May 21 Family Victory

Father in heaven, as You did for David, would You do for me and my family?  Would You “protect us and hand over to us the forces that come against us.”

David was fighting a real physical enemy.  Life and death were in the balance.

They were in hand-to-hand combat to regain what had been taken from them: their families and possessions.  David “inquired of the Lord” to seek Your will before he acted, and You promised him victory.

Father, I come before You today to seek Your will for my family; to ask if You will give us victory over the forces that are at work in the world today that pull us apart and away from You.

We do not fight hand to hand with a physical enemy.  But we live in a culture where family values are going by the wayside and Biblical values are not honored.

Parental authority is being eroded, parents are disrespected, children are rebellious and often rude.  We fight against selfishness, greed, hate, violence, immorality, materialism, the occult, witchcraft, and all the schemes of satan.

Father, especially in my family, would You give me wisdom as a parent to know when to speak and when to keep quiet, so I can offer wise counsel and not destructive comments.  Set a guard over my mouth to use words that are instructive, edifying and building up according to the needs of the one I seek to help.

Show me how to pray for Your perfect will in my children’s’ lives, not simply what I think will benefit them.  Keep me from comparing them to other friend’s children, or even each other.

Lord, keep the lines of communication open so conversations between us will be effective and filled with love and respect.

Give my children discernment so they are not swept away by the vain philosophies of men and the political schemes that do not support Biblical values.

Help them recognize and turn away from temptation when it would lead to greed, immorality, the occult or anything satan would use to draw them away from You.  Block their way when others entice them into ungodly activities.

Let them seek to bless with their words, and not curse.  Draw them to Yourself and instruct them in the way they should go to be in the middle of Your will and Your blessing.  Remind them of their need for a Savior, and the joy of having a close relationship with You.

And I will give thanks that You are with me and You are my Helper.  Because of that, I will look triumphantly upon these foes.  I take refuge in You, Lord.  You are my strength and my Victory!  Amen

I Samuel 30:1-25; Psalm 118:7, 14

Mar 23 A blessed life

“Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.”

He has brought me into life in a time and place of His choosing; to a family of His providence.  He has watched over me and protected me from serious illness and injury, trouble and violence, time and again.

There were times when I cried out to Him for deliverance from circumstances, and He delivered me, or gave me what I needed to endure.  There were times when He rescued me from things that I was not even aware I needed rescuing from.

He allowed me an understanding of spiritual matters, so that I began to see how sinful I was, and in need of a Savior.  And that He, Jesus Christ, in love, shed His blood to pay the price, the penalty my sin had earned.  He showed me, taught me, that this is the only way to reconcile my sinful self with God, who is holy.

He has tested me and refined me like silver. 

And although the process is not complete yet, each step in the process brings me closer to being Christ-like.  The best silver is put into the fire seven times and brought up to a temperature of heat that burns away the impurities, creating a purer, more valuable quality.   And though the process of purification is not comfortable, and is often painful, it yields a harvest of blessing.

He has blessed me with loved ones, with friends, with a sense of purpose in life.  He has provided me with hope, love, and a heavenly Father I can trust.

He has comforted me with scriptures, by singing me songs; with revelations of His perspective, by sending people to talk with me, counsel me, rejoice and cry with me.

He has given me the hope of an eternal existence with Him in the future, with promises that He will never, ever, no, not ever, leave me.

He has forgiven my sin.

He has promised that nothing will overtake me, but that He will always make a way for me to bear up under whatever He allows into my life.

How awesome are His deeds!  How great is His power!  Praise be to God! 

Father, let me never forget these things or all that You have done for me.  Let me never shy away from an opportunity to tell others about them and about You.  And that when they call on You as Savior, You will bless their lives too.   Amen

Psalm 66:1-20

Feb 27 Can…and wWILL

Lord, I can so identify with the father who asked You to deliver his son from the evil spirit.  His words were, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!”

As I read through Your Word and see the miracles You have done: the healings, the deliverances of people groups and individuals, the amazing ways You impacted a person’s life and used them mightily, I marvel and believe.

When people tell me all You have done in their lives, how You have worked things out that should never have happened, and saved them from something in the nick of time, I believe that.

But when it comes to my own life, while I totally believe You CAN do anything; I often fall short in believing that You WILL.   Where it’s easy for me to see You acting in others’ lives, I feel so undeserving of Your attention.

But I continue to call out to You for my family, my children and grandchildren.  I believe that Your purpose is not to harm them, but to give them a hope and a future.  I claim that promise, and await the deliverance.

I call forth things that be not, as though they were, and will be.  And I look forward to the day when they will once again worship You in spirit and in truth being guided by Your Word.

I totally believe You can accomplish this.  Your power is so great that nothing can stand against You.  Help me, Lord, overcome any doubt that remains in me.

I will trust in You.  I will trust in You.  I will trust in You.  Amen

Mark 9: 14-29; Romans 4:16-21

Aug 20 Love

Father, help me be more loving.  I am so convicted today of falling short in this area.

Help me love my family the way You would love them.

It seems they are the people I count on most for support, yet they are the ones that test me the most and I often end up acting the least loving towards.

Help me be patient with them, remembering how very patient You are with me.  If I become angry, let me bring that to You and not take it out on them.  Help me deal with the anger and frustration I feel prayerfully first.  Then, let me go to them if there are issues, and speak the truth in love.

Help me let go of past hurts so I don’t “keep a record of wrongs” and try to even the score, or somehow treat them as though they owe me something.   You are very clear that if I do not have love, everything else I do is insignificant.

Help me love my friends more.

It is somehow easier to be patient with my friends.  But I find myself having to deal with attitudes and emotions like envy and pride.  It’s so hard not to compare myself.  And feelings of envy or jealousy definitely get in the way of relationships.   They color communication and hinder closeness.

Father, You are every one of these 1 Corinthians 13 love characteristics, perfected.  And I need Your help.  I don’t want to be a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”  All the other things I have done for family and friends may fall away and be forgotten.  But what they will remember is whether I loved them. 

Lord, what I can see now is that envy, impatience, boasting, all the things that love is not, are childish.  Help me “put childish ways behind me.” 

I have grown up physically and mentally.  Help me to grow up spiritually.  Help me treat the people You place in my life, first and foremost, with love.   Amen

I Corinthians 13:1-13

July 28 Family and Spiritual Heritage

O Father, when I think of how fortunate I am, and all the blessings You have given me, it takes my breath away, and I am humbled to tears.

Even before I was born, You determined when I would be born, and where, and to whom.  There were generations who came before me who knew You and worshipped You.  That is a godly heritage I must not take for granted.

David was a man after Your own heart.  And yet his lineage is full of men who were idolatrous, murderous, and evil.  Jehoshaphat followed You and taught others to worship You, yet his own firstborn, Jehoram, when given the rule, murdered all his brothers to secure his reign.  He married a daughter of Jezebel, a manipulative and evil woman.

After Jehoram’s gruesome death, his youngest son, Ahaziah took over and was encouraged into doing more evil by his mother.  Later, this evil mother, upon learning of her own son’s death, murdered all the siblings and offspring so she could reign in her son’s place!

But she missed baby Joash.  Joash was hidden and raised by godly people.  When he came to reign at the age of seven, he ruled rightly in Your eyes.

I know, Father, that You call each of us.  Some come from broken homes and dark, painful backgrounds.  But we each owe You a debt of gratitude for every divine influence and godly person You put in our path.

I can think of relatives, Sunday School teachers, preachers who taught me to love You and seek to know You.  But I also remember neighbors, friends, even strangers, who taught me godly lessons – some without even knowing it.  I am grateful, and thank You for each one of these.

