Tag: hope

Happy New Year! January 2021 Prayer

Father God, thank You for this new year and month! Thank You for new beginnings, new mercies each and every day! Lord God, prepare us for 2021 and 2021 for us! Lord God, may we seek and desire to be prepared to live even more fully and authentically with and for You in 2021!

Lord God, thank You that You call us to keep moving forward! While we are to reflect and learn from the past, our past is not to be an anchor weighing us down but a propeller moving us on. Lord God, may we be reminded that we are living in the land of in between. Your Kingdom has come but it is not yet consummated. May we persevere and have even greater awareness that this world is not our home!

Lord God, thank You for this reader. Lord God, for those who are in Christ may they start this new year with the reminder of who they are in Christ and their position in You as well. Lord, for the reader who does not know you, may today be the day of salvation. May today, the start of 2021 be the day where they come to trust Christ by grace through faith. Lord God, thank You that You are still saving sinners, sanctifying believers. May we thank and praise You that You are sovereign, controlling world events!

Thank You Jesus there is NO moment where you are not seated on the Throne! Thank You that NOTHING in 2021 will catch You off guard or surprise You! May we be optimistic about our walk with You this year regardless of our circumstances! May we be better prepared to handle change, challenge and hardship because of what we learned in 2020.

Lord God, may we trust You more this year rather than longing for comfort. I know this is an area where You are convicting me. I pray that I will grow in love, trust and obedience this year! Lord God, may we strip off our clothes of mourning and put on clothes celebrating You, manifesting Your fruit.

Lord God, may You strengthen this reader to hold fast to You this year. May this new year and new month be a time of renewal and refreshment. Lord God, may this time be one of excitement in what You will do knowing that You have been faithful in the past.

Lord God, thank You that Your Good News will continue to spread and thrive even when Satan, the world and the flesh does everything they can to stop and suppress it. May believers be reminded more this year that praise and prayer have power and both connect us to You and focus us on You and not our situations and circumstances.

Lord God, thank You for the gift of this reader! Lord, lead this reader by still waters today, where they will know that You love them and so do I! Thank You again Holy Trinity for the gift of new mercies and beginnings. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen and Amen.

To or With?

backlit cemetery christianity clouds
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It was ten years ago, but it still resonates with me. At the time, I was allowing situations in life that were beyond my control to effect/affect me in some very negative ways. I loved having God Time in my mom’s living room when it was cold outside. I remember, saying to my mom, as I was heading into the room to be alone, “I need to talk to God.” My mom’s response seriously changed my life. She said, “what if you talked with God instead of to God?” I can attest first hand how changing the preposition changes everything.

If I am only talking to God, (which left unchecked can become talking at God) I will never hear God. I would also hate for God to stop listening to me because all I was doing was talking to Him, (no matter how reverent and sincere) rather than with Him. I would hate for God to not be able to speak freely with me. I know first hand that when I do not allow Him to speak freely with me, He will use some external intervention to get my attention (I have too many of those stories to write nor would you want to hear them all!).

What does your devotional time look like? Do you talk to God or with God? It is my heart’s desire for you to know that Jesus wants to dialogue with you. He wants you to come to Him and talk/speak/dialogue with Him and He with you. As you dialogue with our Triune God, may you grow in His love, grace, forgiveness and mercy. When you hear the Lord calling to spend time and speak with you, may you respond like David, “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘LORD, I am coming'” (Psalm 27:8 NLT, emphasis mine).

Father God, thank You for the opportunity to come and talk with You because of Jesus’s work on the cross. Lord God, thank You for the gift of Your Presence and for never abandoning us and leaving us as orphans. Lord God, fill us with Your Holy Spirit, fill us with a desire to be with You above all else! Thank You Lord, for this reader/hearer. Thank You for their life. Help this reader/hearer endure what seems insurmountable. May this reader/hearer praise You Lord for all that You have done, are doing and will do. Lord God, be with this reader/hearer. May they draw near to You and dialogue with You and You with them. In Jesus’s Name I pray, Amen.