Author: timewithourcreator

New Year’s Prayer for 2017

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Photo taken in Colorado.

“For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth.” Psalm 71:5

Gracious Heavenly Father, at the close of another year, I want to thank You for the joys that You have given me during the last year and for the difficulties You have used in my life to allow me to grow in my relationship with You.

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Almighty Father, at the beginning of a new year, I thank You for Your assurance that You will make me victorious in areas where I was defeated, strong where I was weak, successful over sin, and hopeful in any situations of fear. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Wise, infinite Father, in the coming year I ask that You will direct me to be surrendered to You so that I will not have to be embarrassed about my life’s record when it is revealed in eternity. Give me more consciousness of fulfilling the directions in Your Word about how to live a Christ-centered life.

In everything that I will be involved with during this next year, keep reminding me of the admonishment in Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

Thank you that I can move into this new year knowing that You hold the future and that You will always be with me.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

 

 

Christmas Eve Prayer and Meditation

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Photo taken in Colorado.

 Prayer

Lord, we come to You with thanksgiving, remembering the great love You gave to us in the form of the birth of Your Son, Jesus. How unimaginably perfect You are in all Your ways. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us” (Mathew 1:23).

Thank you for giving Your only Son to die for our sins and thank you that if we accept Him into our heart and life, You give us eternal life with You in heaven.

Direct us not to be distracted from the true meaning of Christmas or be enticed by the calling of the world to make Christmas all about ourselves. This Christmas, encourage us to have everything we do point back to You and Your Glory. We bring these thoughts in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Christmas Story Meditation

Visualize the Christmas story by slowly and quietly meditating on this Christmas Carol:

Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright, Round yon Virgin Mother and Child,  Holy Infant so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night, Darkness flies,  all is light; Shepherds hear the angels sing, “Alleluia hail the King! Christ the Savior is born.”

Silent night, holy night, Guiding Star, lend thy light; see the eastern wise men bring Gifts and homage to our King! Christ the Savior is born.

Thank you Lord, for all that this holy night represents.

Daily Yielding Control to God

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Photo taken in Colorado.

This method can help you daily give God control of your life by using the six major parts of the body as a guide for what specifically to turn over to God. You can turn over additional things as well.

“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” Romans 6:13

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the Holy Spirit living within me. I yield to You and ask that the Holy Spirit will take full control of my life using these six parts of the body as a guide: mind, eyes, ear, mouth, hands and feet.

Mind: I ask that You will allow my mind to think only on what You want and not on the things I shouldn’t be thinking about.

Eyes: Have my eyes look at what You want me to see, and not anything detrimental to me.

Ears: Allow my ears to hear what You want me to hear instead of negativity.

Mouth: Direct me to say what is pleasing to You and to not say things that could be hurtful to anybody.

Hands: Guide me to do things that are gratifying to You and keep me from  the activities that are not helpful to me.

Feet: Direct me to walk to places that are pleasing in Your sight and turn me from any roads that lead to destruction.

Thank you that when all these parts of my body are under the control of the Holy Spirit I am able to lay aside my own desires and instinctive actions, enabling me to grow in my Christian walk.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A Christmas Prayer

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Photo taken in Colorado.

‘”Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”‘ Matthew 1:23

Father, amongst the joy and excitement of presents, decorations, family, food, etc., give me a good spiritual understanding of the true meaning of Christmas.

Thank you that Jesus’ coming provided a way of salvation for us to be with You in Heaven forever and eliminated the hopelessness of man. It is because of that first Christmas morning that the revelation in the Bible about Jesus’ coming was fulfilled.

Jesus, for more than twenty centuries, the world has heard Your teachings and has been influenced by them; thank you for being the Light of the world.

Let us remember to share the truth with unbelievers this Christmas season that unless they personally accept Jesus into their life as Savior and Lord, the good news of the Christmas message means nothing for them in eternity.

As we celebrate Christmas as believers, remind us of all the awesomeness surrounding Jesus’  birth recorded in Luke 2 and how it all happened just as it was prophesied in Isaiah 9:6-7 hundreds of years earlier.

Thank you for all the joyful memories You have given me of past Christmases and for all the current blessings of Christmas now.

In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Living in God’s Presence

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Photo taken in Colorado.

“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3

Lord, thank you for the peace and comfort it gives me to know that You are everywhere present and that You see every situation in my life; even the events in my life that I do not understand are not a surprise to You.

May I be conscious at all times of the fact that I am living in Your presence. Encourage me to have a growing desire to live in a way that is pleasing to You. When the challenges of life come, direct me to get my focus off of my problems and onto Jesus.

As I invite You, Jesus, to be my defender and counselor, show me how You do not always immediately calm the storms in life but how You are always willing to calm me as Your child in the midst of the storm.

Isaiah 43:2-3 tells me, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”

I bring these praises and requests to You in Jesus’ precious Name, Amen.

Quote #5

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Photo taken in Colorado.

“Sometimes it is helpful to ask ourselves as we pray, ‘do I really expect anything to happen?'” -Catherine Marshall

“There is one way in which the power of prayer differs from all the powers of the world; it is the only power that cannot be used for evil.” -Harold Lindsell

“Whenever God determines to do a great work, He first sets His people to pray.” -Charles H. Spurgeon

Thanksgiving Prayer

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Photo taken in Colorado.

