Open My Eyes to See!

 

 

Open my eyes to see
    the wonderful truths in your instructions.
I am only a foreigner in the land.
    Don’t hide your commands from me!

 

—Psalm 119:18-19 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

 

Loving LORD,

 

Do not hide Your commands from me, but rather open my eyes and let me see and understand the wonderful truths in your instructions—so that I may find my way through this foreign land, down the path that leads me safely home to You.

 

Do not ever let me forget that Your Word contains every instruction that I need to navigate this evil world through which I now pass—that Your Word shows me how to live protected by Your peace, filled with Your joy, and strengthened by Your presence in me—as You make provision for my every need.

 

Help me faithfully search Your Word and be filled with the truths that You have waiting there for me.  Then help me to apply each truth to my life—that I might better honor You with my life and bring glory to Your Holy Name.

 

Command me in the way that I should go!  Never withhold Your instructions from me and grant that I would willingly submit to Your Word and Your Spirit—for You are the only One who knows the good plans You have for me.

 

Do not hide Your commands from me, but rather open my eyes and let me see and understand the wonderful truths in your instructions—so that I may find my way through this foreign land, down the path that leads me safely home to You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Motives and Intents

 

 

All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions],
But the LORD weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth].

 

—Proverbs 16:2 (AMP)

 

 

 

 

 

All-Knowing LORD,

 

You alone know the truth about the motives and intents of my heart—so I ask You to show me my heart and help me to surrender all my ways to You. Make my heart Your Home!

 

Don’t allow me to deceive myself into believing that all my ways are clean and innocent—but help me to find the truth behind the reasons for what I do, so that I can more perfectly submit my thoughts, words, plans and actions to Your will for me.

 

Help me to live every moment of my life in willing obedience to the instruction of Your Word and according to the promptings of Your Holy Spirit—so that I can live an emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually healthy life of Truth.

 

Help me never to try to hide my impurity from You but openly come before You to confess and repent of my sin and ask You to change me by Your mercy, forgiveness and grace—fully aware that You already know every imperfection in me but love me anyway.

 

You alone know the truth about the motives and intents of my heart—so I ask You to show me my heart and help me to surrender all my ways to You. Make my heart Your Home!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Waiting for You!

 

 

But I am deaf to all their threats.
    I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.

I choose to hear nothing,
    and I make no reply.

For I am waiting for you, O LORD.
    You must answer for me, O Lord my God.

—Psalm 38:13-15 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

O Lord my God,

 

When I feel threatened by others, when I feel offended, or I am falsely accused, keep me from being provoked into sin. Help me keep control of my mind, will, and emotions, as I wait in faith for You to answer for me.

 

Make me as if I were deaf to all the threats of others, as You remind me who I am in Christ. For I am Your dearly loved child, whom You have carefully and uniquely crafted according to Your perfect plans and purposes for me. You hold my life in Your hands.

 

By Your mercy and grace, let my mouth remain closed and my heart remain at peace—as if I cannot speak at all—until Your words fill my mouth with truth and grace, and love requires that they be spoken.

 

Help me to choose not to hear their unjustified attacks against me. For I know that their accusations are not about me but come from the brokenness of their own hearts—that their words are born out of their own hurts and not out of their hatred for me.

 

Never allow me to reply from my own understanding, but rather help me wait for You. For I trust You to answer and set all things right, according to Your perfect timing and purpose—as I remain surrendered and submitted to Your will for my life.

 

When I feel threatened by others, when I feel offended, or I am falsely accused, keep me from being provoked into sin. Help me keep control of my mind, will, and emotions, as I wait in faith for You to answer for me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen. 

Show True Humility

 

 

 

Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.  They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone. 
—Titus 3:1-2 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help me to take seriously my responsibility to submit to the government and its officers—as long as doing so does not violate Your commands.

 

Your Word commands me to be obedient—especially to Your Word and Your Spirit—and to be ready to do that which is good.

 

Your Word commands me to never slander anyone and to avoid quarreling—to speak only truth, with grace, in love.

 

Your Word commands me to be gentle with others, and to show true humility to everyone—not thinking more highly of myself than I ought to but living within the truth of who I am in Christ—with the knowledge that any good in me comes from You.

