Prayer Focus - Needs
Day 3
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
One thing that is needed in your state/region
Focus on how the fulfilled need will help impact people's:
spiritual lives
physical lives
emotional lives
mental lives
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 74
"We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be." ( vs. 9)
"But You, O God, are my king from of old; You bring salvation upon the earth." (vs. 12)
How do we respond when everything seems to be going wrong and there is no end in sight? This is the true test of our spirituality. It is easy to praise God when things are going well or when we are at the end of some long ordeal, but what about in the middle of it? How many of us have quit something because it seemed too difficult? We will never know how close we were to victory. God was not allowed the chance to finish His work in this area because we gave up. Quitting is a dangerous matter because once we quit one thing, the next time it is so much easier to quit again. Soon we are experts at quitting and we have lost the self-discipline to complete anything. It takes effort to become skilled at something or to endure a difficult time but in the end we always look back with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Our character has grown. We must stop quitting and start finishing!
In our spiritual life, it is just as important to stop being a quitter. We must begin finishing what we start. We need to set goals for ourselves and then see them through. This will develop our maturity and our ability to see a very difficult time through. Someday we may really need the ability to keep going when everything in our being says, "Stop, I can't handle it!" We can handle it - with God. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). We can with God, if He remains the Lord of our lives. Let us make and keep Him as King, no matter what comes and goes in our life. Then we will see the salvation of God now and in the life to come.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
You are our King from of old. You bring us salvation. We know that hard times may come for us and we pray to be strong during them. Help us not to become quitters. Help us to finish what we start and see things through to the end. We know that in this way, we will become stronger and ready for whatever may come in the future. Help us to always cling to You and Your promises no matter how dark the road may seem. We know and believe that it is worth it and in the end we will be the victors if we remain with You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I going through a difficult time right now? If so, how am I dealing with it? If not, the last time I went through a difficult time how did I deal with it?
2. Would I classify myself as more of a quitter or a finisher? What have I quit on lately? Why? What am I doing now that I am tempted to quit? When can I go back and finish some of the things that I have quit on?
3. What can I do to start working on to become more of a finisher? How can I learn to have more perseverance? Can I set some goals and finish them? Should I learn a new skill or pick up an old one that I have put aside?
4. Am I making God the King and Lord of my life daily? How am I doing this? How can I improve?
5. How do I see God's salvation at work in my life? How have I seen it in the past? How do I hope to see it in the future?
Showing posts with label commitment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commitment. Show all posts
Monday, September 14, 2015
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Daily Devotional - 9/6/15 (11/6/09)
Prayer Focus - Gratitude
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing you are grateful for about the country that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the state/region that you live in
Thank God for the effect that what you are grateful for has on:
your spiritual life
your physical life
your emotional life
your mental life
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 66
"Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard; He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For You, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance." ( vs. 8-12 )
We are reminded here that sometimes God allows us to go through hard times in order to train and refine us. He lets testing go on to see what is in our hearts because that is what is most important. The heart is the wellspring of life and often it is not as pure as it should be. We desire to do good, but evil seems to be right with us. Testing is like the furnace that purifies metal. All the impurities are burned off. Sometimes our testing is very intense as well and we can question God. This testing does not mean that God is upset with us, however, or that He is being mean to us. He loves us so much, as evidenced by the cross of Christ. He wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth but He also knows what it is going to take to get us to heaven.
I think about all the sports I have played and this concept makes sense to me. I went through so much to excel. I put up with early morning workouts, "twice a days", and "hell weeks". I put up with persecution during the times I played on boys teams, often to the point of wanting to give up. But I loved the sport and so I kept going. I am glad I persevered because I became a better person, and a better player. The same was true with school and all the time I put into getting good grades and finishing college. It was difficult and I was tempted to quit, but once you start quitting, it becomes easier and easier and soon finishing anything seems like an impossibility.
Our society does understand commitment and enduring hardships in athletics, and maybe in a career, but in life, it seems odd to us. We have moved so far from this concept of enduring hardship that anytime something is hard or hurts, we think it must be bad or wrong. Also, many of the problems we see arising in our society stem from this lack of the ability to endure. We don't want to have to struggle for anything. Instant gratification is king. For example, no one wants to wait until they have the money in order to spend it. I know that was me until I racked up a credit card debt that was insurmountable. No one wants to wait to get married in order to be involved physically. Very few people want to put in long hours of study and practice on order to learn a subject, skill, or trade. We would rather watch someone succeed, then get out there and do it ourselves.
But God wants to change us from the inside out. He doesn't want us to be spectators, He wants us to be participants in life. He knows that nothing good comes without sacrifice and struggle. He allows this to happen in our lives because He wants us in heaven. If we can start living with eternity in our minds, we will be able to view our troubles in a different way. They will become light and momentary. Our entire lives here on earth will become only a dot on the timeline of eternity. None of this will matter so much anymore. The only thing that will matter then is being right with God and we will endure whatever comes to ensure that.
