The LORD and His Strength

 

Search for the LORD

 and for his strength;
    continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
    his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
you children of his servant Abraham,
    you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

 

—Psalm 105:4-6 (NLT)

 

 

 

Loving LORD,

When I lose my way, when I no longer feel Your strength in me, stir my heart to search for You—to continually seek You.

 

Help me to remember that, just as You chose the descendants of Abraham and Jacob as Your own, You chose me and received me as Your own.

 

And help me not to forget all the wonders that You have performed, Your miracles, and the rulings and instructions that You have given—both as recorded in the Bible, and as I have experienced personally in my own walk with You.

 

Then move me to respond to Your immeasurable love for me, with a grateful heart, and in faithful obedience to everything You have taught me and to everything that You ask me to do.

 

And help me to walk through each moment of all the rest of my days in that strength, so I will come to understand more and more how You are at work in me, through me and all around me—both now and always.

 

When I lose my way, when I no longer feel Your strength in me, stir my heart to search for You—to continually seek You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

With JOY!

 

 

If your instructions hadn’t sustained me with joy,

    I would have died in my misery.

I will never forget your commandments,

    for by them you give me life.

 

—Psalm 119:92-93 (NLT)

 

 

 

Father God,

 

Thank You for the sustaining joy and the abundant life that You give to all who will listen to Your instructions—to those who are careful to remember, and to obey, Your commandments!

 

Too much of my life I wandered from Your instructions—reaping the consequences of my disobedience—until finally I learned that each of Your instructions are meant to benefit me, not to harm me or hold me back from life in any way.

 

When I learned to follow Your instructions and ordered my steps by Your commandments, trouble still came my way—but misery could no longer take away my life, for You sustained me with a deep and abiding joy!

 

Let me never forget Your commands, for by them You give me abundant life—life that is rich, and deep, and full, and overflowing—so that I can do everything You have called me to do, and be all that You have called me to be, for Your glory, honor, and praise.

 

Thank You for the sustaining joy and the abundant life that You give to all who will listen to Your instructions—to those who are careful to remember, and to obey, Your commandments!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Filled With Light!

 

 

“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.”

 

—Matthew 6:22 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

 

Sovereign God,

 

Help me remember that a healthy eye is one that has fixed its gaze upon You. So let my eyes see You, all around me, in each moment of every day and night.

 

Fill me with the Light of Life—as You reveal Yourself to me and cause the lamps of my eyes to flood my whole body with the Light that gives Life to my soul.

 

Fill me with the Light of Truth that I find in You—and help me walk in that Truth, unmoved by my circumstances, wholly devoted to Your Word, Your Will, and Your Way.

 

Fill me with the Light of Love—and help me to accept and receive the fullness of the Love of Christ, so that I can’t help but release that same Love to every person that You put before me.

 

Help me remember that a healthy eye is one that has fixed its gaze upon You. So let my eyes see You, all around me, in each moment of every day and night.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Your Unfailing Love, Our Hope!

 

 

Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD,
    for our hope is in you alone.

 

—Psalm 33:22 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Loving and Merciful LORD,

May I forever place all my hope in You, LORD—as You faithfully surround me with Your unfailing love.

 

Teach me not to place my hope in my possessions. Help me to understand that what I have is not my own, but Yours—and remind me that if it were all stripped away from me today, I would have lost nothing, because I still have You, the One who is everything to me.

 

Teach me not to place my hope in other people. Help me to see that other people are human and just like me, they sometimes disappoint, they sometimes fail, and they sometimes let me down. Remind me that even if everyone else abandoned me, You would still be with me always.

 

Teach me not to place my hope in my position or in my own strength. Help me to see that any position or strength that I have was given by Your hand—to be used for Your glory and not my own—and that even if I was removed from my position and all strength was drained from me, You would still uphold me in Your everlasting arms.

May I forever place all my hope in You, LORD—as You faithfully surround me with Your unfailing love.

 

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.

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.

This is the Way!

 

 

Your own ears will hear him.

        Right behind you a voice will say,

    “This is the way you should go,”

        whether to the right or to the left.

 

    —Isaiah 30:21 (NLT)

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Help me to listen for the voice of Your Spirit—as You faithfully guide me along the best path for me, today.

