With Confidence, With Courage, With Great Strength

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
    Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
    I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

—Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

Grant that I would boldly move forward into this day with You—with confidence, with courage and with great strength—upheld in every way, by Your ever-victorious right hand!

Help me to see that there is nothing to fear because You are actively present with me at all times to protect me from all the attacks of the evil one and will deliver me through them all—whether they be attacks against my body, my mind or my spirit.  Thank You that You never leave me!

Keep discouragement far from me by helping me to find my courage in You, knowing You—the Creator and Sustainer of all things—are my all-powerful God.  Thank You for being my God!

Help me to receive Your strength—as by Your Spirit You show me Your power at work within me to help me.  Thank You for being my Helper!

Hold me up with Your victorious right hand—that I might not fall, but rather accomplish everything that You have appointed for me to do in service to You.  Thank You for being my victory in all things!

Grant that I would boldly move forward into this day with You—with confidence, with courage and with great strength—upheld in every way, by Your ever-victorious right hand!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Your Greatest Commandments

“'And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’  The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  No other commandment is greater than these.”

—Mark 12:30-31 (NLT)

Dear LORD God,

Help me to keep my focus simple by reflecting back to You that love with which You first loved me—then actively loving others as if they were me.

Help me not to get so distracted with trying to find Your will for my life—where I should be and what I should be doing for You—that I miss the opportunity to keep my focus where it should be and let You unfold before me each next good thing You have for me.

Help me to avoid the trap of believing that there could be anything more important than these all-inclusive commands—commands that are not restricted by time or place, commands I should follow no matter where I find myself.

Help me to make room within my heart, so that You can fill it completely with love for You.  Consume my soul with a love for You that overwhelms me.  Let my every thought be controlled by love for You and let my love for You be my strength for every moment.

And as You have loved me, help me to love others—with that same compassion, patience, mercy, forgiveness, and grace You have shown me—by allowing You to love them through me, as if they were me.

Help me to keep my focus simple by reflecting back to You that love with which You first loved me—then actively loving others as if they were me.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

What My Conduct Shows

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 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 may I never find myself foolishly and thoughtlessly turning down a path that brings sure destruction to my joy, peace, purpose and even my very life.

Help me never to allow an appetite for the deceitful pleasures of this world to rule over me—never allow the desires of my flesh to become an idol—by serving my own will, seeking to satisfy my own lust for more, as I chase after my own plans, submit myself to my own desires, and make them the object of my worship.

I don’t want to be that guy who, being so deceived, brags about his sin, as if it were not sin at all—or the one who admits there is sin in his life, but makes light of the 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 was purchased and freely offered to me in Christ.

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

Help me to consider 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.