As I look back over my life, I can see that I would not have all I have now, be all I am now, or love You the way I do, without Your intervention and Your loving care.  There is no doubt in my mind – You were involved in a personal relationship with me before I even knew You.   Thank You for all You have done.

Father, it also challenges me to be that divine influence in the lives of others You bring across my path.  Help me see opportunities to point others to You.  Open my eyes to recognize when I can say something, do something, be something that will benefit the faith of others.  Use me Lord, to pass on the blessing.  Amen

2 Chronicles 21:1-23:11

July 8 You are our Hope

“Be merciful to me, Lord…O Lord, heal me.”  Father, there have been times when not only my body, but my soul have been sick with grief, with fear, with frustration.  There are times when I do not understand why such bad things happen to good, seemingly innocent people and children.

Or why tragedies come: floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, pandemics!  Such devastation is hard to watch as the suffering and loss is personalized in the news.  And that doesn’t even include man’s inhumanity to man as I hear about injustice, shootings, bombings and the violent plans of bloodthirsty men.

As hard as all this is to take in, there are the invisible tragedies as well.  These are the spiritual disasters that occur when people are deceived and led away from You into lives of confusion and sin.  As I see hate and mistrust grow in my family, community and nation I wonder where it will end.  How bad can it get O Lord, before You come and deliver?

Children rebelling are pulling away from the godly way their parents have raised them.  When will they come to their senses Lord?

People swayed into immoral lifestyles by the social tolerances of the day.  What one generation has allowed in moderation, the next has taken to excess.

Greed runs rampant.  Self is exalted.  Consequences are non-existent.  But the spiritual cost is beyond measure.

While it all looks fun on the outside, many of these people are tortured in their personal life.  They are trapped in a web of self-doubt and pain, discontented with life.  The more they seek to satisfy “self” the more dissatisfied and confused they are.

The further away they get from Your truth, the more lost and unable to even recognize truth they become

“How long, O Lord, how long?  Turn and deliver; save because of Your unfailing love.” 

Your love and deliverance are the only hope.   For my family, my community, my nation.

Father, turn the hearts of sons back to fathers.  “Open the eyes “of those who have been drawn away from You, “and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to You, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in You.”

“Father, hear my cry for mercy.  Accept my prayer.”  I long for and wait for the time when all Your enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; and will turn back in sudden disgrace.”  And You will be remembered and worshipped as the One True God.  In my family.  In my nation.  In the world.

I need, we need Your mercy Father.  And Your healing.  Thank You that You hear my cry, and answer.  Amen

Acts 26:18; Psalm 6:1-10

June 15 Bring Salvation to all!

Father, I live in a time when Your Word has spread to cover almost all the earth.  In Acts, this was just beginning.  Thank You for spreading the Word to Gentiles as well as people in the Jewish faith.

For Cornelius, You sent an angel directing him to Peter.  And to Peter, You sent a vision to prepare him to share the Good News with Cornelius and other Gentiles.  Thank You for including me in Your message of salvation down through the ages.

Father, I ask that You would continue to send angels and visions to those who have yet to hear of You and Your love for them!   All around the world, give each of these people understanding to see Your truth.

Lord, I have loved ones who have forgotten or walked away from Your loving care.  Draw them back to You.  Return to them the joy of their salvation.  Give them a hunger and thirst to seek and receive Your Good News again.

They have been living under the lies and deceitful influences of the world, the flesh, and the evil one.  Break their chains and set them free to love You again!

Your psalm tells “how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!“  I pray for this goodness and this unity in my family.   Please bestow this blessing on us so we can walk in Your goodness and Your mercy forevermore.

And even on a worldwide scale, I believe You can use even the worst circumstances imaginable to bring unity and salvation.  The pandemic, injustice, unrest, even war – please take what satan means for evil and use it for good.  Don’t let any of these painful circumstances be wasted.  But use them all to bring people to a saving knowledge of You.  Amen

Acts 10:1-23; Psalm 133:1-3

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

May 21 Family Victory!

Father in heaven, as You did for David, would You do for me and my family?  Would You “protect us and hand over to us the forces that come against us.”

David was fighting a real physical enemy.  Life and death were in the balance.

They were in hand-to-hand combat to regain what had been taken from them: their families and possessions.  David “inquired of the Lord” to seek Your will before he acted, and You promised him victory.

Father, I come before You today to seek Your will for my family; to ask if You will give us victory over the forces that are at work in the world today that pull us apart and away from You.

We do not fight hand to hand with a physical enemy.  But we live in a culture where family values are going by the wayside and Biblical values are not honored.

Parental authority is being eroded, parents are disrespected, children are rebellious and often rude.  We fight against selfishness, greed, hate, violence, immorality, materialism, the occult, witchcraft, and all the schemes of satan.

Father, especially in my family, would You give me wisdom as a parent to know when to speak and when to keep quiet, so I can offer wise counsel and not destructive comments.  Set a guard over my mouth to use words that are instructive, edifying and building up according to the needs of the one I seek to help.

Show me how to pray for Your perfect will in my children’s’ lives, not simply what I think will benefit them.  Keep me from comparing them to other friend’s children, or even each other.

Lord, keep the lines of communication open so conversations between us will be effective and filled with love and respect.

Give my children discernment so they are not swept away by the vain philosophies of men and the political schemes that do not support Biblical values.

Help them recognize and turn away from temptation when it would lead to greed, immorality, the occult or anything satan would use to draw them away from You.  Block their way when others entice them into ungodly activities.

Let them seek to bless with their words, and not curse.  Draw them to Yourself and instruct them in the way they should go to be in the middle of Your will and Your blessing.  Remind them of their need for a Savior, and the joy of having a close relationship with You.

And I will give thanks that You are with me and You are my Helper.  Because of that, I will look triumphantly upon these foes.  I take refuge in You, Lord.  You are my strength and my Victory!  Amen

I Samuel 30:1-25; Psalm 118:7, 14

Mar 23 A blessed life

“Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.”

He has brought me into life in a time and place of His choosing; to a family of His providence.  He has watched over me and protected me from serious illness and injury, trouble and violence, time and again.

There were times when I cried out to Him for deliverance from circumstances, and He delivered me, or gave me what I needed to endure.  There were times when He rescued me from things that I was not even aware I needed rescuing from.

He allowed me an understanding of spiritual matters, so that I began to see how sinful I was, and in need of a Savior.  And that He, Jesus Christ, in love, shed His blood to pay the price, the penalty my sin had earned.  He showed me, taught me, that this is the only way to reconcile my sinful self with God, who is holy.

He has tested me and refined me like silver. 

And although the process is not complete yet, each step in the process brings me closer to being Christ-like.  The best silver is put into the fire seven times and brought up to a temperature of heat that burns away the impurities, creating a purer, more valuable quality.   And though the process of purification is not comfortable, and is often painful, it yields a harvest of blessing.

He has blessed me with loved ones, with friends, with a sense of purpose in life.  He has provided me with hope, love, and a heavenly Father I can trust.

He has comforted me with scriptures, by singing me songs; with revelations of His perspective, by sending people to talk with me, counsel me, rejoice and cry with me.

He has given me the hope of an eternal existence with Him in the future, with promises that He will never, ever, no, not ever, leave me.

He has forgiven my sin.

He has promised that nothing will overtake me, but that He will always make a way for me to bear up under whatever He allows into my life.

How awesome are His deeds!  How great is His power!  Praise be to God! 

