Sept 7 Recognition => Repentance

Father, in many prayers, a sense of Your amazing presence is followed by recognizing the need to repent of personal sin. Yesterday’s Psalm of Your glorious appearance is followed by today’s Psalm of asking for forgiveness.   It’s no wonder – when I focus on You and Your righteous character, I feel completely inadequate and unworthy.

But praise be to the Lord of Hosts that I have forgiveness in Your unfailing love!

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”

Father, I turn from my sin and confess to You, agreeing with You that it is sin.  Cleanse me from it, Father, blot it out according to Your mercy.  And show me Lord, when I start to go my own way instead of doing what You have shown me is right.

Even now, bring to mind anything I must confess and turn away from in any area of my life.

Father, I bring my thoughts before You: angry, selfish, envious, lustful, greedy, prideful, and any others that would lead me away from You.

I offer You my attitudes: critical, judgmental, argumentative, materialistic, lukewarm towards You.

I desire to align my speech with what will honor You, and ask forgiveness for words spoken that are crude, hurtful, hateful, grumbling, complaining, divisive, misleading, or lies.

Lord, in my relationships, forgive when I have been disrespectful, manipulative, unforgiving, dishonest, improper physically or emotionally.  I give You my relationships and ask that You would remove any that are ungodly.  Close the door on those that do not encourage godliness in me.

Father, forgive me for setting other things in priority over spending time with You, for not following through on all You have shown me to do, for continuing to do anything You have told me not to do.

Forgive me for allowing ungodly influences into my life by the things I watch or read or eat or drink or do that are not healthy for me, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually.

Lord God, “cleanse me… and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow…Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”   On behalf of Your unending love and Your great compassion.  Amen

Psalm 51:1-10

June 10 I seek Your Blessing

O Lord, I desire to be blessed by You.  I fear You with respect to the acknowledgement of who You are: Creator, Savior, Deliverer, the One True God.

My attitude towards You is one of reverence and honor.  You are so high above me, yet You invite me to come to You, to approach You, and to be in Your presence.

That in itself is a blessing.  Your thoughts and Your ways are far beyond what I can think or even imagine.

Father, help me know Your ways and walk in them as I live day to day.  Show me how to honor You by living according to Your commands.  Give me the wisdom and discernment to know what is right and honoring to You.

And give me the strength of character to choose the right and turn away from the wrong.  Being obedient to Your ways keeps me under the umbrella of Your protection and blessing.

I ask for Your blessing all the days of my life.  May I see my children honor and serve You. May I live to see my children’s children. You teach me “peace” means protection, prosperity, purposeful living in joy, health, wholeness, security – summed up in the word “shalom.”

Thank You for Your shalom, for Your “peace.”   May I see it in my family. And in my country. And in Jerusalem. Amen

Psalm 128:1-6

Sept 7 Recognition -> Repentance

Father, in many prayers, a sense of Your amazing presence is followed by recognizing the need to repent of personal sin. Yesterday’s Psalm of Your glorious appearance is followed by today’s Psalm of asking for forgiveness.   It’s no wonder – when I focus on You and Your righteous character, I feel completely inadequate and unworthy.

But praise be to the Lord of Hosts that I have forgiveness in Your unfailing love!

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”

Father, I turn from my sin and confess to You, agreeing with You that it is sin.  Cleanse me from it, Father, blot it out according to Your mercy.  And show me Lord, when I start to go my own way instead of doing what You have shown me is right.  Even now, bring to mind anything I must confess and turn away from in any area of my life.

Father, I bring my thoughts before You: angry, selfish, envious, lustful, greedy, prideful, and any others that would lead me away from You.

I offer You my attitudes: critical, judgmental, argumentative, materialistic, lukewarm towards You.

I desire to align my speech with what will honor You, and ask forgiveness for words spoken that are crude, hurtful, hateful, grumbling, complaining, divisive, misleading, or lies.

Lord, in my relationships, forgive when I have been disrespectful, manipulative, unforgiving, dishonest, improper physically or emotionally.  I give You my relationships and ask that You would remove any that are ungodly.  Close the door on those that do not encourage godliness in me.

Father, forgive me for setting other things in priority over spending time with You, for not following through on all You have shown me to do, for continuing to do anything You have told me not to do.

Forgive me for allowing ungodly influences into my life by the things I watch or read or eat or drink or do that are not healthy for me, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually.

Lord God, “cleanse me… and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow…Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”   On behalf of Your unending love and Your great compassion.  Amen

Psalm 51:1-10

Jan 12 Trust God with it all

Thank You for sharing the secret to prosperity with us in today’s Proverb. It is a simple statement, but holds the key.

You instruct us to “honor You with our wealth, with the firstfruits of our crops.”

We often consider “honoring You with our wealth” to mean tithing money to an affiliated church. Period. And while money is certainly a part of our “wealth” it is not the only thing.

Some of us have a wealth of talent, some a wealth of personality, some a wealth of time, or of good health and energy. All these things are gifts from the Father of Lights from whom every good and perfect gift comes.

So we need to consider giving of our talents, our time, our energy, our relationships, all in a way that brings honor to You.

Lord, help me think beyond the change in my pocket. Let me glorify You in how I treat other people, how I speak to them, how I look on them in my heart attitude. Let the bounty of Your provision to me in time and talent overflow onto those around me.

Help me spend the minutes in my day as carefully as the dollars in my purse, in a way that points to You, and brings acknowledgement and praise to You.

Help me turn away from greed, selfishness, pride, arrogance; and reflect the righteous qualities of the fruit of the Spirit: goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness, patience, peace, love, joy, and self-control.

The second part of the key is timing. The firstfruits of a crop are what is harvested before the rest of the crop is mature and ready to be gathered.

Earthly wisdom would be to “get what you can, can what you get, and sit on the can.” It would be to bank a “‘sure thing” and then wait to see if the rest of the crop comes in. After all, there could be floods, winds, freezes, insects or disease that could overtake a ripening crop and destroy it completely. Then nothing would be left to sustain the grower and give profit.

But You tell me to honor You with the firstfruits. It’s an exercise in trust.

It means I am willing to sacrifice a “sure thing” because I trust the One who is in control of it all!

Help me act in faith, being willing to show I trust in You and in Your will for my life by giving You what is given to me first. Don’t let me be fearful of the future and stockpile the firstfruits for myself, then be satisfied with ”tipping” You if any is left over.

Father, thank You for this reminder that speaks again to the reassurance I have in You.  You are the One with the power and the might and the authority and the sovereignty over all things.

You remind me that I can trust You with all things in the present and the future. I choose to trust You with my words, my actions and my prayers. Amen

Proverbs 3:9-10