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“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, Berean Study Bible

While spending time at my bestfriend’s house, who I’ve known since college, she blew up an air mattress, and I went to sleep. In the middle of the night, I found some of the air had gone out of the mattress, and I was sinking deep. I said to myself, oh well, I’m not going to make a big fuss about it. I’ll just try to go back to sleep. By the time morning came, she came in the room and saw me completely sunken. I said, “Drea, I’m surrounded.” We bust out laughing. She asked me, “Why didn’t you say anything?” I told her, “I don’t know, I decided to tough it out and not make a big deal about it.” Then I realized I’d done that a lot over the course of my life, especially since becoming a mother. Then I began to tear up, and she said, “I believe God wants you to get back over there and let’s do that again.” So I climbed onto the sunken mattress, and yelled, “Drea!!! Help me!! This mattress is sinking, and I’m surrounded!!” She yelled, “Alright! I’m coming Kesha!!” And she ran over to me and pulled me out. We both just laughed. Now, that’s true friendship.

Prayer: Father God, thank you for reminding me of what true friendship looks like, of how it’s ok to be vulnerable and express my heart, and it’s ok to ask for help. Help me to see friendship the right way, and bless me with the kind of friendship that shows your love, shares your heart, and is filled with your joy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.” Isaiah 61:3, NLT

A seed doesn’t just need water in order to grow; it needs the right amount of water, soil, sunlight, and love. A seed doesn’t get to choose its own soil, the gardener does. When it comes to church membership, you are the seed and the Lord is the Gardener. You must be planted somewhere in order to grow and blossom. You don’t get to choose where you are planted, God does. He chooses the right environment that is perfect for you and your family.

You don’t just need good preaching or a great kids program. You need an environment that’s perfect for your optimum growth and spiritual development. God is the Gardener and where He plants you, you will prosper. Where He plants you, you will be challenged. Where He plants you, you will grow and spread your wings to soar. That place will bring out the best in you and you will in turn give your best back to it.

Are you growing? Are you blossoming? Are you soaring? Are you being challenged? Is your life producing visible results? If not, ask yourself if whether you have been planted by God or if you have chosen your own soil. When you plant yourself, you develop weeds and your life doesn’t produce much. Pray for God to plant you and you will begin to grow and blossom for the glory of God.

Prayer: Father, I pray you direct me to the church that is the right environment for me and my family. I want to give my all in serving your people and learn more about you. Lead me and guide me to where you want me to be planted. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“The Lord God is my strength [my source of courage, my invincible army]; He has made my feet [steady and sure] like hinds’ feet and makes me walk [forward with spiritual confidence] on my high places [of challenge and responsibility].” Habakkuk 3:19, Amplified

No matter how you feel, you are a world changer. You are living in the greatest time in human history, and just when it appears like the devil is winning, God’s grace is abounding. He is moving with great force like a mighty undercurrent. He is sweeping across the world uniting His people, bringing revival and causing His sons and daughters to be revealed. Keep advancing God’s Kingdom. Keep walking in love and humility. Keep persevering by faith. Stay hungry for more of Him. Keep resting in His love. This is a great time to be alive and we have no time to waste. Go into your place of prayer and let God fill you with Himself. Make your relationship with God your top priority. It is the most important relationship in your life.

Prayer: (deep breath) My Father, my God. I receive your words, I receive your fresh wind and I receive your love. You are moving by your Spirit. Help me move with you. I don’t want to be left behind. Set me on fire for you and renew my thirst and hunger for you. Grace me Lord for these days and help to lead a lost and dying world to your Love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.” Psalms 91:15

While in prayer one morning, I was thanking God for how far He had brought me, and for His great deliverance in my life. Then, I heard the Lord say, “I’m not done.”

In Psalms 91:15, it says, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.” Pause and think on that for a moment.

When God delivers you from the hand of the enemy, and when He rescues you from the power of darkness, He has plans to honor you. He has plans to prosper you. He has plans to bless you and make you a living witness and a blessing. You may have experienced some level of His glory and honor in your life, but I’m here to tell you by the Spirit of God, He’s not done with you! He’s not done until you get double for all of the trouble the enemy put you through! He’s not done until He clears your name and restores everything that was stolen from you! He’s not done until everyone who saw your demise watches His glory rise upon your life! He’s not done with you my sister and friend! There is so much more He has in store for you!

Just as He delivered Daniel from the lion’s den and set him in a great place, He will do the same for you because He loves you. Just as He gave Job twice as much as he had before his calamity, He will do the same for you because He loves you. Just as He blessed Joseph who suffered at the hands of his brothers, He will bless you. He will increase you. He will make your name great. He will deliver you, and honor you because He loves you!

Get this in your spirit today. Say it out loud from your mouth right now, “God’s not done with me! He has plans to give me a hope and a bright future. He has plans to prosper me. He is going to do great things, even greater than I could ever hope for or imagine because He loves me and He is good! Hallelujah! Amen!”

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” 2 Corinthians 9:8, Berean Study Bible.

“My grace is abounding toward you, My precious daughter. You have all sufficiency in all things. You will abound toward every good work. It is a good work to be a wife, a mother, a sister and a friend. It is a good work to be a servant in My kingdom and a laborer in My vineyard. My grace will continue to abound and abound and abound toward you so that you can continue to abound and abound and abound toward the work I’ve given you. I see your need and My grace will meet everyone of your needs. Keep your heart fixed on Me and you will see grace poured out upon you right when you need it. You will look up and say, ‘Praise the Lord! God is gracing me! He must want me to continue on!’ And I say to you, yes, I do! And yes, you will!”

