My Prayer For A New Year
1. Because We Love Him
One Sunday morning little Elsa came up to me and lifted her hands for me to pick her up. As I carried her from Sunday school I asked her, "Elsa, you are such a big girl, why am I carrying you?" She immediately replied, "Cause me love you, MeMaw." "You are absolutely right, because you love me." Elsa didn't say that I carried her because I love her, but that I carry her because she loves me. While I thought on her words, I thought about how the Lord has given His invitation to all, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) It is an open invitation, and He loves us all, but the only ones that find rest in Him are the ones that love Him. I know several children that I could carry, but Elsa is the one I carry most, because she loves me. She wants to be close to me, and that makes us close. It gives me such joy to hear her say, "I really love you!" As we enter this New Year, I want to be close to the Lord. I want to know that He is here to carry me through any troubles and trials that may come up this year. I want to go to Him and find rest for my soul. The way I can do that is to love Him more and learn more about His love through reading His Word and spending time in prayer. So instead of the usual Resolutions For A New Year, I am beginning with "My Prayer For A New Year." Do you have a special prayer for the New Year?
2. Remember Me
As I was looking at verses about Noah for our talk on faith last week I came across Genesis 8:1 which begins, "And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark:..." My prayer today is, "Remember me." I want God to remember me when I am riding out the storms of life just as He remembered Noah and every living thing on the ark. God does not forget us, but it is amazing to think that He remembers us. It has been almost 16 years since I saw and talked with my Dad and I don't think I will ever forget him, but there are times when I "remember him". Thanksgiving was his favorite time of the year and there were so many times during the last two months that I remembered him in a special way. God is so great and mighty, yet He thinks of us. David praised God. "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee." (Psalm 139:17-18) And to my family, remember me. Share your victories with me so I can rejoice with you. Let me lift you up in prayer when life gets you down. Remember me in your prayers. My first prayer for the New Year... "Remember me."
3. Heal Me
I woke up yesterday with the stomach flu and was sick all day. I am thankful to the Lord for being able to sleep last night. I am still not well and desire your prayers. I am glad that we have a God who can touch us and heal us and give us comfort through our pain. My prayer today is Psalms 6:2 "Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed."
4. Teach Me
(Thank you for all the prayers. I am feeling much better and hope to have my appetite back soon.)
I always enjoy beginning my Bible reading in Genesis on the first day of the year. I would like to encourage you to read the Bible through. Reading 4 chapters, 6 days each week will be enough to read it through in a year. If my time has been cut short by the demands of the day I will turn to the book of Psalms and read my 4 chapters. When I read I pray that God will teach me truths from His Word. Sometimes I keep a reading journal and jot down things that God shows me. It helps me remember them and is convenient for me to look back on when I am trying to find a verse I read. My prayer today is, "Teach me." The more I learn from the Word of God, the more I want to learn. "Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." (Psalms 25:5) God will give us wisdom from His Word when we ask Him. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5)
5. Show Me
For the past few years I have been making ornaments for Michael's students for Christmas. Running out of ideas, this year I prayed, "God show me what I can do." I searched Pinterest and the DIY sites and finally found some ideas using backsplash tiles. Michael and I went shopping at a floor and tile store and saw some that would be perfect. I practiced by making them for my family, then I made them for his classes. I liked them so much I went back to the store and bought more and made them for the people in our church and close friends. It wasn't much as far as a Christmas gift goes, but I feel like I gave each of them a smile. I have often watched people when I am out and about and I have noticed that most look sad, or worried, or just plain weary. I like to make people smile. We never know how much a kind word, or just a smile from us, can do to help give someone a much needed smile. I often pray that God will show me the right devotional thoughts to encourage others. Some of the school classes wrote "Thank You" notes and one of the students asked that I show them how I made the ornaments, so I am working on tile decorations that I hope to help them make. I have attached a photo in case any of you want an idea for Valentines to bring a smile to someone's face. My prayer today is, "Show me. Show me how to be kind and give a little joy to others that cross my path." "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalm 16:11)
6. What Jesus Said About Prayer
I decided to read the New Testament along with the Old Testament this year instead of reading the Bible straight through. As I was reading the sixth chapter of Matthew I decided to pause "My Prayers For The New Year" and look at what Jesus said about prayer. Let's begin with verses 5 and 6. "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." I was brought up in a Christian home and we always asked the blessing before every meal. I believe that it is a good witness to others to pray even when we are away from home, as long as it is not as Jesus described in these verses to "be seen of men." Our prayers should be sincere and not done to attract attention to ourselves. Another area that we can apply this to is to social media. I was touched by the many messages I received through emails and facebook that people were praying for me. It was such a blessing to know so many were going to the Lord on my behalf. The New Testament church gathered together to pray. We can come together in prayer without coming together in person as we read the prayer requests shared online. So I don't think Jesus was saying that we should never pray in public. But, with that said, I think our most fervent, sincere prayer comes when we are burdened to the point we shut ourselves in with just the Lord and open our hearts to Him.
