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. 

My Salvation!

 

 

 

O LORD, God of my salvation,
    I cry out day and night before you.

Let my prayer come before you;
    incline your ear to my cry!

 

—Psalm 88:1-2 (ESV)

 

 

 

 

 

LORD God of my salvation,

 

Help me to truly believe that You watch and listen for anyone who will seek You with their whole heart!

 

Move on me by Your Spirit to cry out to You day and night as I face the struggles of this life—reminding me that all my help comes from You, for You alone are my salvation.

 

Assure me with the truth that my prayers do come rising before You—reaching all the way into Your Holy Presence.

 

May You always incline Your ear to the voice of my cries, hear the pleading of my heart, and answer me in love—according to Your perfect will and purpose for me.

 

Help me to truly believe that You watch and listen for anyone who will seek You with their whole heart!

 

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.

 

Perfect Instructions, Trustworthy Decrees

 

The instructions of the LORD are perfect,
    reviving the soul.
The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.

 

— Psalm 19:7 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

 

Dear LORD,

 

Thank You for giving me Your Word—that perfect instruction manual for my life! Your Word brings new life to my soul and shows me how even a simple man like me can become wise.

 

Thank You, that Your instructions are perfect and pure—full of only that which is good for me, and designed to equip me in every way, for every good work that You have planned for me.

 

Thank You, that Your instructions revive and renew my mind, will, and emotions, with new strength, so that I can continue to walk in that close, personal relationship with You which brings me life.

 

Thank You, that Your decrees are trustworthy, that Your words represent Your holy will and go forth in Your power. They endure throughout all generations and fulfill their purpose, as I honor them with my life.

 

Thank You that as simple-minded as I am, through Your words I grow in understanding and judgment. They give me insight into Your ways, and even grant me revelation of things that are yet to come. Your words make me wise.

 

Thank You for giving me Your Word—that perfect instruction manual for my life! Your Word brings new life to my soul and shows me how even a simple man like me can become wise.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

The Course of World Events

 

 

He said, 

“Praise the name of God forever and ever,
    for he has all wisdom and power.
He controls the course of world events;
    he removes kings and sets up other kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the scholars.”

—Daniel 2:20-21 (NLT)

 

 

 

Sovereign God Almighty,

 

May I never forget that it is You who controls the course of world events.  It is You who removes kings and sets up other kings—for Your divine purposes, by Your unlimited power, and according to Your infinite wisdom.

 

Let me praise Your name, O God, forever and ever, for You have all wisdom and power—and it is You who gives wisdom and knowledge to men who are wise enough to seek You, and who study to know You.

 

So, may I never second-guess the wisdom of things that You do—as if I could ever know better than You.  Let me instead trust in the Truth that You control everything and will use all things to accomplish Your Will.

 

Help me to continue to seek You, that I might grow in wisdom and understanding, and teach me the lessons You have for me, when things don’t go the way I think they should.  Then lead me forward by Your Spirit in the good  work You have given me to do.

 

May I never forget that it is You who controls the course of world events.  It is You who removes kings and sets up other kings—for Your divine purposes, by Your unlimited power, and according to Your infinite wisdom.

 

In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Be Transformed!

 

 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

—Romans 12:2 (ESV)

 

 

 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Transform me into a new person by changing the way I think—so I can learn to know Your good and pleasing and perfect will for me.

 

Grant me the wisdom not to copy any of those behaviors, customs and values of this world, which are birthed out of selfish pride and nurtured with corruption—those things that this world so quickly and casually accepts.

 

Do the work of transformation in me—by the power of Your Holy Spirit—so that my thoughts will be like Your thoughts and Your ways will become the only ways that I choose to follow.

 

Help me to learn to know Your will for me—and to trust that Your will is good, pleasing and perfect—so that I can walk down every path You place before me in willing obedience, confident that it will lead to Your very best for me.

 

Transform me into a new person by changing the way I think—so I can learn to know Your good and pleasing and perfect will for me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

Teach Me!

 

 

Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

 

—Psalm 143:10 (NASB)

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Teach me, both to know what Your will is and to do it always, so that my journey here on earth is marked by a faithful and settled course of holy living—as You lead me, by Your good Spirit, on that level ground that takes me to my eternal home with You.

 

Teach me!  Let Your good Spirit open the eyes of my understanding, so that I am fully able to discern the depths of meaning found in Your Holy Scriptures—so I can always know Your will.

 

Teach me!  Let Your good Spirit usher me into the plans You have for me, as I step out in faith to do Your will—so I can always walk within the safety of Your will.

 

Teach me!  Let Your good Spirit continue to do Your work of sanctification within me, so that my life would become wholly set apart for You—so I can always live to the glory of Your will.

 

Teach me, both to know what Your will is and to do it always, so that my journey here on earth is marked by a faithful and settled course of holy living—as You lead me, by Your good Spirit, on that level ground that takes me to my eternal home with You.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Consider Carefully Your Way!

 

For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.  They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.   

—Philippians 3:18-19 (NLT)

 

 

'Heavenly Father,

 

Help me to consider carefully the way I conduct myself in life here on earth—that I might not ever be found to be an enemy of the cross of Christ.

