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Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Where does your heart live? That's what these verses remind us to ask ourselves. They challenge us to notice where we spend the most time and what we focus on most in our hearts. Is there a constant awareness in our lives that God is present? Is he the unseen but always present companion in all our ups and downs? Or is God with us when it is convenient and gone when things are busy, or you feel that everything is going well? Joy comes from knowing we are never alone. Prayer is the ongoing conversation we have, spirit to Spirit, child to Abba, human with God. Thanksgiving and joy are great reminders that we have been lavishly blessed, regardless of what our temporary outward circumstances suggest. Being joyful, praying continually, and giving thanks in all situations is God's will for us. Why? Because...

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. — James 5:16 Thoughts on Today's Verse... To confess our sins means we do two things with our sins: We recognize sin for what it is in God's eyes. We get rid of our secrets and are honest with another Christian about our weaknesses, vulnerabilities, failures, then have them pray for us to overcome those sins. James' language is powerful. He mentions that this confession doesn't just bring forgiveness, it brings healing. So, let's confess our sins to each other, and pray for each other, so we can bring healing to relationships, the family of God, and be a demonstration of reconciliation and healing to the world. My Prayer... Holy Father, I have sinned. I now confess my own personal sins of the following things: ____________. I ask for your forgiveness and for your Spirit to strengthen me to overcome temptation as I pursue Jesu...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:6-7 Thoughts on Today's Verse... God wants to hear our prayers. But to keep them from becoming too self-focused, God wants us always to remember to give thanks ( Philippians 4:6 ). It is so easy for us to turn prayer into a request line. We are the ones who are left bereft when thanksgiving and praise are robbed from our prayers. Without praise, our hearts grow dim because all we think about is our problems, and prayer becomes a wish list of stuff we selfishly want, treating God as our heavenly Santa Claus rather than the Father who sacrificed everything to make us his children! My Prayer... Gracious God, I have so many reasons to praise you. In the face of trial and hardship, I have your promises to reawaken my hope through your p...

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. — 2 Chronicles 7:14 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Humility is not our culture's most valued asset or most desired character quality. However, humility is what is needed - not so much because it's commanded (though that would be enough), but because we've "earned" our need for humility through our arrogance and abandonment of God and his character, compassion, and faithful lovingkindness. Every year brings another wave of major failures in morality, character, and spirituality among our leaders, both political and religious. Even on our best days, we all fall short of God's holiness. Rather than progressing culturally, we find ourselves slipping, rebelling, and degrading ourselves. Our need to approach God with humility is "earned." So let's b...

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. — Romans 12:12 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Sometimes the key to survival is simply "setting our jaw" and going on, faithfully trusting that God is there helping us, despite the apparent outward circumstances. Choosing joy through hope rather than dwelling on despair, choosing patient endurance in times of affliction, and choosing faithfulness in prayer when all circumstances are tough are all decisions of the will. They show that we trust God, who raised Jesus from the dead, can also change our circumstances because he hears our voice and loves us. Everything seemed to suggest God was silent and had forgotten his Son when Jesus was in the tomb. We know now this wasn't the case at all. We know that our triumph over sin, death, the evil one, and hell was happening during that silence. As we are being "joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" , let's also remain confident that ...

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him. — 1 John 5:14-15 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Confidence before God. That's a bit of an oxymoron if you meditate upon it. Yet through the presence of Jesus at the Father's right hand ( Hebrews 2:14-18 ; 1 Timothy 2:5 ) and the intercession of the Holy Spirit ( Romans 8:26-27 ), we can have confidence and come boldly before the Creator of the universe. Because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit's mediation and intercession for us, we know that God not only hears us, but that he also cares for us. Wow, what an audience! What confidence! Oh, and one final thing, he also ACTS on what we ask. The Holy Spirit shares this beautiful promise with us in Hebrews 4:16 : Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help u...