devotions

“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 103:2-5, NKJV.

Lately, God has been helping me to realize just how blessed I am. So often other people can see how blessed we are more than we can. We tend to forget. But God told me that He wants us to see how blessed we are and begin to thank Him and praise Him every day for His many blessings in our lives.

Even when you’re having a bad day, when things aren’t working out the way you thought it would, and when people aren’t behaving the way they should, you can refuse to complain, refuse to be downcast and refuse to be negative because you know you are blessed!

Prayer: Father God, thank you for blessing me! Forgive me for every time I’ve complained and was negative. You are good to me and I bless your name! Help me to keep my eyes on you. Help me to see how blessed I am. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Praise the LORD, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.” Psalm 144:1

Lay down the fleshly weapons you’ve been using. Lay it at God’s feet and take up His spiritual weapons. One key weapon He has given you is your praise. At the sound of your hallelujah, demons flee. They run at the clap of your hands and tremble at the shout of your voice. You are a weapon created in Christ Jesus, and you were made to praise the Lord. You are a victim no more. You are more than a conqueror through Jesus, and it is time to fight. God will deliver you from all your fears, troubles, and affliction. But deliverance doesn’t always mean He will pull you out. To deliver also means to equip you for the fight. He will help you confront what is threatening to destroy you. He is teaching your hands to war. By Him, you can run through a troop of enemies. By Him, you can leap over a wall. By His Spirit, you can bend a bow of bronze with your arms. You are God’s princess warrior, and He is teaching you how to war!

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for blessing me on today with your words. Teach my hands to war. I lay down the weapons I’ve been using, and I take up your holy armor. I surrender to you, and I rise your princess warrior. I am more than a conqueror through you! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Read 2 Corinthians 10:4; Psalm 71:8; Psalm 18:34; 2 Samuel 22:35)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” James 1:5, NKJV.

“Receive My wisdom for your life. As you go about your day, look for My wisdom all around you. It will rest on you like dust. Look all around you and see the wisdom I have provided for you. Have not I said, he that finds wisdom finds life and obtains favor of Me? The wisdom I have for you to receive will give you life and not take life from you. The life I give to you will resurrect you. You thought you were gone. You thought My plans were no more, but no, I have plans to prosper you, but you must find My wisdom. Investigate until you find what I long for you to see. The favor you desire to walk in, it’s yours as you walk in My wisdom and the counsel of My word. If you lack wisdom, come to Me? I will not refuse you. I will show you what to do. I will guide you as you lean into Me, humble yourself, and worship Me. Don’t you see? To fear and reverence Me, seek Me first, and love Me with your whole heart is wisdom. Look around you and see, your roots are deepening in Me. And though others may not yet see, they will look and behold great fruit coming forth from your tree in due season. It’s all due to the wisdom you’re discovering in knowing Me. Fools despise it, but My daughter, draw near it. I say to you again; My wisdom rests on you like dust. Look all around you and see the wisdom I have provided for you.”

(Read Proverbs 8:35; Luke 2:52; Proverbs 2:7; James 1:5-8)

“For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds” 2 Corinthians 10:4, Amplified.

From the time you were a little girl until now, the devil has been diligently working at building strongholds in your mind. Every time you experienced hurt or pain, he sought to build a new structure. Whenever someone betrayed you, he told you that you would never trust anyone ever again. Whenever someone abused you, he told you that you were not worthy of love. With every lie you received as true, he established a new stronghold in your mind. If given enough time, Satan will create an entire network of strongholds that completely distorts your view of everything around you. A stronghold affects how you view God, how you view yourself, and how you view others.

The only way to tear down and completely demolish strongholds is with the truth of God’s Word. It’s His truth that sets us free, which is why it’s important that we establish a relationship with God’s Word, by spending time reading our Bible and looking for ways to apply its’ principles to our lives. The more truth you receive in your heart, the more it will affect how you view things and how you respond to the challenges you face.

Prayer: Father God, thank you for speaking to directly to my heart. I receive your Word in my heart. I receive your truth and I thank you that the power of your Word destroys every stronghold in my mind that’s been distorting my view of you, myself and others. Bless me LORD with right views and a right perspective so I can be free to live the life I was born to live and fulfill your purpose and plan. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“…I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Philippians 3:13

One night I went to sleep, feeling very discouraged. When I woke up the next morning, the Lord led me to step outside for a talk with Him. I looked out at the sunrise, heard the chirping sound of the birds, and the wind blowing in the trees. Then God spoke to my heart, “Has the earth stopped?” I said, “No.” “Has the sun stopped shining?” I replied, “No.” Then the Lord said to me, “So it is with life. Life goes on. The world doesn’t come to an end, My daughter, just because someone disagrees with you. The world doesn’t come to an end just because someone abandons you or chooses to no longer support you. The world doesn’t stop just because you made a mistake. Life goes on.”

God wants to teach us how to move forward and how to bounce back. You can’t remain stuck in yesterday. No matter what has happened in your life, know that everything is alright in Christ. If God has orchestrated His creation to continue to go on throughout the ages, He can help you continue to go on as well. He is most faithful. Your world hasn’t come to an end, no matter what the devil is saying. Take a look outside, my dear. The sun is still shining. The birds are still chirping. The wind is still blowing in the trees. So if that is the case, there is still hope for you. Continue to shine for His glory. Continue to move forward through Christ. Continue to show how faithful your God is.

