Daily Devotion 1 2 2015

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, send your Spirit, we pray, over us and over the whole world. Let your light dawn on earth among humankind. Reveal your power and let your reign begin. May your will be done, O Lord. We kneel before you on this new day and plead to you. We are weak. Lord, help us. Bless us. Establish your kingdom in our hearts so we follow you and accept your grace. Help us through your strength. Reign over us. Be with us with your Holy Spirit.
In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Lord, our salvation and strength, to you be praise and glory forever. As once you ransomed your people from Egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land, so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May I, the fruit of your new creation, rejoice in this new day you have made, and praise you for your mighty acts.
Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my mind. Give me a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that I may always and in all things act according to Your Holy Will.
I pray all this in Christ's Holy name, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For Faith
Lord God, we come to the break of this new day alive and breathing. We pray that you Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of our minds. Give us a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that we may always and in all things act according to Your Holy Will. Be with us, guide us, protect us and lead us forth to follow you with Faith, Hope and Love. We pray this in Christ's name, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we come in prayer on this new day. Grant us the inner quiet we need so that we may come into your presence and hear you speak, forgetting all the things that try to force themselves upon us. May we experience your true and living support. Keep our hearts glad and thankful for everything, even in grief, anxiety, and suffering. In this thankfulness we can remain with you, and seek your support and help in all that most deeply concerns us. Help us to stand firm and strong in faith. We entrust ourselves to you. Keep us in your Spirit. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, as we awaken to this new day, we thank you that we have you with us. We thank you that we can know you are leading us by your hand. Give us your Spirit of understanding so that we may always see your mighty and powerful hand guiding us on all our ways. Help us where we fall short. Help us, for we are weak and are often in situations where we cannot help ourselves. But you are strong. You give light to our hearts. Watch over us. May your Spirit grow stronger and stronger within us each and every day as we go forth to serve you. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we thank you for giving us your love, for letting us draw nearer to what is right and good. May your Spirit penetrate everywhere, overcoming what is false and helping people everywhere to understand the true nature of your justice. Guard us on all our ways. Protect us when our bodies and our lives are worn down by sickness and distress of every kind. Grant us your help according to your truth and righteousness.
Let us remember you when we rise and keep you with us all day and every waking moment. Let us sleep each night in peace, confident that we will rise with your sun once again, in the time you have chosen for us. Be with us and lead us each and every day. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Seasons of Suffering, Seasons of Joy (James 5:13)
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. - James 5:13

Life is filled with highs and lows. Navigating the ups and downs of life can be a challenge. Thankfully the Bible gives us some insight on how to approach our hardships and our joy. God doesn’t leave us on our own in either season. In our lives, there is no struggle that He isn’t present for or celebration He doesn’t know about.

What does God say about the hard times? The enemy of our souls wants to speak the lie of aloneness in our ears when things start to feel like more than we can handle. We become paralyzed in the belief that no one is there to support us, thoughts of guilt may stop us from being open about our struggles, and the idea that no one can understand what we are going through can keep us stuck alone.

Without the support of others or a strong grasp on God’s love for you in those hard moments, hopelessness can begin to set in like an ugly fast spreading disease. The Bible tells us that “hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12). This is precisely why the Bible instructs us to turn to God in prayer when we suffer.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, on this new day, let your light shine out. Be with us on our way. May we have clear eyes and hearts through your Word and your Spirit. Through temptations and struggles be always with us, lighting our way to what is right and good. Protect and bless us. Move our hearts from their very depths to thank you for all you have done for us, to praise you, and to glorify you. You gave us life, and you also give us the gift of infinite joy. Give us the strength to move forward on the path you’ve laid out for us. Guide us towards better health and give us the wisdom to identify those you’ve placed around us in our daily lives. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, on this new day we look to you in prayer.
You are near to all who call on you, to all who call on you in truth.
Hold us always by the hand. Reveal to us that you hear us, that you are among us providing what is best for us, to the glory of your name. In this hour let us experience something from you, the good and merciful One. May we always be glad and thankful for all we have already received from you and for all we are still to receive in our lives. Be with us as we go forth. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

How to Cast Your Cares Upon the Lord
“Cast your cares upon the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” – Psalm 55:22

I want God to speak to you with the verse above, and I want you to apply it to your life today. In other words, as hard as it may be or seem right now, cast your cares upon the Lord and stand your ground. Keep the faith no matter what and believe in His keeping and strengthening power.

