Prayer for Today

Posted on October 5, 2015 by espirational1

October 5, 2015

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name. On Christ the solid Rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand” – Edward Mote “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”

This morning Lord I want to thank You for Your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ, who is my Rock and my Redeemer.

Father, when all could be lost I do not fret because I know Jesus is my firm foundation. Nothing can cause Him to be shaken; therefore, I will not be shaken. I am steadfast and immovable in Christ Jesus.

Lord I thank You for my The Solid Rock, who will cleft for me and allow me to hide myself in Him. When my enemies and my foes come for me, they have to go through my Rock, who is Jesus Christ and He is a power no foe can withstand. In Christ I am safe! I thank You and pray this prayer in Jesus name. Amen.

“When the earth all around me is sinking sand on Christ, the solid Rock I stand. When I need a shelter, when I need a friend I go to The Rock” – Dottie Rambo “I Go the The Rock””

Scripture references:

Deuteronomy 32:4 Isaiah 26:4

II Samuel 22:2 I Corinthians 3:11

Psalm 19:14 II Timothy 2:19

Psalm 61:2 I Peter 5:6 – 11

Psalm 92:15

Marigold or Rose?

Posted on August 19, 2015 by espirational1

Psalm 73:1 – 3

“Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

I planted a new flower bed in my backyard this spring. I worked on the flower bed for days because I wanted to plant 6 new roses, which I did, but along with the roses I planted some marigolds. Five of the roses I planted died and the one that is still alive is struggling but the marigolds are thriving and blooming like nobody’s business.

I’m sure if my one struggling rose could talk it would be angry, envious and jealous of the marigolds. If that one rose had eyes, it would be sick of seeing vanilla colored marigolds blooming and taking over the space that was meant for the rose.

Here’s the deal; marigolds are perennials, they die after their blooming season. They do not have longevity of live. They are here, blooming and looking beautiful one season and in the trash the before the next season is over. On the other hand, roses are annuals; they live and bloom for years. I have some roses that are almost 20 years old. As long as I can keep my one surviving rose alive during the winter season, it will live and bloom next season and for years to come plus, the rose will get stronger as it lives through the winter seasons.

My marigolds are like the rich wicked people in this life; oh, they are living well now, they are wealthy, rich, attractive and carefree…today, but how about long-term? Those of us who are in Christ are like the rose; we may be struggling, but we have been promised abundant life in this age and eternal life in the one to come. The wicked don’t have those promises to lean and depend on.

It is easy to see the arrogant wicked people and feel the pang of jealousy or envy but we can’t allow what we see in them to cause us to lose our hope in God. We can’t allow their seemingly carefree life to cause us to think our goal of keeping our hearts pure before the Lord is in vain (Ps. 73:12 – 14).

We must remember that there is more to live than just money, fame and fortune. There is love, peace, joy, contentment, integrity, honesty, hope and truth, all found in our relationship with God through Christ Jesus.

You and I may cry out, “Lord, why can’t I have just a little of their money?” But, they may be crying out, “Why can’t I have peace of mind?” See, we only see the outside of the situation; we only see what the camera shows us, we can’t see their hearts but it’s not about what we see, it’s about a relationship with God and believing, even when we’re struggling, that long-term God will always be true to His promises to us.

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” II Corinthians 1:20

Be Careful

Posted on August 18, 2015 by espirational1

Luke 6:45

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

When I was a child there was a song that our children’s choir sang that said, “Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down with love. So be careful little eyes what you see.” The song went on to warn ears to be careful what they hear and little tongues to be careful what they say. I don’t know if children choirs still sing this song in most churches today, but I think they should because this song is correct in its warnings.

What we take in through our eye and ear gates is going to be what we put into our hearts and what comes out through our mouths!

If you know someone with a nasty attitude or a sour disposition and you HATE talking to them because you know they are going to be negative, nasty or uncooperative, it is because they have taken in nasty, negative uncooperative things. Jesus said it best in the above quoted scripture. We act, respond and deal with other people and things based on what’s in our hearts.

