Thank You, LORD, for Your Patience With Us

Thank You, LORD, for Your patience with us.  I thank You in particular for Your patience with me.  Thank You for Your forgiveness.  Thank You that You love me always.  Thank You that You will never leave me nor forsake me.

I am sorry that I keep changing my mind about things.  I think I have something figured out, and then I decide maybe I wasn’t right after all.  To make it worse, I have come to some of the same conclusions over and over again, and then change again.  Perhaps I ought to stop coming up with my theories about things.  I am an experimenter, and a thinker, and an analyzer, and I like to try to figure things out, and that’s all great and dandy, and I believe it’s even a part of how You made me for Your glory, but I haven’t learned how to direct it yet.  I’m too volatile.  I must lack some maturity and wisdom.  Thank You, LORD, that Jesus is our wisdom.  Thank You, LORD, that You know all things.  Thank You, LORD, for being so incredibly patient with me.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gladness in My Heart

Thank You, LORD, for putting this gladness in my heart today.  Thank You for giving me joy.  Thank You for helping me to see that today, which is a regular work day with a full schedule, is a beautiful day, a day I can enjoy, a day full of Your richness and beautiful people that You’ve created.  Thank You for lifting me up out of the doldrums I’ve been stagnating in for the past several weeks.

God, be glorified, in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Hallelujah!

Fresh New Day

Thank You, LORD, for the freshness You’ve given to this day.  The light snow on the ground is a beautiful expression of it.  The freshness and stillness in the air surround my senses with it.

Thank You, LORD, for today’s fresh start.  Thank You for today’s fresh look at the things of life.  Thank You, LORD, for fresh life.

Thank You, LORD, for the fragrance of promise.  The best is yet to come.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The LORD is My Shield

Dear heavenly Father, thank You that You are my shield.  Thank You that You protect me.

There is so much garbage out there.  There are lies everywhere.  There are attempts at causing fear everywhere.  Thank You, Father, that Your word says that You have not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  Thank You, Father, that You are not the author of confusion, but of peace.  Thank You, Father, that You are our health and our strength and our song and our salvation.  Thank You, Father, that You bless our food and our water.  Thank You, Father, that You are our Provider.  Thank You, Father, that You take care of those who trust in You in every way, and nothing shall by any means hurt us, because You are stronger than all that.  Thank You that You protect us.  Thank You that Your word is truth, and we can stand on it, and it puts to silence the enemy.  Hallelujah!

Praise You, Father.  Thank You for shielding me from the lies.  Thank You for Your Word, the truth, which sets us free from all that bondage of fear.  Hallelujah!

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Guide Me, Jesus

Dear Lord, please guide me.  I don’t know anything on my own.  I am a dumb sheep.  And even though that is the case, You still love me so much You died for me and rose again so that I could live with You for ever.  Thank You, Jesus.

Not only am I a dumb sheep, but I am a whiny, sickly sheep.  I’ve been complaining to You all the time.  I feel like I have a spiritual runny nose and maybe even a spiritual fever and a spiritual stomach flu.  I can’t seem to “keep anything down.”  You teach me something, you comfort me, and I feel the immediate relief, but then I end up “losing it” and I feel empty and hungry and in pain again.  What is it that’s wrong, Lord?  Please heal me from this infirmity, Jesus.  Lay Your hand on me and rebuke the spiritual fever/runny nose/stomach flu and send it away from me, never to return.

Thank You, Jesus, for healing me.

When You healed Peter’s wife’s mother of her fever, the fever left her and she arose and ministered to those around her.  Help me to minister to those around me, Jesus.  Amen.

Thank You, LORD, for Loving Me

Thank You, LORD, for loving me, even though I’m a miserable failure.  Thank You for loving me even though I am selfish and waste so much time and thought on earthly things.  Thank You, LORD, that You forgive me for my sins.  Thank You, Father, that every morning begins a brand new day, a fresh new start.  Thank You, LORD, for Your compassion and mercy.  Thank You that You continue to work in me.  Thank You that the point is not that I have to be perfect, but that I am to believe in Jesus and be willing to let You make the changes in me that are needed in order to become more and more like Jesus.