Father, let me never forget these things or all that You have done for me.  Let me never shy away from an opportunity to tell others about them and about You.  And that when they call on You as Savior, You will bless their lives too.   Amen

Psalm 66:1-20

Feb 27 Can…and WILL

Lord, I can so identify with the father who asked You to deliver his son from the evil spirit.  His words were, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!”

As I read through Your Word and see the miracles You have done: the healings, the deliverances of people groups and individuals, the amazing ways You impacted a person’s life and used them mightily, I marvel and believe.

When people tell me all You have done in their lives, how You have worked things out that should never have happened, and saved them from something in the nick of time, I believe that.

But when it comes to my own life, while I totally believe You CAN do anything; I often fall short in believing that You WILL.   Where it’s easy for me to see You acting in others’ lives, I feel so undeserving of Your attention.

But I continue to call out to You for my family, my children and grandchildren.  I believe that Your purpose is not to harm them, but to give them a hope and a future.  I claim that promise, and await the deliverance.

I call forth things that be not, as though they were, and will be.  And I look forward to the day when they will once again worship You in spirit and in truth being guided by Your Word.

I totally believe You can accomplish this.  Your power is so great that nothing can stand against You.  Help me, Lord, overcome any doubt that remains in me.

I will trust in You.  I will trust in You.  I will trust in You.  Amen

Mark 9: 14-29; Romans 4:16-21

I sing! for Thanks, Hope, Help

“To You I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me.  For if You remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.”    They have no hope.  And see no chance for rescue.

Lord, my life seems easy enough.  I have what I need to get from day to day. I have food to eat and clothes to wear.  I have more freedoms than most people in the world.  And a safe place to live with family and friends who care about me.

But there is pain.  There are those I love who don’t know You, and it grieves my heart.

So here is where “I lift up my hands toward Your Most Holy Place.  Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help.”  Father when I think of mistakes I’ve made with people who I love, I am filled with remorse.  I can’t go back and undo what I have done or “un-say” things.  And I worry if anything I did or said, set them on a path away from You.

O Father, forgive me.  If there is a way I can make it right, show me.  Take away this guilt I live with, and replace it with something from You that will heal and help them.  Show me how to say, what to say, when to say; or what to do to unravel any knots I may have been part of in their lives.

Soften their hearts to Your truth, and to Yourself, and to the call of the Holy Spirit.   Turn them away from the darkness they live in, some without even realizing it.  Bring them into the light of Your love.

Father, this is the deepest desire of my heart: that those who You have entrusted to me as family and friends, will all know You as Savior, and be together in heaven with You and with me.

It is something only You can do. 

Only You call. 

And only You save. 

And I will sing: “Praise to the Lord!  For He has heard my cry for mercy!  The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks in song”.   Amen

Psalm 28:1-2; 6-9

Aug 1 Unity

Father, in all that Hezekiah did, He sought Your guidance and blessing.  And You blessed: “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what was ordered… following the Word of the Lord.” 

Paul also wrote about the unity of believers: “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Unity is a gift, and it comes from You.

Father, I ask for unity in my marriage.   As we make decisions about our future, our family, our finances, our life together, give us agreement in these areas.  Help us see our circumstances from Your perspective.  And regardless of what the world would say, give us Your wisdom.  Remind us to put our faith not in numbers or schedules or the plans of men, but in You.

Lord, I ask for unity in my church.  Many plans have been prayerfully considered,  but only Your plan counts.  And only You can bring it to pass.  Father, honor the desire of our church to bring Your kingdom into our community.  Bring the people who need to know You.  And bring others who already know You and want to serve You.

Lord God, I ask for the unity of Your believers.  So many things divide us.  We are overcome with the world.  We fight each other over things that are disputable until the world sees an inconsistent, arguing, critical body that they want to avoid at all costs; instead of being drawn into Your love and Your care for them.

And, Father, there has been so much dissent and disunity over [political, racial. and social] issues [regarding this pandemic] in our country.  More than that, abuse of power is running rampant, injustice escalates racial tensions, families and friends are being torn apart over these issues.

Please bring light to our darkness.  Bring sense and order out of chaos.   Bring unity out of the divisiveness the evil one incites.  Let Your truth reign before it’s too late and we lose the battle for life and health in our families, community and country.

You give us endurance and encouragement in Your Word.  Let me draw on Your Word’s truth to live my life.  

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”  Father, bring me this hope.  Bring it into my relationships, my marriage, my family, my church, my nation.

Remind me to make time to read the Scriptures so I might receive this encouragement.  Let me learn so I will have the endurance I need.  Give me patience and humility so I can be used by You.  Amen

2 Chronicles 30:6-12; 31:20-21;  Romans 15:1-13

July 28 Family and Spiritual Heritage

O Father, when I think of how fortunate I am, and all the blessings You have given me, it takes my breath away, and I am humbled to tears.

Even before I was born, You determined when I would be born, and where, and to whom.  There were generations who came before me who knew You and worshipped You.  That is a godly heritage I must not take for granted.

David was a man after Your own heart.  And yet his lineage is full of men who were idolatrous, murderous, and evil.  Jehoshaphat followed You and taught others to worship You, yet his own firstborn, Jehoram, when given the rule, murdered all his brothers to secure his reign.  He married a daughter of Jezebel, a manipulative and evil woman.

After Jehoram’s gruesome death, his youngest son, Ahaziah took over and was encouraged into doing more evil by his mother.  Later, this evil mother, upon learning of her own son’s death, murdered all the siblings and offspring so she could reign in her son’s place!

But she missed baby Joash.  Joash was hidden and raised by godly people.  When he came to reign at the age of seven, he ruled rightly in Your eyes.

I know, Father, that You call each of us.  Some come from broken homes and dark, painful backgrounds.  But we each owe You a debt of gratitude for every divine influence and godly person You put in our path.

I can think of relatives, Sunday School teachers, preachers who taught me to love You and seek to know You.  But I also remember neighbors, friends, even strangers, who taught me godly lessons – some without even knowing it.  I am grateful, and thank You for each one of these.

As I look back over my life, I can see that I would not have all I have now, be all I am now, or love You the way I do, without Your intervention and Your loving care.  There is no doubt in my mind – You were involved in a personal relationship with me before I even knew You.   Thank You for all You have done.

Father, it also challenges me to be that divine influence in the lives of others You bring across my path.  Help me see opportunities to point others to You.  Open my eyes to recognize when I can say something, do something, be something that will benefit the faith of others.  Use me Lord, to pass on the blessing.  Amen

2 Chronicles 21:1-23:11

July 8 You are our Hope

“Be merciful to me, Lord…O Lord, heal me.”  Father, there have been times when not only my body, but my soul have been sick with grief, with fear, with frustration.  There are times when I do not understand why such bad things happen to good, seemingly innocent people and children.

Or why tragedies come: floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, pandemics!  Such devastation is hard to watch as the suffering and loss is personalized in the news.  And that doesn’t even include man’s inhumanity to man as I hear about injustice, shootings, bombings and the violent plans of bloodthirsty men.

As hard as all this is to take in, there are the invisible tragedies as well.  These are the spiritual disasters that occur when people are deceived and led away from You into lives of confusion and sin.  As I see hate and mistrust grow in my family, community and nation I wonder where it will end.  How bad can it get O Lord, before You come and deliver?

Children rebelling are pulling away from the godly way their parents have raised them.  When will they come to their senses Lord?

People swayed into immoral lifestyles by the social tolerances of the day.  What one generation has allowed in moderation, the next has taken to excess.

Greed runs rampant.  Self is exalted.  Consequences are non-existent.  But the spiritual cost is beyond measure.

