Dear Lord, remember the times I have faithfully and wholeheartedly received the message of the Cross and conducted myself uprightly. Hear my prayers and see my tears when I stumble and miss the mark. Help me overcome the weaknesses and cowardice that has held me back from doing my best to live for You each day. Add to my days and prosper me as I seek to do things Your way. This will give me an incentive to keep pressing forward when the going gets tough. Be my shield … deflecting the fiery darts of my enemy so that I can withstand his attacks intended to wound my spirit and cause me to lose hope. Some days, I am able to advance my life and feel victorious. At other times, I feel like I am trying to climb a slippery slope and I’m losing the ground I’ve gained in the past. I am thankful that You never give up on me … urging me to pull out all the stops needed to succeed.
I have stopped limiting myself to the things I think I can do and have started to focus on who You say I am and the possibilities available to me. I’ve taken up my Cross to follow You and You have become my beacon guiding me in the way I am to go. I’ve made the decision to turn my back on the world, with its seductions of my flesh and emotions. I pledge to seek Your strength, rather than counting on my human frailties, to overcome the temptations that I face. I’ve accepted Your wisdom in place of my carnal thinking because You have “real” solutions for my problems. I am no longer limited by what I think … instead, I’m emboldened by what You’ve shown me to be the “real” truth. Following You requires commitment, sacrifice and no looking back with regrets. If I cling to my earthly ways, it will cause me to forfeit a “meaningful” witness for You. The more I love the ways of the world (leisure, power, popularity, wealth), the more I discover how empty they are.
I am told, more often than not, that the things You call me to do/be is impossible to achieve. What Your Word has taught me is that the impossible is achievable if I have You as the source of my success. My reward for being Yours is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit who will show me how to attain the things You want of me. It is my faith and service which You seek from me in order to become a true “living sacrifice.” I know that if I give up anything that is of value to me, for Your sake, I will be repaid many times over. Including You in everything I do is the way to run my race successfully. Through my experiences, I’m beginning to understand that You are the one who turns my impossibilities into possibilities. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Luke 18:77 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”