365 Days of Praise

As we have studied, there are times when God announces, “This is who I am. This is my name.” Such is the case in Isaiah 42:8 when God announced, “I am the LORD, that is My name;”  In the same breath, He continues; explaining what it means that His name is LORD. It means He will not give His glory to another. It means that our praise is to be given to Him alone. His pronouncement should cause us to rethink our lives, “Are we giving our praise to anything or anyone besides Him? Are we making anything besides God the priority of our lives?” If so, we must bow before the LORD in repentance and profess Him as LORD, giving Him praise.

God, You alone are LORD. Forgive us for putting anything or anyone before You. We bow in humble reverence and praise.

Do you ever feel “tied up” in spiritual, physical, or emotional bondage? Are you concerned for a loved one who is in bondage?  If so, pray to the Lord on the basis of Psalm 116:16 which says,  “O Lord, surely I am Your servant, …You have LOOSED MY BONDS.”  This verse reminds us that God can do what no one else can do. He has loosed us from the bonds of death and given us eternal freedom. “Unbind him and let him go,” Jesus directed those who watched Him raise Lazarus from the dead. “Unbind her. Unbind him,” Jesus commands when we call to Him in faith to loosen chains that bind us today.

Lord, You are the great and mighty God who LOOSENS BONDS. We praise You for the bonds of death from which You’ve set us free. Please loosen and set free those who are still in bondage. Loosen any emotional, spiritual, or physical bondage that may remain in our lives. Free us to run the race You’ve set before us. We look to You to do what only You can do. 

Heavenly Father, we praise YOU, LORD OF ALL THE EARTH! Your majesty and power are glorious. You reign in perfect righteousness.  Stir our hearts to speak boldly about You to others. 

Do you ever feel like the world, your flesh or the devil are bearing down on you and you need a rallying point where you can find victory over your fallen nature and temptation? Moses discovered that the Lord was his rallying point. When he held high the BANNER OF THE LORD, the Israelites were victorious over their enemies. They fought in God’s name and strength, not their own. The same holds true for us.  The LORD IS OUR BANNER. When we lift His name high in prayer and look to Him for strength, we find victory over our sinful nature and the enemy. The next time temptation or your old nature is getting the best of you, look to the heavens. Lift high the LORD’s name: Victorious Warrior, Prince of Peace. Faithful. Provider. Wisdom.  Build an altar of praise to the Lord as Moses did. “Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner.” (Exodus 17:15)  Return to the altar of praise throughout the day to meet your needs and encourage your heart.

LORD, we praise You and lift high the BANNER of YOUR NAME – victorious over our flesh and the enemy.

So we get that our body needs water. But, what about our spirit? According to Jesus, it needs spiritual water: Living Water, the Holy Spirit. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the SPIRIT, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the SPIRIT was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”  John 7:38

As water is to our body, so the Holy Spirit is to our spirit.  Our body needs water. Our spirit needs Living Water. Plain. Simple. Truth. Reach for Him. Drink deeply.

Sweet Jesus, thank You for coming from heaven to speak truth into our lives. Thank You for giving us Your Spirit as LIVING WATER to cleanse and fill us so we can live in Your presence forever. 

During our lifetime we’ll lose someone to death. Jesus’s disciple, John, saw Jesus die. The scourging. The nails. The cross.  The blood. The tomb. It seemed final. But then, John saw Him again!  Imagine what it must have been like for him to see Jesus transformed from the cross’s goriness to heaven’s gloriousness. John was overcome. “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the LIVING ONE; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.’” (Revelation 1:18) Why did John fall like a dead man when he saw his friend in heaven? Jesus is glowing! His eyes are brilliant. His voice tumultuous. He told John to bring us the message that He has the keys of death and Hades. In other words, after your death, you don’t have to be locked in death. God recreates repentant sinners with a glorified body, soul, and spirit capable of living eternally in His presence. How can we not tell everyone we know that a glorious resurrection awaits them if they call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation?

LIVING ONE, brilliantly glorious One, even though we can’t see You, we believe in You. Help us love You more each day so our lives are displays of Your glory that draw others to You.

Praying for our unsaved friends and neighbors is crucial. I designate a column in the Week at A Glance section of Prayers of My Heart to pray for the United States and Unsaved. What do I pray? Check out this short SLIDE SHOW.

CLICK TO GET STARTED

Do you ever wish that someone would listen to you? You may have even asked someone with whom you are talking, “Are you listening to me?” They may say yes, but you wonder if they really do hear your heart.  We don’t have to wonder if God listens and hears when we call on and pray to Him.  Jeremiah 29:12 clearly states that if we pray, He’ll LISTEN.  “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will LISTEN to you.”  Imagine that! Ponder that. The God of the universe listens to you. Are you taking advantage of the incredible opportunity to talk to Him? Do you linger in His presence to see how His Spirit prompts you to a verse or course of action? What a great privilege it is to call on God, pray, listen, and follow His counsel.

Heavenly Father, thank You for LISTENING when we come to You and call on You in prayer!

Father’s Day. Do those two words bring a feeling of sadness, anger, guilt, anticipation, or joy? Depending on our relationship with our father, it could be any one of those or a multitude of other emotions. Or, if you’re a father, what has been your experience on Father’s Day? Were you pleased with how your children honored you?  Being a father, or mother, helps us get our minds around (in the smallest of ways) how our Heavenly Father might at times feel. He is the PERFECT FATHER. He’s literally, “heavenly.”  He sacrificially chose to adopt us at the price of His only begotten Son’s suffering and death. Are we showing the honor to our Heavenly Father that we want our children to show us? What are we doing to express our thanks to our Heavenly Father? Are we praying as Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6: 9-13, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”  Our Heavenly Father is here. His mercies are new every morning. Rather than ignore Him or not honor Him, we have the opportunity to listen to Him, obey Him, and bring honor and glory to Him. Will we?

HEAVENLY FATHER, thank You for being ever-present and for loving us. Help us honor You by our words and lives. 

We live in a time where many are sorrowful and weeping over the loss of family, friends, and the future. We’re looking for the right leader. The perfect one who can claim their rightful position and authority.  In a scene in heaven, John records where our hope is fulfilled.  Revelation 5:5 where Jesus is called LION OF JUDAH. “Stop weeping; behold, the LION that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” Lion of Judah can be traced to Genesis 49:9 when Jacob blessed his son, Judah, and referred to him as “Young Lion.” Christ, who came from this noble tribe of Israel, is not a “Young Lion,” however. He is not one who prowls around like a roaring lion like Satan does seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) He is not a fictional Lion King character.  Rather, the Lord Jesus Christ is THE LION of the TRIBE of JUDAH, meaning He is the noblest of all. He is the most powerful One. He overcomes all, even death. He alone is worthy to open God’s book and seals.  That’s our Lion King!

Lord Jesus Christ, LION OF JUDAH, we worship You who is worthy above all others! Thank You that we don’t need to weep over our future but rather, can trust it to You. 

Have you ever looked for “life” in someone or something apart from Jesus? Or, perhaps in your younger years you were “the life of the party.” Maybe in your adult years, you bought into the idea that the right job, house, car, or person would bring you what was important in life. But, perhaps later you realized that things and people can disappoint and fall short of our expectations. Our hearts will never be happy until we make the Lord our life not just in words but in reality. “Jesus said in John 14:6, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the LIFE; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”  We find LIFE in Jesus not only for eternal salvation but for daily salvation. Ask Him to live His LIFE through you today.

Lord, You are the way, the truth, and the LIFE!  Fill us with Your LIFE.