Prayer for Today

Refiners finer

January 19, 2015

Father, whether I want to admit it or not, I have a lot of stuff in me that does not bring You glory. Life has left me scarred and battered in so many places. I have built up walls and defense mechanisms against hurt, rejection and heartache. These walls and defense mechanisms have kept me from being truthful, honest, upright and have positioned me to not represent You in the best way.

Father, I have allowed fear, anger, a bad attitude and low esteem, among other things, to be embedded in the core of who I am. Just like when a miner pulls raw metal out of the ground and has to refine it so that it can be used for its rightful purpose, I need You to refine me so that I can be used for the purposes You have planned for me.

I know that I will have to go through a refining fire to remove my impurities but, if I want to look like Christ, I must allow You to purify me of my sins so I can be used by You. I want to be a clean and useful vessel for You. Refine me! Purify me! Use me! In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Scripture references:

Psalm 66:10

Isaiah 48:10

Jeremiah 9:7

Zechariah 13:9

II Timothy 2:21

I Peter 1:7

Living Above Mediocrity

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Prayer for Today

peace rock

Bible reading challenge:

Read all the scriptures referenced at the bottom of each pray. Today, fill in the lines below with your prayer requests.

September 28, 2015

Father You are my peace. More than just my peace, You are my Shalom. You are the reason I am complete; nothing missing out of my life, nothing out of place. You are the fulfillment of everything I need, when the need arises.

When everything seems to be going to hell in a handbasket, You lift up a standard again the enemy. Not just my enemies in the world, or my immortal enemy, but you lift up a standard against my enemies that rage in me.

You lift up a standard against the fear, doubt, anger, envy and jealousy that war in me. You lift up a standard against low self-esteem, low self-worth and my feeling guilty and ashamed of things I have done. Your love for me lifts me above the fray of the world and my shortcomings. When nothing else can help, Your love lifts me and gives me peace.

Lord, no matter what goes on today, help me to rest in Your peace. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Scripture references:

Psalm 34:4 – 5                                  Romans 5:1

Psalm 103:11 – 14                             Romans 8:1 – 4

Isaiah 59:19                                       Philippians 4:7 – 9

Isaiah 61:7                                          I Peter 5:7

John 16:33

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Prayer for Today

 Created Chosen Called

Bible reading challenge:

Read all the scriptures referenced at the bottom of each pray.

September 16, 2015

God, the Father of heaven and earth, show me what I have in my life that I can give to You to help Your people. Lord, help me to see beyond the obvious, to look past what I see with my natural eye that may stop me from giving my best.

Father, I give you all my past hurts and shames that are holding me back. I give You my less than stellar esteem of myself and exchange it for esteeming myself in Christ Jesus. In Christ, there is no condemnation. In Christ, there is no shame. In Christ, my uniqueness is my strong suit for carrying out the tasks You prepared for me before the beginning of mankind.

Savior, help me to know and understand, through Godly wisdom, that I have been ordained by You for service. I have been given my gifts, talents and abilities to be utilized by You to help further the kingdom of God here on earth.

Give me the courage to use my gifts for You. Give me the courage to ignore what people may say and listen to only what You say so I may use my gifts as You have deemed appropriate. Give me Your strength and endurance so I can fulfill Your will for my life.

I believe You will answer my prayer. I thank You in advance for Your faithfulness to Your word over my life. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Scripture references:

Deuteronomy 31:6

Psalm 139:16

Proverb 19:21

Romans 8:1

Romans 12:1 – 21

I Corinthians 2:9

Ephesians 2:10

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Being Destroyed from the Inside Out

 

Japanese beattle on rose

I Corinthians 3:16 – 17

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

I HATE, HATE, HATE Japanese Beetles!!! Can I say it again, I HATE JAPANESE BEETLES!!! They destroy everything in their path but they love roses. NASTY LITTLE CRITTERS!!! Okay, I feel better.