 

Help me to know, understand, and believe that You always have my best interests at heart and that every path You will guide me down will be for my good—when I carefully listen and willingly obey.

 

As I walk in all Your ways, unfold before me the plans that You have for me—and help me to learn the things You have for me to learn, to remember what You have taught me, and to faithfully apply those lessons to my life, that I might better live for You.

 

Don’t allow me to wander from Your side—to leave the protection, provision, peace, and purpose that I find only when I remain with You—but let me walk each step I take under Your divine direction.

 

Help me to listen for the voice of Your Spirit—as You faithfully guide me along the best path for me, today.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

Faith, Love, Hope

 

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

—1 Thessalonians 1:3 (NIV)

 

 

My God and Father,

 

Make me ever mindful that a person’s best work is produced by faith, that a person’s most honest labor is prompted by love, and that a person’s strength to endure all things can only be inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Help me to remember to give thanks for those people that You have placed in my life whose best work is produced out of their absolute faith in You—for their example of steadfast faith, which challenges me to trust You more.

 

And to give thanks for those who emulate well Christ’s labor of love toward all those He died to save—whose example of Christ’s love in action, prompts me to love more deeply and express that love more completely.

 

And to give thanks for those whose endurance is made possible only by their hope in our Lord Jesus Christ—for their example of long-suffering, which inspires me to endure my struggles because of the hope that stands forever before me.

  

Make me ever mindful that a person’s best work is produced by faith, that a person’s most honest labor is prompted by love, and that a person’s strength to endure all things can only be inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

No Complaining and Whining!

 

Now the people became like those who complain and whine about their hardships, and the LORD heard it; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and devoured those in the outlying parts of the camp.  —Numbers 11:1 (AMP)

 

Sovereign LORD,

 

Help me not to become like those who complain and whine about their hardships!  Help me instead be grateful in all things—recognizing that the mercy and grace that You have poured out on me infinitely exceeds any momentary hardships I might encounter here in this life!

 

It is easy to fall into the trap that the enemy has set for me—to join in with the culture around me and focus my attention on everything that seems wrong in my life and find myself stirring up Your anger against my ingratitude.

 

Like the Israelites, You have called us, as believers, to be set apart from the world we live in—declaring the praises of our God—that others might see that we are different and be drawn to the Light of Christ in us.

 

Help me remember that this doesn’t happen when what comes out of my mouth sounds no different than the rest of the world—that I can’t sing Your praises and complain about the circumstances that You have sovereignly allowed to me to experience at the same time!

 

Show me that, in all things and at all times, You are working everything together for my good, because You love me and have called me according to Your purpose for me.

 

Help me not to become like those who complain and whine about their hardships!  Help me instead be grateful in all things—recognizing that the mercy and grace that You have poured out on me infinitely exceeds any momentary hardships I might encounter here in this life!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

As Far As It Depends On You

 

Never repay anyone evil for evil. Take thought for what is right and gracious and proper in the sight of everyone.  If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

 

—Romans 12:17-18 (AMP)   

      

 

Prince of Peace, 

 

Let Your peace remain in me, by helping me to be a person who resists the impulse of my flesh to repay evil with evil and chooses the better way—the way that is right and gracious and proper—so that my actions don’t diminish the possibility of me living at peace with everyone.

 

Help me to remember that any evil that I do to others, in response to evil they have done to me, will only breed more evil—and that if I choose this destructive course, evil will always have me in its ever-tightening grip.

 

Let me instead enjoy the freedom that comes from being one who walks uprightly before others—being careful to love others in the same way You have loved me—so that I might represent You well and sow seeds of peace wherever I go.

 

And while I know that it will not always be possible for me to live at peace with everyone, remind me that I must always do my part to be a peacemaker—by speaking only the truth, granting an abundance of grace to all, letting Your love guide my thoughts, and making that same love be the sole motive behind everything I say and do.  

 

Let Your peace remain in me by helping me to be a person who resists the impulse of my flesh to repay evil with evil and chooses the better way—the way that is right and gracious and proper—so that my actions don’t diminish the possibility of me living at peace with everyone. 

 

For the glory of Your Name, Lord Jesus, Amen.