While it all looks fun on the outside, many of these people are tortured in their personal life.  They are trapped in a web of self-doubt and pain, discontented with life.  The more they seek to satisfy “self” the more dissatisfied and confused they are.

The further away they get from Your truth, the more lost and unable to even recognize truth they become

“How long, O Lord, how long?  Turn and deliver; save because of Your unfailing love.”

Your love and deliverance are the only hope.   For my family, my community, my nation.

Father, turn the hearts of sons back to fathers.  “Open the eyes “of those who have been drawn away from You, “and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to You, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in You.”

“Father, hear my cry for mercy.  Accept my prayer.”  I long for and wait for the time when all Your enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; and will turn back in sudden disgrace.”  And You will be remembered and worshipped as the One True God.  In my family.  In my nation.  In the world.

I need, we need Your mercy Father.  And Your healing.  Thank You that You hear my cry, and answer.  Amen

Acts 26:18; Psalm 6:1-10

May 21 Family Victory!

Father in heaven, as You did for David, would You do for me and my family?  Would You “protect us and hand over to us the forces that come against us.”

David was fighting a real physical enemy.  Life and death were in the balance.

They were in hand-to-hand combat to regain what had been taken from them: their families and possessions.  David “inquired of the Lord” to seek Your will before he acted, and You promised him victory.

Father, I come before You today to seek Your will for my family; to ask if You will give us victory over the forces that are at work in the world today that pull us apart and away from You.

We do not fight hand to hand with a physical enemy.  But we live in a culture where family values are going by the wayside and Biblical values are not honored.

Parental authority is being eroded, parents are disrespected, children are rebellious and often rude.  We fight against selfishness, greed, hate, violence, immorality, materialism, the occult, witchcraft, and all the schemes of satan.

Father, especially in my family, would You give me wisdom as a parent to know when to speak and when to keep quiet, so I can offer wise counsel and not destructive comments.  Set a guard over my mouth to use words that are instructive, edifying and building up according to the needs of the one I seek to help.

Show me how to pray for Your perfect will in my children’s’ lives, not simply what I think will benefit them.  Keep me from comparing them to other friend’s children, or even each other.

Lord, keep the lines of communication open so conversations between us will be effective and filled with love and respect.

Give my children discernment so they are not swept away by the vain philosophies of men and the political schemes that do not support Biblical values.

Help them recognize and turn away from temptation when it would lead to greed, immorality, the occult or anything satan would use to draw them away from You.  Block their way when others entice them into ungodly activities.

Let them seek to bless with their words, and not curse.  Draw them to Yourself and instruct them in the way they should go to be in the middle of Your will and Your  blessing.  Remind them of their need for a Savior, and the joy of having a close relationship with You.

And I will give thanks that You are with me and You are my Helper.  Because of that, I will look triumphantly upon these foes.  I take refuge in You, Lord.  You are my strength and my Victory!  Amen

I Samuel 30:1-25; Psalm 118:7, 14

Mar 23 A Blessed Life

“Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.”

He has brought me into life in a time and place of His choosing; to a family of His providence.  He has watched over me and protected me from serious illness and injury, trouble and violence, time and again.

There were times when I cried out to Him for deliverance from circumstances, and He delivered me, or gave me what I needed to endure.  There were times when He rescued me from things that I was not even aware I needed rescuing from.

He allowed me an understanding of spiritual matters, so that I began to see how sinful I was, and in need of a Savior.  And that He, Jesus Christ, in love, shed His blood to pay the price, the penalty my sin had earned.  He showed me, taught me, that this is the only way to reconcile my sinful self with God, who is holy.

He has tested me and refined me like silver.

And although the process is not complete yet, each step in the process brings me closer to being Christ-like.  The best silver is put into the fire seven times and brought up to a temperature of heat that burns away the impurities, creating a purer, more valuable quality.   And though the process of purification is not comfortable, and is often painful, it yields a harvest of blessing.

He has blessed me with loved ones, with friends, with a sense of purpose in life.  He has provided me with hope, love, and a heavenly Father I can trust.

He has comforted me with scriptures, by singing me songs; with revelations of His perspective, by sending people to talk with me, counsel me, rejoice and cry with me.

He has given me the hope of an eternal existence with Him in the future, with promises that He will never, ever, no, not ever, leave me.

He has forgiven my sin.

He has promised that nothing will overtake me, but that He will always make a way for me to bear up under whatever He allows into my life.

How awesome are His deeds!  How great is His power!  Praise be to God! 

Father, let me never forget these things or all that You have done for me.  Let me never shy away from an opportunity to tell others about them and about You.  And that when they call on You as Savior, You will bless their lives too.   Amen

Psalm 66:1-20

Aug 20 Love

Father, help me be more loving.  I am so convicted today of falling short in this area.

Help me love my family the way You would love them.

It seems they are the people I count on most for support, yet they are the ones that test me the most and I often end up acting the least loving towards.

Help me be patient with them, remembering how very patient You are with me.  If I become angry, let me bring that to You and not take it out on them.  Help me deal with the anger and frustration I feel prayerfully first.  Then, let me go to them if there are issues, and speak the truth in love.

Help me let go of past hurts so I don’t “keep a record of wrongs” and try to even the score, or somehow treat them as though they owe me something.   You are very clear that if I do not have love, everything else I do is insignificant.

Help me love my friends more.

It is somehow easier to be patient with my friends.  But I find myself having to deal with attitudes and emotions like envy and pride.  It’s so hard not to compare myself.  And feelings of envy or jealousy definitely get in the way of relationships.   They color communication and hinder closeness.

Father, You are every one of these characteristics of love, perfected.  And I need Your help.  I don’t want to be a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”  All the other things I have done for family and friends may fall away and be forgotten.  But what they will remember is whether I loved them. 

Lord, what I can see now is that envy, impatience, boasting, all the things that love is not, are childish.  Help me “put childish ways behind me.”

I have grown up physically and mentally.  Help me to grow up spiritually.  Help me treat the people You place in my life, first and foremost, with love.   Amen

I Corinthians 13:1-13

Aug 6 I sing: for thanks, for hope, for help

“To You I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me.  For if You remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.”    They have no hope.  And see no chance for rescue.

Lord, my life seems easy enough.  I have what I need to get from day to day. I have food to eat and clothes to wear.  I have more freedoms than most people in the world.  And a safe place to live with family and friends who care about me.

But when I think about some of them, there is pain.  There are those I love who don’t know You, and it grieves my heart.

So here is where “I lift up my hands toward Your Most Holy Place.  Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help.”  Father when I think of mistakes I’ve made with people who I love, I am filled with remorse.  I can’t go back and undo what I have done or “un-say” things.  And I worry if anything I did or said, set them on a path away from You.

O Father, forgive me.  If there is a way I can make it right, show me.  Take away this guilt I live with, and replace it with something from You that will heal and help them.  Show me how to say, what to say, when to say; or what to do to unravel any knots I may have been part of in their lives.

Soften their hearts to Your truth, and to Yourself, and to the call of the Holy Spirit.   Turn them away from the darkness they live in, some without even realizing it.  Bring them into the light of Your love.

Father, this is the deepest desire of my heart: that those who You have entrusted to me as family and friends, will all know You as Savior, and be together in heaven with You and with me.

It is something only You can do.  Only You call.  And only You save.

And I will sing: “Praise to the Lord!  For He has heard my cry for mercy!  The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks in song”.   Amen

Psalm 28:1-2; 6-9

Aug 1 Unity

Father, in all that Hezekiah did, He sought Your guidance and blessing.  And You blessed: “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what was ordered… following the Word of the Lord.” 

Paul also wrote about the unity of believers: “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”   

 

Unity is a gift, and it comes from You.  

