Usually, when I ask for advice, what I really want is someone to agree with me. Thank you, Lord, for reminding me that the purpose of advice is not to tell me that I’m right but to warn me when I might be wrong. Open my mind so that I seek advice not to reinforce my ideas but rather as a way to be introduced to new ideas and better solutions.
Disobedience, gossip, envy, pride, anger, greed, deceit, hatred, selfishness, jealousy, and the list goes on. Which sin, O Lord, is crouching at my door, just waiting for an opportunity to gain a foothold in my life? Father, let your Holy Spirit guard and guide me as I struggle to triumph over it.
O Lord, sometimes it seems as if I have neither time nor ability enough to get everything accomplished that needs to be done. Make me a good steward of both the hours and tasks you have given me; show me how to put my good intentions into practice. Please give me the discernment to set priorities and wisdom and skill enough to know what to do and how to do it.
Friends share, friends confide, and friends listen to one another. Do I listen to Jesus? Do I want to know what is on His heart or do I only want to tell Him what is on mine? Am I so busy talking to him that He can’t get a word in edgewise? It’s time to let my best friend speak; prayer should be a dialogue and not a monologue!
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” [by Joseph M. Scriven]
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged –
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Make me diligent in studying your word, Lord, so that I will not only recognize right from wrong but know how to set right what is wrong. Lead me in my reading; give me discernment to understand what I read; and then show me how to apply your word to everyday life.
Father in Heaven, help me turn my concerns over to you, trusting in your unlimited power and love. Take my fear and bitterness, my sorrow and anxiety and replace them with faith and hope. Fill me with your Holy Spirit so that my heart is filled with a song.
Devotions of the Heart 