Dear Heavenly Father, there is so much going on in the world around us. We need to stand firm in the faith You have given to us. We need maturity and strength to keep going. Please help us to be motivated by love. We need Your guidance to know how Your love should drive our behavior. We know Your Word is a powerful tool, please help us to read and study it to drive our maturing love.
I pray this in Jesus’ name.
God is so good.
I think this part of God’s will is often considered the same thing as suffering. Government overreach can be difficult to navigate. However, God tells us that we are to obey the government. The reason is to keep foolish people silent. Those who hate God want to silence those who seek to honor God. If we live appropriately, we will silence the critics. They will have nothing to say against us.
This can be hard to do, but is worth the effort. Those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ have help from God to obey. He gives the strength needed to do what is right.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for providing authority to punish the evil. Please help us to obey the authority even when it is hard. Please help us to remember that You have a purpose for our obedience. We need Your strength to obey.
I pray this in Jesus’ name.
God is so good.
This is a part of God’s will that most of us don’t like. God tells us that there will be trials (James 1:2). He also gives reasons why those trials will come. James 1 tells us that trials are for the sake of perfecting us. In 1 Peter 4:12-17, we are told that we will “rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.” Suffering as a believer has a purpose. That purpose points back to Jesus Christ.
When suffering comes, watch for God’s hand to be at work. Please remember if we have trusted in Christ we will see the beauty of His glory when we spend eternity with Him.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for having the greater good in mind. Please help us to look to You in our suffering. We need Your help to remember that eternity is our ultimate goal.
I pray this in Jesus’ name.
God is so good.
Too many times we want details about God’s will. What job should I have? Whom should I marry? What car should I buy? The Bible doesn’t go into the detail we tend to want. God does give us principles to use when asking those questions. One of the principles is to be filled with the Spirit. When a person trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation from sin, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. The verb in this passage is passive. This isn’t something we do – although we can fight against the Holy Spirit’s work. Our passage today tells us that we need to walk in wisdom understanding God’s will.
This is one passage out of many that gives principles to follow when looking for God’s will. We need to keep searching Scripture to understand what God wants for our lives. Our decisions need to be driven by the work of the Holy Spirit, not our selfish desires. God’s way is always better.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us direction about Your will. Please help us to allow the work of the Holy Spirit so we can be wise. We need Your help.
I pray this in Jesus’ name.
God is so good.
In the Old Testament we learn about the temple Solomon built for God to dwell in. At Pentecost (in the book of Acts), the Holy Spirit came to dwell in people. 1 Corinthians reminds us that our physical bodies belong to God because of this.
Jesus’ example prayer can help us remember that God’s kingdom, including His residence of our physical bodies, is more important than our own desires. This should give us the desire to take care of our physical bodies to the best of our ability.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder that our physical bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Please help us to live with that thought in mind.
I pray this in Jesus’ name.
God is so good.
Jesus’ example prayer reminds us to pray that God’s kingdom would come. This refers to the earthly kingdom that God tells us about in the Bible. God gives us many commands to follow, which fit into His ultimate purpose. Unfortunately, as flawed human beings we want our own way. Too many don’t like Philippians 2:13, because it talks about God’s work being for His pleasure. We want our own pleasure. We want good for our own sake. However, if we take the time to study the Bible, I think we will find the benefit of God’s way. We also need to consider the eternal benefit. We will learn more of that by studying the Bible.
I hope that my readers will put time and effort into reading God’s Word and finding out what God’s good pleasure is. I think we will find it pleasurable ourselves.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for choosing to work in us. Thank You for sharing Your pleasure with us. Please help us to seek Your way and not our own. The selfish pleasures of this world can have a strong pull. Please give us the strength to say no as well as the knowledge of how much better Your way is.
I pray this in Jesus’ name.
God is so good.
I think one of the hard parts of Jesus’ example prayer is “Your kingdom come”. I don’t think we realize how often we seek to build our own kingdom. 1 Corinthians 10:23-33 talks about having freedom for the sake of building others up. I fear that we want freedom for our own selfish purposes too often. The Bible repeatedly talks about using our freedom to build others up. In this passage we are told “all things are lawful, but not all things build up.”
We need to make choices that help build God’s kingdom. We do that by living in a way that draws people to the One we serve. We need to share that hope to those who have never heard and remind the ones who know Christ of how wonderful the eternal hope of God’s kingdom is.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us direction about how to use the freedom You allow. Please help us to be aware when our own selfishness takes over. Please help us to use our freedom for the sake of the gospel and do everything for Your honor and glory.
I pray this in Jesus’ name.
God is so good.
The Bible gives us instruction to put others first in several passages. In this passage we know that our love needs to be genuine, not fake. In this verse, we are told to put others before ourselves. Some translations tell us to try to outdo others in showing love. The point is not to have a contest, but to put others first. I know this can be challenging at times, but God offers help through His Word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the help You give. We know we need You. Please help us to remember to go to You frequently for the help You offer.
I pray this in Jesus’ name.
God is so good.
Pleading in Prayer 