I trust You, Father.  I don’t understand a lot of things  right now, but You understand everything perfectly, and You are in charge of my life, so just like when Dad used to drive the car with us kids in the back seat, and we didn’t need to worry about how we were going to get where we were supposed to get, because Dad was driving, and he always knew the way…just like that we can trust You to get us to the the right place at the right time.

I trust You, Father.

Thank You, Father, that You love me, and therefore I don’t have to fear.  You take care of me and provide for me and get me where I need to go when I need to be there.  You keep track of everything for me and have already figured it all out.

I have caused myself so much pain by trying to do Your job, Father.  I’ve tried so hard to figure things out, things that I can’t know, things that only You know, Father.  Why have I worked so hard at something so futile?  Please forgive me.  Help me to rest in You, Father.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thank You, LORD

Thank You, LORD, for this day.  Thank You, LORD for teaching us.  Thank You, LORD, for Your patience with us.  Thank You, LORD, that Your mercy endures for ever.  Hallelujah!  Let all the earth praise the LORD!  Let all creation glorify Him!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God Knows Best

Thank You, LORD, that You know what we need better than we do.  Thank You, LORD, that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to Your purpose.  Thank You, too, that You hear our prayers, and that You tell us to ask and receive that our joy may be full.  Thank You for Your perfect balance, Father.  Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, which You give to those who believe the record You gave us of Your Son Jesus, those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Thank You that Your Holy Spirit guides us.  Thank You that Your Holy Spirit guides us even as we pray.  Help us to ask according to Your will, Father.  Put Your desires for us in our hearts, that our desires are a reflection of Your desires, that we may ask and receive and give thanks unto You with hearts full of gratitude and joy.

Thank You, Father, for loving us so much that You put our well-being above our wants when doing so is for our own good.  You will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able.  Bring our will into agreement with Your will, O LORD.  Help us to honor You and glorify You in all that we do.  Help us to always be thankful and mindful of You.  Help us to always seek first Your kingdom, and Your righteousness.  Thank You that You make it easy for us by giving us the commandment to love You with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves, and that if we do these things, we will be doing what we should.  Thank You that You make it so clear to us.  Help us to live that now, LORD, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Scriptures:  Romans 8:28, Psalm 18:6, John 16:24, I John 5:10, John 7:38-39, Acts 2:38-39, John 16:13, John 14:26, Romans 8:26-27, I John 5:14-15, John 15:7, Psalm 37:4-5, I Corinthians 10:13, 31, Colossians 3:17, Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 3:1-2, Romans 8:5-6, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 22:37-40, Romans 13:10, Galatians 5:14, I John 3:22-24, Philippians 22:13)

I Seek Your Glory, LORD

Let everything I do bring glory to You, Father.  I seek not my own glory, but Your glory.  Let everything I do draw people to You, Father, in the name of Jesus Christ.  Let every word I speak bring others closer to You.  Let every thing I do bring people to think of You and love You more.  I don’t want to do anything for my own glory any more.  I don’t want to be selfish anymore.  I only want to live for You and draw people closer to You, Father.  In Jesus’ name.  Thank You for dwelling in me.  Amen.

Peace That Passes All Understanding

Thank You, LORD, for the peace that passes all understanding.  Thank You, LORD, for giving us rest from our labors.  Thank You, Jesus, that we can rest in You, trusting You to shelter us and guide us and protect us and comfort us and never leave us nor forsake us.  Thank You, Jesus, that the peace You give us remains in us no matter what is going on around us.  Thank You, Jesus, that Your peace stays.  Thank You, Jesus, for Your grace and truth and mercy and love.  Thank You for this peace, LORD.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.