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Prayer Devotional: Day 19
The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; Slow to anger, and of great mercy. – Psalm 145:8 KJV
What can we do to become more like Jesus? When we find ourselves thinking about the past and remembering wrongs done to us, it is possible to surrender those thoughts to God and exchange them for thoughts that are compassionate, even perhaps to the person who wronged us. Although the past experience may have been unpleasant, the Lord used it for good to teach us something.
The Lord doesn’t have a quick temper. He is patient and merciful.
How many times have we gotten angry because we were hungry and didn’t have a snack? In those moments, instead of snapping at those around us and saying something we might regret, we can take a deep breath and instead think about something we appreciate about the other person. Our attitude almost immediately shifts. The Lord is a God of transformation. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 294
Day 294
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue… – 2 Peter 1:3 NKJV
Jesus gives us everything we need to live a godly life. He calls to us, even at 3:20 AM. He gives us peace, but we have to let Him in.
The world is full of wrongs. When we give in to our negative thoughts, past betrayals, and anger, we forget the knowledge that God ahs given us to replace the things the devil places in our minds to distract us. Yes, we may have had instances in the past where people wronged us, but when we constantly revisit those bad experiences, we shade our eyes from the glory God has in store for us. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 284
Day 284
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. – 1 Peter 5:10
Perfectionism can be a difficult character trait to live with. Although perfectionists normally do good work, they often feel it is never good enough.
The only way to become perfect is through God. He perfects us. He establishes us for our purpose. He strengthens us. When we are worried, He settles us. He is a god of grace. He doesn’t let us suffer forever.
Illness and financial hardships may hit, but when God is with us, we know we are on the winning side. We’ll be with God and all our loved ones who are saved forever. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 281
Day 281
But godliness with contentment is great gain. – 1 Timothy 6:6 NIV
One thing that meditation teaches us is to focus on the present. Each breath is a gift.
Contentment is a practice. It is so easy to be discontented with the state of things. There will always be illness, difficulties, and people who complain in this world, but Christ has overcome the world.
There is a present eternity beyond this one that we haven’t yet experienced. When we look to Jesus, instead of seeing the things that we want that have not yet manifested in our lives, we see His grace. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 236
Day 236
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. – John 1:14 KJV
Jesus is one of a kind. There is no other Savior like Him. There is no other being in the history of the universe who is God’s son and also who took the form of an ordinary human.
He embodies glory, grace, and truth. He is worthy of our time and attention. When we focus on what He tells us, we will never be disappointed. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 220
Day 220
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. – Colossians 4:6 NIV
It can be challenging to always speak with grace. We don’t have all the answers, but we can be kind and patient when we don’t have the answer or choose not to speak.
When we judge another person, it can be easy to get caught up in our own sense of right and wrong without considering their perspective. Sometimes it is best to listen.
The Holy Spirit can direct us how to answer when we are unsure. He never tells us to say anything unkind. He always has the right answer, but sometimes we have to wait for it. We don’t have to react to situations immediately. After prayer and meditation, we may see a situation differently.
Sometimes dealing with things with grace requires unplugging ourselves from technology. We can set healthy limits so that we are not unwittingly letting in agitating communications. It is perfectly fine to turn our phones off or put them on airplane mode so that we can exercise good sleep routines. The Lord knows that if we take care of ourselves it will be easier to respond with grace. Amen.
Prayer Journal: Day 201
Day 201
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. – Ephesians 1:7-10 NIV
Communication that Christ blesses brings unity. Where relationships were broken for reasons beyond our control because of the actions of others, the love of Christ brings us together.
Jesus forgives our sins. Through His stripes we are healed.
He wants to lavish grace on us, but we have to choose to receive it. Instead of listening to the grumbling thoughts that the devil puts in our heads, we can remember the Lord’s wisdom, understanding, and will.
Jesus fulfilled the purpose that God meant for Him to accomplish on Earth. We can pray daily to the Lord so that we may also fulfill the purpose He intends for us as well. A life of purpose brings happiness. 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 134
Day 134
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet without sin. Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. – Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV
We need Jesus. He sympathizes with our struggles more than anyone can. He understands and listens to us, and He is always there to help us when we need Him. We can have the confidence that when we cry out because we need Him to help us, He will never ignore us. He answers us. He knows we need mercy. We have been saved by grace.
His thoughts are not our thoughts. He understands the inner workings of the universe far more than we do.
We do not need to focus on being right; we only need to turn our eyes upon Him, and our path will become clear. Amen.
