O God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, guide me today. Hear me because the Lord is my helper. I seek to fulfill his work. Your mission is at the forefront of my desire. Give me success in faithfulness. Bring forth fruit from my labors. Thank you for calling me to yourself and to your plan of salvation. Thank you for giving me gifts to use in your task of redeeming all people. Be glorified in me this day.
Now Emptied
O Spirit of God, revive me — live in me —
From sin and guilt and passion set me free.
Messiah, Savior, Master, lead me forth —
May every day I understand your worth.
Creator, Father, Sovereign, come abide —
Fill with love this heart now emptied of pride.
A sense of abundance and fullness
True and living God,
- Your works go before you and proclaim your glory. In Christ we see your love and goodness, the justice brought to man. You are worthy of praise.
- We love you, and desire that you dwell in our hearts. Come to us, for we have come to the Rock that shelters us above all tempests.
- Forgive us of the sin of anxiousness, O Lord, that inner turmoil over our many responsibilities or dread concerning current events.
- Give us, Father, a sense of abundance and fullness, that come from the bounty of your goodness.
- We are thankful for technology that permits us to do more, be more efficient in our work, have greater contact with loved ones and friends, share the gospel with the lost.
- Father, bless the work of the Good News in Argentina. May the brethren there be strong in faith. Send more workers into that field.
- Uphold the work of Colin and Lisa Graham in Bangor, North Ireland, and give them fruit from their labors.
- Bless parents as they rear their children in the fear of your Name, transmit to them the joy of serving Christ, and instill in them love in its purest form.
- Thank you, Lord, for reconciliation, to give us peace with you and in ourselves, for peacemaking as our objective.
- Thank you for the recorded history, in Scripture, of your work to save mankind, for your patience with the stubbornness of Israel and with the recalcitrance of the church.
What a wonderful God you are to love and save us!
The virtue of acceptance
Our Father in Heaven,
- The universe sings your praise. The world declares your glory. The heavens sing about your splendor. Honor belongs to you.
- Be ever more present in our lives. May your holy Spirit inhabit us. We desire the Lord Jesus dwell within us.
- Protect us from the sin of anger, that we might not destroy relationships and prevent love from developing.
- Develop in us the virtue of acceptance, that we might embrace our situations, live contentedly in the circumstances in which we find ourselves, and learn from the sufferings and challenges that we face.
- We are thankful for sleep, which allows us to rest and be refreshed for the next day. We are grateful that you are in charge of this world and its affairs, so we can lay our heads on our pillows and at night and find comfort in your charge.
- We ask on behalf of the people of Aruba, that the gospel might reach every soul in such a way that they may respond to the message and be faithful in its practice.
- Bless the life and efforts of our missionary friends Mike and Brenda Brooks, as they serve in Nepal and Bangladesh, sharing the gospel and training servants in the Word.
- We ask for our children that they might know you, grow in grace, serve with their gifts, be mature in their faith, show faithfulness in their relationships and to the truth.
- Thank you for salvation in Christ. Thank you that the truth has come to us. We are grateful to share with you the mission of reaching always outward to the lost.
- Thank you for the Bible. May we give it due respect, as it truly is — a word from you and not the word of man.
What a privilege is prayer, O Father!
Put Our Hope in the Living God
Most work hard for a paycheck, but if the company can no longer give us money for our work, we no longer show up. We have a certain amount of loyalty but largely are not intrinsically invested in our jobs. This is just the opposite of our walk with Christ–and good thing! We must obey God, but heaven is not given to us because of our obedience. We cannot work for our salvation; it is a gift. In some ways, this seeming disconnect makes it harder for Christians to persevere and be faithful unto death if we must rely on grace through Jesus’ work on the cross that has nothing to do with us.
This is why we are left with one of the three big gifts (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)–hope!
I. Hebrews 6:17-20. Hope is our motivator. God, who never lies, confirmed eternity for us with an oath, so we might flee our old life of sin and selfishness and take hold of the only thing that can save us–His unchangeable promise of heaven! It was this hope or the “joy set before him” that got Jesus through the cross to motivate us to throw off hindrances and sin and not grow weary in the Christian walk (Hebrews 12:1-3).
II. 1 Timothy 4:7-10. We labor and strive because of hope in the living God. When asked if he wanted to leave Him too, Peter replied that there was no one else to turn to (John 6:66-69). Before the Sanhedrin, he declared that salvation was found in no one else (Acts 4:8-12). But, the very nature of hope is that it is always just out of reach, and it is so hard to wait (Romans 8:23-25). Yes, it is!
III. Mark 14:66-72. There was a time when Peter had let go of hope. It was Thursday through his talk with the resurrected Christ while eating some fish (John 21:15-19). Having denied Jesus, the very thing he swore he would not do, Peter slunk back to huddle with those who had deserted their Master while Jesus was crucified and buried. On the resurrection Sunday, the omniscient God calls him out when He, through the angel, tells the women at the tomb to tell “his disciples and Peter” (Mark 16:7).
When we sin, we let go of the hope that we have taken hold of to return to that which we have fled from. We become like Peter, even pretending to fit in with His disciples today at church. We must repent and re-grasp this great gift of hope, letting it be our motivator to walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6).
Beautiful Promise
What beautiful promise you make in Scripture, O God!
What scenes of joy, serene peace and glory!
You draw the heart’s desire and strengthen the will,
You call us to yourself, to come be filled,
You make the dry mouth water for higher purpose.
Bring to pass in me that single hope.
O God, transform us now by Christ’s appearing!
For These I Seek You
To know and love, to be accepted
For who I am; to put rejection
Far away; for transformation —
A new soul and heart and mind:
For these I seek you, Lord, humbly,
Thirsty on the desert sand.
With Love Let Nothing Interfere
Father, make me clean this day,
That I might stand before you;
Take all my sin and shame away,
I urgently implore you.
With love let nothing interfere,
Let Satan not derail me;
On earth let glorious News appear,
Your power never fail me.
What should I learn today?
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
- What should I learn today?
- What should I be reading today?
- Whom can I help today?
- How can I serve today?
- What truth ought I practice today?
- What prayer ought I pray today?
- How can I grow closer to you?
- What joys are mine today?
- When will peace rule in me today?
- Where should the focus of my energies be today?
Show me the way, O Lord.
The Best and Purest Soul
Holy Father, praise is yours from all
creation, and from those on earth you call
to love and service. You, O Lord, are blessed,
who sends from heaven the Holy One, the best
and purest soul, to save us by his death —
Breathe in us the Holy Spirit’s breath!