 

Help me to take seriously my responsibility to submit to the government and its officers—as long as doing so does not violate Your commands.

 

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.

As God's Obedient Children

 

 

So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

 

 —1 Peter 1:14-16 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Since You have adopted me into Your family, claiming me as one of Your own, help me to live as Your obedient child—rejecting my old life and embracing completely the wonderful new life that You have freely offered me in Christ.

 

Save me from slipping back into the attitudes and patterns of behavior from which You rescued me—those old selfish ways that I once thought served me well, but in fact, only led me closer to my own destruction and death.

 

Since I now know better, let me always be led by Your Spirit, according to the Truth of Your Word. May I be found grateful in every circumstance and willing submitted to You in all things.

 

Continue to sanctify me, making me holy, because You are holy. Help me daily put on the clothing of Christ’s righteousness and be set apart for Your service.

 

Since You have adopted me into Your family, claiming me as one of Your own, help me to live as Your obedient child—rejecting my old life and embracing completely the wonderful new life that You have freely offered me in Christ.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

Remain in My Love!

 

 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” 

—John 15:9-11 (NLT)

 

 

 

Loving Heavenly Father,

 

Help me to remain in the love of Christ, my Savior and Lord, by obeying His commandments—so that I will be continually filled to overflowing with the joy of Christ!

 

Thank You for the perfect love with which You loved Your Son, Jesus, who then loved me with that same perfect love—and gave up His life, so that I would find my life in Him.

 

Help me to remain in His love—in that ongoing and ever-growing love relationship with Him—proving my love for Him by my willing obedience to His every command.

 

For only there, in my complete submission to His instruction, will I find His joy, bubbling up from within me like an overflowing fountain—not only for my own benefit, but for the blessing of all those around me!

 

Help me to remain in the love of Christ, my Savior and Lord, by obeying His commandments—so that I will be continually filled to overflowing with the joy of Christ!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Wait Quietly Before God

 

I wait quietly before God,
    for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress where I will never be shaken.

 

—Psalm 62:1-2 (NLT)

 

 

 

Almighty God,

 

No matter what dangers or difficulties I may face in this life, let me always wait—with confident and quiet expectation—for that glorious and saving victory that can only come from You.

 

Help me always remain in right relationship with You—willingly submitting to You as my Sovereign God and looking to You for help—as a child looks to a good father either to deliver him out of trouble, or to carry him through that trouble in complete safety.

 

Help me not to complain against what You do—as if I could know better than You.  But help me to embrace Your will as my own, choosing to make You the firm and immovable rock upon which my life is built—to make You my only salvation.

 

Let me live in the truth that You are the only strong fortress where I can find quiet shelter from the storms that rage against me—the only place I can hide myself and not be shaken by their fury.

 

No matter what dangers or difficulties I may face in this life, let me always wait—with confident and quiet expectation—for that glorious and saving victory that can only come from You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

 

By the Way You Live

 

 

Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.

 

—Matthew 3:8 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

 

Father God,

 

May the way that I live be evidence of my repentance for my sins—my decision to leave my old ways behind, to turn, and run to You.

 

Save me from the hypocrisy of claiming that I have repented of my sins, when there is no visible proof of my claim to be found in the way that I live my life.

 

Instead, help me show others—by the way I live my life—that I have been changed, been set apart to do Your will, and that I am submitted to Your will, plan and purpose for my life.

 

May the best evidence of this change in me be seen in the way that I love others—with all the compassion, kindness, patience, mercy, forgiveness, and grace which can only come through Christ.

 

May the way that I live be evidence of my repentance for my sins—my decision to leave my old ways behind, to turn, and run to You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Turn Away From Evil!

 

 

Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
    Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

 

—Proverbs 3:7 (NLT)

 

 

 

All-Wise Father,

 

Don't allow me to be impressed with my own wisdom—when You are the only wise God.

 

Keep me from thinking that my own intellect or reasoning will produce any wisdom outside of You—but let me pray, asking You to make me wise, as You reveal Your Truth to me through Your Word and by Your Spirit.

