“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
God arrested my heart one day. “He said, why do you pray with no real expectation of Me? You don’t believe I will do what you asked for? You cry and weep and pray fervently before Me, and then you forget what you’ve asked for and don’t recognize when I’ve done it.”
If there’s one thing I know how to do ladies, I know how to pray. But that alone is not good enough in God’s Kingdom. We must also know how to receive what we’ve asked for and be able to recognize when it manifests.
The truth is, some of us like to pray just to hear ourselves talk. We pray out of a sense of duty or obligation. But those are the wrong reasons. If you’re going to communicate with a mighty God, pray with great expectations. Be on the look out for His promise to show up at any given moment.
Contrary to how things may look for you right now, this is your year of miracles! This is your year of manifestation! God will give you stored up treasures from your heavenly account. He will send rain where there’s been drought. He will protect you from all harm. He will provide supernaturally. He will bless you with a deeper walk with Him. Recognize it when it happens and praise Him.
Prayer: Thank You Father God for your rich words to Me. I love you, Lord, and I appreciate your desire to bless me. Help me to stay in position to receive. Help me to not be moved by how things appear. Help me to not forget what I’ve prayed for, but to stay in high expectancy of you to do what you promised. Thank you in advance! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs” Zephaniah 3:17, NLT.
Like a mother that receives you into her arms and sings over you, calming all your fears and comforting you, God sings over you. He is a mother to the motherless. A father to the fatherless. A friend to the friendless. He comforts, gives hope, consoles and yes, He even sings.
Whenever you reach a point in life when you don’t feel at your best, listen for the song that rises up out of your spirit and onto your tongue. Don’t be surprised when the lyrics express exactly what you are feeling. It’s God singing over you with His love.
Prayer: Father, just as mothers sing over their children, it’s a blessing knowing You sing over me. Thank you for how You express Your love towards me in this way. I receive Your comfort and love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14
If you’re going to be anything in life, be yourself. When I started out in ministry, the LORD told me the more I be myself in Him, the more of His glory I would see. I kept praying to see His glory manifested in my life, and the more I prayed, the more Holy Spirit challenged me to let it all go and be the person He created me to be. It is most challenging. I used to say I’d rather go skydiving and do something courageous rather than be someone courageous. Isn’t that something? So the LORD took me to Ephesians 2:10, where it says, we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which He before ordained that we should walk in them. Every good work that God preordained for you to walk in is intimately connected to you first being who He created you to be. Often we want to focus on doing, but God’s focus is on us being. The more you be yourself in Him, my sister, the more God will position you to do the good works you were created to do in the earth.
Prayer: Father God, thank you for speaking directly to my heart. Help me experience the freedom and beauty in simply being who you created me to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Read 2 Timothy 1:9)
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” John 14:12
No weakness, insecurity, set back, or negative words spoken over you are strong enough to stop God’s great and preordained plans for your life. When He called you, He already knew every mistake you were going to make. He already factored it in. He knew every giant you would have to face. Before you were formed in your mother’s womb He knew you and He has chosen you for such a time as this. There is a reason you survived when others around you didn’t. There is a reason you are still alive and still standing. You are here for a divine purpose.
Receive in your heart God’s great plans for your life. Receive His great grace to do what He’s called you to do. Even if you can’t wrap your mind around it, receive it anyway. Just know that He is preparing you for greater. Know that He has equipped you with all that you need in Christ. Greater levels of faith are awaiting on you. Greater operations in the gifts of the Spirit are awaiting you. Greater manifestations of healing and power, greater knowledge and awareness of who He is, and a greater and deeper walk with Him will be yours.
God has greater in mind for you.
Prayer: Father, You are so great and awesome. I put my trust in You. Whatever you want to do, I yield to you. Take me higher than I’ve ever gone before. When life becomes challenging for me, help me remember that the Greater One lives within me. You’ve called me to do great things, and I accept it now. Be glorified in me Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Read Jeremiah 1:5; Daniel 11:32)
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].” 2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV.
Whenever I’m handing my youngest baby to my husband, I don’t let my daughter go until my husband assures me that he’s got her. Why? Because I refuse to let her fall.
Hear the word of the Lord whispering to you, “I’ve got you, My daughter! I’m holding on to you and I refuse to let you fall.”
He’s got you!
You may be in a place you’ve never been before, seeing things you’ve never seen before, doing things you’ve never done, but the LORD’s got you. Your life is in His hands and your heavenly Father is holding you by His strength and power. He wouldn’t help you get to where you are and then leave you. He’s there to help you go from faith to faith and from glory to glory. Though you may feel afraid, God’s got you! Let His perfect love drive out all fear from your heart and mind, as you learn how to rest in His love for you. Remember how much He loves you as you stand in a new place. You are carrying God’s light like a glowing torch and His glory is rising upon your life. He is with you. He’s got you!
Prayer: Hallelujah! Thank you Father for speaking directly to my heart. Even when I feel afraid, I find comfort in knowing you’ve got me and you won’t let me fall. You love me with an unfailing love and you are with me in a great way. Help me to keep my eyes on You as you hold me close. I trust you LORD with all my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Read 1 John 4:18; Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 6:10-18)
“Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6, New Living Translation (NLT)
The Hebrew definition for the word “seek” is to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication to seek or ask; specifically to worship. In the English Dictionary, to seek is to attempt to find (something).
The reason there aren’t many seekers of the Lord is because we have the wrong perspective of what it means to seek. Our seeking is more than an attempt to find something. It is how we worship; it is a full persuasion that God is who He said He is, and He will do everything He promised He will do.