7. The Absolute Of Prayer
We can pray from any position. King Solomon prayed on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. (I Kings 8:54) King Hezekiah turned his face to the wall on his death bed and God heard his prayer and gave him 15 more years. (II Kings 20) We can pray any time. Daniel kneeled at his window facing towards Jerusalem and prayed three times each day. (Daniel 6:10) The Apostle Paul tells us to "Pray without ceasing." (I Thessalonians 5:17) We can pray about the small problems in our lives, and the great big decisions we have to make. We can pray for others, and we can pray for ourselves. We have all these options in our prayer life, but there is one absolute and unconditional part of prayer that we must follow. We must pray to God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. Let's continue with what Jesus said about prayer in Matthew 6:9, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." There is only one true and living God and we must pray to Him if we want our prayers answered. The first commandment God gave Moses was, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) And we read in John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." There are many today who believe that Christians are intolerant and close minded because we believe that our God is the only God. We believe this way because that is what God's Word tells us. "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." (I Corinthians 8:6)
8. God's Will Be Done
I realized after I wrote the first few devotionals of the year that I had omitted a very important part of my prayers. Let's look at the next line of the prayer of our Lord. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." ( Matthew 6:10) When we pray we need to pray that God's will be done. James reminds us that we need to consider the Lord's will in everything we do.
"13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." (James 4:13-15
So, in my prayers for the New Year, I will try to remember to add this to the future entries in writing, just as I do in my asking. I want God's will accomplished in my life. As the song says, "He is really all that matters."
9. Feed Me
I joked with my Mom that I really started my New Year's diet this year. Being sick, I went about two days without eating. I am still trying to take it easy with my eating. I want to say, "Thank you" again for all those who prayed for me. (I am better and praying for those who are sick now.) Our next verse of the prayer is Matthew 6:11, "Give us this day our daily bread." God wants us to ask Him for our daily needs to be met, and He does not want us to worry about them. Let's continue reading in this chapter and see that it is His will to supply our needs. And don't forget to thank Him.
"25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:25-33)
10. Forgive Me
As we come to the closing section in our prayer it saddens me to think of how often I have to pray this prayer, "Forgive me." No matter how hard I try, I still fail the Lord and have to ask His forgiveness. Many times there are others involved and I have to ask their forgiveness, as well. Another part of this scenario is that I also strive to forgive them. Without forgiveness the anger and frustration can turn to bitterness and grow inside us until we become hard and cold. When our children were young we made them say, "I'm sorry" and give each other a hug after their spats. They may not have always meant it, but it was good practice for growing up. It is not easy to say these words, but we need to learn to pray for forgiveness, ask others for forgiveness, and be willing to forgive others. These three steps will help us in our relationship with God and with others.
"12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:12-15)
11. Fill Me
Have you ever noticed that some people seem to have more love in their care for others? Do you have friends that seem happy every time you see them? Is there a true friend in your life that you can call to lift you up when you are down, or just be a shoulder to lean on? When our five children were small they took almost all of my time and I rarely had time to visit with friends. Even when we did get together with other families, my eyes and ears were still focused on the children, their behavior and their safety. Then one day, I went in and sat on the church pew, and it was just Michael and me. I missed having the children lined up on our pew and it was hard for me to adjust to them moving on. I felt so alone on the long empty pew. So I prayed that God would help me. After a while God showed me that I needed to reach out to others, and I started praying that God would give me more love for the people around me. I wanted to live and breathe what Paul described in Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." So I prayed, "Fill me, Lord, and let your love flow through me to reach others." We read in Ephesians 5:18 to "... be filled with the Spirit." That is still my prayer today. "Fill me, Lord, with love, joy and peace, according to Your will. Use my life with longsuffering, gentleness, and goodness in love for others. Strengthen my faith in meekness and temperance that your light might shine through me."