Japanese beetles grow underground where you can’t see them and hatch in late spring, early summer when my roses start to bud and bloom. They fly, crawl and have a hard shell which makes them difficult to kill. They get inside the rose buds or underneath the rose leaves and eat my roses from the inside out.  I can check my roses in the morning and they will look fine but, when I go out to look at them later the same day they have holes straight through the heart of them.

When I first moved to Maryland and started caring for my roses I didn’t know what Japanese beetles were because I didn’t have to deal with them in California or Texas. I was talking to a friend one day and telling him about this bug that was eating my roses and nothing I used got rid of them. He identified the pest and told me to get some Sevin and that would do the trick. That afternoon I went to a nursery and picked some up. My friend was correct. As soon as I started spraying my roses with Sevin the beetles began to fly away and die.

Now that I’ve lived in Maryland for over 20 years I know how to deal with the beetles. As soon as the humidity starts, I begin two-a-day spraying; once in the morning and again in the evening. The humidity seems to be the trigger for the beetles to come out and destroy.

We have things that are eating us from the inside out. Things like hate, envy, jealousy, pride, low self-esteem and feeling less than are just a few things that eat at our spirit persons.  There is also the spirit of control, you have to control everything and everyone or everything is wrong. Then there’s a competitive spirit, you have to win and be first in everything even when no one else knows there’s a completion underway.  The list of things eating us from the inside out goes on and on but there are three solutions; The Word of God, prayer and professional help.

We need to identify the triggers that cause our internal bugs to start their eating frenzy within us. We need to pay attention to our feeling and emotions when this happens, also called self-awareness and we need to spray our internal bugs with the God’s word and prayer. If necessary, we need to seek professional help to deal with our internal bugs. It’s okay! The goal is to kill that which is destroying you from the inside out.

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other; so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:16 – 17

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Prayer for Today

God whisper

April 8, 2015

Father God there are so many voices vying for my attention. Often the voices I need to pay attention to are drowned out by the loud voices that I should pay the least amount of attention. Help me Lord!

Father the external loud voices are usually people who want something from me. These voices usually come from marketers and advertisers who want to tell me how I should look, how I should feel or what I should eat, drink or wear. They want me to know what their pill or drug can do for me. All these voices lead me to believe I’m just now good enough the way I am.

Father, on the other hand, my internal loud voices are usually my low esteem, my past failures, my fears and doubts, which all lend themselves to my ability to have paralysis through analysis. I end up getting stuck where I don’t want to be but I can’t move because all I hear are the loud voices screaming at me. Help me Lord!

Father God these voices yell at me daily! I often listen to them more than I listen to Your still small voice that is gently whispering Your truth to me. Help me Father to pull away from all the loud voices so I can hear from Your through Your Word, through prayer and meditation.

Father, I want to set aside time during the day to shut out all the loud voices just so I can hear from You. This is my sincere, earnest and heartfelt pray I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture references:

I King 19:11 – 12

Matthew 14:23

John 10:27

Romans 10:17

 

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Prayer for Today

Not staying where you are  Lenten season challenge: Read the scriptures that are referenced at the bottom of each prayer every day during this Lenten season!

February 25, 2015

Lord free me for joyful obedience. Not just today but every day of my life. I’m tired of walking down one wrong path after another. I’m sick of allowing my emotions to guide me in ways that You did not design for me.

I’m asking you to free me from guilt, shame, pride, low esteem and procrastination. Do not allow doubt, fear or uncertainty to stop me from moving forward in You and for You. Help me release my past failures and my shortcomings and embrace Your call on my life.

Father, nothing that has happened to me is more important than what You’re calling me to be and accomplish for the kingdom of God. I know it is by faith that I will please you and it is by faith that you will bless me as I work to renew my mind. Releasing the old and embracing Your word as my compass and my guide.

Do not forsake me Lord! I am working to change and I am Your handiwork in the process of being more like Your son. Let Your word work in me and change me from the inside out. In Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture references:

Deuteronomy 28:2        John 16:13 – 15

Psalm 25:8 – 9                  John 17:17

Proverbs 20:24                Romans 7:21 – 25

Ecclesiastes 3:11              Romans 8:1 – 2

Isaiah 58:9 – 11

 

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