Victory247

“He changes times and seasons…”

(Daniel 2:21, NIV)

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Dear God, today I open my heart and mind to receive all that You have for me. I trust that You are with me directing my every step. I embrace Your seasons of change and thank You for helping me grow and increase in every area. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day”

Proverbs 4:18 (NIV)

Ever meet someone who is full of life and refreshing to be around even when they don’t say much? You almost see a glow when they walk into the room. Everyone like that seems to have certain things in common; talk to God, read the bible, care about others, make good choices, aren’t negative, don’t criticize or gossip…they are ‘righteous’, in others words, they “do right”.

The more we are working on “doing right”, the more we have that ‘gleam’ and glow.

The most attractive women I have ever known is a lady named Millie. She is over 80 years old with a huge heart for God and people. She lives “right”. As a result, everyone just loves spending time with her, from her peers to teens and small children.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, teach me to live “right” more and more, so that You can glow ‘brighter’ through me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths”

Proverbs 3:6 (King James Version)

I like to call it “breathing prayers”. As we go through our day we are constantly making decisions. Instead of going into autopilot or making choices based on what benefits “me”, try to ‘acknowledge Him’. Breath a prayer inside your thoughts. Whisper in your mind a prayer asking what He wants us to do.

If you look at the back of a cross-stitch or on the inside of an embroidered shirt, it looks like a mess and very hard to tell what it is. There may be those times His leading may not make sense to us, but in the end we will look back and see the direction and blessings He wanted to unfold.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, remind me to ‘acknowledge’ You. I want to trust You with my daily choices that will lead me to a fulfilling plan for my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease”

Proverbs 1:33 (NIV)

One day I was driving from college and it hit me that if I obey the traffic laws I can enjoy my long ride home much more. My usual mentality was to go as fast as possible and be constantly on the look out for the Highway Patrol. It was an undercurrent of stress. “Cop!…oh no. Did he see me? That was a close one…”

After my resolution to stay close to the speed limit, I could direct more attention to my thoughts, prayers, music or conversations (texting wasn’t an issue back in the late 70’s). I was ‘at ease’!

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, point out those areas in my life that I’m dabbling in wrongdoing. Thank You for the inner calm(‘ease’) that comes with doing right and walking with You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Be patient… See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains”

James 5:7 (NIV)

“Patience” is one of those virtues that I long to develop. But I am in a hurry all the time. We all seem to expect instant gratification for our efforts, and don’t take the time to really think things through.

This verse is a fantastic picture. The farmer works hard, makes good choices, and does what it takes to earn an income. But he ‘waits’ for months. He has to depend on the harvest that will come eventually.

A little boy was told by his grandpa that he will give him ten dollars at the end of the week for helping him do some gardening. The end of the week came and the wise old man told the lad that if he waited one more week for his wage that he would give him $30. The child had his heart set on an action figure toy and took the money. He went to the store and saw that the toys were also sold in packs of 10 for $30. “Why didn’t you tell me, grandpa?” “You didn’t take the time to ask”, the man replied (see the end of James 4:2).

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, help me to work hard yet make time to pray and think. Give me the patience to slow down and allow You to bless me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up”

James 4:10 (NIV)

A part of each one of us desires to indulge in pleasures that feel good, yet break down our inner peace and joy. We have those times of wanting to turn off our conscience, and plunge ourselves into what just feels good.

I recently polished off two large chocolate chip cookies that I topped with whip cream. Ate a Kit Kat, then found an ice cream sandwich that died a fast death during my latest feeding frenzie. I am actually on a very effective diet, and have lost 25 pounds over the last 2 months. Yet today was a hard day. I choose to turn off my brain and let my desires lead the way.

Needless to say, I feel sick to my stomach, guilty and angry. BUT, I can start over! I can ‘humble myself before the Lord’ and confess that I need Him for willpower and strength. ‘Humbling’ means to admit that we can’t do it on our own. He knows we need “divine mulligans”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank you that You are the God of the “do over”, “start over” and second chance. I need You. ‘Lift’ me up when I am down! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“but no one can tame the tongue. It is wild and full of deadly poison”

James 3:8 (New Century Version)

What we say is very important in God’s eyes. If we are critical, gossip, crude and degrade with our tongue, God says (James 3:6) our whole inner person erodes. We ultimately can’t do anything about this problem except to allow Him to work in us.

The solution is to;  -continually catch ourselves when we say something wrong

-immediately confess it

-ask Him to change us

If you do this, you will feel the joy, peace and blessing.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me the ears to hear myself talk. I hand this area of my life over to You. “I can’t do this, but You can”! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action and deeds, is dead”

James 2:17 (NIV)

Living by ‘faith’ is basically living as if God is present. When we take the time, effort or money to help others, we are living out the fact that there is a God and that He will take care of us if we take care of others. We are “trusting” Him.

This verse is telling us that a good indicator we have ‘faith’ and trust God is that we try to help meet the needs of others. Then our ‘faith’ is not ‘dead’ or powerless. Instead, our ‘faith’ is ignited with power and life so that we can experience a daily fulfillment.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me the strength to live out my faith by taking time with You and taking time to help others. Give my ‘faith‘ power and life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves”

James 1:22 (New American Standard Bible)

When I was a young high schooler with a drivers license and an orange ’72 Oldsmobile, I met a really cute young lady that asked me to drive over to her house to visit. This was before the days of Mapquest and GPS, so she had to explain the directions. Believe me, I didn’t ‘merely’ listen, I got out a pen and paper, getting clarification on every single turn, street name and landmark. I didn’t just hope I would maybe find her house, I HAD TO!

This is how we need to attack God’s Word. When we read the bible, hear a sermon or receive this daily verse, it should make us think; “how can I pull this off?”, “how does this apply to my daily routine?”, “what are the situations that I go through to make this work?”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, tap me on the shoulder and remind me of things I have learned as I go through my day. Give me the strength and determination to be a ‘doer of Your Word’. Thank You for the blessings that will follow. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“So get rid of all immoral behavior and all the wicked things you do. Humbly accept the word that God has placed in you. This word can rescue you”

James 1:21 (God’s Word Translation)

This is one of those easier-said-than-done type verses. All of us seem to have ‘things’ we say or do that we know are not pleasing to God. But it does help to know the reason it is not pleasing; God wants our lives to flourish and those ‘things’ oppose our true happiness.

Looking at bad websites hinders our view and enjoyment of the opposite sex. Gossip makes us become negative and less attractive to be around. Our ‘things’ feel good. But, whatever our ‘things’ may be, big or small, are like weeds choking out what God wants us to blossom into.

He doesn’t expect us to be “sinless”, just strive to “sin less”.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, give me the strength to go to war with my bad habits. I can’t win, but You can if I continue to confess and hand my ‘things’ over to You. Allow who I am to flourish. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.