Father, I ask for unity in my marriage.   As we make decisions about our future, our family, our finances, our life together, give us agreement in these areas.  Help us see our circumstances from Your perspective.  And regardless of what the world would say, give us Your wisdom.  Remind us to put our faith not in numbers or schedules or the plans of men, but in You.

Lord, I ask for unity in my church.  Many plans have been prayerfully considered,  but only Your plan counts.  And only You can bring it to pass.  Father, honor the desire of our church to bring Your kingdom into our community.  Bring the people who need to know You.  And bring others who already know You and want to serve You.

Lord God, I ask for the unity of Your believers.  So many things divide us.  We are overcome with the world.  We fight each other over things that are disputable until the world sees an inconsistent, arguing, critical body that they want to avoid at all costs; instead of being drawn into Your love and Your care for them.

And, Father, there has been so much dissent and disunity over issues regarding this pandemic in our country.  More than that, abuse of power is running rampant, injustice escalates racial tensions, families and friends are being torn apart over political issues.

Please bring light to our darkness.  Bring sense and order out of chaos.   Bring unity out  of the divisiveness the evil one incites.  Let Your truth reign before it’s too late and we lose the battle for life and health in our families, community and country.

You give us endurance and encouragement in Your Word.  Let me draw on Your Word’s truth to live my life.

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”  Father, bring me this hope.  Bring it into my relationships, my marriage, my family, my church, my nation.

Remind me to make time to read the Scriptures so I might receive this encouragement.  Let me learn so I will have the endurance I need.  Give me patience and humility so I can be used by You.  Amen

2 Chronicles 30:6-12; 31:20-21;  Romans 15:1-13

July 28 Family and Spiritual heritage

O Father, when I think of how fortunate I am, and all the blessings You have given me, it takes my breath away, and I am humbled to tears.

Even before I was born, You determined when I would be born, and where, and to whom.  There were generations who came before me who knew You and worshipped You.  That is a godly heritage I must not take for granted.

David was a man after Your own heart.  And yet his lineage is full of men who were idolatrous, murderous, and evil.  Jehoshaphat followed You and taught others to worship You, yet his own firstborn, Jehoram, when given the rule, murdered all his brothers to secure his reign.  He married a daughter of Jezebel, a manipulative and evil woman.

After Jehoram’s gruesome death, his youngest son, Ahaziah took over and was encouraged into doing more evil by his mother.  Later, this evil mother, upon learning of her own son’s death, murdered all the siblings and offspring so she could reign in her son’s place!

But she missed baby Joash.  Joash was hidden and raised by godly people.  When he came to reign at the age of seven, he ruled rightly in Your eyes.

I know, Father, that You call each of us.  Some come from broken homes and dark, painful backgrounds.  But we each owe You a debt of gratitude for every divine influence and godly person You put in our path.

I can think of relatives, Sunday School teachers, preachers who taught me to love You and seek to know You.  But I also remember neighbors, friends, even strangers, who taught me godly lessons – some without even knowing it.  I am grateful, and thank You for each one of these.

As I look back over my life, I can see that I would not have all I have now, be all I am now, or love You the way I do, without Your intervention and Your loving care.  There is no doubt in my mind – You were involved in a personal relationship with me before I even knew You.   Thank You for all You have done.

Father, it also challenges me to be that divine influence in the lives of others You bring across my path.  Help me see opportunities to point others to You.  Open my eyes to recognize when I can say something, do something, be something that will benefit the faith of others.  Use me Lord, to pass on the blessing.  Amen

2 Chronicles 21:1-23:11

May 21 Family Victory!

Father in heaven, as You did for David, would You do for me and my family?  Would You “protect us and hand over to us the forces that come against us.”

 

David was fighting a real physical enemy.  Life and death were in the balance.

They were in hand-to-hand combat to regain what had been taken from them: their families and possessions.  David “inquired of the Lord” to seek Your will before he acted, and You promised him victory.

Father, I come before You today to seek Your will for my family; to ask if You will give us victory over the forces that are at work in the world today that pull us apart and away from You.

We do not fight hand to hand with a physical enemy.  But we live in a culture where family values are going by the wayside and Biblical values are not honored.

Parental authority is being eroded, parents are disrespected, children are rebellious and often rude.  We fight against selfishness, greed, hate, violence, immorality, materialism, the occult, witchcraft, and all the schemes of satan.

Father, especially in my family, would You give me wisdom as a parent to know when to speak and when to keep quiet, so I can offer wise counsel and not destructive comments.  Set a guard over my mouth to use words that are instructive, edifying and building up according to the needs of the one I seek to help.

Show me how to pray for Your perfect will in my children’s’ lives, not simply what I think will benefit them.  Keep me from comparing them to other friend’s children, or even each other.

Lord, keep the lines of communication open so conversations between us will be effective and filled with love and respect.

Give my children discernment so they are not swept away by the vain philosophies of men and the political schemes that do not support Biblical values.

Help them recognize and turn away from temptation when it would lead to greed, immorality, the occult or anything satan would use to draw them away from You.  Block their way when others entice them into ungodly activities.

Let them seek to bless with their words, and not curse.  Draw them to Yourself and instruct them in the way they should go to be in the middle of Your will and Your  blessing.  Remind them of their need for a Savior, and the joy of having a close relationship with You.

And I will give thanks that You are with me and You are my Helper.  Because of that, I will look triumphantly upon these foes.  I take refuge in You, Lord.  You are my strength and my Victory!  Amen

I Samuel 30:1-25; Psalm 118:7, 14

Jan 5 Ordinary People

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation.”

This is the substance of my prayer today.  I lay myself and my loved ones, one by one before You, asking for Your hand to be at work in each of these relationships, and in our circumstances.

Father, You know what each of us needs better than I do, so work in each of our lives to bring about Your perfect will. In some cases, we have set our own will in opposition to Yours – set us back on Your path.  Some of our bodies need a physical healing; some a spiritual one.  Heal us.

Where there has been rebellion turn our spirits to You.  Where our hearts are hard, soften them.  Give us Your help and direction.  Show us how to call on You where there is disappointment or despair and give us a realization of Your blessings in our lives.

I lay our lives at Your feet, knowing that You have the resources, the authority, and the power to achieve even more than I can ask or even imagine. I wait for Your hand to be made visible in the lives of my family and myself so that I can see and rejoice.

Where our troubles are the result of bad choices, show us those mistakes. Teach us to learn from them so the experience is not wasted. Where we are wrestling with spiritual forces, rulers, principalities, authorities, and powers of this dark world and in the heavenly realms; destroy them Lord! Declare them as guilty O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their sins and rebellion against You.

You took a regular man like Abram, and chose to use and bless him. Only by Your promise and power was he made into a great nation with a great name, through whom all peoples of the earth have been blessed.

Even with the mistakes he made, the bad choices, the lack of faith he showed at times, You kept Your word to him. Your promises are never just empty words. Thank You for using ordinary people like him, to do extraordinary things through Your power.

We take refuge in You, and in Your mighty power! Spread Your protection over us. Surround us with Your favor as with a shield. We rejoice in You and we sing for joy! We love Your Name O Lord. Jehovah! Yahweh! Jesus! Messiah! For there is no other name by which we can be saved! Amen

Genesis 12:1-13:4; Psalm 5:3, 10-12

Aug 20 Love

Father, help me be more loving.  I am so convicted today of falling short in this area.

Help me love my family the way You would love them.  It seems they are the people I count on most for support, yet they are the ones that test me the most and I often end up acting the least loving towards.

