Heavenly Father, I praise You for making clear what the world tries to make foggy or unclear. I praise You for creating a simple but hard path to follow. I praise You for instilling within me the desire to continue forward no matter how many times I may fall, stumble, or get knocked down. You have instilled within me the courage to step up to the challenge and not back down. Help me today to take command of my day and shake the evil from it, so that I can do what I need to do to fulfill my purpose.
Holy Spirit, You inspired Paul to write and pray for Timothy the following: “11 But you, O man of God, escape these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, to which you are called and have professed a good profession before many witnesses. 13 I command you, in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and in the sight of Christ Jesus, who testified a good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 to keep this commandment without blemish, blameless until the
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the proper time. 16 He alone has immortality, living in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen, nor can see. To Him be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” [1 Timothy 6:11-16] You also inspired Paul to write: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. [2 Corinthians 10:3-5] So unlike the world around me, the fight I have each day is not to let sin become my master. I fight to pray for and over people to have Your Spirit move in ways this world will never understand. I pray for God’s will to be done now and here on this earth. I fight to learn how to abide in God, grow in faith and wisdom, to defeat apathy, boredom, depression, lies of Satan, and most of all, to not be caught up in the chaos of this world that tries so hard to change my thinking and
what I pay attention to. I must fight against anger and learn how to have and demonstrate love. I must fight against bitterness, self-importance, non-existent rights, and learn to have joy, patience, and the strength to withstand trials and tribulations so that I become refined gold that has made it through the fire and lost all the impurities of sin that try to hide within who I am. My fight is to live, to succeed in God’s will for my life, to fight in believing that nothing man can do to me will ever be as strong as Jesus’ love for me.
And this is my prayer: let my love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that I may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Amen. Philippians 1:9-11