering Your amazing deeds, reflecting on Your glory and majesty, and marveling at Your unfailing righteousness—so that every aspect of my life would remain centered on You!

 

Help me to rekindle that awestruck wonder that I first had for the truly amazing and awesome things that You have done—both for me and for others—out of Your great love for all of us.

 

Help me to look for the amazing in the common place occurrences of my day and give You all the honor, glory and praise that You deserve—for all the things You have done, are doing now, and have yet to bring to pass.

 

Don’t let my familiarity with the story of my own life dull my sense of gratitude for how You have always been faithful to reveal Yourself to me—allowing me to experience for myself the truth of Your never-failing righteousness.

 

With great joy and excitement, help me look for opportunities to tell the story of Your goodness and Your faithfulness to me—so that others would come to believe how truly great You are, and be drawn to receive Christ for themselves!

 

Oh, that I would faithfully delight in You—pondering Your amazing deeds, reflecting on Your glory and majesty, and marveling at Your unfailing righteousness—so that every aspect of my life would remain centered on You!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

No Worries!

 

 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Thank You, that I don’t have to waste one more moment of time worrying—because You are the God who protects me, provides for my every need, and gives me peace beyond my own understanding, as I live my life in Christ Jesus.

 

When the enemy does all he can do to make me worry, as he attacks me with his lies, help me to pray to You in faith—remembering that You are the One who holds every moment of my life in Your loving hands.

 

Help me to run to You with whatever is bothering me and ask You for what I need—knowing that as I let my worries go, give them over to You, and leave them all in Your hands, You will do what only You can do and will multiply Your peace back to me.

 

When that flood of negative thoughts assaults me, remind me to thank You for how You have always carried me through my life—providing for my every need and consistently working for my good.

 

Show me that You have given me a way to escape the torment, quiet the enemy, and experience Your peace—when I hold my thoughts captive until they line up with the Truth of Your Word, so that Your peace can guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

 

Thank You, that I don’t have to waste one more moment of time worrying—because You are the God who protects me, provides for my every need, and gives me peace beyond my own understanding, as I live my life in Christ Jesus.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

What is Good

 

 

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)

 

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

Help me to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with You, today.

 

Thank You, for showing me Your character and Your will through Your Word—so that, out of my own personal experience with the goodness I see demonstrated in You, I am able to understand what is good.

 

Help me live out my life with an overflowing gratefulness for the gifts of Your unrelenting and unfailing love, Your ultimate sacrifice for my redemption, and the fullness of my salvation.

 

Let that heart of gratefulness govern my thoughts, words, and actions—so I might always respond by doing what is right and just in Your sight.

 

Help me to live my life in service to You and to others—in demonstration of the love and mercy that has been poured out on me.

 

And help me to walk with You—living for You and drawing my very essence from You—with a humble spirit that is void of pride.

 

Help me to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with You, today.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

His 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,

 

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. 

  

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 throughout my life I can personally experience Your faithfulness to all Your promises—because You are always faithful to Your Word.

 

Help me to find within Your Word all the armor I need to cover me when attacked, and the protection that keeps me from harm. 

 

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.

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.