Heavenly Father I praise You for the example Christ gave us on how to talk to You, live for You and seek You and Your will. I praise You for the leadership given by the Apostles and the letters and eye witness accounts they left behind that make up our new testament. These help me to begin to grasp wisdom and grow in my life and learning to have true fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome and told them to: Therefore, I urge you, brothers [and sisters], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. [Romans 12:1&2] Holy Spirit help me to fully understand what it means to be a living sacrifice. If I have Christ and the disciples as examples and Paul then I get a glimpse of being a living sacrifice. I must surrender my will for God’s as Christ taught when he taught how to pray and when he prayed in the garden saying, “not my will but Yours be done.” Another example is Peter when he was told to go to Cornelius’s home to show them salvation and being baptized. I need to learn to give up my ideas of what is right and my personal desires to be obedient to You , the Holy Spirit, to go where I need to go, do what I need to do, see what You see, desire what You desire for me and to let myself be so focused on being open to You that I leave myself vulnerable to Your will. Teach me to die out to my desires, my cravings, my selfishness, to my personal demands on how the world should be. Help me to be like Paul, content whether richly blessed or when I am brought low. Help me to withstand all punishments the world hurls at me and still stand true to the hope that is with in me. Help me to learn to tame my tongue, my anger and my attitude.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your Kindgom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Amen) (Matthew 6:9-13)