Friends can be very dear to us, so much that we don’t want to hurt their feelings. Often we will bend or stretch the truth in order to protect a friend. Is this really honoring towards your friendship? Have courage to gently tell the truth but show respect towards your friendship with honesty.
God cares about it all. No desires, dreams, needs, or frustrations are too minimal to bring to God in prayer. He wants to wow you with his gracious ability to answer your prayers. Pray for anything that is burdening your mind today.
GODLY COMPANY
Psalm 14:3; Proverbs 1:10, 32; John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 15:33
In Jesus’ Name, I Pray God’s Will for You
I pray that you will be conscientious about the company that you keep, for “bad company corrupts good character.” I pray that God will give you friends who will build you up in the faith. I pray that you will be favored with godly company and enjoy their friendship. May you have godly conviction and a discerning spirit to resist anything that displeases God. I pray that you will protect yourself by submitting to spiritual authority and making yourself accountable to a spiritual family. May the company that you keep draw you closer to God.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Why do we worry? Where does our worry come from? Is it placed in a mistrust in God? Can you hear the tender love in those words, “Don’t be afraid, little flock?” Our heavenly Father actually wants to relieve us of those worries and then share with us His Kingdom. Put aside your worries and take peace in your Father’s gift.
Glorifying and enjoying Me is a higher priority than maintaining a tidy, structured life. Give up your striving to keep everything under control—an impossible task and a waste of precious energy.
Dear Jesus,
In my heart, glorifying and enjoying You is a much higher priority than maintaining order. In practice, however, I do strive to keep things under control. When that becomes my focus, I tend to lose sight of You. Even when I do think of You at such a time, I usually try to enlist Your help in restoring order. I want my life to display the deep desire in my heart: glorifying and enjoying You in carefree exuberance!
Beloved, I delight in your heartfelt desire to “kick up your heels” in celebration of who I Am. I can see into the depths of your heart, and I know that what you have expressed is true. I also read your thoughts with perfect accuracy, so I realize how easily you lose sight of My Presence.
Let’s think together about this problem. To glorify and enjoy Me as you desire, you need to relinquish control to Me. You may think this would involve giving up something precious, because controlling things is a way you try to feel secure. In reality, however, this effort is bound to fail. Even if you succeed in creating a tidy, structured life for a time, you will not be able to maintain it. So, what I’m asking you to give up—controllingness—is something that frustrates you far more than it helps you.
Instead of wasting your energy on an impossible task, endeavor to celebrate your relationship with Me. Learn to walk more consistently in the Light of My Presence. Indeed, those who walk in this Light can rejoice in Me all day long, exulting in My righteousness. Glorify Me by living joyously in My energizing Light.
“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
~ John 17:4–5
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
~ Psalm 139:1–2
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.
~ Psalm 89:15–16
Jesus shows up in our lives in unlikely places! These travelers were talking alone, along a dusty and deserted road. This was the last place anyone would expect a resurrected Jesus to reveal himself. Yet, there Jesus was! Jesus, walking alongside these discouraged travelers. He took the time to lift their spirits and show them He had a plan! Sometimes, Jesus is right there with us and we don’t have the eyes to see Him at our sides.
