Morning

Isaiah 50:4-5: "The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back."

After reading Isaiah 50:4-5, I began to ponder if I might be missing something. Does the LORD give us supernatural ability to hear Him in the morning? Does time spent with God first thing in the morning provide direction and/or corrections to our day that we would otherwise miss? I confess to being a morning person in most areas, but not in my prayer/devotional time. I'm blessed when I can squeeze in 15-20 minutes. In fact, I prefer long evening sessions of prayer, worship, & devotion. It's my bedtime routine and one I'm not likely to abandon anytime soon. It's my "cup of warm milk" and it gives me restful sleep. And yet, I wonder if God is leading me down this morning path; a path fresh with the morning dew. I purpose today to try an experiment and see where He takes me.

Today's prayer: "God, you are my morning and my evening and everything in between. I want to yield to your voice and follow it wherever it takes me, so I say YES, please lead me there and I will follow. Shake up my routine and help me explore new heights and new depths in YOU."

Rebuke

Matthew 16:23 "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men."

This scripture came to me last night and I couldn't help but wonder how often many of us (me included) have played the role of "stumbling block" -- not minding the things of God, but the things of men. Jesus rebukes Peter in front of the disciples, probably because they also needed to hear it. But notice, that in Jesus' rebuking of Peter he does not say, "I'm done with you" or "I don't love or value you." Jesus rebuked the "spirit" speaking through Peter and not Peter himself. I'm convinced it was in love and with complete restoration in mind. Jesus was in relationship with Peter and had poured much encouragement into him (i.e. he had first paved the road with love).

Today's prayer: "God, forgive me for the times I've been a stumbling block. Keep my eyes on the things of God and off the things of men. Send others to rubuke me, in love, whenever it is necessary. Lead me to good, solid, accountability relationships; relationships that exhort and encourage and come along beside me. And, yes, I'll take the rebuking too, especially if the road has first been paved with love."

Intercession

Habakkuk 3:1-2 "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth. Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known..."

Habakkuk 3 is entitled a prayer of Habakkuk. It is a meditation with himself, an intercession for the church. Prophets were praying men; this prophet was so (He is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, Gen. 20:7); and sometimes they prayed for even those whom they prophesied against. Those that were intimately acquainted with the mind of God concerning future events knew better than others how to order their prayers, and what to pray for, and, in the foresight of troublesome times, could lay up a stock of prayers that might then receive a gracious answer, and so be serving the church by their prayers when their prophesying was over (excerpt from Matthew Henry Complete Commentary).

Today's prayer: "God, I have heard of your fame. I have seen it declared. Your glory invades the earth. Today I intercede for your church, your bride. I call upon the One who sits enthroned above the earth and ask you to renew your works in our day; and in our time make them known. Come quickly to our aid; defend us against our foes; bring hope to your people."

Boldness

Acts 4:13-14 "The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. But since the man who had been healed was standing right there among them, the council had nothing to say."

Today's prayer: "God, I pray for boldness in the midst of persecution. Though I am an ordinary woman and have no special training, I ask for a great boldness that comes as a result of spending time with you. And when (not if) the people are healed, the "council" will be silenced. Yes, Lord, let it be unto me as you have said. Amen."

The Heart

"Those who flee temptation generally leave a forwarding address."

I came across this quote recently and it struck me how our flesh can be so clever. When old habits continually knock on our door we need to step back and find out the "root" cause. David penned the following, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." [Psalm 139:23]

The only way to deal with the flesh is to kill it and if there is still pain there, then it isn't dead.

Today's prayer: "God, search my heart. Expose the deepest parts. Bring to the surface anything lurking there that needs to die. For only in dying to my flesh will I truly live."

