Pray with Purpose
If You’re Under Attack
Do you feel under fire by a barrage of personal, financial, physical, spiritual, or other attacks? If so, take courage. Look up to your Heavenly Father, who David describes in Psalm 3:3 as a SHIELD about him. Put on the spiritual armor He’s given you. (Ephesians 6:13) Take His Word and bathe your heart and mind in it. (Psalm 119:97-98, 110-111, 114) Jesus hasn’t left us alone to suffer through life’s trials by ourselves. Cover yourself with His love and truth. (from Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion)
Lord, thank You for being a SHIELD about us. Help us stay under the protection of Your divine armor and Word.
“You, O Lord, are a SHIELD about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.” Psalm 3:3
Learn more about Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion HERE.
Has Anyone Ever Sacrificed Something for You
Has anyone ever sacrificed something for you? Have they sacrificed sleep so you could sleep? Have they sacrificed advancing so you could? Have they sacrificed their plans so you could do yours? Sacrifice. Sometimes we sacrifice, but do so begrudgingly. But Ephesians 5:2 tells us Jesus willingly SACRIFICED His life for us. He thought of us, not Himself. Hill Country Ministries is dedicated to telling others of Jesus’s great love and sacrifice. One way we do this is by taking our P.R.A.Y. with Passion Conference to every state. Christians are inspired and equipped to pray more purposefully and live more passionately for Christ. Seekers are given the opportunity to respond in faith to Christ. Thank you for your prayers as I teach this morning in Indiana.
Lord Jesus, thank You for willingly giving up Your glory, Your comfort, Your life for us; for being a SACRIFICE to God on our behalf so that we can live in heaven.
“…walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a SACRIFICE to God as a fragrant aroma .” Ephesians 5:2
It’s Never Too Late – A Prayer for Our Nation
“Can you make a copy of this?”
...my friend asked, as we visited at my office in the early years of Hill Country Ministries.Read more...
A Better Way
“Can you make a copy of this?”
...my friend asked, as we visited at my office in the early years of Hill Country Ministries.Read more...
Praise to ONE WHO OPENS Our Lips
“O LORD, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.”
Did your mother ever tell you, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all?” My mother did. Often, words of instruction center on telling us to keep our mouths closed so we don’t offend others or so we don’t speak out of anger. However, David, the psalmist, understood that our walk with God isn’t only about what we don’t say. It’s also about what we say. We may get a gold star for not cussing. But do we get a gold star for praising God, encouraging others in their walk with Him, and sharing Christ with unbelievers? If not, perhaps we should recognize that God is the One to whom we can pray as David prayed, “LORD, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.” That’s a good prayer to the ONE who can OPEN our lips, don’t you think?
LORD, You are powerful and able to OPEN OUR LIPS to praise and honor You. We pray You do so that we faithfully praise You and share Christ with others.
Do you want to praise God, but don’t really know how? If so, HERE’s help..
Do you want to dig into the Word and learn from Jesus how to engage people in conversations about eternity and salvation? If so, HERE’s help.
Praise to the COMFORTER
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,”
On a cold winter evening, nothing feels as cozy as snuggling in bed under the warmth of a soft comforter. However, no blanket compares to the God of all Comfort when a person’s crisp tongue chills us to the core, or the howling wind of despair blows through our heart. The Greek word for comfort is parakaleo, which means “to call to one’s side, speak to, in the way of exhortation, console, teach.”1 How awesome it is that God gives every believer the gift of His presence through the Holy Spirit. This Comforter is an abiding presence who will never wear out, never become threadbare, and never leave us. The more we cover our lives with prayer and God’s teachings, the more closely we’ll know the warmth of His abiding presence. (adapted from Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, pg 67)
LORD, You are the God of all COMFORT! We praise You for the blessing of Your presence!
Praise YAHWEH
“God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Jehovah (YHWH) is one of the primary names of God. Scholar Charles Ryrie explains:
- I AM WHO I AM, the inner meaning of Yahweh – “I am the ONE who is” – emphasizes God’s dynamic and active self-existence.
- Yahweh, literally, YHWH, is the most significant name for God in the Old Testament, occuring 6,823 times in the O.T. and is especially associated with God’s holiness, hatred of sin, and gracious provision of redemption.
When we read, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you,” we can’t help but be reminded that just as God sent Moses to rescue the Israelites from bondage in Egypt; God sent Jesus to rescue us from bondage to sin. Yahweh, a holy, loving, redemptive, rescuing God. How we praise Him!
YAHWEH, self-existent, dynamic I AM, we marvel at Your holiness and love for us. We worship You with abounding thankfulness on our hearts for who You are and all You have done.
Have you enjoyed 365 Days of Praise? If so, dig deeper into God’s attributes in my book, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion.
Pray more purposefully & live more passionately for Christ in 2018!
Your Year End gift to help us fulfill our mission to Spread the Word & Love of Jesus is tax deducible and deeply appreciated.
Praise to Our UPHOLDER
“For I am the Lord your God, who UPHOLDS your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’”
I’ve had the blessing of holding our newborn children and grandchildren. Holding them was no problem. They weren’t heavy. As a matter of fact, it was a delight to hold them. I could intently gaze on their faces. I could pray for them. The more I held them, the deeper my love grew. Wouldn’t it have been silly if our little ones had argued, “Don’t hold me. I’m too heavy.” Or, what if they had said, “I don’t want to bother you. You don’t need to hold me.” In light of that, consider our Heavenly Father’s words, “I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will UPHOLD you with My righteous right hand,” Isaiah 41:10. In the Bible, God’s right hand symbolizes His strength. His right hand is the strong hand of righteousness. We can relax in His hands. We can become increasingly aware of His deep love for us. In case you feel like you’re faltering, be assured – your UPHOLDER has you. Don’t be afraid.
LORD, Thank You for UPHOLDING us with Your righteous right hand. Thank You for the depth of Your love for us. Thank You that we don’t have to be afraid.
*Copyright Debbie Taylor Williams, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion. This is the book that began my collection of God’s 365 names, titles, and attributes. It features chapters that give an in-depth description of 26 of His A-Z names, and includes lined space for you to record your prayers, repentance, and praise. Also included are discussion questions for group or personal study. I pray it blesses and deepens your prayer life.
Save
Praise to Christ, our TEACHER
“If I then, the Lord and the TEACHER, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
The scene doesn’t make sense at first glance: Lord and TEACHER. Stinky feet. A bowl of dirty water. Messy. Jesus on His knees washing feet. However, the moment had to do with more than washing feet. It was about humility, servanthood, forgiveness. Our Lord and TEACHER physically illustrated what He would spiritually do for us. It would be messy (a bloody mess). He would wash away our filthy sins. However, He went further. Our Lord and TEACHER taught us that as He had done, we are to do. We are to humbly serve each other. Jesus is our Lord and TEACHER. Are we doing as He did: serving each other?
Jesus, Lord and Teacher, thank You for humbling Yourself by giving Your blood to cleanse us of our sins. Help us live unselfishly and serve one another as You did.
Praise the Savior
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 1:24-25).
Do these verses make your heart sing? You can almost hear Jude proclaiming His praise to God: Jesus is our only Savior!
It is Jesus who is able to keep us from stumbling and make us stand in the presence of God’s glory with great joy. Think about the contrast….”from stumbling to standing.”
Celebrate! Tell others! Say it with me…. “to Jesus be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen!”
SAVIOR, we celebrate You! You are wonderful and we praise You.
Click HERE to connect on Facebook for daily inspiration AND HERE to order Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion; a devotional study book to deepen your prayer life.