Heavenly, Father, thank you for the many blessings in our lives: our health and homes, family and friends. Most of all, dear Lord, thank you for your unfailing love. Open our eyes and give us grateful hearts, not just for the joys of life, but also for the stumbling blocks we encounter. Teach us to turn them into stepping stones so that we can better serve you.
God isn’t our personal Neiman Marcus, EBay or Amazon. Making prayer requests is not like looking through a heavenly catalog of blessings and getting to check the items we wish to receive. Like every good parent, God has some guidelines for His gifts to us and our requests must meet with His approval. God certainly isn’t going to offer any divine assistance in sin! Because He loves us, His goal is not our pleasure but rather our salvation! God’s gifts are going to reflect that objective.
Lord, give me the insight to know when my prayers are wrong and patience and persistence when they are right!
We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the Biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God himself. [Oswald Chambers]
There is so much I don’t know and so little that I truly understand. Teach me, Lord, please teach me.
In this Christmas season, O Lord, how easy it is to get caught up in the trimmings and forget the significance of this holiday. As the celebration of our Savior’s birth fast approaches, help us focus on Christ’s presence and not people’s presents. Remind us of the true meaning of “Christmas spirit” and show us how to keep Christ at the center of our hearts, not just this holiday season but every day of the year.
God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do. [Ephesians 2:10 (GW)]Father in heaven, it seems like I’m always asking you to do something for me. Today, I ask what it is that I can do for you. To whom should I speak? For whom should I pray? What should I give? Who needs my help and what should I do? Give me a task and a cheerful and willing heart!
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
[St. Francis of Assisi]
“My Plate” is the latest guide to healthy eating with its five food groups: fruit, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. Just as we need an assortment of food to maintain our health, we need various kinds of prayer for spiritual health. Years ago, my pastor preached about the “Five Fingers of Prayer”: praise, thanksgiving, confession, intercession and petition. Praise was to be first and foremost while petition (prayer for ourselves) was to be the last and least. Unfortunately, for me at least, my prayer plate is often too heavily laden with personal appeals and far too light on the others.
Lord, guide our prayers so they begin with praise to you for your glory and are filled with thanksgiving (for everything, not just the things we like). Don’t let us omit honest confession and enthusiastic appeals for others. Guide us, so that it is only after we have offered these prayers that we offer our own personal petitions.
Devotions of the Heart 