THANKFUL

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Lord, at times I feel like my efforts to tell others how You changed my life seem to hit a wall of resistance. My prayer for my prodigal child goes unanswered. My co-worker’s disdain for the things of God hasn’t changed. When will I see the reconciliation with my sibling? “Don’t give up,” Your Spirit encourages me. “This hostility is temporary. I’m working behind the scenes.” Your Spirit reminds me how people hated You when You walked among us. Some rejected Your-message of grace, but many embraced You as Lord and Savior. Same with me. Some will reject my message as well, but some will take a deeper look to see if You are who You say You are. Lord, strengthen my faith and help me not to grow weary of telling the good news of Your grace. Your Word promises that in due time, Your love will take root in their hearts and everyone will be amazed how You transformed their lives (Galatians 6:9).

Praying for increased faith to keep telling others how good, gracious and forgiving You are, Jesus. Amen.

Monday, October 19, 2020

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord, I thought by now this “I-must-be-in-control” obsession would be under Your control. You see how it’s an ongoing battle. You ask me to trust You. That’s faith. This ‘control’ thing bucks at this idea of surrendering to an unknown that’s not in my hands. But with Your Spirit’s constant help, I can surrender my controlling desires to Your will. By Your Spirit, I will help others get ahead, especially those my carnal nature considers competition.  With Your love in me, I will lift the fallen brother or sister without making false judgments or pointing fingers. And only by Your Spirit, can I love the unlovely. As long as I live in Your grace with humility, the carnal desire control is never resurrected again. My prayer, Lord, is to live in the truth of Romans 12:3. “By God’s grace given to me, I will not think more highly of myself than I ought to think, but I will administer ‘sober’ judgment about my redeemed self, according to the faith God has given me.”

Forgive our sins. May we repent as a people and as individuals so You can heal our nation. Only You can unite us again.

Daily choosing to release control to You, Jesus, Amen.

Friday, October 16, 2020

Lord, Your brother Jude explained how praying as Your Spirit directs us will build up not only our faith but also the faith of those struggling with life issues (Jude 1:20). All Your followers go through periods of disappointment and feelings of loneliness. I am no exception. My prayers seem to ascend no further than the ceiling. However, in my spiritual weakness, You were faithful to me when You sent another Christ-follower to encourage me as I walked through a dark season of life. As You lifted me from my despair, my faith became re-energized. Now please strengthen my faith further when You send me to encourage others when life starts to overwhelm them. And for my friends who don’t know You, help me be the friend they need when they want You to change their lives.

We pray again for Your divine intervention against this COVID-19 disease. By Your power, eliminate this virus from the earth and may it, nor any virus like it, come upon the earth again. Bring total recovery to those dear souls affected by this virus. Strengthen them in body, soul and spirit. And as only You can, comfort those who lost friends and loved ones to this disease.

Forgive our sins, heal our nation.

Praying to be a friend like Jesus, amen.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Lord, the longer I walk with You, the more I need to be reminded how Your grace saves sinners and changes lives. However, as life goes on, I tend to get lax in my relationship with You. When I pridefully think I have this Christianity thing all figured out, and I’m untouchable by the enemy since I’m a super-Christian and can handle life’s stuff on my own, You bring me back to the reality of needing Your grace by cutting the legs off my spiritual high-horse. Lord, forgive me for being so foolish to think I can follow You without Your help. If I’m to follow You and keep our relationship fresh and new, in humility, I ask for more of You and Your grace every day, and a lot less of me.

We pray an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. May this disease be eradicated from the earth and never return. Be kind and merciful to all affected by this horrible virus. We pray for complete and total recoveries for all infected. Help us do our part to practice the protocols to control the spread of the virus. May this virus bring people close to You, Lord, and may new levels of faith rise.

Forgive our sins, both as a nation and individually. Why are we surprised our country is in this divided, dire condition when we have turned our backs on You, Lord God. We repent and ask for You to heal our broken souls and heal our broke land. We cannot do it on our own. We need You back in our lives, Lord God. Living in Your grace, Jesus. Amen

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord, life’s everyday busyness can drain us physically and emotionally. Family, work, running a household, carting kids to and from activities keep us hopping. Additionally, the enemy of our soul throws up roadblocks and distractions to make our life busier. This nonstop hopping weakens us spiritually. And unfortunately, this weakness tends to bring out the ugliness in us. And it seems like this ugliness comes out at the worst of times. This is nothing new. The ancient sage who wrote the book of Hebrews knew the solution when our soul needed refreshing: “Let us draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:16).When I find myself getting weak, if I have to run or crawl, I will draw near to You, Lord God. In my weakness, I find my strength in You.

