Lead Me On Level Ground

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 from the words I find written in Your Holy scriptures—that I would always know Your will.

Teach me.  Let Your good Spirit usher me into the good plans You have for me, when I please You by stepping out in faith to follow after what I believe to be Your will for me—that I would always walk in Your will.

Teach me.  Let Your good Spirit continually do Your work of sanctification within me, so that my life will reflect that You are my God and there are no others—that I would always live in 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.

To Not Criticize And Judge

Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters.  If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law.  But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.

—James 4:11 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

Help me never to speak evil against another—never say anything about someone which would hurt or bring injury to them, or defame their character in the eyes of someone else—but rather, let every word I speak be truth, spoken in obedience to Your commands, as I submit myself to Your law of love.

Replace any critical spirit within me with a spirit of grace and truth.  Grant me the wisdom to discern truth in every situation—and as I seek after what is just and right, help me remain submitted to Your laws of kindness and grace.

Help me to submit my every thought to the obedience of Christ—as found in Your Word—so that any word I speak would be true and necessary to bring encouragement and unity between myself and others.

And if I ever feel offended by someone, keep me from sharing that offense with others.  Rather, help me always to go directly to the offender to express my complaint against them—in humility, with kindness and love—so that understanding can come, our relationship can be restored and even strengthened, and the enemy’s plans to bring division between us can be stopped.

Help me never to speak evil against another—never say anything about someone which would hurt or bring injury to them, or defame their character in the eyes of someone else—but rather, let every word I speak be truth, spoken in obedience to Your commands, as I submit myself to Your law of love.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

With All My Heart

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

—Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NASB)

Loving LORD,

Thank You for being the only God who hears me when I call, who listens to my prayers, who invites me to seek after You, all for the purpose of allowing me to find You—when I do these things with all of my heart.

Thank You that You are not a god who is unconcerned about those things that concern me—but rather, the God who is intimately acquainted with my every need, eager to put into action Your already existing plan to provide for each need, and just waiting for me to call out, to seek You and prayerfully ask You, believing that You will answer my every prayer in accord with Your will for me.

I know You are the God who knows my heart, who looks into my heart—not to every mistake I make along the way—to know who I am, to see if I have a heart that beats after Your own heart, a heart that truly only seeks after You.

So help me always to seek after You with all my heart—that in seeking I may always find the Truth that is waiting there to be found and my Helper who is always ready to make provision for my every need, when I call … come … pray … seek … search … and find.

Thank You for being the only God who hears me when I call, who listens to my prayers, who invites me to seek after You, all for the purpose of allowing me to find You—when I do these things with all of my heart.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.