We take in so much without really thinking about it. We watch all types of TV shows, “The Have and Have Nots”, “Devious Maids, “Scandal”, “Modern Family”, “Blacklist” “Empire” and the list goes on and on. Do we ever stop and think about what we’re really taking into our hearts and minds? Do we really stop and think about the type of lifestyles we’re cheering for while we watch our favorite shows?

We read and watch all types of videos and stories on-line. We watch and read stories of people fighting each other in the street, bullies mistreating other people at school, teachers being hit and beat while they are trying to teach their classes, near pornographic dance moves and again, the list goes on and on. And we sit there looking and listening, in taking without thinking that these images and words are going to manifest themselves in us at one time or another.

I know I’m guilty of leaving of eye and ear gates open to feeding my heart ungodliness. So how about you? What are you taking in through your eye and ear gates?

“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10

Out of the Box

Posted on August 12, 2015 by espirational1

August 12, 2015

Genesis 1:26

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

When I purchase a rose for my garden, I have a plan. I know where I’m going to put the rose, the nutrient levels I need the soil to possess and how to feed, water and protect the rose until its root system stabilizes in its new environment. I have a plan that the rose doesn’t know anything about.

The rose is shipped to me in a plain brown cardboard box. There is nothing in the box with the rose except other bare root roses that I may have purchased at the same time. If I purchased a single rose, it is in the box by itself.

I can only image how the rose must feel when I plant it in its new place. It goes from being in a dark empty box without soil or water into an open air space with at least six hours of sunlight, soil, vitamins and food. What a shock to its fragile system!

I’m sure if my roses could complain they would. They have probably become use to living in the dark bareness of the box but, in order to live, the rose must have the sun, soil, water and food, things that the roses can’t get while in the box. So, they may have become accustom to living in the box, if they stay there, they will die.

Yes, God does the same thing to and for us. You and I ask God for growth; financial, spiritual or personal growth so we can do more, have more or become more for the Kingdom of God. He answers our prayers and responses to our request. He begins to move us from our dark and confining boxes to new places where we can grow. And what do we do? We complain!

We wanted to grow where we were, in the confines of the boxes we have put ourselves in! We don’t want to change, we don’t want other things to change, we don’t want to do anything different, and we just want to grow where we are. Sorry! It doesn’t work that way!

God did not create us to be confined to dark, lifeless boxes. He created us to live in His Son and in the sun. What does that mean? It means God created us to live our spiritual lives in the light, soil and be feed by the life of His son AND to live our natural lives in the abundance here on earth. God never designed us to live in lack or less than. Neither in this life nor the one to come.

In order for us to grow, God has to move us to a place where the totality of who we are can be used and displaced as we experience new things. God is taking out of our boxes because He wants us to live and not die in the dark empty lives so many of us are now living.

Yes, it’s time to come out of your box!

“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” II Corinthians 9:10

You Were Chosen

Posted on August 11, 2015 by espirational1

Matthew 22:14

“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

When I chose a rose for my garden, I don’t pick it based on one characteristics of the rose; I pick it based on the totality of the rose. So not only do I pick a rose based on its color, I chose it on how the blooms are going to look. Will the blooms have lots and lots of petals or just a few? I chose it based on the fragrance; is it lightly fragranced or is it heavily fragranced? Does it smell like honey or does it smell like a traditional rose?

I also look at the type of leaves the rose is going to have. Will the leaves be bright green and shiny or will they be a matted green? I also look at the stem of the roses; will they be long-stemmed so I can use the rose in a single rose vase or will they be short stemmed so I can use them in an arrangement?

So you see, everything that the rose is goes into my decision-making process of whether or not I’m going to plant the rose in my garden. Yes, each facet of the rose is important, but one piece without the others doesn’t make the rose what it really is. It is the totality of the rose plant that makes the rose what I want in my garden.

God does the same thing with us. When God chooses us to do a particular assignment He chooses us based on the totality of who we are; our temperament, the things that we’ve gone through in order to bring us to the place where we are now, our looks, our background and upbringing. All these things make us who we are and are the reasons God chooses us for our assignments.