God knows, and He will not leave us hanging. He will bring us out to a place of abundance someday. The trials do not last forever. The times of rejoicing come. It is like the beauty after the rainstorms, or the rainbows that come when the sun shines through. When that happens, if we have persevered, we will be ready for it.
Scriptures for thought:
II Corinthians 4: 16 - 18
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Hebrews 12: 7 - 13
"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 'Make level paths for your feet', so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We will shout for joy today because we are alive. We will praise Your name because You are powerful. We will be grateful for all of the challenges and trials that come along because we know that they are refining us and making us into the men and women that will make a difference in the world. We praise You for not letting us go our own ways. We praise You for all of Your guidance and all the second chances that You have given us. We will not cherish sin in our hearts. You are good.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I praise God even in the difficult times? Why or why not? How can I praise Him more?
2. What is going well in my life? What am I being tested in? How do I feel about persevering through difficult times?
3. What specific difficulties am I facing right now? What prisons am I in? What burdens are on my back? Who is riding over my head? How am I dealing with all of these things?
4. Has God brought me out to my place of abundance yet? What is this like for me? What can I imagine it will be like?
5. Am I cherishing any sin in my heart and therefore hindering God's ability to do work? How can I deal with these things?
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing you are grateful for about the country that you live in
One thing you are grateful for about the state/region that you live in
Thank God for the effect that what you are grateful for has on:
your spiritual life
your physical life
your emotional life
your mental life
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 66
"Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard; He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For You, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance." ( vs. 8-12 )
We are reminded here that sometimes God allows us to go through hard times in order to train and refine us. He lets testing go on to see what is in our hearts because that is what is most important. The heart is the wellspring of life and often it is not as pure as it should be. We desire to do good, but evil seems to be right with us. Testing is like the furnace that purifies metal. All the impurities are burned off. Sometimes our testing is very intense as well and we can question God. This testing does not mean that God is upset with us, however, or that He is being mean to us. He loves us so much, as evidenced by the cross of Christ. He wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth but He also knows what it is going to take to get us to heaven.
I think about all the sports I have played and this concept makes sense to me. I went through so much to excel. I put up with early morning workouts, "twice a days", and "hell weeks". I put up with persecution during the times I played on boys teams, often to the point of wanting to give up. But I loved the sport and so I kept going. I am glad I persevered because I became a better person, and a better player. The same was true with school and all the time I put into getting good grades and finishing college. It was difficult and I was tempted to quit, but once you start quitting, it becomes easier and easier and soon finishing anything seems like an impossibility.
Our society does understand commitment and enduring hardships in athletics, and maybe in a career, but in life, it seems odd to us. We have moved so far from this concept of enduring hardship that anytime something is hard or hurts, we think it must be bad or wrong. Also, many of the problems we see arising in our society stem from this lack of the ability to endure. We don't want to have to struggle for anything. Instant gratification is king. For example, no one wants to wait until they have the money in order to spend it. I know that was me until I racked up a credit card debt that was insurmountable. No one wants to wait to get married in order to be involved physically. Very few people want to put in long hours of study and practice on order to learn a subject, skill, or trade. We would rather watch someone succeed, then get out there and do it ourselves.
But God wants to change us from the inside out. He doesn't want us to be spectators, He wants us to be participants in life. He knows that nothing good comes without sacrifice and struggle. He allows this to happen in our lives because He wants us in heaven. If we can start living with eternity in our minds, we will be able to view our troubles in a different way. They will become light and momentary. Our entire lives here on earth will become only a dot on the timeline of eternity. None of this will matter so much anymore. The only thing that will matter then is being right with God and we will endure whatever comes to ensure that.
God knows, and He will not leave us hanging. He will bring us out to a place of abundance someday. The trials do not last forever. The times of rejoicing come. It is like the beauty after the rainstorms, or the rainbows that come when the sun shines through. When that happens, if we have persevered, we will be ready for it.
Scriptures for thought:
II Corinthians 4: 16 - 18
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Hebrews 12: 7 - 13
"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 'Make level paths for your feet', so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We will shout for joy today because we are alive. We will praise Your name because You are powerful. We will be grateful for all of the challenges and trials that come along because we know that they are refining us and making us into the men and women that will make a difference in the world. We praise You for not letting us go our own ways. We praise You for all of Your guidance and all the second chances that You have given us. We will not cherish sin in our hearts. You are good.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I praise God even in the difficult times? Why or why not? How can I praise Him more?
2. What is going well in my life? What am I being tested in? How do I feel about persevering through difficult times?
3. What specific difficulties am I facing right now? What prisons am I in? What burdens are on my back? Who is riding over my head? How am I dealing with all of these things?
