Heavenly Father, I praise You for today. I praise You for Your gift of salvation that came through Christ and that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling among us and assisting us as we live each day. I praise You for wisdom and knowledge; they help me navigate my day. I praise You for the discernment the Holy Spirit gives me so that I avoid many pitfalls when I listen. Help me today to take command of my day and shake all evil from it.
Holy Spirit, You inspired the writer of Hebrews to write: Let us then come with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. [Hebrews 4:19, MEV] When I find myself in need, I know that through Your Holy Spirit, I can come into the throne room and lay my requests before You, and You will listen and see the depths of my heart and know what I truly need. You will help me whether I need to walk through the problem with You by my side, whether I need to just stand and let You deal with the trouble, or if I am to humble myself and allow the circumstance to demonstrate my faith in You.
I have many examples from the Bible. Joseph is sold into slavery and arrested for a crime he did not commit. Daniel is taken captive and shipped to a foreign land to serve a foreign king with his wisdom. Elijah facing the prophets of Baal. Elisha is surrounded by the enemy. Paul is stoned, arrested, and martyred. The disciples are all being martyred except for John, who was in prison on an island. What are my troubles compared to what they endured, and yet they were counted as faithful. How could I do anything less.
I pray and ask that I may be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that I may walk worthy of You, fully pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of You; strengthened with all might, according to Your glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified me to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in the light. You have delivered me from the power of darkness and conveyed me into the kingdom of the Son of Your love, in whom I have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. You are the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by You, all things were created that are in heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through You for You. And You are before all things, and in You, all things exist. And You are the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things You may have the preeminence. In Your blessed Son Jesus’ name, Amen. (Colossians 1:9-18)