Heavenly Father I praise You for being a blessed man, I know I do not have the riches of this world, or the power, or the fame, but I have Your blessing. I praise You for growing me as the Psalmist says of being a tree planted near the rivers of water. I praise You for giving me a great foundation to grow and learn upon so that I have been able to weather the storms of life I have seen. I have been pushed, shoved, rained on, snowed on, and survived the searing heat of life trials yet I stand firmly rooted and I stand bearing Your fruit.
Holy Spirit Your word says that my soul has been purified by obedience to the truth through Your Spirit unto a genuine brotherly love and that I am learning to love with a pure heart, all because I have been born again, not from perishable seed, but imperishable seed because I meditate and practice Your word daily in my life. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from God the Father and creator of us all, God never changes or veers from the truth and wisdom He wrote into existence and is part of His being. When God spoke we came into existence and He created each of us with a purpose long before conception took place with the desire to be His and to bear His first fruits for all to see and learn of Him. Because I am a new man in Christ, my old self has been erased by His gift of salvation and I rejoice in being made new. I must learn to live this new life with the guard rails of His principles and His wisdom. All this has come to me from God through Jesus Christ so that we have been given a ministry of reconciliation. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” [1 Peter 1:22&23; James 1:17&18; 2 Corinthians 5:17&18; Galatians 2:20]
Holy Spirit because You made me new and planted the seed of faith in me, let me live my life as a living sacrifice so that daily I will know, understand and do Your will. Help that seed of faith to grow until it bears the fruit that helps others see You and gain the same hope of Your salvation and eternal life. Help me to renew my mind daily on Your word, wisdom from other writers, worship, praise, testimonies of others, and experiencing life with Your Spirit walking with me and teaching me. Help me to listen for and to Your voice so that I can discern and then do what is right in Your eyes.
Therefore, let me not sleep as others do. But let me be alert and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But let me, who is of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed me to wrath, but to obtain salvation by my Lord Jesus Christ, who died for me, so that whether I am awake or asleep, I will continuously live together with Him. So, I comfort myself with other brothers and sisters, and we will edify one another, just as I have learned to do. We have been asked as brothers, and sisters, to acknowledge those who labor among us and are appointed over us in the Lord, and instruct each of us. Esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among us. Now we have been exhorted by your word, to warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, and be patient toward everyone. We are not to render evil for evil to anyone. But always seek to do good to one another and all. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Examine all things. Firmly hold onto what is good. Abstain from all appearances of evil. May the very God of peace sanctify you completely. And I pray to God that my whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls me, who also will do it. Amen. 1 Thessalonians 5:6-24