A time to break down, and a time to build up.—Ecclesiastes 3:3 (ESV)
TRADITIONALLY THE LENTEN period is a time dedicated to practicing spiritual discipline. But it is a good time to take inventory of your faith, to renew your commitment and to restate your dedication to the Lord.
Dear Lord, this Lent transform my spirit with new life.
You have granted me life and favor, and Your care has preserved my spirit.—Job 10:12 (NKJV)
GOD SHINES GOODNESS on you every day. Maybe it’s something as simple as the perfect parking spot, or bumping into an old friend exactly when you needed it. Look for His blessings and you’ll find them.
Heavenly Father, thank You for caring enough to send me daily reminders of Your love.
For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.—1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
MANY PEOPLE ARE preoccupied with their physical appearance—spending a lot of time and money chasing perfection—but the beautiful truth is that God’s focus is on the inside. Lent is a perfect time for you to look inward and spend time developing something that will last for all eternity—your relationship with Him.
Heavenly Father, help me to remember that true beauty comes from within.
For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.—Song of Solomon 2:11-12 (ESV)
AS WE APPROACH the beginning of spring, we anxiously wait for the first precious flowering buds and the appearance of tender blades of grass. Just as nature is blossoming, God’s work is silently budding in your life.
Heavenly Father, nurture my spirit and help me bloom into the person You intend me to be.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.—Matthew 5:4 (NIV)
AT ONE TIME or another, we all experience pain in our lives. Thankfully our sorrow can help us grow in compassion and guide us to a deeper faith knowing God comforts the brokenhearted and brings peace to the wounded spirit.
Heavenly Father, You are my refuge and strength and my very present help in time of trouble.
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.—Psalm 27:13 (NIV)
WHEN BAD THINGS happen, it is difficult to see the God’s goodness at work. When illnesses linger or financial problems strike, ask Jesus to help you see the silver living. Perhaps it is a deeper dependence on Him. No matter even if life’s most difficult moments try to see the goodness of the Lord.
Heavenly Father, help me see Your goodness in every circumstance.
Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.—Mark 11:23 (NIV)
FAITH OPENS THE door to miracles. Is a mountainous difficulty challenging you? Pray that God is helping you move the mountain right now. Believe in His infinite power and don’t doubt or underestimate what He can do.
Heavenly Father, I believe You can move mountains. I believe!
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.—1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)
LOVE IS THE greatest value in life. Stop for a moment and truly take this truth into your mind, body and spirit. Live with love in your heart. Do everything you can to help human sorrow. Loving others will make you spiritually victorious—able to rise above all difficulty. Fear will be crowded out of your life and replaced with love.
Dear Lord, today on Valentine’s Day, continue to let me feel Your comforting love in my life—and guide me to extend Your pure and beautiful love onto others.
I have tried hard to find you—don’t let me wander from your commands.—Psalm 119:10 (NLT)
SOMETIMES WE PLACE roadblocks on our prayer journey. We make excuses about being too busy, too tired and too distracted but the truth is all of these things can be a springboard to prayer. Whatever is stopping you from spending more time on your faith, reach out to God and ask for His help.
Heavenly Father, give me the grace to change and help me to remember what an amazing gift it is to spend time with You.
But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.—1 Kings 12:8 (NIV)
GOD GAVE US His Spirit to nudge us in ways we can’t always explain—a gut feeling, a phone call at exactly the right time, an email subject line that speaks directly to our problem. When we immerse ourselves in the Word of God, we grow more connected to Him and it becomes easier to know when He is leading us.
Heavenly Father, You always speak to me when I need guidance. You are the best counsel I can have.
Good sense makes a man slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.—Proverbs 19:11 (ESV)
DR. NORMAN VINCENT Peale said that when anger surges inside you, remind yourself that getting mad will get you nowhere except into trouble. He advised that you talk yourself into being sensible. Slow down your anger and rise above provocation. Build up a habit of becoming “slow to anger” (James 1:19) by letting faith guide your thinking.
Dear Lord, help me resolve differences with love and compassion and always work towards peace and harmony.
I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.—John 14:27 (NLT)
TRUSTING JESUS COMPLETELY and obeying Him consistently is a lifelong process. As you enjoy His gift of peace more often, you are more able to live in the present and depend on Him to comfort and encourage you through the His Word and prayer.
Heavenly Father, because of You, no matter what’s going on around me I am calm. Your peace lives deep inside my heart.
Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly…—1 CORINTHIANS 9:26 (NIV)
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.—PROVERBS 12:25 (NIV
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God— this is your true and proper worship.—Romans 12:1 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.—Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.—Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.—Luke 6:27 (NIV)
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.—Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.—Jonah 1:3 (ESV)
Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite.—Judges 3:15 (NIV)
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.—Exodus 3:2 (NIV)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.—Romans 3:23–24 (NIV)
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.—James 1:27 (NLT)
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.—Ephesians 6:16 (NIV)
I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.—Job 42:5-6 (NLT)
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.—Joel 2:13 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”—Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.—1 Samuel 18:1 (ESV)
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”—Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.—John 15:12 (ESV)
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.—2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)
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