Peace, Be Still

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.  But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

—Mark 4:39-40 (NKJV)

Heavenly Father,

Increase in me my faith, so that when the storms of life are raging against me, I will rebuke the wind and confidently speak to the waves, in Your Name, “Peace, be still!” and watch as You still the winds and bring great calm to my soul.

Help me to not be fearful—when I am tormented, battered, and tossed about in the midst of the circumstances in which I find myself—but help me to act in faith.

Help great faith to rise up within me, that I would command peace to my circumstances—in Your all-powerful Name—and wait in total trust that You will calm the storm.

And help me to receive Your peace—the calm You offer for my heart, that peace which far surpasses my ability to comprehend—until the storms have passed.

Increase in me my faith, so that when the storms of life are raging against me, I will rebuke the wind and confidently speak to the waves, in Your Name, “Peace, be still!” and watch as You still the winds and bring great calm to my soul.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Never Rejecting The Truth

Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

—2 Timothy 4:2-4 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

Help me always to be ready to listen to, recognize, receive, accept and apply to my life, all sound and wholesome teaching and preaching of the Word of God.

Help me never be one who—because of his longing to hear and believe only what he wants to hear—rejects the truth and chases after someone who, while believed by many, does not proclaim the Truth of Your Word.

Help me always seek out those preachers and teachers who are prepared—have that sense of urgency and are always ready to lovingly speak Truth—to patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage Your people with good teaching, at all times.

Help me always prayerfully support and attend to those preachers and teachers who are not moved by the opinions of man, but only by the Spirit of God and the Truth of Your Word—and help me to open my heart to accept, through them, what Your Spirit would say to me.

Help me always to be ready to listen to, recognize, receive, accept and apply to my life, all sound and wholesome teaching and preaching of the Word of God.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.