4. Has God brought me out to my place of abundance yet? What is this like for me? What can I imagine it will be like?
5. Am I cherishing any sin in my heart and therefore hindering God's ability to do work? How can I deal with these things?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Daily Devotional - 1/25
Prayer Focus - Personal Transformation
Day 7
Pray for:
One thing that you want to see improved in your relationship with God - (Love God)
One thing that you want to see improved in the way you relate to others - (with all your heart)
One past hurt that you want to see healed and overcome - (with all your soul)
One skill or topic you want to learn - (with all your mind)
One thing that you want to see improved about your health - (with all your strength)
One thing you want to do to help others around you - (Love your neighbor)
One thing you need to accept and be grateful for about yourself or your life - (as yourself)
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 85
"I will listen to what God the Lord will say; He promises peace to His people, His saints - but let them not return to folly. Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land." ( vs. 8-9)
I will listen to God. I will stop listening to the world. God is the Lord. He promises us peace but it has a condition on it. We must not go back to our old ways. We must not be foolish. We must not put our hand to the plow and look back. He has salvation and everything else less than that waiting for us. It is up to us to respond and do so correctly and consistently. When we do this, we will have peace. A Christian who is not in submission to God and His will and who has one foot in and one foot out of the kingdom of God will never experience peace. It is perhaps more frustrating than leaving God altogether.
"The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps." (vs. 12-13)
God will give what is good. There is not doubt about it, but will we be able to receive it? Righteousness is necessary to prepare the way. If I want to see my life yield a harvest, I must get my field ready by being righteous. This is what God needs to see in order to bestow the blessings He wants to. It is our preparation to show Him we are ready to use His gifts appropriately and to use His blessings to give back to Him. He is always thinking long term and so must we. Let us prepare our lives for service and then see what happens. I believe it will astound us.
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible" St. Francis of Assisi
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We need to listen to You. We will listen to You. Help us not to return to our folly. We have lived in it long enough. It does not produce the life we so desire. We long for peace. We do not want to look back. There is so much ahead to look to. Although the world often looks so dark, there is Your bright and shining light guiding us on. Help us to sow righteousness so that we may reap a harvest. We want our land, our lives, to yield a harvest. We know that is up to You but we need to do our part. Help us to work hard. We wait to see the good that You will give. You are great and we praise You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I have primarily peace or frustration in my life? Am I looking back in any way to my old life? What areas seemed better then? Why? Is this the truth? What can I do to get my eyes focused forward and on God in a greater way?
2. Am I completely devoted to God or is there any parts of my that I hold back from Him? What can I do about these areas if there are any? Am I devoted to His kingdom? How can I be more devoted?
3. Is my life yielding a harvest? Why or why not? What can I do to change or do better to be more fruitful?
4. Am I living a life that God can bless? In what ways am I being righteous? In what ways am I not? How can I improve? What is the necessary that I need to start doing? What is the possible in my life? What is holding me back from doing my all?
Day 7
Pray for:
One thing that you want to see improved in your relationship with God - (Love God)
One thing that you want to see improved in the way you relate to others - (with all your heart)
One past hurt that you want to see healed and overcome - (with all your soul)
One skill or topic you want to learn - (with all your mind)
One thing that you want to see improved about your health - (with all your strength)
One thing you want to do to help others around you - (Love your neighbor)
One thing you need to accept and be grateful for about yourself or your life - (as yourself)
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 85
"I will listen to what God the Lord will say; He promises peace to His people, His saints - but let them not return to folly. Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land." ( vs. 8-9)
I will listen to God. I will stop listening to the world. God is the Lord. He promises us peace but it has a condition on it. We must not go back to our old ways. We must not be foolish. We must not put our hand to the plow and look back. He has salvation and everything else less than that waiting for us. It is up to us to respond and do so correctly and consistently. When we do this, we will have peace. A Christian who is not in submission to God and His will and who has one foot in and one foot out of the kingdom of God will never experience peace. It is perhaps more frustrating than leaving God altogether.
"The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps." (vs. 12-13)
God will give what is good. There is not doubt about it, but will we be able to receive it? Righteousness is necessary to prepare the way. If I want to see my life yield a harvest, I must get my field ready by being righteous. This is what God needs to see in order to bestow the blessings He wants to. It is our preparation to show Him we are ready to use His gifts appropriately and to use His blessings to give back to Him. He is always thinking long term and so must we. Let us prepare our lives for service and then see what happens. I believe it will astound us.
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible" St. Francis of Assisi
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We need to listen to You. We will listen to You. Help us not to return to our folly. We have lived in it long enough. It does not produce the life we so desire. We long for peace. We do not want to look back. There is so much ahead to look to. Although the world often looks so dark, there is Your bright and shining light guiding us on. Help us to sow righteousness so that we may reap a harvest. We want our land, our lives, to yield a harvest. We know that is up to You but we need to do our part. Help us to work hard. We wait to see the good that You will give. You are great and we praise You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I have primarily peace or frustration in my life? Am I looking back in any way to my old life? What areas seemed better then? Why? Is this the truth? What can I do to get my eyes focused forward and on God in a greater way?
2. Am I completely devoted to God or is there any parts of my that I hold back from Him? What can I do about these areas if there are any? Am I devoted to His kingdom? How can I be more devoted?
3. Is my life yielding a harvest? Why or why not? What can I do to change or do better to be more fruitful?
4. Am I living a life that God can bless? In what ways am I being righteous? In what ways am I not? How can I improve? What is the necessary that I need to start doing? What is the possible in my life? What is holding me back from doing my all?
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