Category: purpose in life

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear [God’s] voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness …”
— Hebrews 3:7-8 NIV

God has spoken to the hearts of his children over the centuries inviting them back into relationship with him. These Spirit-inspired messages came in many and various forms, but the clearest came through Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3). Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, God speaks to us and to those around us, inviting us to come home to him. We must respond, or our hearts harden, and we lose any possible sensitivity to the message of grace. The message from the Holy Spirit, uttered over and over through the centuries, now comes to you and me in today’s verses: “Hear God’s voice! Do not harden your hearts!” How will we respond today?

Father in Heaven, I want to have a tender heart that responds to the Holy Spirit’s invitation to hear your voice and respond to your grace. I ask that the Holy Spirit convict me of my sins, help me take notice of and avoid my vulnerabilities, overcome my weaknesses, and empower me to be like Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
— 1 Peter 5:5

The word “submissive” is often positive or negative based on its relationship to us personally. It’s nice having someone serve us submissively, but serving someone else submissively is hard work. Unfortunately, we are selfish way too much of the time. But God is at work in direct opposition to anyone who is full of pride and unwilling to serve others, especially if those “others” are older believers! Whether it’s easy to wear the clothes our Father demands or not, we are to intentionally clothe ourselves with humility!

Father, thank you so much for the great heroes of faith listed in Scripture. Thank you for those other heroes of faith who have shared their examples and lives with me. Bless them with strength and health. And Father, please use me to bless and to serve all of your children, especially those who have lived many years in faithful service to you and your Kingdom. Because of the grace of Jesus, and in his name I pray. Amen.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
— Isaiah 40:29

Even the most pumped up and positive ones of us find ourselves broken and weary at some point in our life. It isn’t so hard to believe and follow Jesus when we are soaring on the wings of eagles or running and not getting weary in our walk with God. Often the toughest time to keep our faith vibrant is when we are trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other while not fainting. In those moments of absolute powerlessness, weakness, and brokenness the Lord is often most real, most powerful, and most present.

Thank you, God, for sustaining me and keeping my faith alive when I have been under attack from the Evil One and have grown weary with the challenges and hardships of life. Please give those I love, and mention now by name, the strength to press on even though they are weary and weak. Please be real in their lives and let them know that you are coming with grace to help and redeem as their Great Deliverer. In Jesus’ name I ask it. Amen.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.”
— Ecclesiastes 12:1

When we are young and have so many things to do, many things can distract us from what is important. We must let the Lord gather our passions under his grace in those early days of excitement and frenetic joy so we can be used for God’s greater good. For most of us, age brings a crescendo of limitations of one kind or another. This doesn’t mean life has to be bad, just that we had better put our priorities in order. Hopefully we learned the lessons of faith in our youth so that we have the maturity and wisdom to be mentors, examples, and counselors for those who come after us on the path.

Holy God, I pray for the youth of your Church. Give them passion and joy as they find you and follow Jesus. May their faith be real, vibrant, joyous, and triumphant! Give them a sense of your glory. Sustain them through their later years with a deep assurance of your presence, victory, and grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel.
— Judges 2:7

It is so easy to lose the sacred experience of worship and in our daily lives we are drawn toward more secular activities. God is always present, powerful and eager for connection with us. Every experience with God is life-changing and formative to bring us closer to Him. Each generation must have its own first-hand faith. Transforming faith takes more than receiving a godly heritage and stories of the past deeds of God. It requires a fresh experience of God’s mighty presence!

Holy God, help me pass down my faith in you, and my love for you, to my children and to other young believers. More than that, Abba Father, help them experience your mighty power and great deeds personally through ministry and sacrificial service. I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus! Amen.

Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.  — Proverbs 23:22

“Honor your father and mother.” This is basic to God’s plan for our lives. When families are built within God’s covenant of grace, respect and obedience by children toward their parents is a blessing to the children! As adults, we preserve the dignity of our parents and teach our children important life-lessons when we honor and respect them appropriately. Let’s not get swept up in our era of parent-bashing. Let’s bless our parents in ways that honor God. (If your parents were ungodly or abusive, find older folks in your church family for your emotional and spiritual support, while in as many ways as is possible treat your physical parents with honesty, respect, and integrity.)

Loving Father and eternal God, thank you for my parents — physical and/or spiritual. Bless them with what they most need to find their way home to you. Give me wisdom to know how best to show my love and respect to them. Most of all, Father, please help them to see that my love and character come from you. In Jesus’ name pray. Amen.

Then [the LORD’s people] remembered the old days, the days of Moses, God’s servant: “Where is he who brought the shepherds of his flock up and out of the sea? And what happened to the One who set his Holy Spirit within them?”
– Isaiah 63:11 MESSAGE

In their rebellion against God, the LORD’s people forgot that they were the ones who had left him rather than him abandoning them. They wondered why the power and influence of the Holy Spirit weren’t present in the life of their community and in their nation when they, in fact, had grieved and opposed the Spirit of the Living God. God’s Spirit will not abandon us, but we can grieve the Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30), quench his influence and presence (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20), and resist his influence and teaching (Acts 7:51). The yearning we feel for God’s presence in us through the Holy Spirit is a good thing. That longing reminds us of our need to return to God!

Loving Father, the holy and Almighty God, my soul yearns for your presence. I need your guidance. And I recognize that when I have been unwilling to listen for your voice, I have separated myself from the influence of your presence and have only caused myself grief. Please forgive me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

In him [Jesus our Lord] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
– Ephesians 3:12

In Christ we are given so many freedoms — freedom from law, sin, death, etc. But one of the greatest freedoms we have is to boldly come before the Creator of the universe, the God of all time and creation, and speak openly and confidently with him. Incredibly, we mortals can enter God’s world with our problems and be confident that he hears us and cares about our concerns.

Almighty and most holy God, I know that without your grace and attentive care my requests to you would go unheeded. But I also am confident that because I am your child, my requests matter to you. Thank you for hearing my prayers each day. Thank you for caring about my concerns. Thank you for being patient with my impatience and tender with my frustrations. Most of all, Father, thank you for the freedom to do what I have no right or power to do — to invade your world with my concerns and be welcomed by you there. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
– Isaiah 61:1 NIV

God’s servants in every era, including now, are empowered by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit produces holy fruit in their lives (Galatians 5:22-23), shapes their hearts, and guides their efforts toward ministry that conforms to the heart of God: He sends them to bind up the broken, bring freedom to those in captivity, and proclaim release from darkness for those imprisoned. We can get an idea of the way we are yielding to the Spirit’s leading when we see what resonates in our hearts and what our hands find to do as ministry!

Almighty God, make my heart yearn for what you long to happen. Guide my hands to do the work that you want to be done. Open my eyes to see those who need to receive your mercy. Move in me powerfully with your Spirit to conform me — heart, soul, mind, and strength — to your holy and compassionate will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
– Isaiah 6:1

We often view difficult times, crisis times, as bad because the circumstances we face are very hard. But difficult times can also be an opportunity for our hearts to re-awaken to the steadfastness and the gloriousness of God, as well as our great need for him in our lives. The crisis of Uzziah’s death for Israel and Isaiah became the great opportunity for Isaiah to see God in a fresh way and to be called into a special ministry for God. How can God use your crises, hardships, trials, and difficulties? Why don’t you ask him to show you!

Holy God, I confess that I get discouraged enduring hardships. I sometimes wonder where you are and why you have forgotten me. Deep in my heart, dear Father, I know you are there. But sometimes, O God, it is difficult to keep my faith burning brightly when I don’t hear your voice or see you face to face. Please strengthen my heart with your Holy Spirit and help me “see” you in a fresh way so that I will open myself to you and be tuned more perfectly for your service. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.