The morning Bible Study group is taking the month of January to pray for our family and friends. We made it through one of the most challenging years and there was no better time to be praying than the present.

As I think about how little I knew about what would occur last year, it fills my heart with such peace to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, none of it took our God by surprise.

And that thought fills me with such peace for the year ahead. We do not know what lies ahead, nor what each day will hold. But our God already knows for He has gone before us.

The first verse we prayed for our families was:

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, NASB)

Father, we are so grateful to be able to call You our Father, our Abba, the head of our family. May our families know to the depths of their souls they need You as their Savior. May they cry out to you, for You are our rock and our help. May they surrender fully to You alone, and walk with Jesus each day of this coming year. It is in Your Name we pray, Amen.

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“… for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10, NASB)

It’s a verse quoted so often and yet, we often forget this powerful truth. We CAN have joy even in the middle of difficulties.

My family came together for a short while on New Year’s eve.  As we looked back over last year, we recognized it was such a hard year. But then we decided to focus on what was good in 2020. We began calling out and remembering funny things or times when we all had something good occur.

Look for the good the Lord brought about in the past year and watch as your heart becomes filled with His joy and strength.

Father, we thank You for the way You have carried us through the hardships and challenges of the last year. Fill our families with Your joy and strength for whatever the days ahead may hold. May that be what others see in us. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

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“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.” (James 1:19, NASB)

Nowadays, it seems everyone has an opinion and is more than willing to share it. It is easier now, than ever before, to have an argument over a plethora of subjects.

Yet James tells us what we already know to be true: we can listen and respond slowly and be even slower to get angry.

Years ago at a Women of Faith conference, I heard Patsy Clairmont say that God gave her the most useful tool for those times when her mouth was ready to spew – she put her hand over her mouth and held it there long and hard. She then continued to share that in especially challenging times, He gave her two hands!

It is not a weakness to withhold your words or your anger. In fact, the cross reference in my Bible pointed me to this verse:

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.” (Proverbs 16:32, NASB)

We are mightier and win over more people when we are slow to speak and slow to anger. Amen?

Father, help our families to be slow to speak and slower to anger yet willing to lend an ear and listen. Help us to refrain from having to comment on everything. Help us to be patient with those who hold different opinions from our own. And in always, help us to be more like You. Amen.

How have you kept yourself from getting impatient or angry with others?

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We brought the first week of praying for our families to a close with a verse especially applicable for this task of constantly praying:

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” (Galatians 6:9, NASB)

It can be tiring and easy to lose heart, when we keep doing the same thing over and over, and see little results.

Yet if we just pause and think about it, we know that many things occur over the long haul. May we keep on doing those things the Lord has called us to do. May we not get discouraged when situations and people don’t change as quickly as we would like.

Lord, help us not to lose heart but to patiently wait for You to move in Your time and in Your way. Help us to continue to keep doing good in the world around us, knowing You will bring results from the seeds we sow each day. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

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Stay the course.
Persevere.
Keep at it.
Pray!

Photo  1: by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash
Photo 2: Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

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