Be kind and merciful to the more that 11,500 firefighters still on the frontlines of the 21 wildfires still burning in California and the western states. Protect them not only from the fires but also from the carcinogenic in the smoke. Bless and protect their long-term health. Bless and provide for those poor souls who have to completely rebuild their lives. Be the God they need You to be and draw them to Your throne to find the grace they need.

Forgive our sins, heal our nation.

Drawing near Your throne daily, Lord. Amen.  

Monday, October 12, 2020

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord, why am I surprised when the ungodly act ungodly? When they spit their vile garbage against You and Your followers, my carnal nature is tempted open my sack of stones and start throwing. After all, they have it coming!  You see their arrogance, their unrighteousness, yet You haven’t written them off. You still freely offer Your grace to them. Why would You want to do that after all they’ve done? Then, I remember. You offered that same grace to me after all I had done. Forgive me, Lord. May I drop my sack of stones, and instead, drop to my knees in prayer for those poor lost souls, because once, in my unrighteousness, I too had it coming.

Be merciful to our friends in the southeast recovering from yet another storm bringing flooding and devastation. Provide protection and provision for them as many rebuild their lives again. Be the great God they need. Comfort them and may they find new hope in You, especially those who have never given You a second thought. Open their eyes to Your goodness and love.

Forgive our sins. Only You can heal our nation, Lord.

We have true life only because of Your grace Jesus. Amen.

Friday, October 09, 2020

Lord, thank You for putting Your Holy Spirit within me when I came to You in repentance. (John 14:17). Now I belong to You forever. Although the devil still fights a losing battle trying to hang my failures on my back, he runs into a problem: Your blood shed on the cross covers my sins and washes away anything he tries to pin on me. The more he tries, the more Your grace covers. Sure, I slip at times. Which Christ-follower doesn’t? Nonetheless, Your Holy Spirit keeps me in Your grace and reminds me how Your blood covers me.

Forgive our sins, heal our nation. We ask for Your wisdom as we go to the polls to vote in a few weeks. We pray for honesty and fairness in this election. May virtue, righteousness, justice and biblical values reign the day, and Your will be done.

Living under the covering of Your blood, Jesus, amen.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord, this fallen world doesn’t lack for problems. People disappoint us. Decisions don’t go our way. Events fail to unfold as we expected. I’ve had my share of heartaches, Lord, and You’ve been by my side every minute. We don’t get a pass from life’s stuff just because we’re Christ-followers. That’s why our heavenly Father placed His Holy Spirit within each believer to keep us encouraged when we walk through dark valleys (John 16:12–15). But we belong to You. Therefore, circumstances don’t control our responses to problems, You do, Jesus. Since You always work things for the good of Your followers (Romans 8:28), Your Spirit influences us to make the right choices.  

We pray again for Your mercy and grace for those dear water-soaked souls facing yet another hurricane in the southeast. Protect them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Protect their property, and their livelihood. You are the great I AM, so You are everything they need You to be. May these repeated storms bring people into a relationship with You, Lord Jesus.

Forgive our sins, heal our nation. Spark a national spiritual renewal and let it begin in me. In Your holy name and authority, Jesus, Amen.

Wednesday, October 07, 2020

Lord, how Your heart must hurt when people scoff at Your precepts, calling them outdated, not pertinent for today. In their arrogance, they believe to have life without God figured out. Just look at them. Do they appear happy? Hardly. Angry? Yeah. But not so for those who place their faith in You. We find delight in doing everything You want us to do (Psalm 1:2) Our purpose, our life is found in You (Acts 17:28). Me worry? Naw! I’ll choose instead to fix my thoughts on Your Word so I’ll understand Your precepts to follow you closer.

Forgive our sins, heal our nation. Help us love one another, especially those so different than we are, as You love us.

We find true life in following You, Jesus. Amen.

Tuesday, October 06, 2020

Lord, You have always made the first move. In the Garden of Eden, when Adam couldn’t obey Your one rule, You made the first move, putting into motion Your plan to redeem fallen man (Genesis 3:15). Mankind wallowed in the throes of sin, but You didn’t hesitate, making the first move, sending Jesus, who willingly went to the cross to redeem us from sin (John 3:16). You made the first move, raising Jesus from the dead on Easter Sunday to give eternal life to all who believe (Romans 4:25). As with every Christ-follower, You made the first move by giving us everything we need to gain grace and eternal life, even the faith to believe and be saved (Ephesians 2:8). When we were lost, without hope of saving ourselves, thank You for moving first, Lord.

However You choose to do so, Lord God, bring an end to these wildfires devastating the western states. Whether by rain, or by supernaturally strengthening the people on the front lines, we pray Your mercy on the poor folks whose lives are forever altered by these fires. Help them as they rebuild. Give them the faith to call on You and may You become more than they expected. Use these fires to bring people into a new relationship with You.

Thank You for moving first to bring us to salvation, Jesus. Amen.