Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

  We... do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing to all, being fruitful in every good work and increasing the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His glorious power... Colossians 1:9-11a Not Timid Prayers If I'm not careful a verse like this rolls over me so fast that I don't notice the details. It says He's unceasing. What is Paul asking (that I can learn to ask of my believing friends and family)? 1. The knowledge of His will. That's good. He goes big. He says the knowledge of His will in ALL wisdom and spiritual understanding. This is not a timid prayer. I don't need to be timid in prayer either. 2. Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. I get to, I must, pray for those believers I care so much about like this too. Why wouldn't I? If I can pray powerful prayers like this, we all win. Th

  Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord ,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah - Psalm 32:5 Mercifully Convict A prayer which I pray for myself, my friends, and my family goes like this: Lord, may they seek your face. May you mercifully convict them of sin. May they repent and accept your love and forgiveness. May they delight in you. May they find joy in the work of their hands. Why do I pray that? Because, for so many years, I did not acknowledge much of my sin. Well, only the "big" stuff that clobbered me over the head. I kept "smaller" sins to myself. I denied them. Not verbally to others but to myself. I excused myself or justified my thoughts. And when those "little" sins built up, unconfessed, they became a burden too heavy to bear. But what if I was open to God's conviction? What if I don't do the dance of denial, but instead seek His face; I begin to

  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them. - Mark 11:24 When Believers Talk to God Believers talk to God. Right? Talking to God is not simply adding CO2 into the air, or moving electrical thought pulses around my brain. It is talk. It's engaging with the one true God. "Always pray in the Spirit," He says. I am reading a verse which says WHATEVER you ask, BELIEVE, and YOU WILL HAVE them. This verse is written for the children of God. That matters. Because His children know how to ask for good things. They are redeemed, washed. When I act like a heathen, the prayer He awaits is a prayer of repentance, restoring the relationship. If I am not seeking His face, He is pressuring me to do it. God is Not a Casino When I am filled with the Spirit, walking in the light, I am filled with good desires, and He answers those with joy. He loves to answer the prayers of His children. God is not a casino. So

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16 Inner Fight I am a blessed believer, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Dearly loved. And I am weak. It seems like every day there is some kind of inner fight. Anger, grief, jealousy. And there's the pride, every single day. It's almost like I need to do a regular pride check. Like the dash light that tells me that my tire is low, I need a humility check. And Jesus, the King of kings, sympathizes with my weakness. This is particularly hard for me to internalize. I can have a wrong-headed message in my head that says, “You’re on your own here.” Or, “You need to go to the spiritual gym and workout to make yourself worthy enough to come to God; then, He’ll pay attention to you.” Lies.

  The Lord is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity. - Psalm 145:18 I will not get left out. I believe. The Lord is near. To all who... I'm pausing right there to read just that much. Now: To all who call out to Him. I have often missed this part. I have felt left out. But see, I wasn't calling out. If I call out, I will not get left out. God requires a relationship. For me to call out humbly, is part of that relationship. Then, the verse qualifies it more: those who call out to Him with integrity. In lots of other versions where this version uses the word integrity, they use the word truth... to all who call out to Him in truth. How many times have my prayers been little more than my mouth moving with a puff of air coming out between my lips? Believe that He exits. This is like where the book of James says, "...ask in faith with no doubting." The idea is to believe He is good. He answers. Hebrews 11:6 says it like this: Now without fait

Seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29 Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 My seeking is motivated by my pain. I have not been a seeker. I've been a waiter. I've waited. But God is changing me. I am becoming a seeker. Little by little. My seeking comes out of my own pain at first. Then, the Lord opens my eyes and I see more. Do I seek with all of my heart and with all of my soul? Sometimes, I think. But the Lord is seeking me. And I am responding more and more. He is calling and I am not turning a deaf ear; I am listening. Now. Today. I am asking. Today. Right now. I repent for not seeking in the past. And now, I am asking. Now, I am seeking. Today, I knock. Everyone who asks, receives. And the Lord says that EVERYONE w

  The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.  Psalm 145:15 I am a believer who falls. I am a believer who falls. I fall physically. I pick up something too heavy and hurt my back. I fall relationally. I can show a lack of kindness where it would have meant so much to someone. I fall spiritually. I fail to seek the Lord when He is right with me. (Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.) I have spent so much of my life embarrassed by my falling, that I've tried to cover it up over and over again. When I cover, I corrupt the healing process; I create more pain, spreading it to my loved ones. My pride says, "I should never fall." But here's the good news (can you feel a brand new day!). The Lord helps the fallen. He does. My pride says, "I should never fall." How much better it is to say, "I fell down today!" Rather than, "I'm good; nothing to look at here." He helps the fallen. And even when I dig a hole

  Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Paul Knows the Lord's Power The Lord says don't be shy about my requests! Right? Here's what I mean... This is a prayer, written in a letter to a church from the apostle Paul. Look at this prayer. "May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace ALWAYS IN EVERY WAY." I can't tell you how many times I have rushed through these verses, never pausing to understand what they are teaching me about prayer and how powerful it is. We know from scripture that prayer is powerful. We know we can pray for others, in this case, other believers. Paul is not timid; He knows the Lord's power. Over-The-Top Request First, He establishes that he is asking the Lord of peace. That means he is going straight to the top with his request. He is asking the One who can actually deliver on the request. He's asking that they be granted peace from the Lord of peace.

  Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake, for Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. Psalms 143:11 I don't want to admit it... Sometimes my prayers are quick. Sometimes they are thought out. And sometimes they come from a deeply felt hurt. Yet, I have often failed to pray even when I was feeling those deep hurts. Why? Probably my pride. I don't want to admit it when I'm laid low. I want to act like I've got it all together, even in front of God. I get embarrassed. I must bring that embarrassment to Him and confess it. He knows it all anyway. Why do I hold back. Something about sin and hurt make me want to hide, to pretend even. To deny. He displays His righteousness... He wants me to ask Him for help! The Lord of glory. The King above all kings. Wants ME to ask for His help. He loves it. He isn't interested in me working through all of this without Him -- work, work, work without the grace. That's not Him. The Psalm above says "...for Your

  We always pray for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and with power fulfill all your good desires and works done by faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him... 2 Thessalonians 1:11‭-‬12 Praying For Believers It is a blessing to get to draw near to God. And I get to pray for other believers. This verse teaches me how I can pray for them, and more importantly what I can expect from God. When I say "expect" that might sound disrespectful. But what I mean is that He reveals through the apostle Paul what He wants me to ask. 1. I can pray that God counts you worthy of this calling. 2. I can pray that He fulfills ALL your good desires. 3. I can pray that He fulfills ALL of your works done by faith. 4. I can pray that Jesus be glorified in you. 5. I can pray that you be glorified in Him. When I Pray First, I can pray that God counts you worthy of this calling; there is a strong expectation that He answers that pr

Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. James 5:16 The Healing Happens Progressively I am a believer with faults. Hurts and hang-ups too. So, recently I've found other Christian men with whom I can be open, with whom I pray. What a blessing! I'm all healed now, right? Oh wouldn't that be nice! Apparently that's not what's best. The healing happens progressively. I'm not saying the Lord doesn't do it immediately sometimes. But often, He works more slowly, teaching as He heals. What I can say for a fact is this: I am being healed. It is happening. I see it in others too. In a few short months, I have seen God work in my life. Confession. Healing. Joy. These are part of my life. Daily. But, oh, I'm not kidding, it seems so slow! He says prayer works; but there are stipulations. I had no idea, until I started to get serious, how much work needed d

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with gratitude, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6‭-‬7  A believer in Jesus is... What characterizes a believer? A believer in Jesus is anxious for nothing. I love how the scripture uses words like "nothing." It leaves no out, no wiggle room. The bible says it, so this is possible for me. I CAN be anxious for nothing. How? In everything. Here's another one of those words: everything. Here's the list -- prayer and supplication, gratitude, and make requests known to God. Prayer is talking to God, not just saying words, but consciously talking to Him. What is supplication? The dictionary says, "the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly." This looks to me like I am to bug God. But with a good attitude, humbly. With gratitude. That means not hol

  "In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him." Ephesians 3:12 Unending, God-given Supply I am bold in Him. Right? I don't know; I don't feel so bold. If you want to know the embarrassing truth, I feel sorta timid.  I don't want to open my mouth. I don't want to reveal my thoughts. I even carry around old remembered shame from my childhood, so I'm afraid of getting hit with even more hard knocks. But this verse says I have boldness. Now. Present tense. It's mine. So who should I believe? The scripture or me?  The scripture, Right?  Okay, why am I even asking such an obvious question? Here's why: I debate this in my own mind regularly. Should I listen to Jesus or not? And maybe the words don't form so obviously wrong in my mind, but my actions show that the debate took place, and that I decided to do the thing I wanted to do.  I must stand on this: The Word of God is the truth. Period.  So, I actually DO have boldness.  Wh