Fervant, Joyful, Patient, Faithful

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

—Romans 12:11-12 (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

Let everything I do be done out of my desire to earnestly and enthusiastically serve You.

Cause Your Spirit to burn within my spirit, so that I won’t fall into laziness and complacency about serving You, but rather find all my joy in my wholehearted obedience to Your will for my life.

In whatever situation I may find myself, may I always express that confident joy that lives in me, because of the great hope that I have found in Your saving power to carry me through, and deliver me from, every circumstance that I face, until I finally come to You to live forever there with You.

Help me to wait patiently for You to lift me out of my troubles and trials, as I remain in total faith and trust in Your perfect plan for me.

Keep me connected with You in prayer at all times, so that my communication with You will be uninterrupted, as I place my concerns before You, wait in Your presence to hear what You would say to me, act on what You show me to do and rest with confidence in Your promises to me.

Let everything I do be done out of my desire to earnestly and enthusiastically serve You.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Let My Words Be Few

As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.  Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God.  After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth.  So let your words be few.

—Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

May I always stand in awe of You when I come before Your presence.

I don’t want to be a person who comes before You carelessly and irreverently, only to foolishly dictate to You what I think You should do.

Rather, I want always to come before You with my ears ready to hear and my heart ready to receive—and be obedient to—all that You would say to me.

I don’t want to insincerely promise my obedience to You and then indifferently go my own way.

But rather, I want to fully consider what I am promising and strive with all that is in me to fulfill my promises to You.

For You are the LORD God Almighty, the Creator of all there is, and I am Your creation. 

So, let my words to You be few, that I might be open to receive the life-giving words that You have for me.

May I always stand in awe of You when I come before Your presence.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Come Close

Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.  Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

—James 4:8-10 (NLT)

Dear LORD,

Help me to come closer to You so I can fully experience the blessings of Your closeness to me.

Help me to realize that in order to draw close to You, I must come to You in humility—yielded to Your authority and control over me and committed to following after You.

I must resist the devil's attempts to get me to compromise my loyalty to You—tempting me to pursue the pleasures of this world—for there is no room for divided loyalty, if I want to enjoy true closeness with You.

Grant me the courage to allow Your Spirit to reveal my heart to me—to point out that which I must change—and cleanse my heart, replacing my sin with the desire to experience Your purity in my life.

Allow me the sincerity of heart to express my shame for my sin with great sorrow before You—to deeply grieve over my disloyalty, and to repent.

Help me to approach You in complete humility—recognizing the great insignificance of what I can offer, when compared to the great significance of what You offer me—knowing that You will take me as I am and lift me up into Your arms of love.

Help me to come closer to You so I can fully experience the blessings of Your closeness to me.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.