 

You have given me the opportunity to embrace everything that the cross of Christ has purchased for me. So keep me from foolishly or thoughtlessly turning down a path that brings sure destruction to my joy, my peace, my purpose, and ultimately my life.

 

Never allow me to develop an appetite for any of the deceitful pleasures of this world—to allow my fleshly desires to become idols that I choose to worship. 

 

Keep me from being so deceived, that I would speak about my sin as if it were something to brag about, as if it were not sin at all—or to admit there is sin in my life, but make light of that sin, as if it were not a stench in the nostrils of a Holy God.

 

Help me control my thoughts, so that they are not consumed with the pursuit of the ultimately empty and unsatisfying things of this life—but keep me spiritually minded, so I don’t miss the fullness of life that is mine in Christ.

 

Help me to be continually conscious of how I am living, so I might submit my will to Your will, resist temptation, flee from sin, and seek—with my whole heart—that life which is hidden in Christ.

 

Help me to consider carefully the way I conduct myself in life here on earth—that I might not ever be found to be an enemy of the cross of Christ.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Deceitful and Desperately Sick

 

 

The heart is deceitful above all things,
    and desperately sick;
    who can understand it?
“I the LORD search the heart
    and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
    according to the fruit of his deeds.”

 

—Jeremiah 17:9-10 (ESV)

 

 

O LORD, who searches my heart,

 

Show me my heart and reveal the true motives in my mind, so that I won’t be led astray by any deceitfulness within me.

 

Help me to understand that to trust my heart is to trust in man—and that You have warned me against trusting in man. Help me to put all my trust in You alone!

 

Heal my heart and purify my mind, so that Your thoughts and ways will be made known to me and reflected in all my thoughts, words, and actions.

 

May love be my only motive for the choices I make—love for You and love for others—so that Your perfect will for me would be accomplished, and Your goodness and mercy would overtake me.

 

Show me my heart and reveal the true motives in my mind, so that I won’t be led astray by any deceitfulness within me.

 

In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

No Greater Love!

 

 

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

 

—John 15:12-13 (NLT)

 

 

 

My Lord Jesus,

 

Help me to love others as You have loved me—to lay down my life for my friends.

 

Help me more fully understand and more completely receive Your love for me—so that same love will flow through me, in all my thoughts, words and actions, toward others.

 

Your love for me is not dependent on my love for You—for Your love continues constant, unchanging and unfailing, regardless of my faults and failures.

 

Your love for me is demonstrated in Your compassion for me—and poured out over me with mercy and grace, by Your goodness and kindness toward me.

 

Your love for me is evidenced in Your patience and gentleness with me—for Your love for me is perfectly genuine and never superficial.

 

Your love for me changes me and always points me to my Heavenly Father—back to the love relationship I was made to have with Him.

 

Your love for me is sacrificial. You laid down Your life for me, so that I could have life—so I could then follow Your example, by setting aside my will, so that the Father’s will would be done through me.

 

Help me to love others as You have loved me—to lay down my life for my friends.

 

In Your compassionate and loving Name, Lord Jesus, Amen.

This is God's Will for You!

 

 

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

 

—1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)

 

 

 

Good and Gracious Father,

 

Help me always be joyful, never stop praying, and remain thankful in all circumstances—knowing that this is Your will for all of us who belong to Christ Jesus.

 

Beyond any emotions that I may be feeling, may my joy—that deep and abiding happiness that I find only in my close, personal relationship with You—remain constant and unchanged.

 

Regardless of how busy and disordered my day might become, may I continue unceasingly in prayerful conversation with You—the only One who brings order to my chaos and peace to my heart.

 

No matter what circumstances I may find myself in, remind me to remain thankful—to continually express my gratefulness to You, both by my thoughts and with my words—with the assurance that You are working all things for my good.

 

Help me always be joyful, never stop praying, and remain thankful in all circumstances—knowing that this is Your will for all of us who belong to Christ Jesus.

 

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.

 

 

My LORD and My King

 

 

In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

 

—Judges 21:25 (NLT)

 

 

 

 

My LORD and My King,

 

May You remain forever my only LORD and King, so that the way I conduct my life will be according to Your Truth and not according to my own opinion.

 

Help me to seek Your perfect will, rather than my selfish will; Your eternal plans, rather than my fleeting plans; Your righteous desires, rather than my corrupt desires; and Your pure motives, rather than my sinful motives—so that my heart would be fully Yours and I would reflect the character of Christ.

 

Keep me from the chaos that comes from deciding for myself what is right and what is wrong—based on my own limited and flawed intellect and perspective—and give me the faith to trust You for the best answers, knowing Your intellect is infinitely beyond my own and Your perfect perspective is limitless.

 

As I commit to obediently follow Your instructions—as revealed to my spirit by the Holy Spirit through Your Word—let my actions reflect Your standards for morality, mercy, forgiveness, grace, justice, truth, and above all, love.

May You remain forever my only LORD and King, so that the way I conduct my life will be according to Your Truth and not according to my own opinion.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.