Help me be patient with them, remembering how very patient You are with me.  If I become angry, let me bring that to You and not take it out on them.  Help me deal with the anger and frustration I feel prayerfully first.  Then, let me go to them if there are issues, and speak the truth in love.

Help me let go of past hurts so I don’t “keep a record of wrongs” and try to even the score, or somehow treat them as though they owe me something.   You are very clear that if I do not have love, everything else I do is insignificant.

Help me love my friends more.  It is somehow easier to be patient with my friends.  But I find myself having to deal with attitudes and emotions like envy and pride.  It’s so hard not to compare myself.  And feelings of envy or jealousy definitely get in the way of relationships.   They color communication and hinder closeness.

Father, You are every one of these characteristics of love, perfected.  And I need Your help.  I don’t want to be a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”  All the other things I have done for family and friends may fall away and be forgotten.  But what they will remember is whether I loved them.

Lord, what I can see now is that envy, impatience, boasting, all the things that love is not, are childish.  Help me “put childish ways behind me.”

I have grown up physically and mentally.  Help me to grow up spiritually.  Help me treat the people You place in my life, first and foremost, with love.   Amen

I Corinthians 13:1-13

Jul 28 Family and Spiritual Heritage

O Father, when I think of how fortunate I am, and all the blessings You have given me, it takes my breath away, and I am humbled to tears.

Even before I was born, You determined when I would be born, and where, and to whom.  There were generations who came before me who knew You and worshipped You.  That is a godly heritage I must not take for granted.

David was a man after Your own heart.  And yet his lineage is full of men who were idolatrous, murderous, and evil.  Jehoshaphat followed You and taught others to worship You, yet his own firstborn, Jehoram, when given the rule, murdered all his brothers to secure his reign.  He married a daughter of Jezebel, a manipulative and evil woman.

After Jehoram’s gruesome death, his youngest son, Ahaziah took over and was encouraged into doing more evil by his mother.  Later, this evil mother, upon learning of her own son’s death, murdered all the siblings and offspring so she could reign in her son’s place!

But she missed baby Joash.  Joash was hidden and raised by godly people.  When he came to reign at the age of seven, he ruled rightly in Your eyes.

I know, Father, that You call each of us.  Some come from broken homes and dark, painful backgrounds.  But we each owe You a debt of gratitude for every divine influence and godly person You put in our path.

I can think of relatives, Sunday School teachers, preachers who taught me to love You and seek to know You.  But I also remember neighbors, friends, even strangers, who taught me godly lessons – some without even knowing it.  I am grateful, and thank You for each one of these.

As I look back over my life, I can see that I would not have all I have now, be all I am now, or love You the way I do, without Your intervention and Your loving care.  There is no doubt in my mind – You were involved in a personal relationship with me before I even knew You.   Thank You for all You have done.

Father, it also challenges me to be that divine influence in the lives of others You bring across my path.  Help me see opportunities to point others to You.  Open my eyes to recognize when I can say something, do something, be something that will benefit the faith of others.  Use me Lord, to pass on the blessing.  Amen

2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21

May 21 Family Victory

Father in heaven, as You did for David, would You do for me and my family?  Would You “protect us and hand over to us the forces that come against us.”

David was fighting a real physical enemy.  Life and death were in the balance.

They were in hand-to-hand combat to regain what had been taken from them: their families and possessions.  David “inquired of the Lord” to seek Your will before he acted, and You promised him victory.

Father, I come before You today to seek Your will for my family; to ask if You will give us victory over the forces that are at work in the world today that pull us apart and away from You.

We do not fight hand to hand with a physical enemy.  But we live in a culture where family values are going by the wayside and Biblical values are not honored.

Parental authority is being eroded, parents are disrespected, children are rebellious and often rude.  We fight against selfishness, greed, hate, violence, immorality, materialism, the occult, witchcraft, and all the schemes of satan.

Father, especially in my family, would You give me wisdom as a parent to know when to speak and when to keep quiet, so I can offer wise counsel and not destructive comments.  Set a guard over my mouth to use words that are instructive, edifying and building up according to the needs of the one I seek to help.

Show me how to pray for Your perfect will in my children’s’ lives, not simply what I think will benefit them.  Keep me from comparing them to other friend’s children, or even each other.

Lord, keep the lines of communication open so conversations between us will be effective and filled with love and respect.

Give my children discernment so they are not swept away by the vain philosophies of men and the political schemes that do not support Biblical values.

Help them recognize and turn away from temptation when it would lead to greed, immorality, the occult or anything satan would use to draw them away from You.  Block their way when others entice them into ungodly activities.

Let them seek to bless with their words, and not curse.  Draw them to Yourself and instruct them in the way they should go to be in the middle of Your will and Your  blessing.  Remind them of their need for a Savior, and the joy of having a close relationship with You.

And I will give thanks that You are with me and You are my Helper.  Because of that, I will look triumphantly upon these foes.  I take refuge in You, Lord.  You are my strength and my Victory!  Amen

I Samuel 30:1-25; Psalm 118:7, 14

Mar 23 A blessed life

“Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.”

He has brought me into life in a time and place of His choosing; to a family of His providence.  He has watched over me and protected me from serious illness and injury, trouble and violence, time and again.

There were times when I cried out to Him for deliverance from circumstances, and He delivered me, or gave me what I needed to endure.  There were times when He rescued me from things that I was not even aware I needed rescuing from.

He allowed me an understanding of spiritual matters, so that I began to see how sinful I was, and in need of a Savior.  And that He, Jesus Christ, in love, shed His blood to pay the price, the penalty my sin had earned.  He showed me, taught me, that this is the only way to reconcile my sinful self with God, who is holy.

He has tested me and refined me like silver.

And although the process is not complete yet, each step in the process brings me closer to being Christ-like.  The best silver is put into the fire seven times and brought up to a temperature of heat that burns away the impurities, creating a purer, more valuable quality.   And though the process of purification is not comfortable, and is often painful, it yields a harvest of blessing.

He has blessed me with loved ones, with friends, with a sense of purpose in life.  He has provided me with hope, love, and a heavenly Father I can trust.  He has comforted me with scriptures, by singing me songs; with revelations of His perspective, by sending people to talk with me, counsel me, rejoice and cry with me.

He has given me the hope of an eternal existence with Him in the future, with promises that He will never, ever, no, not ever, leave me.

He has forgiven my sin.

He has promised that nothing will overtake me, but that He will always make a way for me to bear up under whatever He allows into my life.

How awesome are His deeds!  How great is His power!  Praise be to God!

Father, let me never forget these things or all that You have done for me.  Let me never shy away from an opportunity to tell others about them and about You.   Amen

Psalm 66:1-20

 

 

 

Feb 26 My anchor, my Tiqvah

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You O God.  My soul thirsts for You, the Living God.”

O Lord, the vain philosophies of man are overwhelming and dividing our country. People are blindly following the traditions of men rather than seeking spiritual values and answers.  Young people are being deceived as the evil one’s influence seeps into our values and behavior standards.

It’s as if a dark veil has been pulled over their senses and spirits.  This is why my spirit is downcast.

But Your solution in this Psalm is to put my hope in You.

The Hebrew word for hope is “tiqvah”, defined as a cord that attaches one thing to another.  It’s from the root word “qavah” which means to bind together, twisted for increased strength.  It is the word used for the cord that binds a ship to its anchor.

A ship will drop its anchor in times of troubled seas, when it can no longer steer itself against the strong waves.  It is the anchor that keeps it from drifting too far and being completely lost.

You are my anchor, Lord.  You keep me from drifting too far and being completely lost.