Unfortunately, all too often we look at ourselves through the eyes of the world system and only see what we think the world sees when it looks at us. The world system says over and over again, we have to be super model thin in order to be considered worthy of being called attractive. The world system says we have to be rich or famous in order to be counted amount those whom others should listen to. The world system says we have to be educated with the right type of degrees and from the right schools or we’ll be outsiders and not allowed to join them at the popular table. But, no matter what the world tells us, it does not stop God from doing what He’s going to do and it shouldn’t stop us from doing what God has assigned us to do.

If God has given you an assignment, and He has given us all an assignment, what the world system says about you doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. When God gave each of us our assignments, He has already measured the totality of who we are and He knows we can successfully complete the assignment.

The world system only knows the labels it has placed on us. God knows who He created us to be.

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” I Corinthians 1:27

Hold On – Part I (Revised)

Posted on July 13, 2015 by espirational1

Psalm 27:1 – 2

“The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.”

There is an old Sam and Dave song that has a hook that says, “Hold on, I’m comin!’” Thankfully, we did not enter into our Promised Lands with Sam and Dave. If we had, when we were in trouble, we would have had to wait until they got to us before they could help.

We entered our Promised Lands with God the Father, who is always with us. In fact, Deuteronomy 31:8 states God goes before us, therefore, we do not have to be afraid nor discouraged because God is always with us. If God had a song like Sam and Dave’s His hook would be, “Hold on, I’m here!”

We don’t have to worry if God is going to rescue us from our enemies. We don’t have to fret about God’s showing up on time. God is with us even when it feels like our enemies are overwhelming us and He never needs to be rescued. He’s always the mighty one. There is nothing and no one greater than God and He will never leave us!

All of us had to fight to get into our Promised Land. We had to fight our pasts, our disappointments, our worries and our anxieties. We had to fight our low self-esteem, our heartbreak and our intimidators. Through all of these things, God was with us. By God’s grace and His mercy we made! Through hard-fought battles, most won but some lost, we made it.

Here we stand on the soil of our Promised Land, and guess what? We still have to fight! Just like the Israelites had to fight when they marched into their Promised Land; they had to battle at Jericho, Ai and other enemies, so do we. The good news is, just like God was with the Israelites, He is with us! He is our very present help in the time of trouble.

DO NOT GIVE UP NOW! God has been and will continue to be with you. He sees what you’re going through and He’s right beside you helping you get through it. This is not the time or the place to give up! Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. God is with you. Remember His hook, “Hold on, I’m here!”

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

Weeds or Roses

Posted on June 11, 2015 by espirational1

Matthew 13:24 – 28

‘“Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.”’
For the last few days I have been working in my backyard. This year I decided to plant roses in the back portion of my yard which meant I had to removed grass and weeds from the place where I wanted to roses to go.

I hate weeds and they are always around! I had to use a small pitchfork and hoe in order to loosen the weeds so I could pull them out by hand because I needed to remove the roots of the weeds. It has taken me two hours a day for three days, to area clear the grass and weeds and, I’m not done yet.

A big problem with converting an area this has been allowed to grow weeds unchecked is the roots of the weeds have a head start over my roses. The roots of the weeds are mature and well established while the roots of my roses are new and immature. If I allow the roots of the weeds to remain in place they will overtake my roses and choke them out.

We have weeds that have been planted in our hearts and minds. Our weeds have been planted by the words of others. Then, without our consent, the weeds in our hearts and minds talk to us when we true to do something new. Our weeds say things like; “You’re not good enough.” “You will never make it, you just aren’t that smart.” You’re ugly/fat/too tall/too short, etc.” “You can’t do anything right.” “They will never accept you.”

On and on the weeds our enemies have planted in us lie to us. YES! They lie to us in an effort to choke out God’s purpose for our lives. In John 10:10 Jesus says, ‘“The thief comes ONLY to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”’ The enemies job was to kill our lives; destroy our dreams, chock out our hope and dash our desires for greater against the rocks of their lies. Our job is to plant and cultivate God’s word in our hearts and minds, which will uproot and destroy the weeds of the enemy.

It is time to take back our land that has been overrun by weeds. It’s time to uproot the lies we have been told down through the years and replace them with the truth of God. Then and only then, will we blossom, even in the wilderness.

