Father God, You do not grow tired or weary. You are not surprised when we try to fix things without You. You even let us have our own way, so that we can eventually come around to seeing how foolish we really are. Without You, we inevitably wear ourselves out spinning our wheels and getting nowhere. Keep us from stubbornness and gently bring us back to surrender at Your feet.
Lord Jesus, help us to see that when we don’t surrender our life to You, we surrender to death. You are our guarantee of eternal salvation. We have no other hope, but You. Help us to act in faith and trust You not only for our own life, but also for that of our families. May our children and our children’s children look to You alone for all that is good, both temporal and eternal.
Holy Spirit, there is no confusion in Your instructions about what You require of us. Help us to be willing to give away everything that sustains us temporarily to gain eternal life with You. There is no comparison between what we give up here on earth to have what only You can give us, not only in this life but also the next.
Father God, give us the strength and the endurance to get up every day and walk towards You. Grace us with your mercy when we come into Your presence. Remind us that if we have Your mercy, we have everything that we need to put our lives back together.
Lord Jesus, You have given every single one of us the ministry of reconciliation with our Father and with each other. You find no joy in broken relationships. Give us the wisdom to know which relationships we need to pursue for Your kingdom. Give us even more wisdom to know which relationships we need to leave behind because they draw us away from You. All things are possible with You. Above all else, draw us into a closer relationship with You and may its fruit overflow into all our other relationships.
Holy Spirit, shine Your light in our hearts bright as the noonday sun so that we do not deceive ourselves. Keep us from acting like victims when we are living out the consequences of our own sin. Open our eyes to see that it is often our unconfessed sin and guilt that leads to unnecessary fear and anxiety. Help us to live in awe of You alone so that we are fearless in this age and the ages yet to come.
Father God, be gracious to us in Your unfailing love. Keep us from living in ways that bring You sorrow and make You hide Your face from us. In Your presence, there is joy and truth. Forgive us when we try to emphasize one over the other. Reassure us with Your peace when our hearts are troubled and we’re unsure of what lies ahead.
Father, Son, and Spirit, with You we have abundant life both today and for all eternity. Keep us from delaying and depriving ourselves of the double portion that You have for us. When we do things without You, we miss out on sufficiency and efficiency and we die twice, physically and spiritually. May we be willing to give up everything we have, twice over, to have life in You alone.