My hope is what keeps me tightly and securely bound to You, keeping me safe in the storms of life.  And it is what gives me hope for my family and our nation.  There is life after storms.  And “I will yet praise You!”  Amen

Psalm 42:1,2,5

Jan 31 Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard Jesus was passing by they called out. When You stopped, You asked what they wanted You to do for them. They asked for their sight. You had compassion on them and healed them. What a miracle!

I depend on Your mercy as well. And Your mercies are new every day. But if You were to ask what I want of You, I am already so blessed, it would be hard to answer.

You have already given me eternal life in Your presence for all time. You have forgiven my sin. You have allowed me to be born in a time when most disease is treatable, water and air are safe to drink and breathe, and injuries do not usually become life threatening.

I have no fear of wild animals attacking as I live in a safe place. You have placed me in a country where I have freedoms that most in the world do not. I can worship You freely, I can travel where I want, can vote for my form of government and live my life in peace within its protected borders, without persecution.

You have allowed me to be born into a loving, supportive, Christian family who raised me to love You. And who gave me not only adequate food, shelter, and an education, but loved me and encouraged me.

You have protected me and saved me from more tragedy and trauma than I know about. And have blessed me with a husband and children, and friends. I live in a beautiful place where every day I can look to the mountains and be reminded of Your strength and majesty.

I enjoy four seasons with all the consistent changes that come with them; weather, wildlife, life cycles of plants, flowers, trees. I have full use of all my senses that can take in the beauty around me and see your infinite diversity at work in birdsongs, floral aromas, the lushness of grass, the chill of fresh snow, the painted sky at sunrise and sunset.

As I think of all these things, my heart overflows with gratitude and thanksgiving.

Forgive me for not voicing it every day. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You!

For as many days as I have left on this earth, there will always be something to thank You for. And when I pass into that next part of our eternal relationship, “I will enter Your gates with thanksgiving in my heart, and enter Your courts with praise!”

Matthew 20:29-34, Psalm 100:4

Oct 5 I look to You

Father, my country is so like Your people of old.  Your Name is not honored.  You are ignored, or worse.  You poured out Your judgment on them.  Will You also pour out Your judgment on my nation?

“Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see,   who have ears but do not hear…Should you not fear me, declares the Lord?  Should you not tremble in my presence? ”

Father, draw us back to You – my nation, my family, myself. I proclaim You as my Lord and Savior.  And I see Your warnings in this evil world.

Let “no one deceive me with fine-sounding arguments”.  Do not let me be persuaded to go against what You stand for by some reason of relative morality.  Do not let my values be swayed by society’s sense of right and wrong when they do not agree with Yours.

My roots are in You, let them go down deep and drink in Your strength and wisdom. Let my faith stand strong, unwavering as I live a disciplined life in You. Show me from Your perspective, how to make decisions that will lead me in the way that will honor You.

Caution me when I am in danger of going the wrong way, or have taken a wrong turn.  Don’t let any experience be wasted, but help me learn from my mistakes and the mistakes of others.

I offer You all thanks and praise, Lord.  You saw the earth when it was formless and void, and in Your mighty power created all I see.  You made light with Your Word, made the mountains and the seas.  You fashioned every bird and fish and animal.

All creation is under Your authority.  You set the limits of the waters of the earth.  Nothing can prevail against You and Your will.  Thank You that You care for me.  That You teach me and love me as Your beloved child.  That You strengthen and uphold me.

You are Lord and I am blessed.   Amen

Jeremiah 5:19-31; Colossians 1:28-2:7

Aug 20 Love

Father, help me be more loving. I am so convicted today of falling short in this area. Help me love my family the way You would love them. It seems they are the people I count on most for support, yet they are the ones that test me the most and I often end up acting the least loving towards.

Help me be patient with them, remembering how very patient You are with me. If I become angry, let me bring that to You and not take it out on them. Help me deal with the anger and frustration I feel prayerfully first. Then, let me go to them if there are issues, and speak the truth in love.

Help me let go of past hurts so I don’t’ “keep a record of wrongs” and try and even the score, or somehow treat them as though they owe me something.   You are very clear that if I do not have love, everything else I do is insignificant.

Help me love my friends more. It is somehow easier to be patient with my friends. But I find myself having to deal with attitudes and emotions like envy and pride. It’s so hard not to compare myself. And feelings of envy or jealousy definitely get in the way of relationships.   They color communication and hinder closeness.

Father, You are every one of these characteristics of love, perfected. And I need Your help. I don’t want to be a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal”. All the other things I have done for family and friends may fall away and be forgotten. But what they will remember is whether I loved them.

Lord, what I can see now is that envy, impatience, boasting, all the things that love is not, are childish. Help me “put childish ways behind me”. I have grown up physically and mentally. Help me to grow up spiritually. Help me treat the people You place in my life, first and foremost, with love.   Amen

I Corinthians 13:1-13

July 28 Family and Spiritual heritage

O Father, when I think of how fortunate I am, and all the blessings You have given me, it takes my breath away, and I am humbled to tears. Even before I was born, You determined when I would be born, and where, and to whom. There were generations that came before me who knew You and worshipped You. That is a godly heritage I must not take for granted.

David was a man after Your own heart. And yet his lineage is full of men who were idolatrous, murderous, and evil. Jehoshaphat followed You and taught others to worship You, yet his own firstborn, Jehoram, when given the rule, murdered all his brothers to secure his reign. He married a daughter of Jezebel, a manipulative and evil woman. After Jehoram’s gruesome death, his youngest son, Ahaziah took over and was encouraged into more evil by his mother. Later, this evil mother, upon learning of her own son’s death, murdered all the siblings and offspring so she could reign in her son’s place!

But she missed baby Joash. Joash was hidden and raised by godly people. When he came to reign at the age of seven, he ruled rightly in Your eyes.

I know, Father, that You call each of us. Some come from broken homes and dark, painful backgrounds. But we each owe You a debt of gratitude for every divine influence and godly person You put in our path. I can think of relatives, Sunday School teachers, preachers who taught me to love You and seek to know You. But I also remember neighbors, friends, even strangers, who taught me godly lessons – some without even knowing it. I am grateful, and thank You for each one of these.

As I look back over my life, I can see that I would not have all I have now, be all I am now, or love You the way I do, without Your intervention and Your loving care. There is no doubt in my mind – You were involved in a personal relationship with me before I even knew You.   Thank You for all You have done.

Father, it also challenges me to be that divine influence in the lives of others You bring across my path. Help me see opportunities to point others to You. Open my eyes to recognize when I can say something, do something, be something that will benefit the faith of others. Use me Lord, to pass on the blessing. Amen

2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21

June 15 Bring Salvation to All!

 

 

Father, I live in a time when Your Word has spread to cover almost all the earth. In Acts, this was just beginning. Thank You for spreading the Word to Gentiles as well as people in the Jewish faith.

 

 

For Cornelius, You sent an angel directing him to Peter. And to Peter, You sent a vision to prepare him to share the Good News with Cornelius and other Gentiles. Thank You for including me in Your message of salvation down through the ages.

Father, I ask that You would continue to send angels and visions to those who have yet to hear of You and Your love for them!   All around the world, give each of these people understanding to see Your truth.

Lord, I have loved ones who have forgotten or walked away from Your loving care. Draw them back to You. Return to them the joy of their salvation. Give them a hunger and thirst to seek and receive Your Good News again.

They have been living under the lies and deceitful influences of the world, the flesh, and the evil one. Break their chains and set them free to love You again!

