Heavenly Father, I praise You for inspiring men to write what we now call the Bible. Your Holy Spirit motivated these people to write and then create a committee to put it together for us to learn and use. I praise You for the examples of the warriors placed on the walls of Jerusalem to watch, pray, and proclaim Your promises to Israel. I try to use Your word to stand affirmed in Your promises. Help me today to be like what You asked Job and to take command of my morning and shake the evil from it through Your Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit, Your word records: Many signs and wonders were performed among the people by the hands of the apostles. [Acts 5:12] James tells us: Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. [James 5:13-15]
But do we truly believe this to be for us today? The last I checked, Your word says You are the same today as You were yesterday and will be tomorrow. If I am Your living temple and You, Holy Spirit, reside within me, then does it come down to faith or understanding Your will? I know that not everyone was healed by Jesus, the disciples, or the early church. Yet many were. So how do I find balance within my faith? I have come before You many times to pray for healing for people like Kayla, who desperately could use a touch of Your hand to ease their pain and grow their testimony of You. But I also know that through this whole time of trouble with her body, she has been able to witness to You. Since I do not know Your thoughts, I struggle in my faith to understand how I should pray, believe, and trust that You will heal, even though somewhere deep within me, I know You can. This gets more complicated for me when I want to be obedient and in the center of Your will. This is why I pray for wisdom and discernment. I want to be in Your will and obey Your way and how I should live minute by minute. Yet I want to be bold in my faith, different like Caleb, or Paul, and merciful like Philip, or steadfast like Daniel and Nehemiah. How do I, a simple believer who tries to trust Your word and to pray Your word, know that beyond my simple faith that I trust and obey that Your will will be done? I pray today for more discernment and clarity in how I perceive You and follow.
Grace and peace will be multiplied to me through the wisdom and knowledge I gain and retain of God and of Jesus. He has given to me the ability to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness through this knowledge I am learning of Him and how He sees me and the world around me so that I can learn to strive for perfection and righteousness as seen in His own glory and excellence, and through this I am learning of the blessings and precious promises He has bestowed upon me for learning and knowing. This way I can abide and partake in being a child of His and to avoid and not be influenced by this world through lust, envy, pride, rebellion, or bitterness. I will make every effort to increase virtue in my faith and that virtue to the kind of knowledge that leads to self-control.
This self-control will teach me patient endurance that I need to endure this evil world and the hate of godliness. From the virtue I add to my knowledge and endurance, I will learn to demonstrate and exhibit brotherly kindness and ultimately the love of God through every part of my being. All of this growing in the knowledge of God will lead to me being useful and fruitful as I fulfill the purpose God created me for and the drive of my will to serve God and help build the kingdom. I will not forget that for this reason I was cleansed from my sins by the blood of Christ, and I am a new creation that needs to grow and be productive while I continue to grow in wisdom and knowledge of God. This will help me know when doubt attacks that I am God’s child and that I am doing His will so that I do not stumble and fail. For I know that God provides for me enough to live life fully and with a joy that can not be stolen, and that one day I will enter into heaven, my eternal home. May Jesus be praised and glorified for my salvation. Amen. [2 Peter 1:2-11, paraphrased to align within me]