Your Light and Your Truth

 

Send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling!

 

—Psalm 43:3 (ESV)

 

Heavenly Father,

Send out Your Light and Your Truth to guide me! 

 

Send out Your Light!  It is in Your Light that the paths before me are fully illuminated—that all darkness is driven away—and I can see clearly and move forward with confidence into Your plans for me.

 

Send out Your Truth!  It is in Your Truth that the perfect path that You have for me is revealed—as You graciously guide me into all Truth by the empowering of Your Spirit, who abides in me.

 

Let Your Light and Your Truth lead me into Your Glorious Presence—to that place where You live—so that I can abide there in the abundance of Your very best for me.

 

Send out Your Light and Your Truth to guide me! 

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

I Will Praise Him Again!

 

Why am I discouraged?   

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and my God! 

—Psalm 42:11 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

In those times when I am tempted to become discouraged, help me to reason with my heart—and remember that all my hope is found in You, my Savior and my God!

 

Help me to see that when I become discouraged, I have “mis-placed” my hope—that I have placed my hope in something or someone other than the only One who is worthy of my praise.

 

Help me to see that when my heart is saddened, I need only raise my voice to You, the One to whom all praise is due—and You will lift me up once again into your Presence, where I find the joy of my salvation and the abundant life that You offer me.

 

Because You are my Savior and my God—the One who drives away all doubt, fear, and sadness by Your love, the One who renews my courage, hope and joy—I will sing my praises to You, yet again!

 

In those times when I am tempted to become discouraged, help me to reason with my heart—and remember that all my hope is found in You, my Savior and my God!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

This Only Do I Seek

 

One thing I ask from the LORD,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
    and to seek him in his temple. 

 —Psalm 27:4 (NIV)

 

O LORD My God,

 

May the one thing I ask for, the only thing I seek, be the privilege of dwelling in Your Presence—of gazing on Your beauty, in an abiding, unbroken, intimate relationship with You!

 

King David wrote of his desire to make Your house his home—knowing that Your house was where Your Presence could be found, and that in Your Presence he would find everything that He needed.

 

And so, it is true for me, that in Your Presence I can experience provision for all my needs, protection from all my enemies, comfort for all my sorrows, wisdom to discern the truth of Your Word, knowledge beyond my own intellect, the power, strength and courage to do Your will, and a peace that surpasses my own understanding.

 

Help me to be ever mindful that You are always with me, You never leave my side, and that You are, in truth, alive within me—so that I won’t be tempted to wander my own way, but can personally experience all the grace and truth of the abundant life that I find, when I seek out Your Presence.

 

May the one thing I ask for, the only thing I seek, be the privilege of dwelling in Your Presence—of gazing on Your beauty, in an abiding, unbroken, intimate relationship with 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.

Listen Very Carefully!

 

So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

 

—Hebrews 2:1 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Don’t allow me to drift away from the Truth! Help me instead to listen very carefully to the Truth that You speak into my life—through Your Word and through the witness of Your Spirit within me.

 

Help me to hold onto the precious gift of Truth that I have been given—Truth which continues to be revealed to me in proportion to my willingness and obedience to continue to read, study, believe, and apply Your Word to my life.

 

Help me to be careful to remember the Truth I have heard—by regularly meditating upon it—so that I will be ready to apply Your Truth to every situation or circumstance in which I find myself, as I mix my faith with Your Truth.

 

Help me to recognize and guard against the weakness of my mind. For Your Truth is so quick to drain from my heart when I allow the enemy to speak lies into my thoughts—or when I entertain the condemnation that he spews—as he tries to move me from the Truth I find in You.

 

Don’t allow me to drift away from the Truth! Help me instead to listen very carefully to the Truth that You speak into my life—through Your Word and through the witness of Your Spirit within me.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Do Not Be Afraid or Discouraged

 

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”  

—Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT)

 

Omnipresent and Sovereign LORD,

 

May my confident hope—for the facing of this day before me—be found in Your promise that You will personally go ahead of me, that You will be with me, and that You will neither fail me nor abandon me!

 

Help me to remember that You are always with me, and that where I am going, You are already there—that You have gone before me to make a way for me, so that with each step I take, I can be where You are, as You call me to Yourself.

 

Don’t allow any situations or circumstances before me draw me into fear or discouragement. Help me to reject any thoughts or doubts that come up against the Truth of Your promises to me—help me trust in Your love for me!

 

Help me to walk boldly forward into the plan that You have for me today—knowing that You will never fail me nor abandon me, but will walk with me to empower me, provide for me, and protect me along the path You have chosen for me, today.

May my confident hope—for the facing of this day before me—be found in Your promise that You will personally go ahead of me, that You will be with me, and that You will neither fail me nor abandon me!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

A Straight Path, A Safe Path

 

Mark out a straight path for your feet;
    stay on the safe path.

Don’t get sidetracked;
    keep your feet from following evil.

 

—Proverbs 4:26-27 (NLT)

 

Heavenly Father,

 

With each new day, help me to mark out the straight path for my feet—the path which leads to a more abundant life!

 

Keep me on that straight path of willing obedience to Your will and Your decrees—as You prove Your loving faithfulness to me by keeping me in every way, when I choose the safe path you have offered me.

 

And don’t allow me to get sidetracked by the distractions of this world—to wander off that path—but help me stay focused on honoring Your ever-abiding Presence with me, as You show me the next best step for me.

 

For then my feet will not follow after evil and I won’t find myself lost along the way—as I journey through this life, on my way home to You.

 

With each new day, help me to mark out the straight path for my feet—the path which leads to a more abundant life!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.