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Giving Father, I thank You for the items You have listed in Psalm 103:3-5 that remind me of all you do for me: “[He] who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Thank you for the access I have to Your Word which gives me encouragement, joy, peace and the power to defeat the work of the flesh and of Satan.

What a blessing it is to know that “…He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Thank you for the promise of personal guidance that You have laid out for me in Isaiah 48:17 and Isaiah 30:21. You say to me: “…”I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go,”‘ and “your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”

Father, give me the wisdom to know that thankfulness is not just an act, but a life-style and that the peace You put in my heart and mind is much more valuable than all the physical blessings You provide on a daily basis.

I praise You, O Lord, by saying: thank you, thank you, thank you!

I bring this prayer in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“When Two Gather in My Name…” Praying Through Scripture Together

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The concept for this prayer variation comes from Elton Gillam’s Church Prayer Ministry International.

This prayer variation will be most effective if two people use it together, however, it will also be beneficial for praying on your own. You can pray in this way with your spouse, your family, your friends or any other special believers in your life.

Praying in this way helps you to have something to pray about and assists you in avoiding repetition in your prayers.

This is the procedure to follow:

Take a portion of Scripture and have the first person read one verse aloud and then pray about what the verse prompts him/her to pray about. Then the second person reads the next verse aloud and prays about what that verse prompts him/her to pray about.

You can go back and forth reading verses for as long as you want to pray, but these prayers are usually fairly short. Try to stay with the theme of each verse during this kind of prayer. When you are finished, you can bring your other requests that don’t relate to the verses you have read.

Also, be aware that you may each have to read more than one verse at a time to complete the sentence or point being made.

A good way to look at this kind of prayer is to consider the reading of the verse as God speaking to you; view Him as a third party in the group. “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

Psalms and Proverbs are good Scriptures to use if you choose to pray this way. There are other portions of the Bible that are also effective.

These passages in Psalms and Proverbs work particularly well for this prayer variation:

Psalms 4, 5, 6, 16, 18, 23, 25, 27, 100, 103 and 119.

Proverbs 2, 3:1-12, 6:16-24, 11:1-20, 15:1-33 and 16:1-20.

There are many passages in the New Testament that you can use such as:

Romans 6:11-23 and 8:5-13

Galatians 5:16-26

Ephesians 4:17-31

Philippians 4:4-19

Hebrews 4:9-16

Sample Prayer

Person 1 reads Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Person 1 prays: ‘Thank you, Lord, for the advice You give about how to use knowledge. Keep me alert so that I don’t fall into the trap of a fool.

Person 2 reads Proverbs 1:8 “My son, hear the instruction of your father, and forsake not the law of you mother;“  Person 2 prays: ‘Thank you, Father, for the disciplines of life that You have taught (and are teaching) me through my parents. Please lead me as I strive to be a Godly example for my children and grandchildren.

Person 1 reads Proverbs 1:10 “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.” Person 1 prays: ‘God, keep me alert to the sometimes strong pull of my old nature’s desire to sin. Direct me to avoid the many temptations in my culture. I ask that you would direct my loved ones to avoid temptation as well. We bring all these thoughts in Jesus’ Name, Amen.’

(Notice how God directs the theme of the prayer through His Word)

God’s Purpose in Our Trials and Suffering

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Photo taken in Florida.

“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,” Philippians 1:29

Heavenly Father, thank you for the promise that You will ultimately restore, conform, strengthen and establish me despite any suffering I experience here on earth (1 Peter 5:10). Thank you that through the difficulties in my life I can come to a better understanding of the ultimate suffering that Jesus went through on the cross when He died for me.

Father, give me an understanding that I live in a fallen world and that therefore some stress and suffering is to be expected. Let me see the difference between suffering for Christ and suffering because of bad choices that I make. In either kind of suffering, show me how to experience the answer found in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly will I rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

I ask that You will encourage and bless the many Christians throughout the world who are living with the daily threat of martyrdom for their faith in You.

Thank you that as I go through this life as a believer, I can look forward to having the reality found in Revelation 21:4 at the end of my life: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.“

In Jesus’ Name I come, Amen.

Election Prayer

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Photo taken in Virginia.

All-powerful and wise Heavenly Father, as we approach the upcoming election, I am reminded of 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

I realize that this verse in the Old Testament was referring to Israel, but many of the truths in it are applicable to America today. As Your children, remind us daily that it is our responsibility to cry out to you and seek Your face, both individually and as a nation, for forgiveness from our wicked ways. You tell us in James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him.”

In light of this verse, we ask that You will give us an understanding in this coming election that there is no perfect candidate running and that there never has been. The only perfect one is Jesus and He is in Heaven. Make it clear to us how You want us to vote to fill all of the positions in our government as well as how you want us to vote on all the other issues on the ballot.

Thank you for allowing us to have a free nation so that we can have a part in selecting our leaders and approving some of the laws of our land. We ask that You pour out Your mercy and grace on our country so that we can continue to be blessed as “America The Beautiful.”  Remind us continually that You are still on the throne. Also remind us of what You tell us in Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them” (NIV).

We bring this request in Jesus’ Name, Amen.