God

Receiving Grace From God

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Photo taken in Florida.

Author: Elton Streyle, Contributor: Noah, Photography and Editing: Ali

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your grace that gives salvation to all who respond to Your gift of Jesus dying on the cross, and His resurrection. I am reminded in Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”

It gives me joy to know that You will demonstrate Your power toward me in my times of weakness, and that You are able to constantly bring me peace by Your mercy and grace as You tell me in Hebrews 4:16. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Since Jesus came  to highlight Your mercy, love, and forgiveness, direct me to know Him better so that I can increase my understanding of Your will for my life.

Show me how to trust You every day for all of my needs and all of my Godly desires. “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

May my walk with You be such that I clearly recognize my need to confess my absolute helplessness to You, so that I may receive from You the fulfillment of the promise in 1 Peter 5:10 “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” Jesus, I want to thank You for Your unconditional love for me.

I bring this prayer in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God’s Wonderful Deliverance for a Believer

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Photo taken in Colorado.

Written by Elton Streyle, photography and editing by Ali

Loving Father, thank you for the encouragement You give in Psalm 34. It is comforting that in the difficult times in life, You do not get tired of me coming to you with any and all of my problems. “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.” Psalm 34:6-9

In fact, You ask me to bring everything to You so that You will be glorified. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” Psalm 50:15. It is a great privilege as a believer to know that You are more powerful than anyone or anything in the world that will try to hurt or destroy me. “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Father, develop in me a clear conviction that I can’t live a spiritually reckless life and expect to continue receiving Your many blessings. However, I do thank You that when someone goes down the wrong road, You are always waiting for them to come back so that You can continue to bless them. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1  John 1:9.

On a daily basis, teach me how to grow in my personal relationship with You through Your Word, prayer, music, and Christian fellowship. Like David in Psalm 34:17, I call out to You to be continually counted among the righteous so that I can experience the power in Psalm 34:7, “the angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”

I bring these requests in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Developing Faith in God

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Photo taken in Colorado.

Written by Elton Streyle, photography and editing by Ali

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me the faith to believe and accept what Your Word says about my salvation: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

I ask that You will give me the same kind of faith in Your Word that I had for my initial salvation to enable me to live the Christian life. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

Father, show me how to build my faith in You by reading and understanding Your Word. Direct me also to put my faith and trust in the promises throughout Your Scriptures so that I can live my Christian life by faith and not by sight. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

Empower me to search the Scriptures to see what they say with regard to any and all situations in my life. May I obtain a complete faith to rest in and act on your promises. Direct me to change my life to be more godly and serve You under Your protective and mighty hand: “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Ephesians 6:16

Thank you, Father, that through faith in You, I can turn from anything that I have mistakenly trusted in and put my faith in You and You alone.

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

 

God’s Power

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Photo taken in Colorado.

“‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.’” Jeremiah 32:17

“…Jesus… looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”‘ Mark 10:27

Heavenly Father, based on these two verses, I praise You for being all-powerful, all-knowing, ever present and unchanging. I thank You for loving me so much and for wanting a close personal relationship with me.

Help me to be steadfast in the faith and to be on high alert to resist the work of Satan as he tries everything possible to hinder and destroy us, Your children. (1 Peter 5:7-8)

I come to You in the Name of Jesus, casting all of my burdens and cares upon you.

 

Daily Yielding Control to God

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pineneedlewater

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.

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.

God as My Fortress and Refuge

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Photo taken in Colorado.

“But I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.” Psalm 59:16

Lord, thank you for the image this verse portrays of You being all around me. I praise You for being my strong anchor against all foes.

Thank you for the promise in Your Word: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

What a wonderful comfort it is to know that as your child, I can always find refuge in You, my fortress. Teach me how to better grasp the concept of Your faithfulness and to experience it through Your Word.

You have told me many times in Scripture that You want to be my first line of defense. Therefore, I bring to You the following concerns:

*Insert your own concerns here (examples: rejection, illness, children, marriage, friends, travel)

I release these concerns to You so that I, by faith, may receive Your mercy, grace, and help in my times of need. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

I ask that believers in many parts of the world who are suffering from poverty, war, persecution and natural disasters would turn to You as their shelter and refuge as well.

Thank you that I can rest in Your powerful might, which is stronger than any method of self-defense I could ever devise.

I ask and pray these things to You in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture #4

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Photo taken in Florida.

“Call to Me, and I will answer you [thank you], and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know [thank you].” Jeremiah 33:3

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world [thank you].” 1 John 4:4

“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” [thank you].” Matthew 19:26

Living With the Joy of the Lord

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Photo taken in Kansas.

“‘These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.‘” John 15:11

Heavenly Father, thank you that the Word of God has within it the power to produce joy.

Thank you that when my life is closely in touch with You, You will walk with me through my difficult times so that I do not have to endure them alone.

In times of great prosperity, I thank You for keeping me from becoming prideful and complacent.

I praise you that when I walk with Jesus daily,  You give me the joy of being level-headed no matter what the circumstances are.

Nehemiah 8:10 says “…the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Father, since the joy You give far exceeds any human joy, I ask for an abundance of it. Please guide me in the choices I make and the actions I take so that I can experience all the joy You desire for me.

Direct me to understand that Your deep joy comes only to those who value You more than anything else.

Even in times of distress, You are the unchanging basis for joy.

I ask for the blessing Paul expressed in Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God’s Unlimited Foresight

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Photo taken in Utah.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?’ For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:33-36

Almighty and all-knowing Heavenly Father, thank you that in spite of all the chaos and insecurity around me, I can find peace and joy in knowing that You guide the affairs of the world and my life with infinite wisdom.

Thank you also that  in [Jesus] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3

Thank you for the may ways that You govern Your creation with Your unseen hand. For example: You are “…He [who] gives to all life, breath, and all things.“ (Acts 17:25) and You are “…He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food…” (2 Corinthians 9:10)

I praise you, Father, for giving me the ability and practical wisdom necessary to live on this earth. Help me also to recognize the fact that Your ways are much higher than mine. “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

In light of these Scriptures and many more, help me to take the situations in life which I cannot comprehend, put them into the “I do not understand” department and trust Your wisdom and foresight for the solutions. For Your Word says “[cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

I bring these thoughts and requests to You in Jesus’ Wonderful Name. Amen.