Heavenly Father I praise You for giving me peace in a very chaotic world. I praise You that this is not my final destination and that I will have eternity to live with You and without the heartache or pressure from sin. I praise You for being my strength and my shield.
Holy Spirit let me cling to the words of Christ when he said, “Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in this manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” [Matthew 5:11] Help me to make this part of the foundation of my faith so I can withstand whatever people try to hurt me because of my faith.
Holy Spirit remind me that God is our shepherd and His job is to fight for us. I realize that sometimes I will need to stand strong in my faith to be purified by the fire like perfect gold. I also realize that living in a sinful broken world with the free will to make their own choices I will face adversity, mockery, harassment, and maybe even harm because of my faith in Jesus as my personal Savior and Redeemer.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1Peter 5:6-11