365 Days of Praise

“He RESCUED US from the DOMAIN of DARKNESS, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”

Colossians 1:13

Lord Jesus, You are our RESCUER! We love You! We thank You! We praise You! 

“God is our REFUGE and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Psalm 46:1

Are the storms in your life overwhelming you…perhaps literally if you’re a victim of the recent hurricanes and earthquakes? Whether the storms are literal or metaphorical, fear can flood our emotions. Pains of guilt can beat on our heart. Worry can rain in our mind.  But God doesn’t want us to stay overwhelmed, drowning in fear, burdened with worry and guilt. That’s why He’s present. That’s why He offers Himself. Just as rescue helicopters offer a way of escape to flooded victims, God hovers over us, offering His help and strength. He’s our REFUGE. The Hebrew word, “REFUGE,” means shelter from danger or falsehood.  The more closely we stay under God’s arm of Biblical truth, the more protected we are; the fewer lies of the enemy we fall for. This verse is a reminder that God is our REFUGE. Are you staying close to Him? Do you believe He’s got you?

Lord, You provide yourself as a REFUGE to shelter us from falling for Satan’s lies and worldly deceptions. You provide Yourself as a shelter in the midst of life’s storms. Remind us to not stand in the rain of discouragement, but rather shelter under You.  

To whom are you looking for peace and happiness? On what are you placing your money and hope to make life better?

Only one person, our REDEEMER, has the holiness, the wholeness, the power, and grace to be our all in all; to rescue us from the sin and heartache of this world and take us to the holy heights of heaven. Only ONE. So, we look to the crib. We look to the cross. We look to the Bible. We look to the skies. And, we know … that as He kept His Word to come to us once for salvation, He will return to redeem us out of this world and take us to our eternal home.

Our redemption is closer today than it was yesterday. Smile.

LORD JESUS, REDEEMER, we’re closer to heaven today than we were yesterday. We’re closer to seeing Your unimaginable beauty. Thank You for rescuing us from the domain of darkness. We love You and pray Your light shines in our hearts and blesses others.  

“… the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your REAR GUARD.”

Isaiah 52:12

Do you feel like every time you take a positive step forward, something else happens that you didn’t want or expect? Do you sometimes feel like you need eyes in the back of your head? Until we get to heaven we won’t know all the ways that God has and is protecting us. Not only does He go before us, God also describes Himself as a REAR GUARD to those who are moving forward in His will according to His commands. Keep moving forward, dear one. The Lord will go before you and be your REAR GUARD. All praise to Him!

Lord God, thank You for going before us and for being our REAR GUARD. All praise to You!

*Record God’s names and titles in Prayers of My Heart prayer journal so you’ll have a keepsake of all 365.

“…Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a RANSOM for all,”

1 Timothy 2:6

Did you see the movie, Ransom? Mel Gibson played the dad whose son was kidnapped. The evil kidnappers demanded that Gibson pay a certain price, a ransom, to get his son back. That’s what Jesus did for us. We were captives in the domain of sin’s darkness. (Colossians 1:13) But Jesus gave HIMSELF as a RANSOM to gain our freedom; to restore us to the Father. Amazing love! how can it be that thou, my God, should die for me?*

Lord Jesus, we praise You, our RANSOM, our LORD. 

* from the hymn, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain.” Watch and listen HERE.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

John 5:25

A dear saint and friend, Emmy Lou Andrews, was a faithful member of our Hill Country Ministries prayer team before she went to be with the Lord. She always encouraged me that God was in control. The ultimate place we see His control is over our death and eternal life.  Although we are pronounced DEAD on earth, His voice will call us to life. We will experience what Lazarus did – physical death, but then hearing Jesus’s voice. We will live!

Lord, we praise You, Savior who RAISES the DEAD! 

“Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him (Jesus) purifies himself, just as He is PURE.”

1 John 3:3

How do you feel about drinking dirty water? Not keen on the idea? How do you feel about following an impure savior? That doesn’t sound appealing either. In fact, we wouldn’t do it. We would run in the opposite direction if we discovered that the one we called Savior was deceitfully wicked. But the One on whom we fix our hope is PURE.  He is worthy of our praise. He is worthy of us purifying ourselves as He is PURE.

Lord Jesus Christ, we praise You, PURE spotless Savior! 

“…does He who PROVIDES you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”

Galatians 3:5

“I need help.” We’ve all been there. We’ve felt inadequate to do what we need to do. We’ve felt incapable of being who we need to be. God wants us to know that we don’t have to feel that way in regard to our relationship with Him or what He calls us to do. He makes it clear that He’s given us His Spirit. We’re not short on provisions. Instead of saying we can’t live the Christian life, we can look to God. Instead of saying we can’t accomplish what He’s entrusted to us to do, we can ask Him to fill us with His all providing Spirit. That’s something for which to praise Him!

Lord, You are the PROVIDER, who provides us with Your Spirit.  We praise You!