Heavenly Father, I praise You for Your word to give us wisdom, understanding, and to help us know how to talk and ask of You. I praise You for having Your Holy Spirit help us to pray and that Jesus our intercessor prays for our day and night.
Holy Spirit help me to learn from my ancestors of the first Christian church to pray as they did when they prayed: “Sovereign Lord, You made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples' plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against His anointed one.’ Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak Your word with great boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your Holy Servant Jesus.” [Acts 4:24-30]
Help me to understand that by claiming Your word and promises I call on You to do great work through me. I also ask and understand that only through You can I have true boldness and courage to face such a sinful, hate-filled world. Teach me to speak only after humbling myself to You, so that the words I say, the attitude I have, and all the power that comes from what I say is truly from Your Spirit. Help me to be bold when I need to take a stand, and humble when I need to demonstrate respect or humility. Let me be courageous in my faith and with Your Holy Spirit working within me.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given to me all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of God who has called me to His own glory and excellence, by which He has given to me exceedingly great and precious promises, so that through these things I might become a partaker of the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. For this reason help me to make every effort to add virtue to my faith; and to my virtue, knowledge, and to my knowledge, self-control; and to my self-control, patient endurance; and to my patient endurance, godliness; and to my godliness, brotherly kindness; and to my brotherly kindness love. For if all of these reside in me and abound, they will ensure that I will neither be useless nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord. Help me to diligently make my calling and election sure so that when I add all of these areas into my life I will not stumble and will be able to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which will be abundantly provided for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 2 Peter 1:3-11 MEV version