Priorities

Deuteronomy 6:5: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

I've always heard the statement: God first, family second, and everything else third. Recently, I heard someone break it down further: God first, spouse second, children third, church family fourth, and your personal ministry fifth. This has caused me to reexamine my priorities. God obviously comes first: Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." If all one’s heart, soul, and strength is committed to loving God, He is the number one priority. If you are married, your spouse comes next after God. A married man is to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). Christ’s first priority—after obeying and glorifying the Father—was the Church. Here is an example husbands should follow: God first, then his wife. In the same way, wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). We can draw from this the principle that her husband is second only to God in her priorities. If husbands and wives are second only to God in our priorities, and being that a husband and wife are one flesh (Ephesians 5:31), it stands to reason that the result of the marriage relationship—children—should be the next priority. Parents are to raise godly children who will be the next generation of those who love the Lord with all their hearts (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4), showing once again that God is first in our priorities and all other relationships should reflect that. Deuteronomy 5:16 tells us to honor our parents so that we may live long and things will go well with us. No age limit is specified, which leads us to believe that as long as our parents are alive, we should honor them. We can conclude from this that parents are next in the list of priorities after God, our spouses, and our children. After parents comes the rest of one's family (1 Timothy 5:8), then fellow believers. Romans 14 tells us not judge or look down upon our brothers (v. 10), nor to do anything to cause a fellow Christian to “stumble” or fall spiritually. Much of the book of 1 Corinthians is Paul’s instructions on how the Church should live together in harmony, loving one another. Other exhortations referring to our brothers and sisters in Christ are: “…serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13); “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32); “…encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11); “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). Finally comes the rest of the world (Matthew 28:19), to whom we should go and bring the Gospel, making disciples of Christ among them. In conclusion, the scriptural order of priorities is God, spouse, children, parents, extended family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and the rest of the world.

Today's prayer: "God, you are my number one priority. Your face will I seek. You know my heart beats for ministry, but how often has my family taken back seat to my personal ministry and volunteer time? Forgive me and help me find balance in all things. Teach me your ways so that I will be wise and have the understanding that comes from you. Thank you for words from others that challenge my 'status quo' "

Refuge

"Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place..." Psalm 91:9

The hiding place of God's protection is the mountain of holiness; just as He hid Moses in the mountain, so shall He also hide me.

Today's prayer: "God, hide me away. Today, I need to be hidden. The enemy bears down, but I know he won't follow me up the mountain. Step by step I climb .... until all I see is your face. No need to look back; the enemy can't breathe at this altitude. I've crossed the 'snake line' -- victory is now assured."

Resurrection Power

Mark 16:17-18 "These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them."

My heart's cry is to be involved in something that's impossible, to have signs and wonders accompany those who believe. A normal Christian life should be supernatural. That's how we know we've tasted of the resurrection power of Jesus that abides and dwells in us as born-again believers.

Today's prayer: "God, saturate me with your presence. Let me walk in your resurrection power, casting out demons, speaking new languages, handling Satan, the lying snake, with safety, receiving no harm from the venom of serpents and poisons, and placing hands on the sick and watching them recover. Give me so much of you that everywhere I go, I cannot help but drip with over-saturation. Your presence is like honey. Honey is golden like your glory; it is thick like your presence; it is sticky enough to get "stuck" on others; pure honey lasts a long time; and it tastes sweet, just like your Word."

Reputation

Mark 8:34-35 "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."

I heard a speaker at a conference this weekend say that when we start walking in the glory, many will drop us like a hot potato. Jesus made himself of no reputation and we are called to do the same.
Today's prayer: "God, I give to you my reputation. Help me not to care what others think of me. Help me not to even ponder it in my heart. Help me to not have an opinion of another's opinion of me. I have to follow hard after you. Where else would I go Lord? I can never go back. I must only go forward."

Revival

Revival is not born out of mass movements but out of a series of solitary decisions.
Today's prayer: "God, I want to be a history maker! Shake everything that can be shaken in me. I don't want a religious routine, I rather want the high adventures of being a radical forerunner who will gladly give up all for You. Fill me with Your glory to touch this world for Jesus!"