12. Watch Me
One evening when I was a young girl, my Dad asked me to go get something from the car. He had already taken his boots off for the night and it was a simple thing to do, only, I was scared of the dark. And I told him so. He said he would stand in the door way and watch me the whole time. Knowing that he was standing in the open door, watching over me, took away all my fear. Fast forward to when I was a young teenager. We lived down a long country road. My uncle lived at the end of the road and there were no other houses between. My aunt was in the hospital and my uncle asked me to watch their children one evening. He got back a lot later than I had imagined and I had to walk home in the dark. I walked down the long, lonely road through the woods with just enough light from the moon to see the way. My Dad was not there to watch over me that time, but my heavenly Father was with me. I sang a hymn out loud, hoping that no animal would think I was trying to sneak up on it. And I made it home through the darkness. Many years later I had to have surgery and I felt like I was going through the darkness again. While sitting and waiting I repeated Psalm 23 over and over in my mind, and prayed for the Lord to watch over me. It is comforting to know that my God watches over me. When the circumstances of life make the light grow dim, I know that my Savior is watching me from above and His light shines through the dark clouds and eases my fear. My prayer today is, "Watch me. Keep your eyes on me Lord and protect me with your power." "Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;" (Psalm 33:18)
13. Wash Me, Cleanse Me
I like to cook. And that's a good thing, because we like to eat. Every. Day. In fact, we eat more than once, every day. And that means we have lots of dirty dishes, every day. But that's a good thing, because that shows that God is providing our needs. Every. Day. As I was washing my dishes this morning, I was thinking about what I read in the book of John, where Jesus was about to wash the disciples' feet.
"8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all." (John 13:8-10)
Jesus washed the feet of the disciples to teach them about serving others. But we can also see from this example that we get dirty walking through this sinful world. After David sinned he prayed, "Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin... Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow... Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:2, 7 & 10) God gives us this promise, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) Only God has the power to forgive our sins and cleanse us. My prayer today is, "Wash me and cleanse me." Now, back to my kitchen. I have dishes to dry, and I can even use one of the new kitchen towels I got for Christmas. God is good!
14. Mold Me
God has given us His Word so that we are able to look all the way back to the beginning of man. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26-27) We were made in the image of God. And God walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the beautiful garden that He created for them. After they sinned against God Adam and Eve were cast out from their home in the garden. It is hard to imagine how far man fell in just a few short chapters. "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5) We find our own state in Isaiah 64:6, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Read a little farther... "But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." (Isaiah 64:8) In another place Isaiah said, "Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?" (Isaiah 45:9) My prayer today is, "Mold me and make me, into Your image." I often fail and make mistakes. But I want to be a vessel that God can use. I don't want to work against God's plan for my life. I want to live a life that brings glory to His Name.
15. Use Me
Many, many years ago, in the 1970's, I sat under the preaching of Pastor Arthur F. Blackburn. Even though I can't remember many of his sermons, I learned a lot from his Bible preaching and from time to time God will bring to my mind something he said. One thing that he said as he got older was that he didn't want God to put him on a shelf. He wanted to preach as long as he lived. Well, I am not a preacher, but I do want God to use me as long as I live. I want to be a vessel of honor, "meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." That is my prayer today, "Use me." I know that I won't make much of an impact on the world, but I hope and pray that I can be a help to some. I want my children and grandchildren to know how much I love the Lord. And maybe these short little devotionals will encourage some along the way. I want to be a faithful servant and give my all to the Lord, who gave His all for me.
"19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." (II Timothy 2:19-21)
16. My Prayer For You
I have shared my prayers for the New Year, and today I want to share a prayer for you. I appreciate those who take time to read these devotionals from day to day. Those who send their thoughts to me through emails or on facebook and those who hit the Like button are very special and these kind gestures always send a smile and brighten my day. So this prayer today is for you! God gave Moses this prayer for Aaron and his sons to bless the Children of Israel. I pray these blessings for you today.
"24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." (Numbers 6:24-26)
17. A Prayer That We Know The Love Of Christ
Do you know that three weeks ago we were celebrating the birth of Jesus? The first week of December when Christmas is three weeks away, it seems so close. Now, it seems so far behind us. My Christmas ornaments and decorations have been put away, in storage for most of the year. The Nativity pieces which lined my mantle have also been carefully boxed up, out of sight, but hopefully not out of mind. My prayer today is that we won't quickly forget the love of God which brought His Son to walk among men, and die on the cross to give us salvation. Paul's prayer for the church at Ephesus was that they would be rooted and grounded in love and that they would be able to comprehend "the breadth, and length, and depth, and height" of the love of Christ. What a wonderful prayer!
"14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Ephesians 3:14-21)
18. My Prayer For Us Is That We Can Take A Stand For Jesus
Andrew Little taught a great lesson in Sunday school from chapter three of Daniel, where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace because they didn't bow to King Nebuchadnezzar's gods. My prayer today is that we, as Christians, will have the faith and courage to take a stand for our God. The media and many of our nation's leaders are taking a stand against the law of God. Let's look at some of the excuses that these young Hebrews could have used to bow to the golden image.
