We are encouraged to pray early, Father, just as Jesus did so many times in the Scriptures. Praying about everything all day is Your stated will, but setting aside time with You each morning gives us an opportunity to start the day right, seeking Your blessings and direction.
I am sure proud that I am humble!
Peter goes on to say that pride, the opposite of humility, is resisted by God. It is “under Your hand”, Father, that we are to be truly humble, not some self-imposed portrayal of humility. You promise to exalt the humble in due time, to lift us up.
Do doubts about God imperil or disable you?
You offer us a stern warning that we “must believe and not doubt”. Father, please help us with the doubts that sometimes come upon us. We feel so imperfect and at times very uninformed. Help us today to realize that is not our perfection that encompasses us when we approach You. We come to You in the righteousness of Jesus, cleansed by Him, led by Him.
Of course I am saved. My Dad was a pastor!
Father, You continually teach us that we each bear our own responsibilities in relation to You. Our relationship is personal. It is not a relationship we are able to inherit or claim as a member of an organization or as a member of a Christian family. We come to You as individuals, seeking to do Your will, knowing that it pleases You immensely when we do so.
How would your day go if you “felt” the presence of Christ?
We thank you Father for sending the Holy Spirit, a constant source of Your Holy presence in us. O’God, Your thoughts toward us exceed number. That is a reality we have a hard time grasping. Can we do any less but to look to You, all day, in every circumstance. We truly never need to walk alone.
It is never my fault. This time it was Eve!
Father, thank You for sharing this account of “original sin”. Some blame Eve for enticing her husband Adam to eat and some say Adam was responsible for being obedient, enticement or not.
What I am doing just feels wrong.
Some people call the obedience part “works”. That just means doing things that God has commanded, such as loving other people, being Baptized, praying to Him about every decision and about our needs and hopes and the needs of others. Works that are rooted in faith please God. Works, simply intended to earn points with God, do not please Him. Faith in Jesus makes your works noticed by God. There you have it! First God’s grace to you, second your faith in Jesus Christ and third, your works, those things you do to respond to His love. We need to know that the order cannot be reversed
Is it o.k. to beg for God to do something, over and over?
Jesus, Again, You tell us to persevere and show us that even the unbelieving judge yielded to the continual pleas of the widow. Then Jesus, You teach us that if an unbelieving judge can be influenced by persistence, we can depend upon our God to listen to our cry day and night.
Why is pride such a problem? Is there a solution?
Father, the contrast between pride and humility is always before us. We have such an inclination to allow our ego to overcome us. Help us, today, to know that it is You we seek to please and that even when we do please You, it is due to the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, not our fleshly spirit.
The tongue, a dangerous weapon?
We see, Father, that a fig tree does not bear olives. Are there times, Father, that we claim to be Your children and then openly sin against You and others? Father, we pray for fidelity, for consistency in our daily walk. Help us never be hypocritical, bringing shame to ourselves, when we deeply want to be as You, Jesus.