Giving Thanks Evening Prayer    

Dear God, we thank you tonight for the good day and for the special way you take care of us all the time. Thank you for the fun times outside and the quiet times inside, and for helping us learn new things every day.

Thank you for creating us special, exactly the way you wanted. Thank you for protecting us throughout the day. Forgive us for the wrong things we do. Thank you for loving us even when we disobey or try to do things our way. Help us to always choose your way, God, because it’s always best. We pray for all the people who don’t know you, and that they will come to understand your love for them, too.

Bless our family and thank you for good times together and apart. Bless our friends and those we love, including our grandparents, our aunts and uncles and cousins. Thank you for our home and a place to sleep and good food to eat. Help us rest well, give us peaceful dreams, and send your angels around our home to protect us throughout the night. Teach us to trust you and to love you more and more. You are good; you are great; and you are faithful, God. And we love you. Good night. In Jesus’s precious name, Amen. ~ Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Getting Back on Course   

2 Peter 3:17-18    

No matter how far away from God you have drifted, you're always welcome back. That's the lesson from Jesus' parable about the prodigal son--the foolish boy who followed a pleasure-filled path to ruin before returning to his father and finding redemption (Luke 15:11-32). Perhaps ruin has not yet come to you, but you know that your heart has grown cool to the things of God. Whatever your drifting story, make this the day that you point yourself back to the Lord.

As with any sin, the first motion toward getting back on course is to acknowledge that you have slipped away from the Lord. Then you confess and repent, which is like turning your boat in the opposite direction and paddling toward God with all your strength. If you're wondering exactly how to do that, I suggest a strategy I use every morning. Before I step out of bed, I give myself to God by acknowledging, I surrender my entire life to You for this day. When something comes up that runs counter to His plan and I consider pursuing it, the Holy Spirit reminds me that I am not my own. Only God's way will do for me.

Every day we choose whether to row or drift. As for me, I choose to vigorously pursue God.

Peter gives a warning to be on guard against attitudes and ideologies that would carry you away from truth (2 Peter 3:17). Instead, choose to paddle your lifeboat toward the Lord by meditating on Scripture, praying, and living obediently. Practicing the spiritual disciplines keeps a heart warm toward God.

By Dr. Charles Stanley

A Prayer to Stay Afloat When Your Feet Can't Touch the Bottom   By Jenni Hereen    

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

When I was very young, I went to a backyard pool party. Even though I couldn’t swim yet, I had fun splashing around in the cool water. It was up to my waist and I could laugh and play with my friends. I kept walking until the water was up to my chest. Then, I went a little further and it was up to my shoulders. But it still felt refreshing to be submerged in that icy water on a hot summer day. But then, another couple of steps further and my feet lost their footing and I was pulled under by the force of the water. I was drowning! An adult jumped in and pulled me out and as I sat on the grass panting, I thought, I’ll never do that again!

It can be the same in my walk with God. It’s okay in the beginning, up-to-my-ankles, testing and kicking at the water as I get my bearings. Soon the water is up to my knees but I can still easily reach down and splash around. It’s fun and very refreshing and even seems easy. I’m happily learning about the ways of God. Before I realize it, I’m up-to-my-waist in the living water of God. My learning has gone deeper. I’m grasping bigger concepts but I am also realizing that I can never know everything.

Suddenly, I find myself in water that is too deep to walk across. I have to swim. Therefore, I have to trust God to get me through when I can’t touch the ground.

Remember who God is, as well as His love, grace, patience, and kindness. While I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. He purchased my freedom with His blood and forgave my sins. He continues to show me much kindness and grace even when I’m still messing up so that I can get back up again.

Remember that Christ’s life flows within me. Christ’s life and the Holy Spirit’s constant encouragement pumps through me. That “energy” is inside me, not somewhere out there, so that I can live for God and show His grace and kindness to people all around me. God continually sculpts me so that I can do good works and shine to others.

Remember that Christ’s love is deeper than I think. The more I understand just how wide, how long, how high, and how deep the love of God goes, the more peace I will feel, and when I feel all of that love and peace, I can surrender to His will and ways more and more. 

Remember to lead a life that is worthy of this calling. With this love, kindness, power, and grace flowing within me, it is much easier to live out the Christian life and swim in the deep water where I can’t touch the ground or my own understanding. I am better prepared to live a life of humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness, as well as making the most of my God-given talents to build up God’s church.