1. We are in a strange land and can't worship in our temple.
2. Our parents are not here to tell us what to do, or see what we do.
3. Who will be a witness for God if we are killed in the furnace?
4. Our God has forsaken us in letting us be carried away to Babylon.
5. Everyone else has already bowed to the golden image.
6. It is the law of the land that we bow to the idol.
7. We are leaders and it is expected of us.
8. We can bow in our bodies, but not in our hearts.
9. Times have changed, and serving the living God is old-fashioned.
10. Our lives have changed.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not use any of these excuses, but they stood for God. "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." (Daniel 3:16-18) How many of these excuses are being used by people living today? My prayer for us is that we will be able to lay these excuses aside and put on the armor of God and stand up for God and His righteousness. For these three Hebrew boys, the fire did not destroy them, but only freed them from their bonds and let them walk with Jesus and bring glory to God.
"10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" (Ephesians 6:10-18)
19. My Prayer That God Will Send Laborers Into His Harvest
I was reading in the tenth chapter of Acts this morning which begins, "There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band," (Acts 10:1) This man was a Gentile who sought God and an angel appeared to him and told him to send for Simon Peter. Meanwhile, Peter had a vision of all types of animals lowered to him in a sheet and a voice told him to rise and eat. Peter refused saying that he had never eaten anything common or unclean. "And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven." (Acts 10:15-16) This was done three times, then the men who were sent by Cornelius had arrived to take him with them. The Spirit told Peter to go with them and God showed him what was meant by the vision. "And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean." (Acts 10:28) Cornelius and his household were saved and the Holy Ghost fell on them, and they were baptized. By the time I reached these verses, tears of gratitude fell from my eyes. Salvation had been for the Jews. But, praise the Lord, He opened up the way for the Gentiles! Cornelius listened and sent for Simon Peter. Peter listened and went with a group of Jews to Caesarea. Do you realize that if salvation had not been offered to the Gentiles we would have no hope? And if the Jews of the early church had not carried the gospel message to other nations we might not have access to God today. My prayer today is that God will send us as laborers into His harvest. We may be the only witness to cross the path of some lost soul who is seeking to know God. Pastor Jack Tripp preached from the parable of the sower Sunday and reminded us that we are to sow the seed, and pray that God will bring forth fruit for our labors. Hear the Words of our Lord, "Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." (Luke 10:2)
20. Pray To Keep The Family Of God Strong In These Days
Paula sent me an email message that said, "Pray to keep the family of God strong in these days." I replied that I would use that for our devotional today. Little did I know how much our family would need that prayer at this time. Michael's Dad has been fighting cancer for the fourth time and he had a scan scheduled for Wednesday morning. Because of the snow that fell during the night our son went to drive him to the doctor's office. As they walked to the truck, the Lord called Jim home, at 87 years old. Please pray for our family. With the six inches of snow we are not able to be with Betty, Michael's Mom. It is a blessing that his sister is with her (recovering from a broken leg) and she is not alone at this time.
During Moses' last words he told Joshua to be strong and of good courage. That must have been an encouragement to Joshua. It must have been an even greater motivation to keep on going when the Lord told him to "Be strong and of a good courage..."
"6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:6-9)
We surely need the strength of the Lord in these days. The time of wandering in the wilderness was over and Joshua was ready to lead God's people into the battle. And God was with him, leading the way. Pray for those who are in the midst of the battle in these days. "Be strong and of a good courage."
21. When We Don't Know What To Pray
You may be familiar with Romans 8:28, but do you know the preceding verses?
"26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:26-28)
Sometimes we don't know what we should pray for. These verses tell us that the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. He prays for us. That gives us the assurance that everything works together for good. Not only does the Spirit pray for us, but Jesus is at the right hand of God making intercession on our behalf. "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8:34) "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25) Just two weeks into the New Year I have had the stomach flu and we have experienced a death in the family. We don't know what tomorrow will bring. But "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" and we know that the Holy Spirit and our Lord and Savior are praying for us. That should help strengthen our faith to keep on keeping on.
22. The Last Prayer In The Bible
I have enjoyed sharing my prayers for the New Year. Today I want to look at the last prayers in the Bible. We are going to the last chapter of the last book, and looking at the last verses.
"20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." (Revelation 22:20-21)
When I look at all the sin in this world I have to pray, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." When I think about all my loved ones that have gone on to heaven I have to pray, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." When I remember what He has brought me from and the home He is preparing for me in heaven I have to pray, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." When I rejoice in the great love He has for me and I want to thank Him for what He has done in my life, I have to pray, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." And I close with this last prayer, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