Remember!

 

Remember the things I have done in the past.

    For I alone am God!

    I am God, and there is none like me.

Only I can tell you the future

    before it even happens.

Everything I plan will come to pass,

    for I do whatever I wish.

 

—Isaiah 46:9-10 (NLT)

 

O LORD GOD,

 

Remind me that You are God and there is none like You—that only You know the end of from the beginning, and that Your plan will always come to pass, because You are ultimately in control of everything that happens, and You answer to no one.

 

When I don’t understand what is happening around me, and I begin to fear the evil of this world, help me to remember and reflect on all the amazing ways that You have kept me safely sheltered in Your hands—providing for my every need—as You have led me down Your best path for me.

 

Help me to be comforted in the truth that You are Holy and Just—that every evil thing that is done in darkness will be brought to light one day to be judged, and You will one day vanquish all evil, just as You have promised in Your Word.

 

Show me how to see Your hand at work in everything that is presently happening around us, as You unfold before us Your plans to usher us into the glorious future that You have waiting for those who faithfully believe that You alone are God, and there is none like You!

 

Remind me that You are God and there is none like You—that only You know the end of from the beginning, and that Your plan will always come to pass, because You are ultimately in control of everything that happens, and You answer to no one.

 

In the name of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Continually Seek The LORD

 

Search for the LORD

 and for his strength;
    continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
    his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
you children of his servant Abraham,
    you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

 

—Psalm 105:4-6 (NLT)

 

Loving LORD,

When I lose my way, when I no longer feel Your strength in me, stir my heart to search for You—to continually seek You.

 

Help me to remember that, just as You chose the descendants of Abraham and Jacob as Your own, You chose me and received me as Your own.

 

And help me not to forget all the wonders that You have performed, Your miracles, and the rulings and instructions that You have given—both as recorded in the Bible, and as I have experienced personally in my own walk with You.

 

Then move me to respond to Your immeasurable love for me, with a grateful heart, and in faithful obedience to everything You have taught me and to everything that You ask me to do.

 

And help me to walk through each moment of all the rest of my days in that strength, so I will come to understand more and more how You are at work in me, through me and all around me—both now and always.

 

When I lose my way, when I no longer feel Your strength in me, stir my heart to search for You—to continually seek You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Sustained with Joy!

 

If your instructions hadn’t sustained me with joy,

    I would have died in my misery.

I will never forget your commandments,

    for by them you give me life.

 

—Psalm 119:92-93 (NLT)

 

Father God,

 

Thank You for the sustaining joy and the abundant life that You give to all who will listen to Your instructions—to those who are careful to remember, and to obey, Your commandments!

 

Too much of my life I wandered from Your instructions—reaping the consequences of my disobedience—until finally I learned that each of Your instructions are meant to benefit me, not to harm me or hold me back from life in any way.

 

When I learned to follow Your instructions and ordered my steps by Your commandments, trouble still came my way—but misery could no longer take away my life, for You sustained me with a deep and abiding joy!

 

Let me never forget Your commands, for by them You give me abundant life—life that is rich, and deep, and full, and overflowing—so that I can do everything You have called me to do, and be all that You have called me to be, for Your glory, honor, and praise.

 

Thank You for the sustaining joy and the abundant life that You give to all who will listen to Your instructions—to those who are careful to remember, and to obey, Your commandments!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

When Your Eye is Healthy

“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.”

 

—Matthew 6:22 (NLT)

 

Sovereign God,

 

Help me remember that a healthy eye is one that has fixed its gaze upon You. So let my eyes see You, all around me, in each moment of every day and night.

 

Fill me with the Light of Life—as You reveal Yourself to me and cause the lamps of my eyes to flood my whole body with the Light that gives Life to my soul.

 

Fill me with the Light of Truth that I find in You—and help me walk in that Truth, unmoved by my circumstances, wholly devoted to Your Word, Your Will, and Your Way.

 

Fill me with the Light of Love—and help me to accept and receive the fullness of the Love of Christ, so that I can’t help but release that same Love to every person that You put before me.

 

Help me remember that a healthy eye is one that has fixed its gaze upon You. So let my eyes see You, all around me, in each moment of every day and night.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.