(Scripture references: 2 Corinthians 9:11; 1 Peter 4:10; 1 Corinthians 15:58)

“But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” Psalm 3:3

One of the hardest things to do is to step aside and let God handle a situation. You may have been wronged, falsely accused, and mistreated, but as angry as you may feel you have to use wisdom in how you handle it. Place your trust in God and receive His wisdom. He will guide you and instruct you. And if He says, “do nothing”, do nothing. Your nothing gives Him room to do something. He is King and He is in control. Trust that God will vindicate you. Trust that He will clear your name. Trust that He will prepare a table before you right in the presence of your enemies. Trust that He will turn the heart of the king because the king’s heart is in His hands. Move out of the way and let Him be what you need Him to be. The consequences of taking matters into your own hands are endless, but the rewards of letting God fight your battles are great! Move out of the way and let God do it!

Prayer: Yes Lord! I receive your word. You are my God and I am yours. Help me to step aside and let you into this situation. Help me leave it alone and trust you. You knew these things would happen way before I did. Vindicate me Lord. Be my defense. I lift you up and I put my trust in you. I receive your peace now. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

(Read Proverbs 21:1)

“So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes…” Matthew 20:34

Early in my walk with the Lord, I would pray for boldness because I wanted to make a difference in the world, but as I grew spiritually, my prayers changed. Instead of asking God for boldness, I began to pray for an enlarged heart, and there came the boldness I longed for.

Love will make you bold. Love will make you tell someone the truth. Love will make you stand in front of a group of people you don’t know to share what God has given you to say. Love will cause you to lay hands on the sick and believe God to heal them. Love will cause you to feed the hungry and help someone in need. Is not this what Jesus did? We call them miracles, but all Jesus was doing was loving people. He was moved with compassion and it produced countless miracles.

So often we pray for boldness, but I believe God wants to enlarge our hearts and fill us with His love.

Say from your heart, “Father God, you are love and I want to be filled with you completely. Enlarge my heart and soften every hardened place. Change the temperature of my heart from cold and uncaring to blazing hot for you and others. Let your love make me bold. Use me for your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

(Read Matthew 9:36; Psalm 145:8; 1 John 4:18; 2 Timothy 1:7)

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalms 147:3, NIV

Father God, I pray for your daughter, who is reading this right now. If she is suffering from any emotional pain and heartbreak, I pray you go into the deep recesses of her heart and begin to minister your love and your grace into those dark places. Minister your love and your healing power to every place that’s hurting. Remind her that you are her Lord and King. You are on the throne, and everything’s going to be alright. It’s not the end of the world. Just like the sun rises and sets, life goes on. You have a bright future for her. Let her know that no matter what has happened, there is life after heartbreak. You have a new chapter that you are creating for her. Help her to forget those things that are behind and reach forth to those things that are before. Help her to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Write her new chapter Lord, make it juicier, sweeter and more beautiful than the previous chapters of her life. Help her Lord to trust you to make all things new. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalms 103:1-5

Has God ever forgiven you? Has He ever healed you? Has He redeemed your life from destruction? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then sister, you are blessed! There are people in the world who long to be forgiven, who would give anything to experience healing, restoration, and the redemptive power of God. However, you have experienced these things, and you are blessed!

To be blessed means that you are happy, fortunate, admirable and enviable. It means people look upon you and say, “God is good to her!”

Yet, sometimes we forget just how good He has been and how blessed we are. We think about everything that’s not going right, and what God hasn’t manifested yet in our lives. But the Holy Spirit will always lead us to think on God’s goodness. Why? Because He knows if we continue to think on the goodness of God, joy will rise in our hearts and we will be strengthened.

Prayer: Father, you have been so good to me and I thank you. You have forgiven me, healed me, and redeemed me by the blood of Jesus. Thank you Lord for everything you’ve done and continue to do in my life. Help me not to forget all that you’ve done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalms 27:13

When all you’ve known is a life of destructive habits, destructive mindsets, and destructive environments, it can be very difficult to see yourself living a victorious life in God. Because you can’t see it, you don’t move forward in it. This is when we need God to teach us how to live. It is a fear of the unknown that holds us back and hinders us from pursuing God with reckless abandonment. What does it look like for you to overcome and let Him have His way in you? What does it look like for you to live victoriously? What does it look like for you to walk in your purpose?

Imagine yourself victorious in every area of your life. Imagine yourself doing what God has called you to do. Imagine that you are walking in your purpose and every trial you face only makes you stronger and wiser. Imagine it, then pursue it.

My sister, you have not scratched the surface of the vision and purpose God has for your life. You have only tasted a portion of the kind of life He wants to give you. I encourage you to go hard after God. What great things you are capable of doing for God’s kingdom when you focus all of your attention on Him.

Prayer: Father, I am speechless at your love for me. You love me and I am humbled. All I’ve known is a destructive life. Help me not turn back in fear to what’s familiar. Help me to go hard after you, and your purpose for my life. You’ve forgiven me and now be glorified in me. In Jesus name, Amen.