Prayer: My Lord, thank you for encouraging my heart. Thank you for helping me see how life goes on. My world doesn’t come to an end just because of the situations I face. Keep teaching me Lord how to move forward from disappointment and how to walk in newness of life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“He delivered me from my strong enemy…” Psalms 18:17

Your enemy may be strong, but you are stronger through Christ Jesus. The situation may be tough, but you are tougher through Christ Jesus. Understand that God has assigned His angels to guard around you and protect you. Satan has also assigned demonic forces to come against you, but thank God; He will cause you to conquer what has been sent to conquer you. The Lord will cause you to overcome what has been sent to overcome you. You are chosen by God, my sister, and you will fulfill every detail of His purpose and plan for your life come hail or high water. The enemy is after your purpose, but the greater one lives in you!

Prayer: Father God, thank you for speaking to my heart by your Holy Spirit. Thank you for giving me the victory over my enemies. Thank you for assigning your strong angels to protect me and guard your purpose for my life. Help me, Lord, to overcome my strong enemy. Your strength is in me. The greater one lives in me. Help me to conquer what’s been sent to conquer me. Help me fulfill your purpose for my life come hail or high water. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(Read 1 Corinthians 15:57; Isaiah 54:17; Philippians 4:13; 1 John 4:4)

“The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.” Proverbs 17:3

“You are facing a similar test that you may have failed before, but this time you will have a kingdom response. You will pass and you will experience promotion in Me. The test is necessary for your promotion. It shows you how far you’ve grown in Me. The test shows you how much you’ve learned in Me. So don’t be offended by adversity. Don’t be offended when the same trial meets you at the door. You’re not the same person you were before. You’re different now, and you will overcome this time by My grace and power. A new promotion awaits. Yes, this is the way of My Kingdom. I operate by the spiritual laws of My Kingdom. Whenever I desire to bless you and take you higher in Me, I will allow you to face a test, knowing you will pass. It may feel like the test is too hard for you, but nothing is too hard for you because nothing is too hard for Me. I live in you, and you live in Me, and I will help you overcome everything that comes your way. I will promote you greatly. Says the Lord.”

(Scripture references: Deuteronomy 8:2; Psalm 17:3; Jeremiah 17:10; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Psalm 66:12-13; Jeremiah 32:17)

“Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]” James 5:16, Amplified.

With all of the challenges my husband and I faced over the 20 years that we have been together, one reason I stayed with him was because I didn’t want to leave and someone else reap the benefits of all the prayers I have prayed for him. I knew God was going to transform his life, I just didn’t know when. I knew God would help him learn how to lead our family, but I didn’t know when. I knew God was going to show my husband how to be the man He called him to be, I just didn’t know how or when. I prayed for him more than I prayed for myself, and God has answered my prayers.

A trick of the enemy is to cause a woman to become so hardened in her heart towards a man that she no longer prays for him with compassion and faith. Her heart is so angry that her once humble and sweet prayers turn into a bitter venting session about what he is and is not doing.

For a real man to change, it requires the hand of God. No matter how good the sex is, how good the cooking is, how fine your body is, or how encouraging your words are in his ears, it takes the power of God’s Holy Spirit working in a man’s heart and mind to bring true change. It also requires your faith and your patience.

I believe that every man wants to be the man God created them to be, they just don’t know how. Keep praying and interceding for him in your private time with God. Declare that he is a Psalms 112 man and other scriptures God leads you to declare over his life. He may be a good man, but God desires to make him into His man who He can use to fulfill His purpose and plan. God is no respecter of persons. What He has done for me and countless of others, He will do for you!

Prayer: Father God, thank you for ministering to my heart. I pray for the man you have given me. Way before he was mine, he belonged to you. You love him far more than I ever could. I ask that you cause him to see himself the way you see him. Open his heart to receive your love and your wisdom. Teach him how to lead our family. Help me to believe the truth of your Word and to be patient. Help me to be the wife he needs and to see him the way you see him. Make him into the man you destined him to be. In Jesus ‘name, Amen.

Read Romans 8:34; Hebrews 10:36

Recommended Resources: Stormie Omartian “The Power of a Praying Wife”

“…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:21

“Reconciliation is in the air. Reconciliation to Me, to My assignment, to the mission I’ve called you to, and to your sisters and brothers in Christ. Reconciliation is taking place all throughout My Body. It doesn’t matter who is right. It doesn’t matter if you agree. All that matters to Me is that you operate as one. I am doing what only I can do by My Spirit. I am softening hearts. I am renewing minds. I am helping My people to see the need for unity.”

(Scripture references: Psalm 133:1; Philippians 2:1; Ephesians 4:13; Ephesians 4:2-3)

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives” Psalms‬ ‭37:23‬, NLT‬‬.

My sister, the Lord has ordered your steps and He is in full control. While things may seem chaotic, from His vantage point, it’s going according to plan.

Say out loud from your heart today:

“The Lord directs my steps. He delights in every detail of my life. He is in full and complete control. No matter how chaotic things may seem, I trust it’s going according to His plan. I am right where I need to be because I’m in the Lord and He’s in me. So I cast all of my cares right now on the Lord because He truly cares for me.”

(Read 1 Peter 5:7)