Your psalm tells “how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!“ I pray for this goodness and this unity in my family.   Please bestow this blessing on us so we can walk in Your goodness and Your mercy forevermore. Amen

Acts 10:1-23; Psalm 133:1-3

May 21 Family Victory

Father in heaven, as You did for David, would You do for me and my family? Would You “protect us and hand over to us the forces that come against us”.

David was fighting a real physical enemy. Life and death were in the balance. They were in hand-to-hand combat to regain what had been taken from them: their families and possessions. David “inquired of the Lord” to seek Your will before he acted, and You promised him victory.

Father, I come before You today to seek Your will for my family; to ask if You will give us victory over the forces that are at work in the world today that pull us apart and away from You.

We do not fight hand to hand with a physical enemy. But we live in a culture where family values are going by the wayside and Biblical values are not honored. Parental authority is being eroded, parents are disrespected, children are rebellious and often rude. We fight against selfishness, greed, hate, violence, immorality, materialism, the occult, witchcraft, and all the schemes of satan.

Father, especially in my family, would You give me wisdom as a parent to know when to speak and when to keep quiet, so I can offer wise counsel and not destructive comments. Set a guard over my mouth to use words that are instructive, edifying and building up according to the needs of the one I seek to help. Show me how to pray for Your perfect will in my children’s’ lives, not simply what I think will benefit them. Keep me from comparing them to other friend’s children, or even each other.

Lord, keep the lines of communication open so conversations between us will be effective and filled with love and respect. Give my children discernment so they are not swept away by the vain philosophies of men and the political schemes that do not support Biblical values. Help them recognize and turn away from temptation when it would lead to greed, immorality, the occult or anything satan would use to draw them away from You. Block their way when others entice them into ungodly activities.

Let them seek to bless with their words, and not curse. Draw them to Yourself and instruct them in the way they should go to be in the middle of Your will and Your blessing. Remind them of their need for a Savior, and the joy of having a close relationship with You.

And I will give thanks to You. You are with me and You are my Helper. Because of that, I will look triumphantly upon these foes. I take refuge in You, Lord. You are my strength and my Victory! Amen

I Samuel 30:1-25; Psalm 118:7, 14

Mar 23 A blessed life

“Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.”

He has brought me into life in a time and place of His choosing; to a family of His providence. He has watched over me and protected me from serious illness and injury, trouble and violence, time and again. There were times when I cried out to Him for deliverance from circumstances, and He delivered me, or gave me what I needed to endure. There were times when He rescued me from things that I was not even aware I needed rescuing from.

He allowed me an understanding of spiritual matters, so that I began to see how sinful I was, and in need of a Savior. And that He, Jesus Christ, in love, shed His blood to pay the price, the penalty my sin had earned. He showed me, taught me, that this is the only way to reconcile my sinful self with God, who is holy.

He has tested me and refined me like silver. And although the process is not complete yet, each step in the process brings me closer to being Christ-like. The best silver is put into the fire seven times and brought up to a temperature of heat that burns away the impurities, creating a purer, more valuable quality.   And though the process of purification is not comfortable, and is often painful, it yields a harvest of blessing.

He has blessed me with loved ones, with friends, with a sense of purpose in life. He has provided me with hope, love, and a heavenly Father I can trust. He has comforted me with scriptures, by singing me songs; with revelations of His perspective, by sending people to talk with me, counsel me, rejoice and cry with me.

He has given me the hope of an eternal existence with Him in the future, with promises that He will never, ever, no, not ever, leave me. He has forgiven my sin. He has promised that nothing will overtake me, but that He will always make a way for me to bear up under whatever He allows into my life.

How awesome are His deeds! How great is His power! Praise be to God!

Father, let me never forget these things or all that You have done for me. Let me never shy away from an opportunity to tell others about them and about You.   Amen

Psalm 66:1-20

Jan 24 Speak a Blessing

Holy Father, here You depict another way I desire to be like Israel. He was able to speak words of blessing over his sons and grandsons before he died. I pray that my words would be a blessing to my children.

 

So many times I open my mouth before I speak, and blessing is not what results. Father, train me in the ability to speak the truth in love. Set a watch over my mouth to stop unthinking or hurtful words before they are spoken, and damage is done. Once spoken, words cannot be unheard.

I believe Israel was speaking and giving blessings from You. You must have revealed to him what to say to each son, where to put his hands for the blessing, even as he intentionally switched his hands to bless Joseph’s sons. This was not according to the tradition of the time. Neither was the blessing where he gave Judah leadership of the house of Israel and Joseph the double portion. Those both should have been passed to the oldest. Oh Lord, let me be so close to You that I also hear what You are telling me and let me be obedient even if it goes against the traditions of man or of the times.

When his work was done, Israel “drew his feet up into his bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.” Israel finished the work You sent him to do. O God, do not let me outstay my usefulness to You. Please don’t leave me here one minute beyond what is necessary. I want to do and be all You have sent me here for. But I so desire to be with You rather than in the dimness of this earth, knowing what awaits me as a believer.

One way I seek to bless my children is by using the words You have given. Today I pray these words for my sons by inserting their names:

“O Lord, answer _______ when he is in distress;” (place in his heart the desire to call out to You, and let him hear Your voice above all else going on in his life) “may the name of the God of Jacob protect _______.” (protect his life, his health, his relationships, his mind, his emotions, his spirit, his work, his comings, his goings)

“May You send _______ help from Your sanctuary” (where You sit enthroned and have angels to be Your messengers and do Your bidding) “and grant him support from Zion. “

“Would You give _______ the desire of his heart” (and remove any desires that would take him away from You) “and make all his plans succeed.” (as You direct his steps)

“We will shout for joy when _______ is victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God!” Amen ! 

Genesis 48:1-49:33; Psalm 20:1,2,4,5

May 21 Victory for families

Father in heaven, as You did for David, would You do for me and my family? Would You “protect us and hand over to us the forces that come against us”.

David was fighting a real physical enemy. Life and death were in the balance. They were in hand-to-hand combat to regain what had been taken from them: their families and possessions. David “inquired of the Lord” to seek Your will before he acted, and You promised him victory.

Father, I come before You today to seek Your will for my family; to ask if You will give us victory over the forces that are at work in the world today that pull us apart and away from You.

We do not fight hand to hand with a physical enemy. But we live in a culture where family values are going by the wayside and Biblical values are not honored. Parental authority is being eroded, parents are disrespected, children are rebellious and often rude. We fight against selfishness, greed, hate, violence, immorality, materialism, the occult, witchcraft, and all the schemes of satan.

Father, in all my relationships and those I pray for, but especially in my family, would You give me, as a parent, wisdom to know when to speak and when to keep quiet, so I can offer wise counsel and not destructive comments. Set a guard over my mouth to use words that are instructive, edifying and building up according to the needs of the one I seek to help. Show me how to pray for Your perfect will in my children’s’ lives, not simply what I think will benefit them. Keep me from comparing them to other friend’s children, or even each other.

Lord, keep the lines of communication open so conversations between us will be effective and filled with love and respect. Give my children discernment so they are not swept away by the vain philosophies of men and the political schemes that do not support Biblical values. Help them recognize and turn away from temptation when it would lead to greed, immorality, the occult or anything satan would use to draw them away from You. Block their way when others entice them into ungodly activities.

Let them seek to bless with their words, and not curse. Draw them to Yourself and instruct them in the way they should go to be in the middle of Your will and Your blessing. Remind them of their need for a Savior, and the joy of having a close relationship with You.

And I will give thanks to You. You are with me and You are my Helper. Because of that, I will look triumphantly upon these foes. I take refuge in You, Lord. You are my strength and my Victory! Amen

I Samuel 29:1-30:25; Psalm 118:1-18