Isaiah 35:1-2a

“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing…”
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Prayer for Today

Posted on May 26, 2015 by espirational1

May 26, 2015

Lord, I thank You for my history with You. You have been with me from the beginning. You appointed everything in my life; my birth, all the circumstances surrounding my birth and every day of my life have been appointed and approved by You.

Father as I face hardships, difficulties and heartaches, help me to remember my life was set apart by Your appointment, Your will, and everything that You ordained for me shall come to pass.

Lord, help me not to view my hardships, trials or tribulations as permanent; thereby causing me to deal with problems as a permanent fixtures in my life. Help me to view the difficulty with a Christ-like understanding and Godly wisdom, knowing that the problem is temporary and it is working for my good because I love You and have been called according Your purpose.

Lord for help me to see I do not have to worry about life or body because You have already prepared a plan to take care of my every need. A plan to prosper me not to hurt me – You are my hope and my future. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture references:

Psalms 139:13 – 16 II Corinthians 4:17

Zephaniah 3:17 Proverbs 2:6

I Peter 2:9 Romans 8:28

Matthew 6:25 – 34 Jeremiah 29:11

Prayer for Today

Posted on May 22, 2015 by espirational1

May 22, 2015

Father, everyday Your children have a spiritual choice to make; whether we’re going to operate with Your bookends of grace and mercy or, if we’re going to operate with Satan’s bookends of fear and doubt.

Your bookends hold together Your Word, Your promises, faith, love and hope in our lives. Satan’s bookends hold despair, depression, hopelessness, anger and anxiety for our lives. The choice of what bookends we want in our lives is ours, individually, to make.

Lord, help us as we make the wise choice to live under Your blessings and evict fear and doubt out of our hearts, minds and spirits by utilizing Your Word of truth just as Jesus did on the Mount of Temptation.

Father, help us as we accept everything that comes with living under Your blessings for our lives. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture references:

Deuteronomy 11:26 – 28

Matthew 4:1 – 11

Prayer for Today

Posted on April 17, 2015 by espirational1

April 17, 2015

Lord, thank you for the history I have with You. You have been with me from the beginning and You appointed everything in my life. My birth and all the circumstances surrounding it, where I lived, where I went to school, who I married, my children; everything about me was appointed by You. Every turn in my life has Your fingerprints on it. There is nothing about me that You don’t know.

Lord sometimes I feel my life is floundering or spiraling out of control. Father, help me remember my life was set apart by Your will for me, and everything that You ordained for me shall come to pass.

Lord, help me not to view hardships, trials or tribulations as permanent; thereby causing me to deal with the problem as a permanent fixture in my life. Help me to view the difficulty with a Godly wisdom; knowing that You allowed the situation or circumstance I am facing to come into my life to make me more like Your son, Jesus Christ.

Lord, don’t allow me to forget that each difficulty I face will work for my good because I love You and You have called me to Your royal order. Remind me that I have already overcome every obstacle that will confront me because I am in Christ and He has already overcome the world.

Thank You Lord for helping me to see with spiritual eyes that I do not have to worry about life or body, for You have already prepared a plan to take care of my every need. A plan to prosper me not to hurt me – You are my hope and my future. Lord your Word is my assurance that You are with me always, even to the end of time. I pray in Jesus matchless name. Amen.

Scripture References:

Leviticus 20:26 John 16:33

Psalms 139:13 – 16 Philippians 2:1 – 8

Jeremiah 1:5 Romans 8:28

Jeremiah 29:11 Philippians 2:1 – 8

Matthew 6:25 – 30 I Peter 2:9 – 10

	Jonathan Caswell on God’s Promise for Today
	John Bryant on Prayer for Today
	Sarah Burton on Weeds or Roses
	Evanston Psychologis… on Prayer for Today
	Diane on GPS Too

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Tag Archives: hopes

Prayer for Today

Marigold or Rose?

Be Careful

Out of the Box

You Were Chosen

Hold On – Part I (Revised)

Weeds or Roses

Prayer for Today

Prayer for Today

Prayer for Today