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Prayer Journal: Day 204
Day 204
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. And He spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch? – Luke 6:38-39 KJV
When we give our talents and knowledge for the benefit of others, abundance returns to us. We give not from a place of greed, but because Jesus has given so much to us.
We have to be careful if we find ourselves judging others with a harsh measuring stick. If we turned the tables on ourselves, would we want the Lord to judge us with that same ruler? Luckily for us, judgment is up to God and that is not a job we need to take from Him, because He does it better than we ever could.
When we think we know it all and can see clearly, we are in trouble, because we are blind. We don’t see other people’s thoughts. We can only make assumptions. The Lord can see everything. He knows everything. He leads us, and we do not need to stumble through life without His guidance. He is there to help us every step of the way. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 197
Day 197
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. – Colossians 3:12-14 NIV
Everyone processes change in a different way. It takes a godly level of patience and compassion to deal with those who don’t treat us nicely. We can try not to take things personally and pray when we do.
Jesus asks us to forgive the way God forgave us. This can be incredibly challenging. Instead of rehashing what went wrong and retelling it, what Jesus calls us to do instead is to love other people. It is not easy, but love can overshadow any challenging situation.
We can be grateful for the abundant blessings that our Heavenly Father has provided us. He is a wonderful provider and gives us more than we ask or think!
We can not let one person spoil the blessings that God has given us. Instead of focusing on their attitude, we can turn our eyes upon Jesus and thank Him for His incredible gifts. He gives us a place to live, a beautiful family, and work with purpose.
The moment we find ourselves complaining, we can pray and ask God to redirect our thoughts for His purpose for us. He always responds. He is the best counselor we could have. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 182
Day 182
Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. – Luke 6:37 NKJV
Sometimes we can be a harsh judge of other people who we believe have wronged us in the past. We replay what they did in our minds and condemn them for what they did wrong.
Forgiveness does not make what they did right, but forgiveness is a prescription for healing. Jesus teaches us to forgive, and whenever we remember those old wrongs and start to feel angry and resentful all over again, we can remind ourselves that forgiveness heals us and allows us to become more like Jesus.
God sometimes allows difficult situations to enter into our lives to teach us. Whenever we feel angry, we can remind ourselves to forgive 70×7. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 170
Day 170
“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not, and you said,”No, for we will flee on horses” — Therefore you shall flee! And “We will ride on swift horses” — Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift! – Isaiah 30:15-16 NKJV
It must have pained our Heavenly Father when His children rebelled against Him. Instead of accepting His grace and mercy, as well as the consequences of their rebellion, they chose to run from their problems.
The Lord is a God of justice, and He did not let the children of Israel get off scot free without teaching them what they had done wrong, but He also showed them mercy and forgiveness, and even salvation. They may not have deserved forgiveness, but God makes sure that love wins over all else. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 144
Day 144
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” – Jeremiah 29:11-12 NIV
The Lord has good plans for our lives. He wants us to have a future. He wants us to prosper. He wants to hear our prayers. He does listen.
Things weren’t always going well for God’s people. When they didn’t honor their covenant with the Lord, they were carried off as captives to Babylon. But the Lord didn’t stay angry with them forever. He promised to bring them back.
His love for us transcends that of any parent on Earth. We are lucky to have a gracious and forgiving Heavenly Father.
When things don’t seem to be going well for us, whether it is financially, spiritually, or physically, we know we can always return to our God, and He will listen to us. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 137
Day 137
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.” Exodus 34:5-6 NIV
How lucky Moses must have felt to be able to converse with the Lord.
The Lord revealed important traits of Himself: compassion, grace, love, faithfulness, forgiveness, and patience over anger.
If only we could be more like Jesus, what would our lives be like? We would rarely be angry. We would be more loving. We would care more and forgive more. We would find grace during difficult situations. We would have more faith in God’s promises. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 126
Day 126
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. – Micah 7:18
When someone we worked hard for in the past hurts our feelings, it’s tempting to stay angry and hold a grudge against that person.
God expects us to show mercy the way He would show mercy to us. He pardons our sins, and we can be thankful for the mercy He shows us. Isn’t it also good to mirror His character and let go of anger and resentment?
Forgiveness helps us heal. We may not forget the lesson we learned as a result of whatever happened, but we can thank God for allowing that lesson to come into our lives. When we practice mercy and forgiveness, we become a little more like Him. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 86
Day 86
You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. – Psalm 86:5
The Lord teaches us how to forgive. It is not easy, but He forgave our sins, and we, too, must forgive.
Forgiveness in many ways is a journey of acceptance. It may be hard to forgive past wrongs, but the Lord sometimes places lessons in our path so that we can trust Him even more.
The Lord is abounding in love. All we need to do is call upon Him at the first sign of trouble. He places people in our lives who can help us when we get overwhelmed. When we are exhausted or frustrated, He hears us ask for help. He is always available to hear our cry. He responds immediately when we need Him. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 75
Day 75
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. – Galatians 5:25-26 NIV
I spend too much time thinking about the past, rehashing old stories, betrayals, and resentments. That negative voice in my head is not the Holy Spirit speaking to me. The devil wants us to get sidetracked so that we forget that Christ saved us and that the race has already been won. The hard part is over. Jesus is on our side!
The Lord doesn’t want us to envy others or even waste time comparing ourselves to them. We are one of a kind, and God wants us to follow His law because we love Him, not because we want Him to give us money, acclaim, or success. Christ became nothing for us. We can understand humility by remembering what He sacrificed for us.
Keeping in step with the Spirit allows us to hear the words of our best friend at all times. He comforts us during hard times and rejoices when we finally get what God tries to tell us. He’s cheering us on. There’s no reason to be sad when we have Christ on our side. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 63
Day 63
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. – James 2:12-13
It sometimes requires longsuffering to refrain from judgment instead of exercising mercy and love. When Jesus asked us to love our neighbors as ourselves, He also asked us to refrain from judging others harshly.
What would it be like if we could wish kindness and ease for all people? We don’t like to be in pain or to suffer. We wouldn’t wish pain and suffering on others, even when they push our buttons. It’s important to step back and see others the way God sees them. He loves them. He gives them second chances. It requires patience, but we can do it. We can forgive.