The truth is, every Christian isn’t seeking God. Just because you are praying doesn’t mean you are seeking God. To seek is to frequent God’s company and search His Word for wisdom and direction until you receive what He has promised you. It is constantly asking, “OK Lord, I did step one. Now, what is step two? OK, I’ve obeyed You here. Now, what do You want me to do next?” It is constantly checking in with Him to navigate you to the victory He’s promised you.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your divine insight. I ask that you give me the heart of a seeker. I don’t know everything and I can’t get to Your promises for my life without You directing me and instructing my heart. Help me to get this message in my heart and cause Your truth to produce visible results in my life. In Jesus name, Amen.
(Read Isaiah 45:19; 1Chronicles 28:9; 2Chronicles 19:3; Job 8:5; Psalms 14:2, Psalms 27:8)
“…your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” Matthew 6:4, NKJV
“I see your secret walk before Me, and I will reward you openly. When I do it, no one will have anything to say about it. Their only response will be, surely God’s hand is on her life. Surely God is with her. Surely He has blessed her. Don’t you see? I see in secret. In your hiding place, I hear your hidden requests, your secret prayers, your secret whispers in the night. What you’ve done in secret has been seen by heaven, and I will respond. All of My Kingdom and My angelic host has seen your secret walk, your stance, your words, prayers, petitions, tears, and your faith, and there will be a divine response from all of Me. It will be undeniable. My love for you is undeniable. My hand on your life is undeniable. All will see what I see so plainly in you. Like a caterpillar in a cocoon that soon turns into a butterfly. You are wrapped in Me, and I am covering you gently. I am doing a work in secret that will produce great things openly for you. This can’t be rushed. This can’t be hurried. All will see what I see so plainly in you. You are a called daughter, a loved daughter, a beautiful and blessed flower in My garden and a sweet praise to Me. Says the Lord Who made you.”
(Read Matthew 6:6; 1 Samuel 2:30; Psalm 17:3)
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Number 23:19, ESV
God will never let the pain of your past outweigh the glorious future He has in store for you. He is faithful! He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He has the final say in your life. He is not one to dangle a carrot in front of you knowing you will never obtain it. That’s not in His nature and that is not His character. If He showed it to you, you can believe you will obtain it. If He spoke it to you, you will see it manifested in your life.
Cast all of your cares on Him, every single one, because He cares greatly for you. He is covering you with His favor as with a shield and it has nothing to do with your ability or inability. He has given you the victory through Jesus. You will walk in victory in every area of your life. He has not brought you this far to leave you. He is with you and He has the final say. He is determined to be glorified!
Say out loud from your heart, “God is determined to be glorified in my life. He will be glorified in my home, in my body, in my family! He is faithful! He will keep His promise, and He will keep me. He will see me through to victory! He will not let the pain of my past outweigh His glorious future for my life! So I rejoice in my God who is not ashamed to be called my God and my King!”
Now shout the victory and praise the Lord your God because He is faithful!
(Read 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 1 Peter 5:7)
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
Growing up, I was a very shy kid. I remember the first time I stood in front of my class to talk, my knees buckled and everyone laughed. The first time I sung in front of my mother and uncle, she said with excitement in her voice, Ohhhhhhhh, she can sing! Then I started to cry and never sung again. The first time I gave a speech in front of my church, I felt nervous and started to cry. Being out front, with all eyes on me, caused me to feel very afraid. But when I surrendered my life to Jesus, I surrendered to Him all fears and insecurities. I grew bolder and more confident every time I accepted the challenges of His Holy Spirit. That doesn’t mean I never felt afraid again. When Holy Spirit told me that it was time to begin doing DOTK LIVE, I had a panic attack. I said, “Lord, I just want to write devotionals! I want to stay behind the computer.” But He said, “People need more personal ministry. Trust Me, you’re going to love it” and He was right!
My sister, maybe you hate the spotlight and being the center of attention. Maybe you turn down promotions because you are afraid of everyone looking to you as the leader. Maybe you have dealt with fear of walking in your purpose because it requires you to speak up and stand out. I’m here to tell you, the same Holy Spirit that empowers me and gives me courage and confidence when I feel afraid, is the same Holy Spirit who will empower you at every turn. People will see God’s Spirit at work in your life and will be amazed by His light. Speak to the little girl in you. Give her permission to shine for God’s glory.
Prayer: Father God, thank you for loving me with a perfect love that drives out all fear. You did not give me a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love and a sound mind. Help me to walk courageously and confidently in your plan and purpose. Help me stay reminded that no matter how afraid I feel, those are just feelings. It’s not who I am. I am your daughter and you got my back. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]” Colossians 3:15, Amplified.
The peace of God is the umpire of our hearts. He calls every thought, idea or pending decision safe or unsafe. He gives us a red light that provides us with caution and an inward green light that let us know that it is ok to proceed. Sometimes we tend to override God’s peace, and we later find ourselves saying, “Something told me not to do that.” Well, it wasn’t something; it was Someone. The peace of God is our safe guide and He will never lead us to do something that goes against God’s word.
Just as you would get to know a new friend, become better acquainted with peace. Let it call every thought, idea, or pending decision safe or unsafe. Invite the peace of God into your moment by moment decisions, and let it rule as umpire of your heart.
Prayer: Father, I thank You for being the umpire of my heart. I pray your peace reigns and rules in my life. Even in the midst of chaos, overtake me with your peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.