Non-Negotiables

The stability of a believer's life, especially in times of adversity, is immeasurably strengthened by settling forever two key issues:

(a) All Scripture, every bit of it, is God's flawless Word; and,

(b) God is absolutely sovereign, period.

So many concerns used by the enemy to cause so many Christians such consternation would melt into resolution if/when God's sovereignty is unquestioned and His Word is trusted as true.

To the extent either of these positions is compromised is exactly how much access Satan is given for sowing seeds of unbelief--- questioning God's goodness, doubting His power, mocking His promises, and staying man-centered. While these qualities characterize a believer's life, the blessed Holy Spirit is quenched and grieved, and the Savior's Name is reproached.

Father, it is a deep mystery why You are allowing the wheat of your elect and the tares of the lost who look saved to dwell together in this age. As the days darken, may the children of light shine unashamedly. As the cost to claim Your cause increases, let it be paid gladly. For, anything You would ever ask of Your children pales in comparison to what You have given in Your Son, the Lord Jesus!

Putting On the Armor

May my rebellious thoughts be taken captive now, Father, to Your obedience, brought into submission by the blessed Holy Spirit, centered upon the Savior, protected by the helmet of salvation. The enemy of my soul is a master of distraction, caring nothing for what he uses, so long as he keeps my thoughts away from You. Thank You for the sword of Your Word, by which I can be neither ignorant of his schemes, nor defeated by his designs. Teach me to wield it with great effect, Father, bringing verses to mind when most needed. Cover my heart with the breastplate of righteousness, too, that it may be shielded in holiness. For, it is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick (Jer. 17:9). You know my need to be protected by Your truth in the tenderest areas of my life; thus, I would ask that my loins be girded with Truth. And be pleased to restore a sensitivity to those around me, Father, by having my feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, so that wherever I travel today, I may be usable for sharing a word of good news concerning the Savior.
In His Name I ask,
Amen.

O Father

Father,
I would plea for prayer. Far too often I rush into Your presence, and then find myself talking at You instead of with You. Forgive such arrogance. I would sit at Your feet now, as Mary did (Lk. 10:39, 42), listening to You, learning You, loving being loved by You. In such stillness You satisfy the waiting heart with Your sufficiency. Yes, in the quiet I sense afresh what too often I let slip away: You are my soul's deepest satisfaction.
I would come closer, Father, for I have drifted from You. It's both a comfort and conviction that You never change. For, if our fellowship is broken, it is on my side. If our communion is disrupted, it's my doing. If sin is in the camp, it is mine. And I am keenly aware I can hide nothing from Your holy gaze (Hebrews 4:13). There really is no such thing as secret sin, in the light of Your knowledge. So, I plea Your restoring, Your healing work, whereby repentance is granted, fellowship regained, joy returned, and Your Name glorified.
Thank You, Father. Be pleased now to anoint this day with Your Holy Spirit's unction, having Your perfect will in the lives of Your children as You see fit.
In the Name of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray,
Amen.

The Focus Fear Can't Stand

"'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'" (Isaiah 41:10)

What strong commands of encouragement from our God! He who knows our distracted hearts better than anyone, and the nameless fears that rob us of rest and joy, bids us fix our focus where peace of mind and spirit are restored: upon Himself and His provision.

*His Presence "I am with you" When the downcast disciples were so demoralized because their Master had told them He was leaving them, going where they could not follow, they were experiencing the sense of abandonment. Few feelings are more devastating. Little wonder that the Lord comforted them time and again with words of His return to receive them to Himself, that they would be where He was. Someone has well said that heaven is not so much a place as it is a Person. And wherever we sense His presence, His nearness transforms that place into a heavenly one.

*His Person "I am your God" In times we are afraid, we tend to look in every direction except the right one: inward, leading to self-absorption; downward, leading to despair; at the circumstances, increasing our anxiety; at other's situations, prompting comparison, leading to self-pity, anger, or envy; at imagined solutions, leading to inaction, procrastination, and unbelief. All such idols are illusions, tools of the enemy to keep us from giving our full attention to the living God. "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) When that is obeyed, fear cannot abide.

*His Power "I will strengthen you.... help you.... uphold you...." For the one who knows His presence and Person, there is no need to persuade or convince concerning His power. Jeremiah was one such individual. He knew his God in presence as well as character, and states confidently, "Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, " (Jer. 32:17).