Prayer: Dear Lord, strengthen my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and let that faith lead me to love other people just as Christ loved me. May I be always prayerful, always asking God to give me spiritual insight so that I can grow in my knowledge of Him and His love. Let me be filled with hope and point to the rich and glorious inheritance that God bestows on me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God Will Lead Your Way   
by Lynette Kittle    

How are you making decisions in life? Do you believe it’s all up to you or do you rely on God to direct your steps?

You may believe since God gave you free will, it’s for you to choose what to do and where to go. And yes, God has given you the ability to choose but He wants you to choose His ways.

Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages you to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight.”

So by choosing to follow God, you don’t have to depend on your own knowledge because He will lead you. By doing so, you’ll gain the ability to hear His voice. John 10:27 describes how “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Of course, you still have the choice to listen to God or go your own way. If you choose to venture out on your own, you may want to ask yourself if are you listening to your own voice or following another’s leading?

If you’re not sure how to distinguish the various thoughts that come into your mind, 2 Corinthians 10:5 directs you to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

So in a practical, living-it-out daily kind of way, what does this look like?

When the devil tried to lead Jesus astray in the wilderness, Luke 4:1-13 describes how He handled bringing thoughts into captivity. He turned to God’s truth in responding, understanding “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

As Hebrews 4:12 explains, “The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Through studying the Scriptures, Jesus was prepared to reject wrong thoughts from leading Him astray. Like Him, you, too, can prepare yourself to recognize and take ungodly thoughts captive by studying God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15).

If you want to be confident you are hearing God’s voice and following His leading, the key is to know God’s Word. Studying Scripture equips you to recognize His voice and gives you the ability to distinguish between what is true or false.

What's it to You?   
by Kelly Givens    

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at the table close to him… When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” John 21:20-22

Have you ever wondered why God allows some Christians to suffer so much, and others seem to glide through life effortlessly, painlessly? I know many Godly men and women who seem to suffer without end. Their pain is more than I have ever experienced; they’ve faced more trials in a year than I’ve faced in my entire life. Why is that? Am I loved by God more than these people? Are they glorifying God more through their suffering than I can in my blessings?  The comparisons go in all directions.

Comparison was Peter’s go-to when Jesus told him this: “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God). Then he said to him, “Follow me!”  (John 21:18-19).

Jesus was foretelling that Peter, just like himself, would be led to his death, arms stretched out in his own crucifixion. Tradition points to Peter being crucified upside down during Nero’s persecution, not wanting to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord.

I’m not sure if Peter knew then by what kind of death he would die, but no doubt he got the gist of what Jesus was saying. So it’s no surprise that he quickly disregarded Christ’s instruction to “follow me!” Instead, he looked around at the other disciples, spotted John, and exclaimed “Lord, what about this man?”  I wonder if Peter was thinking, “If I have to die a horrible death, does that mean John will die a horrible death, too? If not, why should I go through this trial and not him? Do you love him more than me?”

Our sinful nature is hard-wired to compare. When others seem to get ahead or are seemingly blessed more than us, we grow envious. When the tables are turned and we are the ones being blessed, we might fight the urge to brag or think more highly of ourselves that we ought. Both kinds of comparison are fatal to our faith, and Jesus knows it. So when Peter bluntly asked, “what about this man?” Jesus’ response was clear. “What is that to you? You follow me!”

Peter died a horrible, agonizing death. Most historians agree that all of the other apostles met similar, violent ends to their lives. Except John. John died peacefully in his old age. Why? Because that was how each “was to glorify God.” When God bestows on us blessings we should proclaim his glory joyfully and humbly. But when he allows us to suffer, we have the opportunity to proclaim him King through our hopefulness and faith. God’s glory is what's important, not our circumstances.

“You follow me.” Fixing ourselves on Jesus is the key to fruitful ministry, the key to humility, the key to joy regardless of our circumstances. It’s the key to glorifying God - the true purpose of our lives and ministry.

How quick are you to compare your joys and sufferings to those around you? Comparing our circumstances to others’ is fruitless. Jesus desires us to follow him, and have faith in the plan he has for our lives.

A Prayer to Love the Life You Have    

God, help me love the life I live right now. Show me the good things I often overlook and help me be content with what I have. Forgive me when I compare myself to others, forgive me for longing for things outside of you and your kingdom. Thank you for loving me right where I am, right as I am. Help me keep my eyes on you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. - Nicki Koziarz, Encouragement for Today, Proverbs 31 Ministries