 

Help me humbly and reverently fear and worship You alone and turn my back on all that is evil—repenting of all my sin and determining to find Your best for me—by submitting myself to Your will, plans, and purposes for my life.

 

Grant me the wisdom always to seek You first, in all things, so that my life would be lived out in Truth—both in private moments and in public moments—as a testimony to others, all for Your glory, honor, and praise.

Don't allow me to be impressed with my own wisdom—when You are the only wise God. 

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Seven Detestable Things

 

There are six things the LORD hates—
    no, seven things he detests:
haughty eyes,
    a lying tongue,
    hands that kill the innocent,
a heart that plots evil,
    feet that race to do wrong,
a false witness who pours out lies,
    a person who sows discord in a family.

 —Proverbs 6:16-19 (NLT)

 

 

 

LORD of my Heart,

 

Help me surrender all my heart and life to You—so You would have no reason to detest the things that You find in me.

Remove any haughtiness or conceitedness from within me—especially when my eyes show contempt for others. Keep me from sinning by thinking more highly of myself than I ought to, while undervaluing others.

 

Check me by Your Spirit should any lie be formed in my heart—before it spills across my tongue—that my words would always reflect that I hold Truth as sacred in my life.

 

Purge from me any desire for the shedding of innocent blood—for cruelty or bloodthirstiness.  Help me to have precious reverence for the sanctity of life.

 

Expose any tendency to devise wickedness in my heart or to entertain or rehearse evil plans in my mind—that I might chose to meditate only on what is good and right.

 

Make my feet quick to run to do what is good, so that my feet will be kept from that which is evil.

 

Let me only speak the truth about others—and let those words be pleasing to You—so that I cannot be used as a tool of the enemy for his purposes.

 

And stop me from sowing any seeds of discord among my family—whether my natural family or my brothers and sisters in Christ—that unity would be preserved.

Help me surrender all my heart and life to You—so You would have no reason to detest the things that You find in me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

His Name Will Be Called

 

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

—Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

 

 

 

 

Immanuel, God With Us,

 

Thank You for coming into our world as a baby, living a sinless life, taking our sin on Yourself, and dying in our place to gain, for us, the victory over sin and death—so that we could find our life in You!

 

You were born into the world, through a virgin girl—to be fully human—and You were conceived in her womb, by the Holy Spirit, as the Son of God—to be fully God—and sent to a world in desperate need of a Savior.  

 

You brought a new government, a new covenant—perfect and just in all its ways—that would rest on Your shoulders, and not our own, so that it would never end.

 

You are my Wonderful Counselor—awesomely wonderful in all Your ways and perfectly wise in all Your counsel.

 

You are my Mighty God—strong and powerful on my behalf, protecting me from my enemies, preserving me with Your mighty right hand and never letting me slip from Your loving grip.

 

You are my Everlasting Father—the One who gave life itself in the beginning, the One who gave life to me when I was conceived in my mother’s womb, and the One who gives me life forevermore in You.

 

You are my Prince of Peace—as in You alone do I find that peace that is far greater than I can understand, when I humbly submit myself to Your will for me.

 

Thank You for coming into our world as a baby, living a sinless life, taking our sin on Yourself, and dying in our place to gain, for us, the victory over sin and death—so that we could find our life in You!

 

In Your Most Holy and Glorious Name, Amen.

Share Each Other's Burdens

 

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.  If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

 

—Galatians 6:2-3 (NLT)

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Keep me from getting so caught up in my own self-perceived importance that I fail to be obedient to Your call to share the burdens of those You place in my path.

 

Give me the heart to do the hard work of sharing the burdens of others—of lightening their load of care and helping them back to the peace and joy that You have called them to in Christ.

 

In willingly obedience, let me submit to the law of Christ—to be faithful to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and allow the love of Christ to reach through me, to love others as I have been so greatly loved.

 

Save me from the pride and arrogance that tempts me to think more of myself than I ought to think—when I know that any good in me comes from You alone, and can only be made known when I submit myself completely to Your plans and purposes for me.

Keep me from getting so caught up in my own self-perceived importance that I fail to be obedient to Your call to share the burdens of those You place in my path.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.