Forgive, Father, for how often I take my eyes from You, distracted by the lusts that the enemy of my soul tantalizingly places before me. Forgive, too, for the directions to which I look for help & wisdom when I should look to You, the only true and living God. You know the rest my agitated heart so desperately desires, and the fear that haunts my nights. Restore, Father, the determination to seek You, You alone, Your will, Your way, beyond any and all other.
In the Lord Jesus' Name,
Amen.

An Awakening, Father, Please

Oh, the burden You've placed on the hearts of so many, Father, for our land, our leaders! I cannot begin to imagine what You see in Your omniscience, knowing the depth of America's spiritual decline, all the while smugly thinking, 'all is well.'
Only You could possibly know how ripe we are for judgment, how deserving of Your holy wrath, spared only by Your amazing faithfulness to the remnant and to the promises in Your blessed Word. Praise to Your unchanging Name! For if Your nature were mutable we would be instantly consumed.

I plea for an awakening, Father, a work of spiritual vitality that can be explained in no other way than that You did it... for the restoring of believers who have drifted, who have left their first love, as well as for the quickening of lost souls from spiritual death.
The sweeping work You've done in the past, in lands such as Wales, Ireland, and yes, even here in America, be pleased to do again! For You Who created the heavens and the earth by Your outstretched hand, nothing is too difficult! Nothing is impossible!
Call us to prayer.
Call us to repentance.
Cause the fire to fall in a spiritual outpouring of power!
Call the country back to Yourself.
Bid us return to our roots as a nation whose God is the LORD.
Turn the hearts of the fathers to their children.
Do a purifying work by Your Holy Spirit's sweeping across our land!

In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I plea, Father,

Amen.

Evening Gratitude

As the time for sleep approaches, Father, I would think upon Your faithfulness through my days, and thank You. Only in eternity will I fully see the constancy of Your care, the protection You so precisely provided, and Your timing of all my circumstances within Your sovereign providence.

I get misty-eyed recalling the numerous moments when I neared tragedy and death, seeing in my memory how unmistakably You intervened. They each rise up in my recollections, bearing silent testimony to the ways You've shown Yourself strong on my behalf. Whether car crashes, near-drownings, or falling unconscious in the hallway, You've made Your loving protection so very plain.

Thank You for bringing them to mind. May Your blessed Spirit use these remembrances to:

deepen my desire to walk in a manner worthy of Your calling;

speak more freely of Your gracious nature to those who do not know You;

refuse the urge to complain or murmur in adversity;

meet each morning with declarations of Your goodness;

close each day with greater gratitude for your grace.

Ephesians: All of Grace (1:18, 19)

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might"

* After telling the Ephesians that he never ceased praying for them (v.17), Paul breaks out in prayer for them! What a natural sequence this was for him--- moving from a discussion of prayer straight into intercession. May our praying likewise come as naturally!

*Here Paul specifically asks for three aspects of spiritual awareness: he asked the Father that they would come to understand (1) the hope of His calling; (2) the rich inheritance He gives His own; and, (3) the enormity of His power resident within each one of His children.

*First, the calling. Unlike our everyday use and assumption regarding hope, in the Scriptural use of the term there is a certainty involved. We say we hope something will happen (or not happen), and feel assured by past experience which way it will turn out. But we lack the element of certainty. The Bible, however, speaks of the Christian's hope as a settled, immutable issue, having no possibility of failure. Why? The omnipotent and sovereign God of the universe has declared it to be so!
Therefore, we can know that we know we are His. Some would label such confidence arrogance--- the Lord knows it to be grateful belief, taking Him at His infallible Word.

*Secondly, the inheritance. The Lord Jesus said, "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also," (John 14:2,3). Though it is possible to be 'so heavenly-minded as to be of no earthly good', Christians are to think much of our heavenly inheritance. The Lord who has prepared a place for His own would have us meditate longingly upon the time when we will be where He is.

*Thirdly, the power. Paul states the principle autobiographically in II Corinthians 12:9,10 -- the Lord's power is most plainly seen through usable, weakened, and tried vessels. As a thoroughly normal human, Paul took no masochistic delight in the physical adversities to which he was subjected. What caused him the gratitude, endurance, and even rejoicing through the torturous times was the evident power God displayed. Pain increased Paul's dependence on the mighty One. When he could find comfort in no one else, he found Him faithful.

Father, forgive for the ways we chafe against the very tools You use to conform us into the image of Your Son. Increase our trust in Your infinite wisdom, believing You for the loving God that You are.
In Your Son's Name,
Amen.