Prayer for Today

Grace Moving in GOD'sJanuary 21, 2016

This year Father, as I pursue my greatness by pursuing You and Your plan for my life, there will be times people will tell me “no” when I know the answer should be “yes”. There will be times and in certain situations where I will be rejected and turned away as if I’m not good enough but, during these times I will not fret or worry because I know You are head over everything in heaven and on earth (I Chronicles 29:11 – 12).

Nothing is out of Your control; therefore, if man gives me an answer of “no” or “wait” after You’ve told me “yes”, I will continue to seek Your face and operate in Your favor until You make the necessary changes in me or in the situation (Philippians 4:19).

Father, I know You are with me at all times. You make Your face to shine upon me and You are gracious to me (Numbers 6:24 – 27). The greater that You have placed in me is greater than any power of or in the world system (I John 4:4 – 6). This is why I choose to rest in Your word, believe Your truths and work by faith (II Corinthians 5:7 and James 1:6).

Father, this year I will move and operate in greater, knowing that greater is coming! In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Scripture references:

Numbers 6:24 – 27

I Chronicles 29:11 – 12

II Corinthians 5:7

Philippians 4:19

James 1:6

I John 4:4 – 6

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Prayer for Today

Two faced woman

September 2, 2015

Father God, forgive us for being multiple faced. Too often when we, Your children, are with one group of people, who believe something this is against Your word, we say we agree with them. Then, when we’re with another group, we say we agree with them. Yet when we’re at our houses of worship, we say we agree with Your word even though none of the groups are saying the same thing.

Sometimes we get to the point we feel almost spiritually schizophrenic because we refuse to stand on the truth of Your word. We operate with the weight of lies on our tongues and with deceit in our hearts but still say we are Your children; a royal priesthood selected by You for Your service. Forgive us!

Lord, forgive us for being double minded. We say one thing with our mouths but believe something else in our hearts. We say You are the author of our faith and then we turn around and come up with our own plan without consulting You and waiting for You to answer.

Father, forgive us for quoting Your word but then being too fearful to follow Your word. Your word says the power of life and death is in our tongues. We keep speaking death over our lives and then we can’t figure out why we are spiritually, mentally, emotionally, financially and physically dying.

Our Lord and our God, we need a spiritual refreshing; a heart revival. Please Lord, revive us again!  Lord we need You! In Jesus name we pray. Amen!

Scripture references:

Psalm 62:8

Proverb 18:21

Proverb 23:7

Jeremiah 24:7

Matthew 12:34 – 35

Matthew 15:18 – 19

James 1:6 – 8

I Peter 2:9

 

Prayer for Today

 

Diversity face

September 1, 2015

Father, it has gotten to the point I hate watching the news. Killings are mounting up daily, and every day we see citizens killing citizens, police killing citizens and citizens killing police. It is just too much!

All types of movements are springing up and saying this life matters and that life matters, as if You didn’t make all life and all life doesn’t matter to You. Forgive us Father!

Lord, for those of us in the body of Christ who have been given the charge of loving You and loving mankind, help us to see human life; which born or unborn,  Black, White, Hispanic, Asian or other, is important to You.

When Jesus came to die for the sins of the world, it wasn’t just for Jewish sinners, Muslim sinners or Christian sinners. He didn’t just die for sexual sins or moral sins. Jesus loved all sinners enough to die for all our sins. Forgive us Father for acting like, and treating others as if their sins are greater than our own. For we have all sinned and fallen short of Your glory.

You have told us to love each other to the point that we are willing to lay down our lives for theirs. You did not tell us to judge them by their lifestyle, their tattoos or their hairstyles. Your word says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Father, increase our hearts capacities to love others like You love us; without finding fault, without holding our sins against us and without treating us as outcasts. You loved us back to wholeness in You; help us do the same for someone else that needs You as much as we need You.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!

Scripture references:

John 3:16 – 18

Romans 3:22 – 24

Romans 5:8

I John 3:16

I John 4:7 – 8

 

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Prayer for Today

 

Ask believe receive

July 17, 2015

Father God, I trust You and my faith in You does not waiver. My issue is waiting for You to manifest what I need after I’ve prayer, waited, prayed and waited some more. I know You will do “it”, but when? This is the sticking point of my faith.

Forgive me for worrying and fretting when things don’t go the way I think they should. Forgive me for grumbling and complaining when Your timing doesn’t coincide with my timetable.

I trust You Lord. I have faith that You will so everything You said You’d do. I’ve allowed the reality of our microwave society to creep into my relationship with You and distort my perception of time.

I trust You and have faith in You, but too often I allow bad judgement or bad decisions that I’ve made to put me in a bind and then I expect You to run to my rescue. Over time, I’ve put myself in bad situations but, I want you to get me out of the mess I’ve made in an instant. Forgive me!

The truth is, You don’t operate on the world’s timetable and, for my own good; hopefully to teach me a lesson, You allow me to be uncomfortable so I can learn to be content with what I have, be content with where I am and involve You in my decisions.

