Life and Peace

SCRIPTURE

 

Romans 8:6

6          For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

(NASB)

 

 

PRAYER

 

Life and peace Lord, is what I ask for ______ at this moment. I ask that he would focus his mind on that which the Holy Spirit within him would bring. Push out those dismal ponderings of dark futures, and move him to dream of beautiful possibilities Lord. Break into his mind with light and paint hopeful, joyful, futures. Make him know that you take even the dark events of his past and weave them into light. Help him to feel your forgiveness and love and confidence and smile. And Lord, as ______ is filled up to overflowing with the ponderings of your future blessings, please fill him with life and peace. Please flood his emotions with your peace as a result of filling his mind with your Spirit. May his purposeful intentions be to digest in his mind only those brilliant and hopeful blessings that you have yet to give. Amen.

 

ENCOURAGEMENT

 

The thoughts you choose to meditate upon will have a profound effect upon your emotions. Choose to dwell on the hope of his lavish blessing. Choose.

 

Hope Indeed

SCRIPTURE

1 Peter 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
(NASB)

Romans 5:3-5
3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
(NASB)

Romans 8:24-25
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
(NASB)


PRAYER

Lord Jesus, thank you that your resurrection gives us great hope for forgiveness from the past, power for the present, and heaven in the future. Thank you that the resurrection speaks of new life, new hope, and new beginnings. I pray that this Easter brings hope to ______’s heart. Lord, he has experienced a storm of tribulation this past year, and that tribulation has built the stamina of perseverance, which as shown the strength of his character. Now Lord, with this Easter Sunday I ask that you would well up in his heart hope of every sort. Make him feel your complete forgiveness. Make him know your power to persevere in his present. Make him feel strength of heart and character. And give him the faith to feel the assurance of those hopes and dreams that linger in his heart. Give him the faith to feel a conviction that those things he has yet to see are indeed coming one day. Flood his whole person with an overwhelming sense of hope that washes away his doubts and fears forever. Amen.


ENCOURAGEMENT

Dear friend, our Lord has seen your pain and your perseverance. As he rests his eyes on your proven character he calls you strong of heart indeed. Have faith, rest in hope, and bask in his undying love.

Pour out your Pain

SCRIPTURE

 

Luke 22:41-44

41        And He [Jesus] withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,

42        saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."

43        Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.

44        And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

(NASB)

 

 

PRAYER

 

Lord, as ______’s heart feels the agony of his current lot, I ask that you would move him to pray his heart with great fervor. Turn his agony into pleadings. Give him freedom to bring his requests to you unashamedly, and yet melt his will into yours Lord. May he feel his agony, release his pain, and submit his will. And as he is in the midst of that agony Lord, I ask that you would bring an angel from heaven to his side to strengthen him so that he might walk the road you have set before him with dignity and grace. Amen.

 

 

ENCOURAGEMENT
 

It’s ok to feel your pain and pour out your agony in prayer. It’s ok.

 

 

A Friend

SCRIPTURE

 

Proverbs 18:24b

A real friend sticks closer than a brother.

 

1Thessalonians 5:14b

Encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

(NASB)

 

 

PRAYER

 

Lord, ______ knows what it is to be fainthearted and weak. The load of emotions he is under seems unbearable. His heart faints and the knees of his soul are weak. And yet, there seems to be no one who sticks closer than a brother. No one calls. No one encourages. No one helps. It feels as though no one cares. And rather than the pain being lessened by a brother, the absence of a friend makes the pain greater still. Lord, it ought not be so. I pray that you would rouse the hearts of your people to remember what it is to love one in need. I pray that they would see beyond their busyness and see the shadow of those sitting alone in pain. Cause their excuses to be consumed like wood, hay and straw Lord. Help them to remember what it was like to be loved by you when they were unable to love back. Bring to their heart the times they were the ones in need, helplessly hoping for a Samaritan to come along and bandage their wounds. Move them to initiate actions of care and compassion and love Lord. Move them to love ______ today Lord. Move them now, I pray. Amen.

 

ENCOURAGEMENT

 

Be the friend you long to have. Give of your heart what you can and when you can. And wait for God to give you a friend indeed.

 

The Promised land

SCRIPTURE

 

Deuteronomy 11:8-12

 

8 "Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter. 9 If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey! 10 For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain—12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year!

 

 

PRAYER

 

Lord, deep in ______'s heart he longs for a promised land in his life. Circumstances and events have brought hardship, and he may be in a season of life that is much more like Egypt, where everything seems to come by labor and toil. I pray that you would give him the hope a promised land on the horizon of his future. I ask that you would cause the sun to rise on a new season of his life soon. Make his aware that you are beginning to take him there, even now. And Lord, in preparation for that day, draw him closer to you, deepen his love for you, and make him obedient to you in every area of his life. I ask that this commitment to you will give him the strength needed to enter this wonderful place in his life. Give him the faith to believe that you will slay every giant that stands between him and that Promised Land. Amen.

 

 

ENCOURAGEMENT

 

Trust him. Obey him. And when the moment arrives, step forward in faith. He will give you the strength you need to enter this land of his gracious provision.