I know when life gets heavy or negative or fearful thoughts invade your mind, it’s normal to run away with your emotions for a bit. But I beckon you, try to rise above it. Now, don’t get me wrong. If you’re dealing with something really heavy such as loss, it is completely normal to cry, grieve, curl up in a ball for a moment, because when things like that happen, God knows exactly where you are in that moment. But I also want to encourage you to rest in the comfort of others as well as in His BIG supernatural arms. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, as the sun rises on this new day, we come into your presence and ask you to help us. Help us in every part of our lives, even when we do not understand. Be with us with your Spirit. Guide and lead us with your hand. Let your will be done in all things, even if we must bear suffering. Your will is for good alone and you will set everything right. Help us and bless us through your Word, through everything we are allowed to hear from you, our God and our Father.
We thank you for filling our hearts with such great trust. We thank you for all we are given in our lives, above all that we can draw strength from you and stand strong. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

What it Means to be “Holy for I Am Holy”

“But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, ‘Be ye holy; for I am holy,’” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

What’s meant by “holy” in 1 Peter 1:15-16? The word translated “holy” means sacred, morally blameless, consecrated, saint (see Strong’s G40 for more). God is looking for some people who are consecrated or set apart for His use. And He knows who those holy ones should be because He chose us (Ephesians 1:4) and called us to be holy for His purpose (2 Timothy 1:9).

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Ephesians 1:4).

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.” (2 Timothy 1:9).

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, another day we are blessed with. We kneel before you and worship you and open our hearts to you. We don't know what lay before us today, but we commit it all to You. Please give us strength and courage to get through the joys, challenges and happenings of this day. We thank You for our life and for all that we have. Be with us as we go forth to serve and do your will. We commit this day to You. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we arise on this new day to worship you, for you come to meet us everywhere and you reveal your glory on our earth. Let us become worthy of you, people who can represent you with our whole being. Give us the strength to endure, even through struggles and temptations. Be merciful to us at all times. May we remain body and soul in your hands, that we may come to you, our Father in heaven, as your children, blessed through the Holy Spirit. Lead us forth this day. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we ask in prayer that you shine your face upon us on this new day. We pray, that we may keep you ever in our sight.
We thank you that you lead us on all our paths. Together we praise your name. We plead with you, stay with us, especially on our daily journey through life. Look down upon us and wrap us in your spiritual armor. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Christ to be with Us
Lord God, we are blessed to be brought to the light of this new day.
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us wherever He may lead us.
May He guide us through the wilderness, protect us through the storm.
May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown us.
May He bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors.
All this we pray in Christ's name, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, hear us as we pray to you on this new day. We entrust ourselves and our daily lives to you. We want to be faithful to you and ask to keep us in your Spirit. Surround us with your protection, so that in body and soul we may praise Your might and be joyful even in a world full of evil. Shine into our hearts, that we may discern what is right and good and eternal. May you do more than we can ask or understand for those who still walk in darkness far away from you. May your eternal mercy enfold them, and may the earth be filled with thanks to you, the Creator and Father of us all. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Morning Prayer
Lord God, as I face this new day, let us be aware of the work you have done for us as we slept. I praise you that your loving care never slumbers, but has been with us while we are least aware of it; and that you renew me and the whole world, fresh every day, preparing your plans for us.
I pray that I may seek your will this day, your plan for my life, and carry out your plan in my every action. I lay my hopes and fears on an altar before you, that your Holy Spirit may guide my hopes toward the light of your holiness, and may quiet my fears with the knowledge of your infinite peace, in total confidence that your grace will save me from the evils of this world. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, our living source of all that is eternal in us, we come before you this day and ask of you to strengthen the gifts you have given us. Grant us the light of life in which we can walk in spite of the many burdens and uncertainties of our earthly life. Protect us from deception and disappointment. Strengthen our hope for your steadfast, firm, and eternal rule in us, in many others, and finally in all people. Be present with us in all we are called to do. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we are led by your Spirit on this new day as we are your children. As we go forth let us lay our lives into your hands to be made good and strong. Care for us like a shepherd pasturing his flock so that we can have community with one another. We thank you that your eyes watch over all the world. We thank you that your rule is over all humankind and will bring good to all people, wherever they may live. May your hand keep us all close to you the Father in heaven. Be with us this day. In Christ we pray, Amen.