Father, it is not my intent to operate with a lack of faith. Please help me to wait. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Scripture References:

Psalm 27:14       Psalm 130:5        II Corinthians 5:7

Psalm 37:1 – 8   Isaiah 30:18        Philippians 2:14

Psalm 40:1          Romans 10:17

 

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Hold On – Part I (Revised)

 

waiting on God under tree

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

 

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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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Worry, Waste, Want

 

Faith plus patience

 

Matthew 6:25

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes?”

After a farmer or a gardener plants their crops they have to wait to see what, if anything is going to grow or bloom.  I planted six new roses in the backyard. They all came from the same reparable rose seller that I’ve used for years. I have several roses from this same place that are over 15 years old so I know the roses are of good quality.

I planted them at the same time, in the same area and at the right time of the season but, only two out of the six am showing signs of life. I don’t know what could have gone wrong! What if the four die? I will have wasted my time, great effort and energy plus the money I paid for them. Plus, I’ll want four more roses to replace them.  I am worry about the possible loss of the four roses.

Yesterday, I was on my way back to look at the four roses again to see if there was ANY sign of life when a thought struck me; with all my worrying I couldn’t make the roses live! I could worry and fret over the four dead looking roses but I don’t have the power to make them live; only God has the power of life and death. So, why am I worrying and wasting my time and emotions on something I had no control over? Because I wanted the roses to live!

My want for something I had no control over drove me into worry and waste while I tried to figure out how I could get what I want. Have you ever been there?

Maybe you’re there right now. Maybe you want something so bad that you have forgotten who is the Source and Giver of all things. Maybe you are so concerned about finances, a wayward child, or the loss of a job or the closing of a family business. It doesn’t matter what you’re worried about; this is just a reminder to never forget God, who has controls everything and everyone. It is easy for lose focus on the Giver when you are only looking at the gift.

Patience combats worry. God knows what we need even before we need it and puts everything in order to meet us at our point of need. We must stay focused on Him and be patient, not worry or fret ourselves over things that we want but may not need and not waste our time trying to get things God hasn’t ordained for us.

With patience there is no worry. With trust there is no waste. With obedience there is no want. Therefore; combat worry, waste and want by patiently trusting God while you obey His commands for your life.

“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” James 5:7 – 8

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Prayer for Today

 

faith possible not easy

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

 

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Spiritual Night Travel

Pillar of fire“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” Exodus 13:21

Has God ever required you to travel at spiritual night? Moving forward without the full plan to use as your guide or compass? He has required me to travel by spiritual night on more than a few occasions and I can tell you the journey took some time to get used to.

I am a planner. I believe in guidelines, timelines, procedures and schedules. The first time God required me to travel in spiritual night I was rebellious. I didn’t know where He was trying to take me or for what reason. I didn’t have a plan or know the purpose of the journey so I set down and wouldn’t move. I told God, “I’ll do what you tell me to do when you tell me what the end result is going to be and give me a plan!”

God began closing doors and locking windows in my life. And if that weren’t enough, He started turning up the heat making it impossible for me to stay where I was, so I took the only way of escape He left me.

Then I realized the way He had left me was dark because I hadn’t been that way before, I didn’t have a plan nor any experience to cling to during this time. I didn’t know how to travel this path but it was the only path God had left me. Everything else was cut off.

I cried out to God but there was only silence. I prayed but there was no answer. I resolved to go back to the way I had come but I couldn’t because all roads leading back had been blocked. The only way I could go was forward, but how?

Even in our darkest times, during our spiritual night travels, God provides a pillar of fire to lead us. It may be on your coffee table or your night stand. You may have left it in your car from the last time you went to your house of worship, but it is your pillar of fire by night. It is the word of God!

In Exodus 13:21 the pillar of fire guided the people through the wilderness and assured them of God’s presence. That’s what God’s word does for us! Are you in a wilderness experience in your life right now? If so, here’s some light for you to walk in:

You are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm – Ephesians 1:3

You are chosen by the Father – Ephesians 1:4

You are God’s workmanship – Ephesians 2:10

You are victorious – I John 5:4

You are an overcomer – Revelation 12:11

You are healed – I Peter 2:24

You are more than a conqueror – Romans 8:37

God has given you the ability to produce wealth – Deuteronomy 8:18

God hears you when you call – Isaiah 65:24

 

We’ll walk in the light, beautiful light. Come where the dew drops of mercy shine bright. Shine all around us by day and by night. Jesus, the light of the world.” George D. Elderkin

Prayer for Today

February 11, 2015

Father, today let me acknowledge your peace that covers and rests on me. Your peace that is full, complete and lacks nothing is the peace I need to sustain me. The things the world calls peace; money, wealth, fame and power are fleeting and fad away in the midst of adversity.

Unlike the world’s peace, your peace is always with me, even to the end of time. Your peace is not circumstantial. Your peace is a part of my benefits package of being your child. I don’t walk in your peace as often or completely as I should because I allow circumstances and problems to cause me to worry, fret and be anxious. Forgive me!

Today I will not worry, fret or be anxious over things but I will rest in the truth of your amazing grace and peace. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Scripture references:

Numbers 6:22 – 26

Psalm 29:11

John 14:27

Philippians 4:6 – 7

Proverb 12:25

I Peter 5:7peace rock