Heavenly Father, I praise You for creating a world that has changes but also consistency. I praise You for seasons of weather, seasons of life, and seasons of taste. I praise you for the sowing and reaping in life. I praise You for the simple lessons of watching farmers as they bail hay, milk cows, plant crops, gardens, etc, all basic to the needs of life. Yet as my neighbor, who is a farmer, is also a man with a bachelor's and a stirring yearning to learn and grow. Help me today to take command of my day and shake the evil from it.
Holy Spirit, Paul wrote to the Corinthians—When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. [1 Corinthians 13:11] My faith has grown and deepened as I have matured in life. The salvation that I accepted at 16 is much different from how I appreciate it now at 59. My understanding of faith, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and who God is to me has changed and deepened over the years. I have faced trouble, evil, sin, heartache, love, success, failure, trials, and many
storms in life. I have had friends, have friends, I have a wife who I could never envision not being in my life, family, children, grandchildren, and a fulfilling job. All this has taught me the wisdom that it is not where you start but where you finish. I plan to finish my life with Christ in eternity. I hold no market on doing foolish things even at this age, but I also understand the consequences much better. Help and continue to guide my words, thoughts, and desires so that I align and abide in You.
Grace and peace will be multiplied to me 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 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 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